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In December 2023, migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border reached a record high, according to Pew Research Center. By August 2024, those encounters had dropped 77%, and eighteen months later, migrant encounters dropped to their lowest level in more than 50 years.

The recent decline in migrant encounters is partially attributed to policy changes on both sides of the border. Besides policy changes, another factor in improving the mitigation of illegal border crossings are the technologies and personnel Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have committed to in recent years.

One such technology is unmanned aerial systems, or drones. CBP has begun expanding the role of drones in its operations, which has offered significant benefits in terms of time and cost savings, and officer safety. This report will analyze not only how CBP is leveraging drones on the southern border, but inversely the risks drones present on the southern border when used maliciously.

To learn more about drone use on the southern border and other U.S. military and DHS efforts to use drones to secure the homeland, IDGA’s Next Gen UAS Summit will include a range of discussions from the military’s drone dominance initiative to R&D directives the military is taking to advance UAS capabilities and much more.

Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the Air Force’s autonomous wingman program, had an eventful year in 2025. The program down selected in increment 1, and finalists had began to publicly announce prototype testing. Meanwhile, both the Navy and Marines have joined the Air Force in establishing CCA programs, and 2026 is expected to be an exciting year for the respective service branches’ CCA programs.

In late 2024, IDGA published an article highlighting progress made on CCA that year. Now, nearly a year later, we are here to take on that same endeavor. This article will highlight everything you might have missed over the past year of CCA, as well as dive into progress on the Navy’s own CCA program.

IDGA’s Next Gen UAS Summit will bring together the drone community, including members of the U.S. Military working on armed force’s CCA programs. The two-day summit, taking place June 23-24 in Washington D.C., will include a range of discussions from the military’s drone dominance initiative, to R&D directives the military is taking to advance UAS capabilities, and much more.

IDGA’s Next Gen UAS Summit will debut this June 23-24 in the Washington D.C. area. The conference explores how the U.S. military will achieve drone dominance through a sovereign industrial base, low-cost systems, AI-enabled autonomy, reclassified drone munitions, and a rapidly trained operational force.

During the two-day summit, attendees from across the U.S. military and industry will join under one roof to discuss the intricacies of achieving drone dominance. The following infographic shares five key themes at this year’s conference.

No other country has a larger share of the global drone market than China. According to the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, companies based in China and subsidized by the Chinese government control 90% of the consumer drone market, 70% or more of the enterprise market, and 92% of the state and local first responder market. Chinese company DJI owns a large majority of that market share.

With China owning such a large share of the global drone market, the U.S. has taken steps to strengthen its own drone market as unmanned systems have become critical for enhancing military capabilities and ensuring national security.

One measure the U.S. DoW took in 2020 was ordering its Defense Innovation Unit to create the Blue UAS program. The program’s purpose is to create and maintain a list of trusted, secure, and NDAA-compliant small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to the U.S. government.

Nearly six years since the Blue UAS program was introduced, the list has grown to over 39 certified systems and 165 components. This report will explore everything Blue UAS-related, including why the list matters, what systems are getting approved, and much more.

To hear from DoW leaders who work in the UAS space, including with the Blue UAS list, join IDGA at this year’s Next Gen UAS Summit. During the two-day summit, June 23-24, we will dive into all things UAS, including CCA programs.