Building the Industrial Backbone of American Drone Dominance

Last summer, President Trump signed the executive order “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” that sent a clear message to the DoW and defense industry, the U.S. needs to strengthen its drone capabilities. Since the executive order was signed in June, the DoW has launched its Drone Dominance Initiative, aimed at manufacturing and deploying hundreds of thousands low-cost, domestically produced drones.

American drone makers are lining up to be a part of the $1.1 billion drone program, and IDGA is here to help these companies learn more about how they can get involved. This June 23-24 in Arlington, Virginia, IDGA will host the Next Generation UAS Summit. The conference will convene senior leaders from the U.S. military, defense innovation community, and industrial base to drive the next phase of drone dominance. During the two-day conference, attendees will gain direct visibility into emerging UAS investment priorities, one-way attack systems, vertical lift modernization, AI-enabled autonomy, ISR capabilities, and next- generation drone training pipelines.

Before the conference, IDGA sat down with CAPT Dennis Monagle, USN (ret), the former Program Manager PMA 266 Multi-Mission Tactical UAS for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Captain Monagle's service includes tours with HM-14, a pivotal role aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, and leadership of HM-15 in Norfolk. Onshore, he’s been a MH-53E flight instructor, completed assignments with NAVAIR, led modernization efforts at DISA, and played a significant role in Unmanned Mission Control Station development. Captain Monagle serves as an advisory board member for the Next Generation UAS Summit, where he will lead multiple discussion panels. In the following interview, he discussed the future of drone dominance, what DoW needs from the industrial base, and more.