Earlier this year, way back in January, the Commercial UAV Expo content team, in conjunction with our partners at Pilot Institute, put together a quick survey to get a sense of what our readers, attendees, and general network are looking for from an educational event about our industry. As anyone reading this will know, the commercial drone space is at a true inflection point, with technological innovation combining with regulatory leaps that should take the industry to the next level, moving from theoretical to tangible and, perhaps most importantly, scalable. We wanted to make sure the content we put together for the 2026 Commercial UAV Expo matched what the industry was looking for.

Today, we are beyond excited to unveil our conference program for this year’s event, taking into account your responses from that aforementioned survey. While there were a ton of great insights derived from all of your responses, the main, overarching theme that cut through all of our decisions for this year’s program was simple: The industry is looking for true, tangible education that they can take back to their office now. Gone are the days of looking for insights of what the industry is going to look like in a half-decade, though that will still be part of conversations. Instead, people want insights to take back to their offices and job sites the Monday after the show.

You can find the conference program in its entirety on our event site, and registration is currently open, and below I will share some of the philosophies that will come through in this year’s program.

Firstly, our show aims to be a reflection of where the commercial industry is today, in this moment. That is why, as we have previously announced, our opening keynote is going to directly relate to that. I will be joined by Pilot Institute co-founder Greg Reverdiau, and we will be talking about the results from a State of the Industry survey that will be available next week. We want to know what those on the ground, working either in the office or out in the field are experiencing today. Where are people similar, and where are the biggest differences? What are the biggest bottlenecks the industry is facing? Both vendors and operators can take the information from this survey and use it to inform their future roadmaps.

Beyond the keynote – and we’re very excited to announce our second keynote; stay tuned for that! – we have a strong mix of panels and presentation-based sessions that all go back to that goal of providing tangible insights to take back to the office, with both wins and challenges real-world users have faced. Some of that will be specific to certain industries, with sessions planned on case studies and insights from those in verticals like construction, surveying, agriculture, utilities, and more.

Beyond the industry-specific knowledge, we will also have a lot of content for the general drone industry professional, whether you’re looking to keep up with regulatory changes or looking to build some of our soft skills. On the regulatory front, we’ll have plenty to talk about with respect to BVLOS operations, whether the final Part 108 rule is released before or after the show. There will also be panels focused on translating legalese into plain language for everyday drone pilots, and how organizations are thinking about future fleet decisions following the FCC’s December ruling around the Covered List.

We also heard loud and clear that many in the industry want to build up their business aptitude. Being able to get a drone up in the air, collect and process data, spray crops, or any other physical application is only one part of the industry. How do you build up your business and determine pricing structures? How do you make yourself marketable to prospective employers? How do you find the best hires for long-term growth? How do you market your business in what can feel like a crowded space? These are just some of the questions our conference program will answer for drone professionals.

Over the next few months, our program will continue to update – we are well aware that the industry is not going to stop over this summer – but we are so excited to share the bulk of our program. Take a look, and I’m sure there will be sessions that speak to your needs. As a reminder, this year’s event will be taking place September 1-3 – the week before Labor Day this year – back in Las Vegas. Register today!