The commercial drone industry is in a period of flux in the United States between the anticipation for Part 108, FCC decisions around foreign-made drones and components, and evolution around autonomous technologies. Our State of the Industry survey, which was put together with our event partners, Pilot Institute, collected responses from over 800 operators, project managers and service providers on how they are handling all three. The results were published in a recent report, and will be the subject of a free webinar tomorrow, November 10, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
The 60-minute conversation will feature insights from Greg Reverdiau, co-founder of Pilot Institute, and will be moderated by Matt Collins, content manager at Commercial UAV News and Commercial UAV Expo. The conversation will dive deeper into the results and how the industry should be thinking about the present and future of operations. In addition to prepared questions, the duo will be taking audience questions as well. Registration is free, and all registrants receive a free, on-demand link so be sure to sign up even if you can’t make it live.
Part 108 will be one of the major themes of the discussion. The FAA’s final BVLOS rule has been at the White House since July 10, and the survey shows operators are still working out what it means for them. About 70 percent said they are at least somewhat familiar with the proposal, yet 40 percent were neutral or unsure of its impact and 32 percent expect it to help. The top concern is how Part 108 interacts with existing Part 107 waivers and exemptions. Another 43 percent said their organization has not yet begun preparing, and 14 percent worry they will not be able to comply. The conversation will touch on what the final rule needs to clarify for current waiver holders, and what operators should do now versus after it publishes.
Procurement decisions and the FCC’s Covered List will get the other major block of time. In the survey, 63 percent of respondents said foreign-made drones, including DJI, make up at least three-quarters of their active fleet. Another 46 percent described a wait-and-see approach to procurement following the FCC’s December 2025 action. Cost was the most common obstacle to switching, followed by capability gaps.
The speakers will discuss whether waiting is a reasonable strategy, what a phased transition can look like, the role software plays when changing a fleet, and the trade-offs of buying more currently available foreign models. They will also review the FCC’s proposed restrictions on “military-grade” foreign drones. Pilot Institute read and coded all 300-plus filings in the proceeding and found 98.6 percent opposed, and Reverdiau will share findings from that analysis.
Beyond those topics, the webinar will cover where autonomy adoption is real and where it remains early. Waypoint flight and obstacle avoidance are widely used, while drone-in-a-box systems and swarm operations lag. The speakers will also discuss why battery technology topped the list of technologies respondents are watching, and which skills are missing, given that a skills gap ranked as the top workforce challenge. Public safety, infrastructure inspection, and surveying and mapping were the most-cited growth verticals, and the speakers will discuss whether that matches what they see in the field.
Attendees will come away with a clearer picture of how operators feel about Part 108, how the Covered List is shaping fleet and procurement decisions, and where the industry’s workforce and skills gaps sit.
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