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American Made Advocacy: Restore the Domestic PCB Industry to Support National Drone Initiatives

Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, once cast only as secret weapons in movies, are now central to modern warfare, law enforcement, and a plethora of industrial applications. Drones carry out a wide range of tasks, from reconnaissance operations providing precise data on enemy positions, to delivering ammunition, equipment, and supplies to soldiers in combat, to being used as weapons in direct engagements and for striking distant targets. Drones have played a major role in Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2014, and because drones were clearly a force multiplier for both sides in that conflict, the U.S. military has increased the demand, certification, training and acquisition of drones.

China dominates the global drone market, manufacturing 70–80% of the world's drones. This dominance spans consumer, commercial, and, to a lesser extent, military markets, driven by companies like SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.

Some in Washington are already working to reduce this dependency. The Federal Communications Commission has recently restricted importation of Chinese drones due to national security concerns. Because of the risks presented by using drones containing Chinese microelectronics, including PCBs, and to align with recent legislation, some American companies are now manufacturing drones.

The Department of Defense (War), recognizing the necessity of secure and trusted autonomous systems, has published its own “Blue UAS” listing of companies approved to provide drones to the warfighter. Designation as Blue UAS-cleared requires compliance with the NDAA rules enacted that prohibit drones produced in China, North Korea, Iran, or Russia and also vetting the platform cybersecurity and the origin of subcomponents utilized in these cleared drones. These subcomponents include flight controllers, radios, data links, cameras, gimbals, and ground control systems. These subcomponents require PCBs at scale to support the mission. Companies such as Anduril and PCBAA member NEROS TECHNOLOGIES are on the Blue UAS list and are innovating and producing drones at scale in the United States.

At PCBAA, we applaud the approach taken by the DoD to protect our national security, and we also applaud the development of an onramp to Blue UAS, created by the Association for Uncrewed and Vehicle Systems (AUVSI) in conjunction with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) as “Green UAS,” that will provide the initial pathway and a safe and secure assessment for more commercially-oriented drones to be carefully vetted and well-prepared for the Blue UAS certification process.

Even with heroic efforts to scale up and provide the U.S. military with secure and trusted combat systems, Chinese components remain embedded deep in many commercial and dual use technologies. PCBAA is working with legislators on both sides of the aisle to preserve a law in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 851) that requires the Pentagon to have a plan by Jan. 1, 2027, to remove from the defense supply chain all dual-use components originating in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This includes drones, and more broadly, communications, IT technologies, and other technologies that are currently embedded in our government systems.

Every autonomous system operating today contains multiple PCBs. With the U.S. drone market projected to more than double by 2033 the U.S. cannot risk the security of those systems by including components from adversarial nations.

In addition to the security risks, the sheer distances in an Asia-dependent supply chain create risk as we saw during COVID and could see again with a natural disaster or political decision in one of those countries disrupting deliveries.

The PCB industry has the technological capability to produce what the drone industry (and other commercial industries) need but we cannot scale to meet the demand vectors without the appropriate government incentives and co-investment that will help reshore and restore our PCB industry.

PCBAA is lobbying for the bipartisan Protecting Printed Circuit Boards and Substrates (PCBS) Act, H.R. 3597, which proposes $3 billion in funding for facilities construction, workforce development, equipment, and research and development. It also includes a 25% tax credit for purchasers of American-made PCBs and substrates, incentivizing domestic production and consumption.

The widespread adoption of autonomous systems presents a unique opportunity for American companies to get ahead of a manufacturing boom and support our national security. With smart public policies and leadership in Washington, the drones in our skies can be made on our shores.

We invite anyone in the PCB supply chain to join our very important mission to reshore and restore the  printed circuit board industry in the United States. To learn more visit pcbaa.org.

This column originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of I-Connect007 Magazine.