The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) submitted comments to the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services for a hearing on, “The Findings and Recommendations of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy.”
The comments focus on challenges faced by the defense industrial base, including small and medium-sized businesses building dual-use technologies. The comments highlight the challenges faced by the defense industry resulting from a “say-do” gap within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
Michael Robbins, president and CEO of AUVSI, writes: “DoD’s Replicator initiative has set forward a clear process that has created a demand signal for uncrewed systems and energized private sector response to production needs.”
He continues: “AUVSI is hopeful that Replicator will set a new standard way of doing business within DoD and will evolve into an agile acquisition process that accelerates capabilities to the warfighter and significantly alters our adversaries’ aggression calculus.”
AUVSI makes three key recommendations to Congress:
Congress should increase funding for, and DoD should place, large-scale orders of autonomous and uncrewed systems.
The U.S. Navy must integrate uncrewed systems into the future fleet to support naval readiness.
DoD should evolve the Replicator initiative into an acquisition process that accelerates the deployment of uncrewed systems to warfighters.
Read here AUVSI’s full comments submitted for the hearing record.
This press release was prepared and distributed by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.
