Packs and the electronics that manage charging, safety, and shipping, including packs that can travel on aircraft.
Related updates
- August 25, 2026 SBA and the Department of War create the Smaller War Plants Commission
Supply chain gaps
The parts buyers find hardest to source in the U.S.The parts and materials that are hardest to make in the United States today, most of them named at SBA's Defense Industrial Base Drone Summit on September 24, 2026. Each category has a plain description and the rule and program updates that touch it. With an account you also see the companies that make each one and the open buyer requests that name it.
Subsystems
Infrared cameras for search, inspection, public safety, and defense.
Related updates
- September 3, 2026 Section 232 tariffs on imported drones take effect
- July 21, 2026 FCC proposes ending imports and marketing of previously authorized foreign drones in seven categories
Laser sensors for mapping, obstacle detection, and robot navigation.
Related updates
- July 21, 2026 FCC proposes ending imports and marketing of previously authorized foreign drones in seven categories
- June 8, 2026 Department of War updates its Chinese military companies list (Section 1260H)
Stabilized mounts for cameras and sensors, including micro gimbals for small drones.
The boards and chips that fly the drone and run autonomy software, including circuit cards.
Related updates
- October 13, 2026 FCC stops authorizing new devices that contain logic-bearing parts made by companies on the FCC Covered List
- June 30, 2026 Army depots start making small drone parts
Command links, video links, and mesh radios.
Related updates
- October 13, 2026 FCC stops authorizing new devices that contain logic-bearing parts made by companies on the FCC Covered List
- September 24, 2026 FCC Chairman signals opening the 800 MHz band to airborne use by drones
GNSS receivers, compasses, and navigation that works without GPS.
Small radars for detect-and-avoid and counter-drone systems. At SBA's September 24, 2026 summit, the FCC Chairman named a rule that keeps low-cost automotive radar off drones as one to look at.
Motors, gearboxes, and joints for ground robots and humanoids.
Related updates
- June 8, 2026 Department of War updates its Chinese military companies list (Section 1260H)
Small piston, rotary and turbine engines and hybrid power units for unmanned aircraft.
Transponders, ADS-B units, air data and communication avionics for unmanned aircraft.
Parachute recovery systems that bring a drone down safely when flight ends early.
Components
Brushless motors, including small coreless motors with Hall-effect sensors used in gimbals.
Related updates
- September 15, 2026 Drone Dominance Gauntlet 2: Travis Metz of DIU says the order for about 60,000 drones is the Department's first with no Chinese brushless motors
- June 30, 2026 Army depots start making small drone parts
- December 22, 2025 FCC adds foreign-made drones and drone components to the Covered List
Electronic speed controllers that drive the motors.
Related updates
- December 22, 2025 FCC adds foreign-made drones and drone components to the Covered List
High-energy cells for drone and robot battery packs.
Related updates
- August 25, 2026 SBA and the Department of War create the Smaller War Plants Commission
- June 30, 2026 Army depots start making small drone parts
The sensor chips inside cameras. The summit panel noted most come from Japan today.
Frames, arms, shells, and composite parts.
Related updates
- June 30, 2026 Army depots start making small drone parts
Power modules, converters and distribution boards for drones, robots and tethered systems.
Antennas for command links, video links, mesh radios and navigation receivers.
Connectors, wire harnesses and cable assemblies for drones, robots and their payloads.
Materials
Permanent magnets for motors and the rare earth materials behind them.
Related updates
- August 25, 2026 SBA and the Department of War create the Smaller War Plants Commission
Software
Encryption for links and stored data; the panel named it among fast-growing requirements.
Services
U.S. factories that build, assemble, or test drones, robots, and parts for other companies.
Related updates
- September 24, 2026 Travis Metz of DIU says Ukrainian drone companies are invited to compete in Drone Dominance
- August 5, 2026 First Army depot partnership with a drone company
- March 31, 2026 SBA's Made in America Loan Guarantee: 90% guarantee for small manufacturers
The official lists
We link to the official lists. Autonomy Runway never says whether a company, product or part is on one of them.
- The Section 1260H list in the Federal Register (Department of War)
- The FCC Covered List (Federal Communications Commission)
Read our plain-language guide to the FCC Covered List and drones.
Government doors lists the offices and official lists a drone or robotics company goes to. Government doors
Companies check their own supply chains against official lists with their own counsel.
Autonomy Runway is not a law firm, an accounting firm or a financial adviser, and nothing we publish is legal, tax or financial advice. The guides are general information with links to the official sources, and the tools organize your own facts and decisions. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer, an accountant or a financial adviser. See all our disclaimers.