Why is it important that we strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the global drone industry?

Michael Robbins is Chief Advocacy Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).  AUVSI is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of uncrewed systems and robotics.  It represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets.

Since joining AUVSI in 2020, Michael leads all advocacy, strategic communication, and cybersecurity initiatives. In 2015, he co-founded a business consulting firm, Intrepid, and serves as its Chief Operating Officer. Prior to starting Intrepid, Michael served as Managing Director of Government and Public Affairs at the Air Line Pilot Association, International. Before that, he spent a decade in the office of the late Congressman John Dingell in Michigan, where he served as the Chief of Staff.  

Michael serves on the board of the Greater Washington Aviation Open and the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Georgetown University and is an officer in the United States Navy Reserve. 

In this episode, Michael talks about the efforts to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in the drone industry and why this is critical for economic and security reasons. 

How is Honeywell Positioned to Serve the Advance Air Mobility Market

For that question, we head to Phoenix to speak with David Shilliday, Vice President and General Manager of the Unmanned Aerial Systems and Urban Air Mobility business unit at Honeywell Aerospace. Honeywell’s UAS business develops new products and serves as a systems integrator for both airframe makers and operators in this fast evolving market. Its area of responsibility spans aircraft systems like avionics, electric and hybrid electric propulsion and thermal management; flight services such as unmanned air traffic management; and ground operations services such as predictive maintenance analytics.  In November, Honeywell announced its Advanced Air Mobility business unit had secured contracts worth over $10 billion to build advance air mobility components, signifying the growth of AMM as a viable commercial sector for years to come.

David has been with Honeywell for over 18 years. Prior to his current role in the Advance Air Mobility Unit, David held several key leadership positions within the company, including Vice President and General Manager for the Power Systems business of Honewell and Vice President of EMEAI Airlines.  He also led the Honeywell Aerospace Trading (HAT) business, as well as roles leading Aftermarket strategy and IP Licensing. Prior to joining Honeywell David had roles in Engineering and IP strategy within the commercial automotive market.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the WP Carey school at Arizona State University. David also holds a number of patents on innovative automotive safety technology and has published cooperative research in the field.

In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, David talks about Honeywell’s Advance Air Mobility Unit, it’s recent award of $10 billion in AAM related contracts and what this means for the future of advanced air mobility.