Off-the-shelf components have lowered the technical barriers to building capable uncrewed vehicles. At the same time, systems are becoming more complex as they combine hardware, software, and AI from a growing number of suppliers. As a result, the principal challenges have shifted toward integrating these systems across vendors, each with its own software stack; toward moving from controlling individual vehicles to commanding autonomous systems, while trained crews keep full control when it is needed; and toward meeting certification requirements that are still evolving in civil and defense markets.

In this transatlantic panel, Florian Schwaiger (Avilus) and Jonathan Thomas (DCS Corporation) join Qt Group experts Cliff Bilbrey and Brian Page. Together, they examine how the market for uncrewed vehicles in the air, on land, and at sea is evolving, from small commodity drones to type-certified aircraft, and from remotely piloted to autonomous systems.

The discussion addresses:

• Changes in the sector: off-the-shelf components and AI, the growing complexity they bring, and whether success now depends on the use case rather than the technology
• Integration and interoperability: how systems from multiple vendors can operate as one across domains, and the role of open standards
• Operator effectiveness: reducing cognitive load as complexity grows, interfaces aligned with how operators are trained, and full control for trained crews when it is needed
• Certification and dual use: certifying an aircraft versus certifying its operations, evolving regulations, and balancing speed of fielding with certification
• Outlook to 2035: the opportunities and challenges decision makers should anticipate, including software that scales over the life of a program