Drone Propulsion Catalyst
You are invited to join BMNT's Drone Catalyst!
The Problem
American-made Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) face a significant cost disadvantage compared to foreign competitors due to a historic reliance on international components, a fragmented domestic supply chain, and limited vertical integration. This gap slows the development of secure, Blue sUAS-compliant technologies and limits the availability of the domestic components needed to power the next generation of advanced aircraft.
A critical capability gap exists in fixed-wing distributed propulsion systems. Without affordable, domestically produced components, NASA cannot efficiently conduct sub-scale research on future transport aircraft configurations, while commercial operators continue to lack the high-endurance, long-range drone platforms needed for applications such as agriculture, logistics, infrastructure inspection, maritime operations, and emergency response.
What We'll Cover
This Catalyst will bring together leaders across government, industry, startups, investors, and the broader UAS ecosystem to identify the technologies, partnerships, and commercialization pathways needed to strengthen America's domestic drone supply chain.
Discussions will focus on distributed propulsion architectures, including propulsion technologies, power generation and conversion. Participants will also explore strategies for reducing costs through domestic manufacturing, meeting Blue sUAS compliance requirements, and accelerating solutions that can transition to commercial markets by 2028 or earlier.
Attendees should expect an interactive discussion centered on identifying priority capability gaps, sharing lessons learned, and uncovering opportunities to advance secure, scalable, and commercially viable UAS technologies.
Hosted by NASA SBIR Ignite and BMNT. — Dayton, OH August 6, 2026.