New national security regulations restrict the use of foreign-made drones in U.S. airspace, reflecting a growing consensus that critical systems should be built on trusted supply chains. Birdstop is built for this moment, operating with a fully vetted, national-security-approved manufacturing stack from the ground up.

America leads the world in autonomy software, yet produces less than 1% of the world’s drones. As drones shape modern conflict abroad and save lives at home, rebuilding domestic manufacturing is no longer optional.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s forthcoming Part 108 represents a fundamental revamp of American aviation law, bringing autonomous drone operations into the national airspace at scale. 

Birdstop has worked closely with the FAA, contributing real-world operational data and developing a patented detect-and-avoid system using optical and acoustic airspace monitoring to enable safe beyond visual line of sight flight. Birdstop holds 9 of the most advanced FAA approvals ever granted, placing the company at the forefront of autonomous aviation as this new generation of law comes into effect.

Standing on the shoulders of Detroit’s manufacturing heritage, Birdstop is rewriting the story of domestic drone production. The United States produces more than 10 million automobiles each year - complex systems of hardware and software not unlike today’s drones.

Domestic drone manufacturing has never reached meaningful scale, leaving American-made drones expensive and slow to produce. Birdstop applies the manufacturing discipline of the American auto industry in Detroit to build reliable, repeatable systems at scale.