An analysis published on 9 September 2026 by Ellen H. Rumley and Allison Okamura of the IEEE RAS Science & Technology Watch Board sets out a gap. The Department of Defense is requesting $13.4 billion for autonomous systems in the 2026 budget, while the United States still has no centralised federal robotics strategy. The funding is scattered across six agencies.
Key takeaways
- DoD is requesting $13.4B for autonomous systems in fiscal 2026
- A further $53.6B is projected for autonomous systems and drones in 2027
- H.R. 7334 would create an independent robotics commission of 18 experts
- Funding is split across NSF, DoE, NIH, NASA, DARPA and the ARM Institute
- No single federal robotics strategy exists, despite the scale of spending
The money is there, the direction is not
The scale of spending is not the problem. The problem is that nobody ties it into one plan.
The authors count six sources of robotics research funding, from NSF to DARPA and the ARM Institute. Each has its own priorities and its own cycle. No document positions them against one another.
Legislation is substituting for strategy
Instead of a strategy, point-fix bills appear. The American Security Robotics Act, introduced in March 2026, would bar federal agencies from buying Chinese humanoids and unmanned ground vehicles. Senators Tom Cotton and Chuck Schumer back it, alongside Representative Elise Stefanik.
H.R. 7334 goes further and creates an 18-member commission that would finally write such a plan. The Congressional Robotics Caucus was also relaunched in 2025.
Who is filling the gap
Bodies outside government are taking on the coordinating role. The authors point to A3, the Special Competitive Studies Project and the academic community.
Research compliance is still framed by the 2021 NSPM-33 memorandum. Newer executive orders — including "Unleashing American Drone Dominance" — cover slices rather than the whole.
Why it matters
Set against two other threads from this week, the picture sharpens. Chinese manufacturers account for roughly 95 percent of humanoid shipments, and America's own FCC rule splits its industry along manufacturing location. Spending tens of billions on autonomy without an industrial plan means buying capability without control over who builds it. The commission in H.R. 7334 is an admission of that gap.
What's next
- H.R. 7334 remains a bill — the commission depends on it passing
- The American Security Robotics Act is not law either, still a March 2026 proposal
- The $53.6B for 2027 is a request, not an approved figure
