AI-Drive Aerial Military Defense Systems

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/12 (Unpublished)

Bill Irby is the CEO of AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (NYSE American: UAVS). Irby discusses AI in military operations, UAV advancements, cybersecurity, and regulatory shifts. He emphasizes human oversight in AI-driven defence systems and anticipates industry consolidation in UAVs. His expertise spans technology leadership, aerospace innovation, and defense market adaptation.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we’re here with Bill Irby, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, who has over 25 years of leadership in uncrewed air and maritime systems, ISR, actuation hardware, and communications. He was Vice President at Northrop Grumman, overseeing defense technology operations. As President of MTI and Steel Partners Holdings, he led industrial, defense, and logistics ventures. Irby chairs AUVSI and served on Ghost Robotics’ advisory board. He led VBAT transition into Shield AI’s and directed L3Harris’ Reconnaissance Mission Systems. Holding a Master’s from Johns Hopkins, he also serves on the boards of Secmation and LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions, advancing defense and aerospace technologies.

Bill, it’s great to meet you. Thank you for joining us.

Bill Irby: Great to meet you, too.

Jacobsen: Today, I want to discuss your AgEagle role. You joined in February last year, so while it’s not exactly a greenhorn onboarding, it’s still relatively new. Can you give us an overview of your role and work at AgEagle over the past year?

Irby: Certainly. I walked in just as a new strategic plan was finalized in February last year. I entered a room with the Chairman of the Board and four or five other executive leadership team members. I had the opportunity to hear the latest developments in the strategy and contribute to it at some level.

Shortly after that, we got to work. We took a fresh look at AgEagle’s strategy. When the company was founded, its primary focus was agricultural support with UAS.  Over time, it expanded into airborne data collection for several commercial customers, and ultimately into Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance for defence applications. The company has done an excellent job growing in those areas.

In recent years, we have recognized the critical need to pivot toward defense, security, and safety markets. There is tremendous demand for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the defence sector and global safety and security applications. We are committed to helping the company grow in those areas.

This growth has taken many forms. We have won new competitive programs overseas, raised new capital, and engaged in strategic initiatives to position the company for success. It has been a dynamic first year, and are still in growth mode, pushing to take AgEagle to the next level.

Jacobsen: How do you see AI-driven decision-making shaping modern military operations?

Irby: I have seen some of this in action, and naturally, the U.S. is at the forefront of this technology. It’s an important discussion. What exactly do we mean by AI?

There’s been much automation in the drone world for quite some time, but there’s a difference between automation and automated decision-making in the platforms you build. AI is a critical technology. With that said, there have to be controls on it. There have to be human-controlled boundaries placed on AI, defining what systems are allowed to do and not do on their own. AI’s control and oversight aspects are important because, in the defense and security world, you’re talking about life and death.

You cannot create fully autonomous machines with full decision-making capabilities in life-and-death circumstances. But I do see AI as a critical enabler. If you look at Israel and the Gaza conflict, a lot of what they were able to do involved uncrewed systems. If you imagine that type of environment being aided by AI, it would be very significant. So, I see AI as an enabling and emerging technology.

Jacobsen: What key innovations is the company developing to enhance UAVs for commercial applications and public safety operations?

Irby: Key items for us include ensuring that we continue to evolve our product line and making aircraft lighter, more durable, and more resilient.

When you look at UAV-related product lines, you will see that we also sell cameras used primarily for agriculture and photogrammetry, as I’ve mentioned. Interestingly, we sell these cameras to our competitors. They are part of a multispectral imaging line that provides full-motion video, full-colour, and day/night capabilities for various applications. Our camera line is branded as MicaSense, and its primary market is agriculture.

We are currently enhancing those cameras to focus on specific color bands within the spectrum for precise analysis that provides tangible benefits. For example, we conduct extensive crop health monitoring, soil and water content assessment, and insect infestation analysis, all supporting successful farming. We also have a new camera under development that will focus on one specific colour band to enable unique assessments for the farming community.

Jacobsen: What about evolving regulations internally in the U.S. and globally? Domestic regulations are easier to apply in practical terms. In contrast, differing frameworks might make international regulations more complex to implement. People can choose to ratify or ignore a particular document. Even those who ratify it may disregard it. 

Irby: I will mention three regulatory items that align with your line of questioning.

Internally, a U.S. government regulation was put in place last year prohibiting U.S. government agencies from purchasing any Chinese-made DJI product—specifically, any DJI quadcopter-type drone. There is a critical reason for that. The primary goal of this regulation is to ensure the safety and security of U.S. infrastructure and to prevent the unauthorized transfer of sensitive information outside the U.S..

We fully support this initiative. Additionally, this regulation can benefit American-made products by enhancing competitiveness within the domestic market. So, that’s the first regulatory item.

The second regulatory item involves new legislation currently under development, addressing Chinese-manufactured parts and components purchased by the U.S. government or private industry. A broad-sweeping regulation was introduced as a congressional bill last year. The bill passed in the House and was sent to the Senate. It has completed Senate approval.

This legislation intends to counter heavily subsidized Chinese industries that have unfairly competed in the U.S. market. It ensures that American companies can compete successfully without subsidized foreign competitors. Major concerns surround battery technology and other electronic components. China has historically used these technologies for data extraction from the U.S. We are not allowing that to continue.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the third regulatory item. Over time, I have observed FAA regulations evolve, particularly in relation to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) compliance. EASA is the regulatory counterpart to the FAA in theU.S.. These are the two primary governing bodies overseeing flight and aerospace management in their regions.

The FAA has been developing regulations to ensure that drones can safely operate within U.S. airspace. I have closely followed this regulatory evolution for nearly a decade, particularly through my work with AUVSI. AUVSI has been collaborating with the FAA on behalf of the entire drone industry to advance standardized regulations.

One of the biggest challenges I have seen in this space is that drones were previously regulated region by region, state by state, and even municipality by municipality. That level of fragmentation could lead to chaos in U.S. airspace.

Fortunately, the FAA is moving quickly to implement a unified regulatory framework across all U.S. airspace. This shift will benefit manufacturers, builders, and operators as well as public safety. It is a regulatory evolution gaining momentum and making strong progress.

Jacobsen: What are the most significant advances in AI and predictive analytics in defence?

Irby: The biggest advancement is enabled navigation between systems, particularly in drone swarms. Suppose you think about multiple drones operating together. In that case, they can make coordinated decisions across platforms and fly as a swarm rather than as individual units.

Different systems can operate together, maintaining separation in the airspace while executing a shared mission, even if each platform is tailored for a specific function. These drones can communicate, sense one another, and navigate collectively. As discussed earlier in the interview, they can also make coordinated decisions, but always under human guidance.

To me, this is the most significant development, as it will fundamentally change the way defense operations are conducted.

Jacobsen: What about human-machine teaming, where humans act as the final safeguard to prevent catastrophic events or the taking of human life? How do you ensure seamless integration between drone swarms, individual drones, and human decision-making?

Irby: You have to program rules into the system—rules that must be followed before certain actions are executed. For example, before a weapon is released or any offensive action, including electronic warfare, is initiated, a human must be in the loop to make the final decision.

Machines cannot be allowed to make life-and-death decisions autonomously. However, AI can support the process through automated target queuing. For example, suppose a system processes video data and identifies an object or location of interest. In that case, it can analyze the target, classify it as an area of concern, and send that information to a human operator.

But the final decision must always be made by a human. That is my firm belief, and most reasonable people share that opinion.

Jacobsen: What about cybersecurity and addressing concerns related to adversarial AI and the new dimension of warfare involving cyber threats?

Irby: It’s always a concern; however, we incorporate cyber protections into our systems using state-of-the-art cybersecurity methodologies. This is a critical area, ensuring that our systems cannot be hacked or taken over by a threat.

Jacobsen: What are the biggest logistical and technological hurdles in scaling UAVs for widespread deployment, whether in the defence or commercial sectors?

Irby: The biggest challenge is the number of drone companies that have emerged recently.

UAS systems have proliferated rapidly, with new companies everywhere over the last several years. One phase of industry consolidation began about four years ago. The industry was expanding quickly, but many companies were either acquired or went out of business due to an inability to secure capital for further development.

We’ll see another industry consolidation phase over the next two to three years. There are too many competitors, and the market is not large enough to sustain all of them. As a result, consolidation will happen, which will be the biggest industry shift shortly.

Jacobsen: What about the future of fully autonomous UAVs in frontline military roles? Will that ever become a reality, or is it even plausible?

Irby: Technologically, it is possible. However, I believe we cannot allow fully autonomous UAVs to become a reality in frontline conflicts. We cannot permit machines to make independent decisions that put human lives at risk.

Jacobsen: Are there any other areas we should cover that I haven’t asked about?

Irby:  I’d just like to reiterate what a pivotal year it has been for AgEagle. We are committed to enhancing situational awareness by providing customer-centric, advanced robotics solutions and services.Our autonomous drone technologies are high value-add and solve mission-critical problems for our customers. We look forward to our continued growth and supporting the defense industry, and additional government and commercial sectors.

Jacobsen: Bill, thank you for your time and this opportunity. I appreciate it.

Irby: Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

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