A drilling end effector (106) is provided for drilling a workpiece (112) having a workpiece surface (110). The drilling end effector includes a chuck (118) configured to hold a drilling tool (122), and a nosepiece (128) configured to at least partially surround the drilling tool (122) when the drilling tool is held by the chuck. The nosepiece (128) includes an end portion (132). The nosepiece includes at least one suction cup and at least one suction feed line. The at least one suction cup is fluidly connected to the at least one suction feed line. The at least one suction feed line is configured to be fluidly connected to a suction system. The at least one suction cup is configured to be engaged in physical contact with the workpiece surface (110) and pulled under suction by the suction system such that the at least one suction cup adheres to the workpiece surface to thereby hold the end portion (132) of the nosepiece (128) on the workpiece surface (112).