The Defense Innovation Unit has announced the selection of 23 unmanned aircraft systems and 14 UAS components and software that will transition to cybersecurity review and the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, verification process.
DIU said Friday the selections were made after conducting three days of flight demonstrations as part of the Blue UAS Refresh Challenge held at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms in California.
In August 2024, DIU sought proposals for the challenge as part of a push to expand its approved drones in the Blue UAS List and NDAA-compliant UAS components and capabilities in the Blue UAS Framework.
In response to emerging problem sets for end users, First Person View, tethered platforms and Group 3 were selected for potential inclusion in the Blue UAS list. This provides an opportunity for developers to quickly bring such capabilities into the hands of warfighters.
DIU said it received 369 proposals for the refresh challenge from companies in the U.S. and 18 other countries, including Ukraine, Norway, Denmark and Canada.
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What Is the Blue UAS List?
The Blue UAS List is a list of Department of Defense-cleared drones designed to meet government users’ evolving mission requirements. The drones are compliant with the 2024 American Security Drone Act and with section 817 of the fiscal year 2023 NDAA and section 848 of FY 2020 NDAA.
What Is the Blue UAS Framework?
The Blue UAS Framework is a list of interoperable, NDAA-compliant UAS components, software, modules and related capabilities for industry and government partners. It provides advanced capabilities for small drone developers and reduces risks for government clients.
The 23 platforms selected to undergo cybersecurity review and NDAA verification for the Blue UAS List are:
- AeroVironment Dragon
- Anduril Ghost/GhostX
- Easy Aerial Sparrow
- Edge Autonomy VXE-30 Stalker
- Flightwave Edge 130
- Freefly Systems Astro
- Hoverfly Spectre
- Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000
- ModalAI Stalker
- Mountain Horse Solutions Rotron DT-300
- Neros Archer
- Parrot Anafi UKR
- PDW C100
- Quantum Systems Vector
- Shield AI V-BAT
- Skydio X10D
- Skyfall Vampire
- Skyfront Perimeter 8
- Teal Black Widow
- Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet
- Vantage Robotics Trace
- Zepher Flight Z1
- Zone 5 Paladin
UAS components and capabilities selected to undergo verification processes under the Blue UAS Framework are:
- ARK Electronics Flight Controller
- Athena Artificial Intelligence Athena Computer Vision
- Auterion Government Solutions Skynode S
- Doodle Labs Wi-Fi transceivers
- Greensight UltraBlue and MicroBlue
- Locus Lock Global Navigation Satellite System receiver
- Mobilicom Skyhopper PRO / Pro Lite
- Pierce Aerospace B1 Remote ID Beacon
- Primordial Labs Anura
- RPX Technologies EmbIR camera
- SensorOps SynDOJO
- TILT Autonomy Lightweight Starlink PoE
- UVX Technologies Swappable Radio Module
- Vertiq Electronic Speed Control
DIU said the Neros Archer and Hoverfly Spectre are the first platforms to secure an Authority to Operate following the completion of the verification process.
The agency also added critical components from Locus Lock, ARK Electronics, Mobilicom and Vertiq to the Framework list.
