New Commercial Drones and Components Added to Blue UAS Framework

February 20, 2025

During a demonstration held in Mountain View, California, new commercial drones and components were evaluated for Department of Defense (DoD) operational approval. (Image: Defense Innovation Unit)

After three days of flight demonstrations at the Blue UAS Challenge at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, Service evaluators selected 23 platforms and 14 unique components and capabilities for National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) verification and cyber security review. Over the coming months, as these selections complete the verification process, the Blue UAS List and Blue UAS Framework will expand with new additions. This challenge was the first of what is intended to be an annual competitive event for updating capabilities on the Blue List and Framework.

In direct response to operator feedback, First Person View (FPV), Group 3, and tethered platforms were selected for potential addition to the Blue UAS List in response to emerging problem sets for end users. The addition of these new capabilities will provide Department of Defense (DoD) warfighters the ability to acquire these capabilities multiple years in advance of the current DoD program of record timeframes.

As the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) completes the NDAA and cybersecurity verification process, updates to the Blue UAS List and the Blue UAS Framework will be published at https://www.diu.mil/blue-uas .

The Blue UAS List is a list of DoD approved drones providing options for the evolving mission needs of government users. These drones are compliant with section 848 of the FY20 NDAA , section 817 of the FY23 NDAA, and the 2024 American Security Drone Act, validated as cyber-secure, and are available for government purchase and operation.

The Blue UAS Framework is a list of Interoperable, NDAA compliant UAS components and software that provide options for Government and industry partners. Framework provides advanced capabilities to sUAS developers and reduces risk for government customers. It includes critical components, sub-components, modules and software.

Platforms selected for verification and cyber security review for the Blue UAS List include:

Hoverfly Spectre, Neros Archer, ModalAI Stalker, Zone 5 Paladin, Teledyne FLIR Black Hornet, Parrot Anafi UKR, Skyfront Perimeter 8, Mountain Horse Solutions Rotron DT-300, Vantage Robotics Trace, Easy Aerial Sparrow, Shield AI V-BAT, Edge Autonomy VXE-30 Stalker, Skyfall Vampire, Quantum Systems Vector, AeroVironment Dragon, Zepher Flight Z1, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace K1000, Teal Black Widow, Freefly Systems Astro, Skydio X10D, Flightwave Edge 130, PDW C100, and Anduril Ghost / GhostX.

Components and capabilities selected under the Blue UAS Framework rubric include:

Vertiq Electronic Speed Control, Locus Lock Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, Pierce Aerospace B1 Remote ID Beacon, Mobilicom Skyhopper PRO / Pro Lite, ARK Electronics Flight Controller, RPX Technologies EmbIR camera, Greensight UltraBlue and MicroBlue, TILT Autonomy Lightweight Starlink PoE, Athena Artificial Intelligence Athena Computer Vision, Auterion Government Solutions Skynode S, Doodle Labs Wi-Fi transceivers, SensorOps SynDOJO, Primordial Labs Anura, and UVX Technologies Swappable Radio Module.

The Neros Archer and the Hoverfly Spectre are the first platforms to receive an Authority to Operate (ATO) after completing the verification process. DIU has also added critical components from ARK Electronics, Locus Lock, Mobilicom, and Vertiq to the Framework list. All DIU ATO’s are globally applicable, allowing for use anywhere in the world, and all Blue components and capabilities are able to be used in a modular manner with any platform without additional paperwork requirements.

Service evaluators focused on assessing key capabilities crucial for end-users. These criteria included ease of flight (control responsiveness, overall stability, and UI/UX intuitiveness for ease of operation); learning curve (how easily operators can plan and execute missions, the time required to achieve proficiency, and the setup and preflight process); flight performance (endurance, range, day/night operations, communication reliability, and latency); and capabilities (system’s payload capacity, mission flexibility, sensor performance for ISR missions, obstacle avoidance, and resilience to GPS denial and electronic warfare (EW) jamming).

A total of 369 proposals from companies in the U.S. and 18 other countries (Ukraine, Israel, France, Norway, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Austria, Sweden, Croatia, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Switzerland, Vietnam, India, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain) applied to participate in the refresh challenge, showing growth and development in the commercial UAS market. Advocacy for many of these new and enabling technologies continues to be critical for getting capabilities to the warfighter and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab was an important partner for ensuring key technologies, including FPV’s, were available for evaluation during this process.

With the cycle for development of new capabilities in this space approaching three months, and current DoD timelines and processes for drone delivery lagging warfighter needs by multiple years, providing warfighters access to capabilities they need now through the Blue List and Framework is even more important.

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