What’s the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist? What drone pilots should know

When you’ve spent any time within the drone business — whether or not as a producer, operator, or fanatic following coverage information — you’ve most likely heard the phrase “Blue UAS.” However what precisely is the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist, who manages it, what drones are on it, and why does it matter? This information breaks all of it down.

What Is the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist?

The Blue UAS Cleared Checklist is an official registry of unmanned plane programs (UAS) which have been vetted, licensed and permitted for buy and operation by the U.S. Division of Conflict (DoW). Managed by the Protection Contract Administration Company (DCMA), the checklist identifies drones which might be:

• Compliant with present regulation and coverage (particularly, the Nationwide Protection Authorization Act)
• Validated as cyber-secure, both by way of AUVSI’s Inexperienced Checklist or by third-party acknowledged assessors
• Obtainable for official DoW buy and operation

In brief, for those who’re a navy unit or authorities company trying to fly commercially sourced drones with out having to fiddle with an Exception to Coverage (ETP) request, shopping for a drone on the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist is your quickest path ahead.

The Cleared Checklist is distinct from (however associated to) one thing referred to as the Blue UAS Choose Checklist. This checklist consists of platforms that have been “added in response to particular companion group wants or by aggressive processes. “Choose platforms carry a DIU-granted Authority to Function (ATO).

Why was the Blue UAS Program created?

Earlier than Blue UAS existed, shopping for a drone on behalf of the DoW was burdensome. Drones both needed to be supported by what’s referred to as a “Service-level program of file,” or patrons in any other case needed to submit an Exception to Coverage request. This was a time- and labor-intensive course of tied to that particular person, use case, location, and drone mixture.

Blue UAS traces its roots to the U.S. Military’s Brief Vary Reconnaissance (SRR) program, which launched in late 2018. The Military wanted a quickly deployable, private reconnaissance VTOL sUAS for dismounted troopers. Then, in late 2019, the FY2020 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA) was signed into regulation — and Part 848 prohibited the usage of sure elements from coated overseas nations (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea). The necessity for NDAA-compliant programs throughout the DoW led DIU to formally launch the Blue sUAS effort in August 2020.

What began as a five-platform checklist has since grown considerably, evolving from purpose-built prototypes to a rolling analysis course of that permits corporations to submit options each time they’re prepared.

What drones are NOT allowed by the DoW

Understanding the Blue UAS checklist requires a primary understanding of what makes a drone non-compliant beneath the NDAA. Drones that can’t be utilized by the DoW have any of the next traits:

• Is manufactured in a coated overseas nation (China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea) or by an entity domiciled there.
• Comprises crucial elements made in or by a coated overseas nation
• Makes use of floor management software program or working software program developed in a coated overseas nation
• Makes use of community connectivity or information storage administered by a coated overseas nation entity

What’s a crucial element? Versus one thing like a screw or propeller, crucial elements are what actually make the drone a “drone. These elements are:

• Flight controllers
• Radios
• Knowledge transmission gadgets
• Cameras
• Gimbals
• Floor management programs
• Working software program
• Community connectivity {hardware}
• Knowledge storage.

That is additionally why DJI — the world’s hottest shopper drone producer — is explicitly named as a Coated UAS Firm beneath the American Safety Drone Act. DJI is a subsidiary/affiliate of Da-Jiang Improvements, a Chinese language firm, making its merchandise categorically prohibited for DoW use no matter the place particular person items are manufactured.

What’s on the Blue UAS Cleared checklist proper now?

As of early 2026, the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist consists of greater than 50 platforms from a variety of U.S. and allied producers. Many (although not all) come from American drone corporations. Right here’s a sampling of notable entries (notice this isn’t a totally checklist:

• ACSL has earned a spot on the checklist with its ACSL-PF2.
• AeroVironment seems with the Pink Dragon.
• Anduril Industries seems with its Ghost/Ghost-X platform.
• Eagle NXT (agEagle Aerial Techniques) is listed with the eBee TAC.
• Freefly Techniques has a number of platforms on the checklist, together with the Alta X Blue Bundle and the Astro/Max.
• Impressed Flight Applied sciences has two entries: the IF800 and the IF1200A.
• ModalAI has a robust presence with the Seeker Imaginative and prescient FPV (in 7-inch, 10-inch, and customary configurations) in addition to the Stinger Imaginative and prescient FPV.
• Parrot, the French drone maker, has just a few permitted variants, together with drones in its ANAFI USA line.
• Defend AI is listed with the V-BAT, a vertical takeoff and touchdown fixed-wing drone.
• Skydio holds arguably essentially the most entries on the Choose Checklist, with the Skydio X2D EO/IR (a number of frequency variants), the X10D, and the X2D all incomes approval. Skydio is an American producer and has positioned itself as a DJI various for presidency and enterprise.
• Teal (a Pink Cat firm) has three entries: Teal 2, Teal Golden Eagle at 1.8 GHz, and Teal Golden Eagle at 2.4 GHz.
• Vantage Robotics has two platforms on the checklist: the Hint and the Vesper.
• Wingtra seems with the WingtraRay.

Different producers with cleared platforms embrace Auterion, Ascent AeroSystems, Quantum Techniques and FlightWave Aerospace .

The Blue UAS Framework: Cleared elements, not simply complete drones

The Blue UAS program isn’t nearly full plane. The Blue UAS Framework is a parallel checklist of particular person NDAA-compliant elements and software program (together with flight controllers, cameras, radios, gimbals, floor management programs, and companion computer systems) which have been cybersecurity examined and permitted to be used in DoW purposes.

The Framework is designed to assist drone builders construct compliant programs from the bottom up, and it’s helpful if you wish to purchase particular components to your personal product. Some notable element producers with merchandise on the Framework embrace:

• ARK Electronics (a number of flight controllers, GNSS modules, information transmission gadgets)
• CubePilot (Dice Blue, Dice Orange, Dice Orange+, and others)
• ModalAI (VOXL 2, VOXL 2 Mini, flight controllers, radios, cameras)
• Silvus Applied sciences (StreamCaster radio collection)
• Teledyne FLIR (thermal cameras together with Boson+ 640, FLIR BOSON 640, Hadron 640R)
• NVIDIA (Jetson Xavier NX, Jetson Orin NX, Jetson AGX Orin — permitted as companion computer systems)
• Raspberry Pi (CM4, Pi 4 Mannequin B, Pi 5 in 4GB and 8GB variants)
• Doodle Labs (Embedded Mesh Rider, mini-OEM variants, Nimble and Lengthy-Vary transceivers)
• Panasonic (TOUGHBOOK 55 and TOUGHBOOK G2 as permitted floor management programs)

Framework elements are permitted to be used “when correctly configured” — the Framework doesn’t routinely make any drone that makes use of these components compliant, nevertheless it considerably streamlines the evaluation course of.

How does a drone or element get on the Blue UAS Checklist?

There are three major pathways to get on the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist:

1. DoW Sponsorship — A Division of Conflict buyer sponsors the platform’s inclusion
2. Aggressive Course of — DIU runs a proper analysis corresponding to a Industrial Options Opening (CSO) or Prize Problem
3. Acknowledged Assessors Course of — Third-party assessors confirm NDAA compliance

Firms looking for Blue certification for elements may submit by the DCMA’s on-line portal, which requires firm identification, a product description, a invoice of supplies (software program and {hardware}), documentation of crucial elements, and NDAA compliance self-certification.

One vital notice from the FAQ: Blue UAS clearance applies solely to the precise fashions and configurations listed. It doesn’t prolong to a producer’s full product household. Including or modifying any crucial elements that weren’t a part of the unique certification requires a contemporary evaluation.

Does a drone must be on the Blue UAS Checklist to in a position for buy by the U.S. authorities?

No — and it is a generally misunderstood level.

Per the official FAQ: “Any DoW group can buy licensed compliant UAS by finishing their very own inside administrative necessities.”

Blue UAS merely offers a streamlined baseline verification, making it simpler for the U.S. authorities to purchase. Nevertheless, that doesn’t limit authorities organizations from buying non-Blue drones that meet their mission wants — it simply means they should undergo their very own compliance verification processes.

Certain, a Blue UAS-approved drone could be extra interesting to authorities patrons simply given the lowered paperwork headache, nevertheless it doesn’t rule out non-Blue UAS-approved drones solely.

Yet one more factor: the legal guidelines underlying Blue UAS additionally apply particularly to the Division of Conflict — to not different federal companies, to not state or native authorities companies, and definitely to not non-public corporations (although a non-public firm wouldn’t use it for any DoW contracts they may be working for).

If somebody tells you a drone “have to be Blue” to promote to authorities, that’s not universally correct.

What about that July 2025 “Drone Dominance” memo?

In mid-2025, the U.S. authorities issued a memo titled Unleashing U.S. Navy Drone Dominance, calling for the elimination of limitations to buying and coaching with rising UAS expertise. In response, DCMA up to date its processes to supply extra accessible pathways onto the Blue UAS Cleared Checklist, with an specific aim of scaling trusted drone capabilities to warfighters quicker.

This alerts a broader shift in how the DoW is approaching industrial drone procurement, that means much less forms and extra velocity.

The Blue UAS Cleared Checklist is without doubt one of the most vital coverage levers shaping the U.S. drone business proper now. For producers, getting on the checklist can unlock vital authorities contract alternatives. For drone operators in or adjoining to the DoW, it’s the clearest sign of what you may and might’t fly.

The checklist is actively up to date — with the newest additions showing as just lately as March 2026 — so it’s value bookmarking the DCMA UAS Portal and checking again frequently.

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