Navy Finish-Customers Consider Over 35 Drone Platforms at Twentynine Palms
(all pictures credit score Protection Innovation Unit)
On November 8, the Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) held the primary annual Blue UAS Refresh occasion on the Marine Corps Air Floor Fight Middle in Twentynine Palms, California. The three-day occasion introduced collectively greater than 40 navy drone end-users from throughout the Division of Protection (DoD). Members evaluated over 35 uncrewed aerial methods (UAS) and capabilities designed to assist the DoD rapidly scale and deploy industrial drone applied sciences.
The Refresh is a part of the DIU’s effort to make sure that the Blue UAS record is dynamic and useful – evaluating platforms to make sure that these on the record have continued to evolve and keep leading edge performance in a quickly altering atmosphere.
Actual-World Testing and Suggestions
The problem featured over 150 day and night time flights, with every platform finishing a median of six flights. Members examined quite a lot of platforms, together with First Particular person View drones and UAS categorized as Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3, based mostly on their weight and operational altitude. Elements corresponding to sensors, radios, and gimbals have been additionally assessed.
Eventualities have been designed to duplicate real-world challenges confronted by navy operators. As well as, evaluators noticed how UAS carried out beneath Digital Warfare circumstances, together with responses to jamming that disrupted command and management hyperlinks.
Members supplied useful suggestions on key efficiency indicators corresponding to modularity, ease of use, mission planning, and suitability for addressing particular functionality gaps. Industrial companions had a singular alternative to obtain direct, unfiltered enter from operational end-users.
Streamlining UAS Procurement for the DoD
Right this moment, the DoD procures UAS via three predominant pathways:
- Packages of Document, which frequently result in methods that lag behind the technological frontier.
- Exception to Coverage Procedures, which require intensive time and paperwork.
- The Blue UAS Program, an initiative by DIU to quickly vet and confirm industrial UAS for DoD use.
The Blue UAS Listing affords a policy-approved roster of drones that meet the various wants of DoD customers. Drones on the record have a International Authority to Function (ATO), eliminating extra paperwork for deployment worldwide. This program aligns with mandates within the 2020 and 2023 Nationwide Protection Authorization Acts (NDAA) and the 2024 American Safety Drone Act.
An up to date Blue UAS record might be introduced on a rolling foundation beginning December 2024. Corporations not renewed for the Blue UAS record could transition to the Inexperienced UAS Listing, a certification program launched by the Affiliation for Uncrewed Automobile Methods Worldwide (AUVSI) in 2023.
Strengthening the UAS Industrial Base
Whereas the DIU’s Blue sUAS record has made it simpler for some platforms to be bought by authorities businesses, some NDAA-compliant US producers say that the record disadvantages these firms whose platforms aren’t appropriate for protection however could also be utilized by different authorities businesses.  That’s as a result of the Blue sUAS record has been adopted by different authorities departments, together with the GSA, and even some states to point safe platforms.
The Inexperienced UAS Certification builds on DIU’s efforts by serving the industrial and non-defense drone group in an effort to fill that hole. Inexperienced UAS certification ensures cybersecurity and NDAA provide chain compliance. Licensed drones with a keen DoD sponsor can transition from the Inexperienced UAS record to the Blue UAS record, additional integrating them into protection operations.
DIU’s collaboration with AUVSI underscores its dedication to bolstering the UAS industrial base whereas addressing the distinctive challenges of navy drone procurement and deployment.
For extra info on DIU’s Blue UAS program, go to DIU.mil. Find out about AUVSI’s Inexperienced UAS Certification at AUVSI.org.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, an expert drone providers market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone business and the regulatory atmosphere for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles centered on the industrial drone area and is a global speaker and acknowledged determine within the business. Â Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising for brand new applied sciences.
For drone business consulting or writing, E mail Miriam.
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