Blue UAS Cleared List 2026: Every Approved Drone Platform

The Blue UAS Cleared List is the Department of Defense’s official catalog of unmanned aircraft systems and critical components approved for federal procurement. Platforms on it are NDAA compliant, cybersecurity-vetted, and exempt from FCC Covered List restrictions until January 1, 2028.

On 21 October 2026 the official list held 82 entries from 47 manufacturer names, every one of them an aircraft. Six sit in a “UAS” category that the table on the portal’s home page leaves out, which is why this guide gave 75 when it read that table on 8 October. DCMA’s Blue List team told FlightBrief that the two categories mean nothing different: the label depends on how each maker filled in its profile, and the home page had a filter set to “UAV” that the agency’s developers are fixing. The newest entry is Skyborne Technologies’ Cerberus MI sUAS, added on 20 October. The last figure the Defense Innovation Unit published was 39 certified systems and 165 components, in November 2025, shortly before it handed the list to the Defense Contract Management Agency. Since that transfer, DIU’s own page has pointed at a DCMA address.

That address, bluelist.dcma.mil, presents a Defense Department security certificate that ordinary software does not trust, and redirects to a ServiceNow portal. The portal’s home page shows the list as a table without asking for a login: each product, its maker, its website and the date it was added. The older address the Justice Department cites in its Byrne JAG grant guidance, bluelist.appsplatformportals.us, used to serve the list as a Microsoft Power Apps page; it now redirects to the DCMA address too.

The portal gives 22 entries the same date, 10 July 2026, including aircraft cleared years earlier: Teledyne FLIR announced the Black Hornet 4’s clearance in June 2025, and Anduril’s Ghost appears twice, dated May 2024 and July 2026. This guide treats 10 July 2026 as the day those entries were re-entered in the portal, not the day they were cleared. Until 8 October 2026 this guide’s table was assembled from manufacturer announcements; it is now read from the portal, and several entries changed as a result.

Key facts

• The Blue UAS Cleared List is the Department of Defense’s roster of drones and components vetted for federal purchase. It has been maintained by the Defense Contract Management Agency since a transfer announced on 3 December 2025; the Defense Innovation Unit ran it from 2020.
• The DCMA list held 82 entries from 47 manufacturer names when FlightBrief read its Cleared List page on 21 October 2026. The last count DIU published was 39 cleared systems and 165 components, in November 2025.
• A listed aircraft is exempt from the FCC Covered List until 1 January 2028 (extended from 2027 on 21 July 2026). Listing is an administrative status; NDAA compliance is a property of the hardware, and a platform that comes off the list does not stop being compliant.
• Three recognised assessors can vet a platform for the list: MTSI, Dark Wolf Solutions and AUVSI, whose Green UAS certification is the fast route in.
• The list has two tiers, Blue UAS Cleared and Blue UAS Select, plus a Framework section for components and software. The second table on this page lists all 260 Framework components on the DCMA list on 4 November 2026.

What Is the Blue UAS Approved Drones List?

The Blue UAS Cleared List is the Department of Defense’s catalog of unmanned aircraft and critical components approved for federal procurement, launched in 2020 under the Defense Innovation Unit and run by the Defense Contract Management Agency since December 2025. The Blue UAS program launched in 2020 under the Defense Innovation Unit as a trusted source list for small UAS procurement. It solved a specific problem: after NDAA Section 848 banned DoD from buying Chinese-made drones and components, there was no authoritative list of what was actually approved. Blue UAS filled that gap.

The move to the Defense Contract Management Agency was set in motion by a Secretary of War memo of July 10, 2025, “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance”, and announced on December 3, 2025, ahead of the ASDA full enforcement deadline. DCMA’s Unmanned Systems-Experimental command, based in Palmdale, California, now maintains the list; DIU remains involved as a partner shaping standards and checklists. The transfer marks the program’s shift from innovation vetting to operational procurement baseline.

The list covers two categories: Blue UAS Cleared, for platforms that have passed full vetting, and Blue UAS Select, for platforms competitively selected or sponsored by a military service or combatant command with an Authority to Operate. A separate Framework section covers cleared components, sensors, and software rather than complete aircraft.

How Does a Drone Get on the Blue UAS List?

Manufacturers submit platforms through DCMA or a recognized assessor. As of July 2025, three organizations hold recognized assessor status: MTSI, Dark Wolf Solutions, and AUVSI. AUVSI’s Green UAS certification program functions as a direct fast-track pathway — platforms that complete Green UAS certification can move into Blue UAS Cleared without a separate full assessment.

Vetting covers five areas: cybersecurity controls, supply chain provenance (no covered foreign components), hardware integrity, software security, and operational capability. The process is continuous rather than batched — manufacturers can submit at any time, and the list updates on a rolling basis. No official average timeline has been published, but industry consensus places the process at roughly six to eighteen months depending on platform complexity and how clean the supply chain documentation is.

Listing is not permanent, and the removals that have happened are more revealing than the criteria. Platforms can be dropped for unresolved cybersecurity vulnerabilities, unapproved changes to design or manufacturing, end-of-life status, or failure to maintain ongoing compliance.

In practice, none of those is what has taken platforms off the list. Between late February and early March 2025 the roster contracted sharply, and the platforms that came off — including the senseFly eBee TAC, the Ascent AeroSystems Spirit and Inspired Flight’s IF800 and IF1200 — were not removed for failing anything. Inspired Flight’s Adam Bilmes said the evaluation turned on units sold to warfighters, and with under 5% of its business there, “our systems were removed”; the company moved to Green UAS. Both Inspired Flight aircraft are on the DCMA list again; see the entry below.

All of them are on the DCMA list read on 8 October 2026: the eBee TAC and the Spirit dated August 2022, both Inspired Flight aircraft dated January 2024. Freefly’s knowledge base says its Alta X left on 28 February 2025, but the DCMA list carries the Alta X Blue Package, dated August 2022, and Freefly confirmed on 16 October 2026 that it is still listed, though no longer made.

Wingtra, delisted in the same window, told its customers directly that the cause was “recent strategic shifts by the Defense Innovation Unit towards warfighter platforms”, and that the NDAA compliance status of its aircraft was unchanged. The notice has since been removed from Wingtra’s website, and on 8 January 2026 its chief executive wrote that Wingtra aircraft are included on the DCMA list. The list carries both, dated 19 February 2026.

That distinction is the one buyers most often get wrong. NDAA compliance is a property of the hardware. Blue UAS listing is an administrative status, granted for a specific configuration at a specific moment, and a platform can lose it without a single component changing. An agency that standardises on a listed platform is exposed to a refresh cycle it does not control.

Green UAS certification from AUVSI now grants automatic eligibility for the Blue UAS Cleared List under the current framework, removing what was previously a separate DCMA review stage. Platforms that earn Green UAS certification move directly to Cleared List eligibility without additional evaluation.

The current FCC Covered List exemption — which shields Blue UAS-cleared platforms from restrictions on foreign-produced UAS components — runs through January 2028, extended from January 2027 by the FCC on July 21, 2026.

DCMA evaluates platforms across four criteria: cybersecurity safeguards, supply chain integrity, system architecture, and operational reliability. All four must pass before a platform earns Cleared List designation.

Blue UAS Cleared List Companies 2026

The manufacturers on the Blue UAS Cleared List range from small US startups to established defense contractors. The best known include Skydio (the X2D, X10D, X10 and R10), Red Cat and its subsidiary Teal Drones (the Teal 2, Golden Eagle, Fang F7 and Black Widow), Parrot (the ANAFI USA and ANAFI UKR), Freefly Systems (the Astro Max and Alta X), Inspired Flight (the IF800 and IF1200) and Shield AI (the V-BAT).

Earlier versions of this guide said AgEagle’s eBee TAC, Inspired Flight’s IF800 and Freefly’s Alta X had come off in the 2025 refresh. The DCMA list read on 8 October 2026 carries all three. From 8 to 15 October this guide also said the list did not carry Freefly’s Astro Max; it does, in a category the portal’s home page does not show. The platform detail below was read from the DCMA portal, with manufacturer announcements where they add something. DCMA updates the list as platforms complete vetting, so check the portal before committing to a purchase.

Who Can Buy Blue UAS Platforms?

Federal agencies — DoD, civilian agencies, and any entity using federal funds — are the primary market. Under the American Security Drone Act, full enforcement began December 22, 2025. Federal agencies and contractors cannot procure or operate covered foreign UAS. Blue UAS listing is the standard these buyers rely on to confirm compliance.

State and local governments can access Blue UAS platforms through cooperative purchasing programs, GSA schedules, or directly if their procurement regulations permit. DHS has explicitly flagged Blue UAS as relevant for first responder and public safety procurement. The federal mandate attaches to federal dollars rather than to the department spending them: the American Security Drone Act contains an explicit rule of construction preserving the right of state, local and territorial law enforcement and emergency service agencies to buy and fly a covered aircraft purchased with non-federal money.

Two details in that arrangement catch departments out.

The first is that the restriction covers operation, not just purchase. Federal award funds may not be used to procure a covered aircraft or in connection with operating one. A department that bought a DJI airframe with city money can still breach the condition by paying for its batteries, software subscriptions, pilot training or maintenance out of a federal grant. The FY2026 Homeland Security Grant Program notice flags this specifically.

The second is that the grant programs are stricter than the statute. The Act prohibits aircraft from a covered foreign entity. The Justice Department’s Byrne JAG guidance goes further and requires affirmative certification that only aircraft verified on the Blue UAS Cleared List will be purchased or operated under the award, that no modifications or additional accessories will be introduced, and that the aircraft will not be used to process, store or transmit federal information. Those are not the same test. A US-made drone that has never been near a covered foreign entity still fails the JAG certification if it is not on the list — and an agency that adds an unapproved payload to a listed airframe can fail it too.

Commercial buyers face no legal mandate. Any private company can buy a Blue UAS platform for private use. The premium is real and significant, but in regulated industries — utilities, critical infrastructure, energy, insurance — enterprise procurement teams increasingly treat Blue UAS or Green UAS listing as a baseline filter regardless of law.

Every Platform on the Blue UAS Cleared List

Skydio — X10D, X10, R10, X2D

Skydio is the anchor US NDAA-compliant manufacturer. The X10D is the defense flagship: 2.11 kg, 40 minutes flight time, 12 km range with Connect SL, IP55, 360-degree obstacle avoidance, operating range from -20°C to 45°C, with a 1-inch 50MP wide camera, telephoto, and Boson+ thermal. In March 2026, the US Army ordered more than 2,500 X10D units for over $52 million — the largest single-vendor tactical small UAS order in Army history. Available via GSA and DoD contract vehicles.

On July 23, 2026, Skydio announced that the rest of its line had joined the X10D on the Cleared List: the enterprise X10, the Dock for X10, and the R10 indoor platform. The DCMA list read on 8 October 2026 carries the X10 and the R10, both dated 8 July 2026, but not the Dock. It still carries the older X2D in two versions, the X2D EO/IR 5GHz and the X2D Multiband EO/IR, dated August 2022.

Red Cat / Teal Drones — Teal 2, Golden Eagle, Fang F7, Black Widow

Teal Drones, a Red Cat Holdings subsidiary, has several aircraft on the list. The Teal 2 is a 1.25 kg rucksack-portable quadcopter with more than 30 minutes of flight, a 23 mph top speed, 5 km of range and a Teledyne FLIR Hadron 640R thermal and daylight camera, rated from -32°F to 110°F, per Teal. The Golden Eagle is listed in 1.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz versions, dated August 2022. The DCMA list dates the Red Cat Fang F7 14 October 2025 and the Black Widow 7 April 2026. DHS’s 2025 assessment recorded the Teal 2 at $15,073 on the GSA schedule.

Parrot — ANAFI USA GOV, ANAFI USA MIL, ANAFI UKR, ANAFI UKR XLR

Parrot is a French manufacturer whose NDAA-compliant versions are built to US supply chain standards. The DCMA list carries four ANAFI entries: the ANAFI USA GOV (called ANAFI USA GOV/MIL until 20 October 2026) and ANAFI USA MIL, dated 25 August 2022, and the ANAFI UKR and ANAFI UKR XLR, dated 9 April 2025. Trade reports of the March 2025 refresh had named Parrot among the vendors removed, and earlier versions of this guide marked the ANAFI USA as contested; the official list shows it on. The ANAFI USA weighs 485 grams, flies for 32 minutes, has a 4 km range, IP53 weather resistance, and carries three cameras: wide-angle, 32x zoom, and 320 thermal. DHS’s 2025 assessment put the ANAFI USA GOV at $13,964 on the GSA schedule.

AeroVironment — Red Dragon, IE-V2

The DCMA list carries the Intense Eye Version 2 (IE-V2), the former BlueHalo Intense Eye, from November 2022, and the Red Dragon from August 2025. The Red Dragon serves military ISR roles. AeroVironment is better known for its Switchblade loitering munitions, but the Red Dragon fills the tactical reconnaissance category. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Available through DoD procurement channels.

Anduril Industries — Ghost, Ghost-X

The DCMA list carries the Ghost/Ghost-X from 29 May 2024, and the Ghost again under the July 2026 portal date. The Ghost runs on Anduril’s Lattice AI software, supports modular payloads, and is designed for Group 1 and 2 tactical missions. Anduril does not publish pricing — these are acquired through DoD contracts and OTA agreements. Primarily a DoD buyer platform.

Ascent AeroSystems — Spirit

The Spirit is a rugged, modular coaxial sUAS designed for operation in constrained environments where conventional multirotor form factors don’t fit. The DCMA list dates it 19 August 2022 under Ascent’s trading name, Robinson Unmanned, and repeats it as “Ascent Spirit” under the July 2026 portal date.

EagleNXT (AgEagle) — eBee TAC, eBee VISION, Plaber

AgEagle, now trading as EagleNXT, said in July 2025 that the eBee TAC and the eBee VISION were cleared again through the Green UAS route. The DCMA list dates the eBee TAC 19 August 2022 and the eBee VISION 17 July 2025, and carries a third aircraft, the Plaber, under the July 2026 portal date.

Easy Aerial (now EZ Aerial) — Osprey, Sparrow

The company renamed itself EZ Aerial on its website in October 2026; the DCMA list still uses Easy Aerial. The list carries the Osprey (Free Flight Version), dated 19 January 2024, and the Sparrow (Free Flight Version), dated 9 September 2025. DIU had selected the Sparrow for review in its February 2025 refresh. The Osprey Free Flight Version is a heavy-lift hexacopter with 55 minutes flight time, 20 km range, 3 kg payload capacity, and 100 km/h top speed. All-weather capable. Targets persistent surveillance and public safety operations in adverse conditions. Available via GSA.

Edge Autonomy — VXE30 Stalker

The Stalker VXE30 is a fixed-wing VTOL designed for tactical ISR. Long-endurance platform optimized for persistent area surveillance. Primarily DoD market. Edge Autonomy’s parent, Redwire, announced the addition in July 2025; the DCMA list dates it 19 February 2026. Redwire Defense has two entries of its own, listed below.

FlightWave Aerospace Systems — Edge 130

VTOL fixed-wing with 125 minutes flight time, 100 km/h cruise speed, resistance to 40 mph winds, approximately 1.2 kg weight, and tool-free payload swapping. Targets long-range mapping and surveillance. Available through government and commercial channels. On the list in July 2024, according to DHS.

Freefly Systems — Astro Max, Alta X Gen2

The DCMA list’s Cleared List page, read on 15 October 2026, carries the Astro Max from 14 February 2025, the day DIU announced its 2025 refresh, and the Alta X Gen2 from 24 September 2026. Both sit in the portal’s “UAS” category, which its home page leaves out. That matches Freefly’s knowledge base, which says the Astro was reaffirmed in the 2025 refresh. The list also still carries the original Alta X Blue Package, dated 18 August 2022. Freefly told FlightBrief on 16 October 2026 that it is still listed, though Freefly no longer makes it.

Freefly’s store sells the Astro Max in two configurations. The base model is $22,995 and marked not compliant, because of its Herelink radio link. The NDAA and Blue configuration, with compliant radios, the Pilot Pro controller and DIU firmware, is $28,995. The list names the Astro Max without saying which configuration; Freefly calls only the second one Blue.

Heven Aerotech — Z1

The DCMA list dates the Z1 19 February 2026, a date it gives eight entries, most of them cleared earlier. Heven announced Blue UAS Select status for the Z1 in November 2025, granted through its subsidiary Zepher Flight Labs, under whose name earlier versions of this guide listed it.

Hoverfly Technologies — Spectre, Spectre TK

Tethered platform with unlimited flight time via ground power and up to 3.6 kg payload. Used for persistent ISR and communications relay where extended loiter time matters more than mobility. DoD and first responder market. The DCMA list also carries a Spectre TK.

Inspired Flight — IF800, IF1200

The DCMA list carries the IF800 and the IF1200, dated 19 January 2024. Inspired Flight said in April 2025 that its systems had been removed in the refresh, and it moved to Green UAS certification.

Kraus Hamdani Aerospace — K1000ULE

Long-endurance tactical platform. Specific specs are not publicly disclosed. DoD-focused.

ModalAI — Seeker Vision FPV, Stinger Vision FPV

ModalAI announced 5-inch and 7-inch FPV variants in August 2025. The DCMA list carries four entries: the Seeker Vision FPV 7in, dated 29 August 2025, and the Seeker Vision 10 FPV, Seeker Vision 5 FPV and Stinger Vision FPV under the July 2026 portal date. These are fast, close-quarters platforms designed for contested and confined-space tactical operations. ModalAI builds on its VOXL autonomy stack. Primarily DoD.

Mountain Horse Solutions — Rotron DT-300

Built with Rotron Aerospace. Mountain Horse announced it in August 2025 as the Talon DT-300 Drone Plus; the DCMA list names it the Rotron DT-300, dated 12 August 2025. Tactical platform. Primarily DoD.

Neros Technologies — Archer, Archer Fiber, Archer Block 1, Archer Block 2

Los Angeles-based manufacturer. The Archer reaches up to 160 km/h and is described as battlefield-proven and electronic warfare resistant. The Archer Fiber variant uses fiber-optic tethering for EW-hardened data links. The DCMA list dates Archer/Archer Fiber 14 February 2025 and carries Archer Block 1 and Block 2 under the July 2026 portal date. DoD-focused attritable and tactical category.

PDW — C100

Portable long-endurance quadcopter with 74 minutes flight time on ISR payload, 6.8 kg payload capacity, 9.6 kg weight, 10 km range, 64 km/h top speed, operating range from -4°C to 57°C. Government procurement primary market.

Quantum Systems — Vector AI, Trinity Pro

The DCMA list carries the Vector AI, dated 19 February 2026 under the name Quantum-Systems Inc., and the Trinity Pro, dated 24 April 2026 under Quantum Systems. Quantum Systems announced the Vector’s addition in August 2025. German manufacturer with NDAA-compliant supply chain. Allied-nation manufacturer — satisfies covered foreign country exclusion.

Renegade UxS — Nightmare, Nightmare Digital

On the DCMA list since 25 November 2025. Tactical FPV and attritable category. DoD-focused.

Shield AI — V-BAT

VTOL fixed-wing with over 10 hours endurance. Designed for persistent ISR and maritime surveillance where long loiter time is the primary requirement. Reuters reported in June 2026 that each V-BAT costs about $1 million. DoD procurement only.

Skyfront — Perimeter 8 Hybrid

Hybrid gasoline-electric octocopter built for endurance and lift rather than a tether. Skyfront states five hours on the stock tanks and longer with auxiliary tanks, with 10 kg of payload for an hour or 5 kg for three. An earlier version of this entry called it a tethered aircraft; Skyfront told us otherwise on 19 September 2026 and the entry was corrected the next day.

Teledyne FLIR — Black Hornet 4

Nano sUAS in the personal reconnaissance category — small enough to be carried and launched by an individual soldier. Military-grade, DoD primary market. Pricing varies by configuration and contract. Teledyne FLIR announced the clearance in June 2025.

Thunder Tiger Corporation — Overkill FPV

Tactical FPV platform, on the DCMA list since 19 September 2025. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported the clearance three days later.

Titan Dynamics — Titan Raptor

Tactical platform, on the DCMA list under the July 2026 portal date. Earlier versions of this guide marked it contested because no document confirmed the listing.

Vector — Longbow, HAMMER F1 UAV

The Longbow was added in February 2026, with Blue UAS Cleared and AUVSI Green UAS certification announced together. A modular NDAA-compliant VTOL already deployed under a multi-year contract with US Special Operations Command. Vector took the Green UAS route, which since July 2025 has granted automatic eligibility for the Cleared List. The DCMA list added a second Vector aircraft, the HAMMER F1 UAV, on 14 October 2026.

Vantage Robotics — Trace, Vesper

Small sUAS platforms for government and public safety. Vantage said the Trace was cleared in July 2025. The DCMA list dates the Vesper 19 February 2026, a batch date; trade press reported it cleared in April 2022.

Wingtra — WingtraOne Gen II, WingtraRAY

Swiss manufacturer with NDAA-compliant manufacturing. Fixed-wing VTOL mapping platforms. The WingtraOne Gen II is widely used for precision surveying and geospatial data collection. Allied-nation manufacturer — satisfies the covered foreign country exclusion. DIU first listed the WingtraOne Gen II in 2022, and Wingtra was delisted in the early-2025 refresh; the DCMA list carries both aircraft, dated 19 February 2026, a batch date.

WISPR Systems — SkyScout 2+

WISPR announced the SkyScout 2+‘s addition to the Blue UAS Cleared List in April 2026, after AUVSI Green UAS certification in February 2026; the DCMA list shows it under the July 2026 portal date. The SkyScout 2+ emphasizes secure domestic sourcing and survivability features, including AES-256 encrypted communications, US-based design and assembly, domestically sourced components, long-range obstacle detection, terrain following, EMI protection, and extreme-condition thermal management. It ships with the WISPR SkyBoss controller, which adds AES-256 encrypted transmission and IP55 protection. Government and public safety buyers are the primary market.

Zone 5 Technologies — Paladin

Tactical platform, on the DCMA list since 5 March 2025. DoD-focused.

American Robotics (Ondas) — Optimus 1-EX

Ondas announced in January 2026 that its American Robotics Optimus had been listed; the DCMA list names the maker American Robotics and the aircraft Optimus 1-EX. Autonomous drone-in-a-box system targeting national security and critical infrastructure inspection.

Also on the list

These makers are on the DCMA list read between 8 and 21 October 2026 and had no entry in earlier versions of this guide. The detail is the list’s own: the product names and the date each was added. Where that date is 10 July 2026, it marks a re-entry in the portal rather than a clearance.

• 3DR: Autopilot (10 July 2026). 3DR’s chief executive, Anastasia Zakharova, told FlightBrief on 27 October that the entry is the company’s flight controller, not an aircraft, and that 3DR is changing the description.
• Auterion: SLM-10, from 20 October 2025.
• Colsa: CDS-100 Crest, from 3 March 2026, and CDU-300 Talon, from 5 May 2026.
• EchoMAV: MONARK, from 5 May 2026.
• Envision Technology: PROTEUS, from 20 April 2026.
• Harris Aerial: Carrier H6 Electric, Carrier H6 Heavy Lift and Carrier H6 Hybrid EFI, from 5 June 2026. On 14 October the portal moved the Hybrid EFI into its “UAS” category and added “UAS” entries for the other two; by 17 October the Hybrid EFI was back in “UAV”. Harris Aerial’s president, Benjamin Harris, told FlightBrief the next day that the Hybrid EFI “hasn’t been withdrawn”, and DCMA’s Blue List team said the portal is a new website still under development.
• Hylio: Blue HYL-150 ARES (10 July 2026).
• Perennial Autonomy: Bumblebee V2 (10 July 2026).
• Purple Rhombus: Grackle, from 21 April 2026.
• Redwire Defense: VXE-30 and VXE-30 Advanced Navigation (10 July 2026).
• Sky-Watch: RQ-35 Heidrun, from 8 July 2026.
• Skyborne Technologies: Cerberus MI sUAS, from 20 October 2026, in the “UAS” category. Skyborne, with offices in the US and Australia, describes it as a reusable Group 2 drone “purpose-built for kinetic effects”, carrying 40mm and 12-gauge weapon payloads.
• Skyfish: Osprey, from 5 May 2026.

Where the Compliance Boundary Actually Falls

Section 848 does not police every part of an aircraft. It reaches the components Congress enumerated, and Congress enumerated the ones that store or move data: the airframe, the flight controller, the radio and data transmission devices, the camera and gimbal, the ground control system, network connectivity and data storage, and the operating software.

Motors sit outside that list. So do speed controllers, battery cells, magnets and passive electronics — the parts that make an aircraft fly rather than think. DefenseScoop reported in November 2025 that the majority of systems cleared through the program have motors sourced in China, and the economics explain why: a former senior defense official put Chinese motors at $12 to $25 each against $100 to $225 for US alternatives. AUVSI’s chief executive, Michael Robbins, framed the consequence plainly — because motors were never treated as critical components, the drone motor market outside China stayed immature. AUVSI appears three times in this story: it is the sector’s trade association, it runs the Green UAS certification that feeds this list, and it is a DoD-recognized assessor.

Then in December 2025 the FCC drew the line somewhere else. Its Covered List notice defines UAS critical components to include batteries, battery management systems and motors, alongside the data-handling parts Section 848 covers.

The result is that a motor can be lawful inside a Blue UAS aircraft and a critical component under FCC rules at the same time. The exemption that resolves the tension does not close it: the January 2026 carve-out covers platforms on the Cleared List and products meeting the Buy American “domestic end product” test, which is satisfied at 65 percent domestic content by cost. That leaves room for up to 35 percent foreign content — roughly the share occupied by motors, cells and magnets.

For a buyer, the practical reading is that Blue UAS listing certifies a supply chain audit against a data-security standard, not a guarantee of end-to-end domestic manufacture. Anyone procuring on the assumption that a cleared aircraft contains no Chinese content is procuring on a misunderstanding.

What Does Blue UAS Compliance Actually Cost?

DHS priced three cleared quadcopters on the GSA schedule in its 2025 assessment: the Parrot ANAFI USA GOV at $13,964, the Teal 2 at $15,073 and the Skydio X10D at $28,382. Freefly sells the listed Blue configuration of the Astro Max at $28,995 (September 2026). A DJI Matrice 4T sold for about $7,849 at US retailers before the tariffs, so by our arithmetic a cleared aircraft of that class costs roughly two to four times as much. Shield AI’s V-BAT is in a different bracket: about $1 million each, according to Reuters in June 2026.

The premium exists for three reasons: US or allied-nation manufacturing carries higher labor and component costs than Chinese production, compliance and certification overhead adds to program costs, and production volumes are a fraction of what DJI achieves at scale. As the market grows — driven by the $150 million initial Drone Dominance procurement and the target of 340,000 attritable units by 2027 — volume pricing should compress the gap. Unusual Machines has explicitly stated it is targeting cost parity with Chinese-made components for motors and related hardware. That matters because the component stack is a significant driver of total system cost.

Green UAS: The Commercial Pathway

Green UAS, managed by AUVSI, mirrors Blue UAS cybersecurity and supply chain standards but targets commercial, public safety, and non-DoD government buyers. It adds corporate cyber hygiene requirements, product and device security standards, and remote operations connectivity requirements that Blue UAS does not require.

Green UAS is not a DoD procurement designation on its own, but since July 2025 it functions as a recognized pathway into Blue UAS Cleared. Platforms completing Green certification can move into Blue without a separate full DoD assessment. For enterprise buyers without a direct DoD relationship, Green UAS provides a recognized compliance signal for procurement purposes.

What Happens to Agencies Still Operating Non-Compliant Drones?

Full ASDA enforcement began December 22, 2025. Federal agencies, contractors, and grant recipients cannot procure or operate covered foreign UAS. Agencies still running DJI or Autel fleets face funding risk, contract issues, and potential national security flags. There is limited grandfathering for pre-existing non-federal use, but for any federally funded operation the transition requirement is unambiguous.

The practical transition burden is real. Many agencies built operations around DJI Matrice platforms that have no direct equivalent on the Blue UAS list at the same price point. Inspired Flight’s IF800, built as a Matrice replacement, left the list in 2025 and is on the DCMA list again. At $23,000 on Inspired Flight’s store it costs nearly three times the pre-tariff price of a Matrice 4T on the figures above.

What to Watch Through 2027

The January 1, 2028 expiration of FCC exemptions for Blue UAS platforms and Buy American domestic end products is the defining near-term date. The FCC has already extended it once, from January 1, 2027, on July 21, 2026. If those exemptions expire without a further extension, the regulatory pressure on non-exempt foreign UAS in the US market intensifies further, and the Blue UAS list becomes even more central to any federal or federally funded drone procurement.

The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance program will drive the next significant wave of Blue UAS additions. With 25 vendors competing for an initial $150 million contract and a Pentagon goal of fielding more than 300,000 small drones, manufacturers not yet on the list have clear financial incentive to pursue listing. DCMA’s goal of transforming the Blue List into a true acquisition marketplace — with direct procurement capability rather than just a reference list — is set for completion by the end of 2027. When that infrastructure is in place, the gap between being on the list and being accessible to a procurement officer closes entirely.

Which Taiwanese Companies Are on the Blue UAS List? (台灣廠商)

One. On the official DCMA list, read on 8 October 2026 and checked again on 9 October, the only manufacturer based in Taiwan is Thunder Tiger Corporation of Taichung, a company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Its Overkill FPV has been on the list since 19 September 2025, and Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported the clearance three days later.

None of the 82 manufacturers behind the 245 components on DCMA’s Framework List on 9 October 2026 is based in Taiwan. Nothing in the process bars a Taiwanese maker: listing turns on an NDAA supply-chain and cybersecurity review of a specific configuration, not on the country the manufacturer is in, and makers from Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and Israel are on the lists.

Is a Blue UAS Drone the Same as an NDAA Compliant Drone?

No. NDAA compliance is a property of the hardware, while Blue UAS listing is an administrative status granted for a specific configuration at a specific moment, and a platform can lose it without a single component changing, as Wingtra and Ascent did in the 2025 refresh. Every listed aircraft is compliant; not every compliant aircraft is listed.

How Many Drones Are on the Blue UAS Cleared List?

The DCMA list held 82 entries from 47 manufacturer names when FlightBrief read its Cleared List page on 21 October 2026, all of them aircraft. The first table on this page carries them as 45 manufacturer rows and 79 aircraft: Quantum Systems is listed under two names, Teal Drones shares a row with its parent, Red Cat, one Colsa aircraft is listed twice, and two Harris Aerial aircraft appear in both of the portal’s categories. The last count the Defense Innovation Unit published was 39 cleared systems and 165 components, in November 2025.

Does Blue UAS Listing Mean a Drone Has No Chinese Parts?

No. Section 848 reaches the components that store or move data, and motors, battery cells and magnets sit outside it; DefenseScoop reported in November 2025 that most cleared systems use motors sourced in China. Listing certifies a supply-chain audit against a data-security standard, not end-to-end domestic manufacture.

What Is on the Blue UAS Framework?

The Framework is the component half of the list: flight controllers, radios, GPS modules, cameras and software that DIU vetted so a builder can assemble an NDAA-compliant aircraft from cleared parts. DIU counted 165 Framework components in November 2025, before the handover to DCMA. The DCMA portal keeps them in a separate Framework List, which held 245 components from 82 manufacturers when FlightBrief read it on 9 October 2026.

The second table on this page carries the whole DCMA Framework List as read on 21 October 2026, one row per component, filterable by what the part does. Where a manufacturer announced its listing, the row links the announcement. A Framework part does not clear the aircraft it goes into, and a cleared aircraft does not clear its parts for use elsewhere. Motors, batteries and speed controllers are rare on the list; DefenseScoop reported in November 2025 that DoD does not classify them as critical components.

Sources

• Skyborne Technologies, company site, for its description of the Cerberus MI and its weapon payloads.
• Thunder Tiger Corporation, company site, for its Taichung address and Taiwan Stock Exchange listing; Central News Agency, 22 September 2025, on the Overkill FPV clearance.
• DCMA Blue List portal, the official roster, which bluelist.dcma.mil redirects to; its home-page table was read on 8 October 2026, and its fuller Cleared List page on 15 and 21 October 2026. Its Framework List of components was read on 9 and 21 October 2026. The older Power Apps address now redirects there too.
• Defense Innovation Unit, Blue UAS refresh selections, 14 February 2025, and the DHS SAVER market survey of Blue UAS for first responders, February 2025, listing products on the list in July 2024.
• Defense Innovation Unit, Blue UAS Cleared List, which now points at the DCMA portal, and DIU’s Blue UAS list to transition to DCMA, 3 December 2025.
• FCC public notice DA 26-22, 7 January 2026, exempting Blue UAS and Buy American products from the Covered List, and DA 26-761, 21 July 2026, extending the exemption to 1 January 2028.
• FCC Covered List.
• Wingtra customer notice on its March 2025 delisting, archived, and Wingtra on the WingtraOne Gen II’s DIU listing; The Drone Girl, 27 April 2022, on the Vesper’s clearance.
• Prices: DHS SAVER Blue UAS urban assessment, March 2025 (GSA prices for the ANAFI USA GOV, Teal 2 and X10D); Freefly’s store, September 2026.
• Framework: DIU, updates to the Blue UAS list and Framework, 30 May 2024; DCMA, Blue List process, 5 August 2026; DefenseScoop on motors and critical components, 20 November 2025.
• Drone Dominance goal: Defense News, Pentagon seeks to field more than 300,000 small drones, 3 December 2025.
• Manufacturer announcements of additions, linked on each row of both tables.