The Defense Innovation Unit will expand its lists of approved drones and National Defense Authorization Act-compliant unmanned aerial system components and software through a competition.
Product proposals to join the Blue UAS Refresh Challenge will be accepted until Aug. 19, with the finalists expected to be identified within a month in preparation for a demonstration event at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms from Nov. 4 to 6, the DIU said.
The competition, organized in partnership with the National Security Innovation Network, will evaluate First Person View, Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 platforms and UAS components, capabilities and software to select the products that could be added to the Blue UAS List or the Blue UAS Framework List.
The winners will be announced on Nov. 15, after which the technologies will undergo verification to ensure they are governed by the 2020 and 2023 National Defense Authorization Acts and the 2024 American Security Drone Act.
A cybersecurity analysis will also be performed.