{"id":106774,"date":"2025-07-15T12:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T16:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/?p=106774"},"modified":"2025-07-15T12:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T16:47:53","slug":"pentagon-transfers-blue-suas-program-to-dcma-opens-door-to-more-drone-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronelife.com\/2025\/07\/15\/pentagon-transfers-blue-suas-program-to-dcma-opens-door-to-more-drone-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon Transfers Blue sUAS Program to DCMA, Opens Door to More Drone Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major Changes Coming to the Pentagon’s Blue sUAS Drone Program<\/h4>\n

The Pentagon is making sweeping changes to its Blue sUAS program that could transform how the military buys and uses small drones. These reforms, outlined in a new Defense Secretary memo from July 2025<\/a>, aim to speed up drone purchases and support American companies while keeping our forces secure.<\/p>\n

What is Blue sUAS?<\/h4>\n

The Blue sUAS program<\/a> started in 2020 as the Pentagon’s approved list of small drones that are safe to use and don’t come from China or other potentially risky countries.<\/span> Think of it as a “good housekeeping seal” for military drones – if a drone is on the Blue list, commanders know it meets security standards.<\/p>\n

However, while the DIU Blue List had become a “good housekeeping seal,” its scope has been limited and the department’s capacity to vet products has been constrained. This has created significant problems for American drone manufacturers that meet all legal requirements but can’t get on the list because their products don’t align with the latest warfighter priorities.<\/p>\n

The Problem with the Current System<\/h4>\n

The Blue sUAS program has been undergoing significant changes over the last few months, with reforms building momentum since early 2025. Many US-based drone manufacturers that fully comply with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) have long complained that the Blue sUAS list unfairly disadvantages<\/a> them.<\/span> The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has limited staffing and dedicated funding for the Blue List.<\/span><\/p>\n

This capacity problem has hurt some NDAA-compliant, US-based drone companies like Terraview and Skyfish, which were told DIU “lacked the funding and resources to evaluate their platforms” when they applied for inclusion.<\/span> The situation worsened when government agencies like the General Services Administration (GSA)<\/a> and state governments began using the Blue sUAS list as their standard for drone purchases. This created a bottleneck where qualified American manufacturers were shut out of government contracts simply because DIU didn’t have resources to evaluate their products.<\/p>\n

“The Blue sUAS list was never designed to be a gate-keeper for federal government procurement,” said Bruce Myers, Terraview CEO, in a 2022 statement. “It’s actually stifling competition”.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue sUAS Program Refoms<\/h4>\n

The changes have been coming over the last few months, with DIU announcing initial reforms earlier this year.<\/span> The transition to DCMA and other changes outlined in the Hegseth memo represent the latest developments in this ongoing transformation.<\/p>\n

New Management Structure<\/strong>
\nThe biggest change is who runs the program. Right now, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) manages everything.<\/span> Starting January 1, 2026, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) will take over as the main manager, with DIU providing support.<\/span> DCMA has “more funding and more people than DIU, so it is better positioned to take on the responsibility of the Blue List,” said AUVSI CEO Michael Robbins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two-Tier System<\/strong>
\nInstead of one Blue list, there will now be two:<\/p>\n