Green or Blue what is in a colour?

A few lines in the sand to refer back to before I say what I really think, the Green UAS scheme in particular is going to cause real headaches and put a huge financial weight on small American vendors. With House Bill HR 2864 finally waking up the American drone commercial user community they should realise the shaping that has been going on since 2020. (for shaping read lobbying)

But let us just recap, what are these things supposed to be:-

Blue sUAS

The Blue sUAS program is a DoD initiative to rapidly vet and scale commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology for the Department of Defense (DoD). The program consists of five lines of effort:

• Blue UAS Foundry: DIU’s proven Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process is used to rapidly prototype and scale new or existing UAS for unique government customer needs and continued iterative experimentation.
• Blue UAS 1.0: This effort developed trusted, policy-compliant small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) for the broader DoD and Federal Government partners.
• Blue UAS 2.0: This effort expands the variety and capabilities of DIU-vetted drones to provide DoD users with compliant, secure sUAS.
• Blue UAS 3.0: This effort will focus on developing and fielding large UAS for the DoD.
• Blue UAS International: This effort will work with international partners to develop and field UAS for shared missions.

The Blue sUAS program was created in response to the growing threat of Chinese drones. China is a major producer of UAS, and its drones are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In recent years, China has sold UAS to countries such as Iran and Venezuela, which have used them to attack U.S. allies. The Blue sUAS program is designed to ensure that the DoD has access to the best commercial UAS technology to counter the threat from Chinese drones.

The program has been successful in vetting and scaling commercial UAS technology for the DoD. In the program’s first year, DIU vetted and approved five sUAS systems for DoD use. These systems are now available to all DoD users, and they have been used in a variety of missions, including training, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

The Blue sUAS program is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way the DoD uses UAS. By vetting and scaling commercial UAS technology, the DoD can gain access to the latest and greatest UAS technology at a fraction of the cost of developing its own UAS. This will allow the DoD to field UAS more quickly and easily, and it will give the DoD a significant advantage over its adversaries.

The threat of Chinese drones is real, but the Blue sUAS program is a step in the right direction to countering that threat. By vetting and scaling commercial UAS technology, the DoD can ensure that it has access to the best UAS technology to protect its interests.

In addition to the threat of Chinese drones, the Blue sUAS program also addresses the following challenges:

• The need for secure and compliant UAS: The DoD must be able to trust that its UAS are secure and compliant with all applicable laws and regulations. The Blue sUAS program ensures that all vetted systems meet these requirements.
• The need for affordable UAS: The DoD must be able to purchase and operate UAS. The Blue sUAS program ensures that all vetted systems are affordable and cost-effective.
• The need for versatile UAS: The DoD needs UAS that can be used for a variety of missions. The Blue sUAS program ensures that all vetted systems are versatile and can be used for various purposes.

The Blue sUAS program is a critical initiative that will help the DoD to meet the challenges of the 21st century. By vetting and scaling commercial UAS technology, the DoD can ensure that it has access to the best UAS technology to protect its interests.

Green UAS

The Green UAS program is a new initiative from the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) that aims to expand the number of commercial Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) that have been verified to meet the highest levels of cybersecurity and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) supply chain requirements.

It is designed to be a more streamlined and less expensive alternative to the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)’s Blue UAS certification program. The Blue UAS program is a DoD initiative that vets and approves commercial UAS for use by the DoD. However, the Blue UAS program can be time-consuming and expensive, which can make it prohibitive for non-DoD customers.

The Green UAS program is based on the same cybersecurity and supply chain requirements as the Blue UAS program. However, the Green UAS program uses a more streamlined assessment process that is designed to be more affordable and accessible to non-DoD customers.

Here are some of the benefits of the Green UAS program:

• More affordable: The Green UAS program is designed to be more affordable than the Blue UAS program. This is because the Green UAS program uses a more streamlined assessment process that requires less time and resources.
• More accessible: The Green UAS program is designed to be more accessible than the Blue UAS program. This is because the Green UAS program does not require customers to have a DoD contract.
• More secure: The Green UAS program uses the same cybersecurity and supply chain requirements as the Blue UAS program. This means that Green UAS are just as secure as Blue UAS.

Just to be clear I don’t support the Green program at all, it’s $100,000 per autopilot or other bit fee to get onto the list is madness.

We have learnt quite a bit about some Blue sUAS vendors recently, more to come.