The Blue List and Green UAS

Which path fits your company

Why it matters: The Pentagon now buys drones through a few open marketplaces, test-then-buy competitions and one approval list. You need a clean parts list, a federal registration and proof you can deliver.

GATE 0 Register in SAM.gov The federal vendor registry. Gives you a company ID (UEI) and a defense supplier code (CAGE). No registration, no award.

GATE 1 Clean your parts list Federal law bans drones and key parts from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Know where every flight controller, radio, camera, motor and battery comes from.

GATE 2 Start your Blue List file The government's list of drones and parts approved to buy. Most drone buyers now check it.

STAGE A Prototype

• Enter a prize or test event: Army xTech, SOFWERX, Army test ranges
• Apply for small-business research funding (SBIR)

Goal: get soldiers to touch it.

STAGE B Field-ready, small batches

• Pitch the Army Drone Marketplace
• Answer an open Request for Information (RFI)
• Join the government-run Drone OTA Consortium
• Counter-drone: pitch the JIATF-401 task force

Goal: a first order.

STAGE C At volume, Blue-listed

• Marketplace orders and unit purchase agreements
• GSA schedule for civil buyers
• Next Drone Dominance round
• Foreign sales via FMS Fast Lane

Goal: repeat orders.

ANY STAGE Parts, payloads, software

• Sell to companies already winning: Drone Dominance vendors, Navy drone contract holders
• One narrow offer that fixes a gap they have

Goal: a supplier slot.

Why Blue comes first

Why it matters: The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), through its US-X office, has run the Blue List since Dec. 3, 2025. It is the government's list of drones and parts cleared as safe to buy.^15,16

• Drone Dominance Rejects deliveries that aren't Blue-listed.¹¹
• GSA The General Services Administration awards only Blue-listed drones on its schedule.⁴⁷
• FCC exemption Blue status is one of the two current exemptions from the Federal Communications Commission's foreign-drone ban.⁵⁶
• Marketplaces and DHS Use Blue status on the marketplaces and in Department of Homeland Security RFIs.^31,47

How to get listed

1. Map your parts Map every part to the 848/817 categories: flight controller, radios/data links, cameras, gimbals, ground control, operating software, network/data storage.⁵²
2. Go beyond the law DDP requires motors and battery packs assembled outside covered countries. From Phase 3 it adds a magnet sourcing plan and flight-controller boards.¹¹
3. Packet + assessor Submit the checklist packet in the portal and contract a Recognized Assessor. You pay the assessor.¹⁷
4. Listed Placement can take days. DCMA says it clarified open questions "within days."^84,17

Green UAS: a pathway to Blue

Green UAS is an industry certification run by AUVSI (Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International), best for platforms that also sell to civil buyers. You request certification and pay a third-party fee. Know the difference: "Cleared" vs. "Certified." Certified adds corporate cyber hygiene and a remote-ops/connectivity review.¹⁸

What the assessor checks

The assessor reviews supply chain, ownership and NDAA compliance. Pull the current checklist from the Blue List portal.^15,17,18 In DDP Phase I, drones that weren't Blue-listed were rejected, and an industry-wide shortage of NDAA-compliant parts slowed deliveries.¹¹

• NDAA FY20 §848 + FY23 §817 No Department of Defense buys of drones, or drones with critical parts, from China, Russia, Iran or North Korea.^52,53
• FCC Covered List Since Dec 22, 2025, foreign-produced drones and critical parts (incl. motors and batteries) can't get new FCC authorizations. Blue-listed items and Buy American domestic end products are exempt until Jan 1, 2028, per the FCC's July 21, 2026 public notice. Items with a Conditional Approval are exempt while the company follows its onshoring plan. One FCC FAQ answer still says 2027.^56,57