Solution to Chinese Drone Challenge

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Small drones have been widely available in consumer markets since the early 2010s and have notably been adopted by foreign military forces and non-state actors alike as inexpensive tools to gain a bird’s-eye view of the battlefield. However, until now, the DOD has not had the opportunity to adopt these systems safely. 

Several products under development will be the first step toward building a robust and trusted UAS domestic industrial base that ensures sustained delivery of highly-capable, secure UAS to the warfighters that depend on it.

The US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a Department of Defense (DOD) organization that accelerates commercial technology for national defense, announced the availability of five U.S.-manufactured drone configurations to provide trusted, secure small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) options to the U.S. Government. 

The Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program of record for sUAS is developing an inexpensive, rucksack-portable, vertical take-off and landing small unmanned aircraft that provides the small unit with a rapidly-deployed situational awareness tool. 

Coined Blue sUAS, this spinoff effort builds upon the Army’s initial success and offers sUAS that mirror the air vehicle and software architecture of SRR, but provides alternative ground controller and radio configurations to accommodate a variety of users across the federal government.

Both SRR and Blue sUAS comply with Section 848 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 that prohibits operating or procuring unmanned aircraft systems manufactured in China. 

DIU seeks to build upon the success of the Blue sUAS effort by leveraging best in class commercial innovation on a regular cadence that ensures sustained technological dominance against our nation’s adversaries, according to defense.gov.