About
The Blue Portal provides information on the Recognized Assessor process, which is designed to rapidly expand the Department of War’s list of NDAA verified unmanned systems, components, and software. Its primary purpose is to streamline the certification and validation of commercial drone platforms and components, ultimately strengthening supply chain security and enabling the timely fielding of compliant systems to support national defense and security needs. It allows any commercial firm to go through the process on their own initiative. Recognized Assessors perform 3rd party assessments based on a common Blue UAS Standard resulting in NDAA certification once complete.
Submit your Product for certification through the Blue Portal
Recognized Assessors
10 U.S.C. § 4127(e) Authorizes the Defense Innovation Unit to identify and support multi- stakeholder research and innovation partnerships that have the potential to generate technologies, processes, products, or solutions that address national defense or security needs, with an objective of technological advancement or commercialization.
Our Recognized Assessor partners support the expansion and execution of compliance assessments for unmanned platforms and components under the Blue UAS initiative. The primary focus is to enable the timely and secure evaluation of commercial drone platforms and components for potential inclusion to the Blue List. Once a submission has been received through the Blue Portal, the Recognized Assessors will be able to provide a cost estimate and timeline to conduct the assessment, and the submitter can determine which proposal makes sense for their situation. Recognized Assessors all work to the same Blue UAS Standard and provide standardized reporting to the government for a certification decision.
List of Recognized Assessors
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI)
Process Flow
The process for becoming certified depends on two factors: whether your company is U.S. based, and whether or not you have an O-6+ Nominator (or equivalent) that has selected your product for priority assessment and certification.
Detailed Process
The updated Blue UAS Cleared List process differentiates between two groups of UAS platforms, components, and software based on the manufacturer's primary headquarters and domicile: Platforms, Components, and Software from U.S. companies, defined as a company whose primary headquarters and domicile are in the United States. DIU refers to these as Group A for the purposes of delineating a process. Platforms, Components, and Software from non-covered country companies, defined as a company whose primary headquarters and domicile is outside the U.S. and not in the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. DIU refers to these as Group B for the purposes of delineating a process.
Process for Group A (U.S. Companies) Seeking Blue UAS Cleared List Addition: Group A companies have two primary paths to Blue UAS Cleared List addition:
Option A: O-6+ Nomination and O-7+ Certification:
An O-6 identifies a U.S.-manufactured critical component or UAS platform suitable for rapid fielding. The O-6 collaborates with the company to compile documentation compliant with the Blue UAS Checklist.
The Blue UAS Checklist identifies each critical component, as defined in Section 848 of the 2020 NDAA, to determine whether it is already included on the Blue List or requires a NDAA compliance assessment.
Critical components are identified as: UAS manufactured in the U.S., flight controller, radio, data transmission device, camera, gimbal, ground control system, operating software, network connectivity, and data storage.
If all critical components are on the Blue List:
The O-6 forwards the nomination to an O-7+ General, Flag Officer, or Senior Executive Service (SES) equivalent for certification of the Blue UAS Checklist via the Blue Certification Memo, as per their authority to approve large purchases and certify for the Blue List.
The O-7+ submits the signed certification request to the Blue UAS organization (currently DIU, transitioning to DCMA NLT 01 January 2026) for inclusion on the Blue UAS List, via the Blue Portal.
The Blue UAS organization reviews the submitted Memo and Checklist for addition to the Blue UAS List.
If any critical component is absent from the Blue List:
The O-6 submits the Blue UAS Checklist and request for a compliance assessment through the Blue Portal.
A Recognized Assessor is selected to perform a compliance assessment on each unlisted critical component, at the expense of the vendor, component company, or sponsoring Government entity.
The Recognized Assessor provides a standardized report to the Blue UAS organization through the Blue Portal for evaluation. Based on the submitted Checklist and Assessor’s report, the UAS platform and/or critical component(s) will be rejected or added to the Blue List.
Option B: Company-Funded Third-Party Assessment:
The U.S. based company submits the completed Blue UAS Checklist for their UAS platform, component, or software through the Blue Portal.
If all critical components are on the Blue List:
The Blue UAS organization reviews the submitted Checklist for addition to the Blue UAS List
If any critical component is absent from the Blue List:
Via the Blue Portal, the company receives quotes and selects a Recognized Assessor to conduct an NDAA compliance assessment on each unlisted critical component.
The company contracts with the selected Recognized Assessor.
The Recognized Assessor provides a standardized report to the Blue UAS organization through the Blue Portal for evaluation. Based on the Assessor’s report, the UAS platform and/or critical component(s) will be rejected or added to the Blue List.
Process for Group B (Non-Covered Country Companies) Seeking Blue UAS Cleared List. Group B companies also have two primary paths to Blue UAS Cleared List addition:
Option A: Empowered Agency Certification:
The company engages with an Empowered Agency (as defined in the “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” memo) and provides the completed Blue UAS Checklist.
If the Empowered Agency is interested in the product and agrees to certify it, the Empowered Agency will submit a complete Blue UAS Checklist and accompanying Blue UAS Certification Memo to the Blue UAS Organization.
Empowered Agencies include DIU, USD(R&E), USD(A&S) (with DoD CIO), Secretaries of the Military Departments, and USSOCOM. Empowered Agencies are responsible for designating an internal Blue UAS certifying official and informing the Blue UAS organization of that designation.
Option B: Company-Funded Third-Party Assessment (or Agency-contracted RA):
The company submits the completed Blue UAS Checklist for their platform, component, or software to the Blue Portal.
Via the Blue Portal, the company selects a Blue UAS Recognized Assessor (RA, third-party entities that complete NDAA compliance assessments).
The company contracts the selected RA to conduct an NDAA compliance assessment.
The Recognized Assessor provides standard reporting to the Blue UAS organization through the Blue Portal. This process allows for Blue List certification through approved vendors.
The Blue UAS organization certifies the platform, component, or software and adds to the Blue List.
Alternatively, if an Empowered Agency does not certify the product through Option A, the Agency may contract an RA to conduct the NDAA compliance assessment.