September 2025 - As part of the evolution of Blue UAS announced on May 16, 2025, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has established Recognized Assessors, a group of third-party organizations, to evaluate drone platforms and related components for compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The list of recognized assessors includes:
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI)
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.
These assessments will help inform DIU’s certification decisions for inclusion on the Blue UAS Cleared list, increasing access to compliant sUAS across the Department of Defense.
This effort leverages DIU’s multi-stakeholder partnership authority, which enables collaboration across industry, nonprofits, academic institutions, and federally affiliated organizations to support national security needs. About the Recognized Assessor Role
Blue UAS Recognized Assessors will be responsible for:
Conducting NDAA compliance assessments on all relevant components under existing law and policy.
Verification of all ownership/interest stakes as required under existing law and policy to determine eligibility.
Reviewing supply chain provenance, country-of-origin documentation, component-level sourcing, and relevant software/firmware/hardware artifacts to verify compliance with existing law and policy.
Producing standardized assessment reports and submitting them to the Government via DIU for certification consideration.
Operating with independence, integrity, and technical rigor.
In most cases, Recognized Assessors will contract directly with companies seeking Blue UAS Cleared List inclusion. DIU will review and consider the resulting reports, and make the determination whether a platform meets the requirements for certification and listing.
Please contact blueuasra@diu.mil with questions.
View the Blue UAS Portal.