:

Unmanned Systems

Five U.S.-Made sUAS Cleared by DIU for Government Use

By Brian Garrett-Glaser

Thursday, August 20th, 2020

SHARE:

Five U.S.-Made sUAS Cleared by DIU for Government Use

A version of Skydio's X2, pictured, and four other U.S.-made drones were approved by the Defense Innovation Unit to be added to the GSA schedule for trusted use by customers across the federal government. (Skydio)

With Congress poised to ban all U.S. government purchasing of Chinese drones and components, the Department of Defense is leveraging its small UAS prototyping efforts with industry to offer trusted and vetted options to military and federal customers. The new effort by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), called Blue sUAS, builds on the Army’s ongoing Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) development program, which selected six U.S. and allied companies to develop an inexpensive VTOL drone weighing less than 5 pounds that can…

Congress

SASC’s FY ‘27 NDAA Sticks With Army’s Plan For Legacy Aviation Procurement Cuts

The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) version of the next defense policy sticks to the Army’s proposed plan to cut procurement of its legacy aviation fleet, and does not authorize […]

Congress

SASC Approves $1.14 Trillion FY ‘27 NDAA With ‘Right to Repair’ Reform, Stock Buyback Restriction

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has approved its $1.14 trillion version of the next defense policy bill, adopting “right to repair” reform to provide the military services’ greater ability […]

Congress

House Appropriators Unveil $1.07 Trillion FY ‘27 Defense Bill, Restore Funds For E-7, Army Aviation

House appropriators on Wednesday released their $1.07 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense spending bill, with the legislation reversing Army aviation cuts, restoring funding for the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail program […]

Congress

MOSA Implementation By Pentagon Lagging, GAO Official Says

While the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) has been a requirement for major defense acquisition programs since January 2019 and other Defense Department acquisitions since January 2021, few programs are […]