Blog · Unmanned Systems

How a Drone Gets onto the Blue List Now That DCMA Runs It

Chris A. Grable · July 28, 2026

Government buyers of small unmanned aircraft shop from a list. The Blue List is the registry DOW and other agencies consult to find unmanned aircraft systems and components that satisfy federal compliance standards. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) now runs it and has described how a vendor gets on.

From DIU to DCMA

The Defense Innovation Unit created the list in 2020. A July 2025 memorandum moved it to DCMA, which opened its first portal in December 2025. DCMA says it is working through a six-phase plan and has finished the first phase.

The assessor route, step by step

1. The vendor files a checklist packet through the portal.
2. The vendor engages a recognized assessor.
3. The assessor reviews the system against the NDAA compliance standards and submits its report through the same portal.
4. Once approved, the vendor goes on the list.

Three parts of the list

• Cleared tier: drones ready to buy and operate.
• Select tier: reached through partner-driven or competitive processes.
• Components and software: a framework for compliant components and software.

How the tiers differ

DCMA public affairs officer Jason Kaneshiro's account, reported by ExecutiveGov, adds detail on each part of the list. The cleared list holds approved drones ready for government purchase and operation. The select tier is reserved for platforms brought on through partner-driven or competitive processes and maintained under an existing authority to operate. The third part is a framework for NDAA-compliant components and software, meant to help developers building smaller unmanned systems while lowering risk for government buyers.

One vendor's experience

DCMA pointed to a vendor guided through the process by its Unmanned Systems-Experimental contract management office. Paul Ginsburg, a program manager at that company, said it filed its first packet in September 2025 and was among the first to go through the third-party assessor model. He said questions about a few compliance-specific components were cleared up within days by the assessor and DCMA, and that the company values the list because it signals stability and a commitment to domestic manufacturing to its customers.

What it means for makers

For a drone or component company, a listing can simplify a buyer's screening and approval, subject to the buying activity's own requirements and any authorized alternatives. Two features of the new process deserve attention. The agency administering it is also the agency that oversees contractor performance, and the assessment runs through assessors the vendor itself must engage. UDC recommends that makers identify a recognized assessor and assemble the checklist packet early, before a buyer asks whether the product is on the list.

The vendor account also says something about timing. That company filed in September 2025, three months before DCMA's portal opened, and was among the first through the new model. Makers that wait for a buyer to ask about the list will be filing behind those that did not.