Freefly Alta X on Blue sUAS 2.0 List: Payload Flexibility for Varied Applications

Freefly Systems Alta X Named to DIU Blue sUAS 2.0 List

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Today, American drone developer Freefly Systems Inc. has announced that its Freefly Systems Alta X unmanned aerial system (UAS) has been authorized as a trusted drone platform following its successful completion of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Blue sUAS 2.0 testing, evaluation, and demonstration programs.

The DIU issued 11 agreements with non-traditional vendors last October for participation in the Blue sUAS 2.0 pilot program. The goal of the program was to test a new approval process for dual-use technologies while at the same time expanding the range of capabilities available to the Department of Defense. The expansion will grant the DoD and its federal partners access to a multitude of highly requested new sUAS capabilities, with a wide variety of applications that include infrastructure inspection, mapping, public safety, and more.

Following approval by the Blue UAS On-Ramp effort, policy compliant commercial UAS are able to forgo a continuous exception to DoD policy renewal, lessening the amount of administrative work required from end users. Though not the only route for government validation of UAS, the Blue UAS program is designed to offer the most efficient method available for commercial systems.

The Blue UAS Cleared List offers a standard of approval capable of saving the government time and money, while also informing acquisition policy updates and providing broader access to commercial technology.

Freefly Systems’ fully-electric Alta X is a versatile multi-rotor aircraft capable of being custom configured to meet a wide range of mission requirements. Alta X is structured around an open architecture, providing precision flight performance, VTOL, expectational endurance, and maximum payload flexibility. The UAS features up to 35 lbs of usable payload capacity, and is compatible with an array of integrated sensors and third-party payloads such as gimbaled EO/IR, survey grade RTK/PPK mapping cameras, LiDAR, hyperspectral sensors, and drop/delivery capabilities. The system can be folded down to half its deployed size for transportation, allowing for quick and easy deployment by a single operator.

Read more about Freefly Systems:

• New Commercial Drone Hits the Market: Freeflys Astro is Auterions Newest Open Source Collaboration
• Freefly Invents New Sport: Drone Surfing
• New Blue sUAS 2.0: 11 Vendors Named for Project to Prototype a New Approval Process

Read more about the Blue sUAS Program:

• Blue sUAS and Public Safety: Adoramas James Bushey on New Challenges, and How to Get Started Anyway
• Everything You Wanted to Know About the Blue sUAS Program: DIU on DRONERESPONDERS Webinar
• eBee TAC First Approved Drone Added to DIU Blue sUAS Cleared List
• NDAA Compliant, US Drone Manufacturers Petition Congress to Remove Blue sUAS Requirement from GSA

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.