by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has announced the addition of Ascent AeroSystems’ Spirit platform to the Blue UAS Cleared List of approved small unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Continue reading below or listen:
This new approval grants any U.S. government customer the ability to purchase and operate a Spirit without the need of any further technical review or approval.
“We’ve been shipping Spirits since 2020, and our customers worldwide have come to appreciate the rugged versatility it delivers,” said Ascent AeroSystems VP of Business Development Paul Fermo. “We’re pleased that government and municipal customers will now be able to get the systems they need with a few mouse clicks.”
The Blue UAS program, formed to offer an all-encompassing vetting process for selected unmanned aerial systems, removes duplicate approval processes across various branches of the government and defense agencies. By improving the efficiency of the approval process, operators and manufactures are able to put systems out into the field more quickly.
“Government agencies can’t pick and choose when and where they fly,” said Ascent AeroSystems CEO Peter Fuchs. “The Spirit’s coaxial configuration delivers the compact, high performance, all-weather capability needed for those mission-critical applications. Its modular design allows operators to not only configure it exactly as it’s needed for the mission at hand, but easily adapt new sensors as they become available.”
Read more about Ascent AeroSystems and the Blue UAS list:
- Ascent’s Coaxial Drones, Now with Exyn’s LiDAR-Enabled Mapping Software
- DIU Announces Updated Blue sUAS List: 4 New Drones Added
- Blue sUAS Manufacturer Inspired Flight Introduces New Heavy Lift Drone: the IF1200A
- Freefly Alta X on Blue sUAS 2.0 List: Payload Flexibility for Varied Applications
- eBee TAC First Approved Drone Added to DIU Blue sUAS Cleared List
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker
Subscribe to DroneLife here.