Big news on the cybersecurity aspect of the drone industry. There are now tethered drones that are Green UAS licensed and they are made in the United States. In September 2024, the Hoverfly Specter became the first tethered drone to achieve important certification confirming security and NDAA compliance with Green UAS certification.
What is it Eco-friendly UAS?
The Green UAS program, led by the large drone advocacy group the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), is a relatively new program. Established in partnership with the U.S. government’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the program aims to bridge the gap between the existing Blue UAS Cleared List (focused on Department of Defense needs) and the broader range of drones used for non-military applications requiring cybersecurity. Let’s do it. It’s still the most important.
Green UAS certification ensures that drone platforms meet the highest levels of cybersecurity and comply with National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) supply chain requirements.
The program began in April 2024 when AUVSI and DIU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). In doing so, they agreed to create a process for drone component manufacturers holding Green UAS certification to share their data directly with the DIU.
The Green UAS program received attention at XPONENTIAL 2024, one of the world’s largest drone conferences. And less than six months later, we included tethered drones in the list of products that meet the program’s very high security standards.
Introducing the Hoverfly Specter — And How It Got That Approval
To achieve Green UAS certification, AUVSI reviewed Specter’s product security. The review process examined all components and subcomponents, remote operations security, and supply chain risk management. We also examined Hoverfly’s corporate cyber hygiene.
This makes Hoverfly the first tethered drone company to pass the milestone approval.
Hoverfly, headquartered in Sanford, Florida, focuses its business entirely on tethered drones. Tethered drones are unique in that the tether provides continuous power and high-bandwidth data transmission capabilities. This allows the drone to stay in the air almost indefinitely. This can be an important function for missions such as surveillance and communications relay.
The Hoverfly Specter tethered drone is relatively easy to operate. But easy is relative. Hoverfly recommends that operators undergo a multi-day training program.
In addition to the Specter drone, which is built for radio and primarily used for ISR and communications relay, Hoverfly also builds a powerful aircraft called the Sentry. The all-weather SENTRY drone is designed to operate in extreme conditions.
One of our biggest customers is the US military. In fact, we passed a milestone this summer when we sold our 500th drone to the U.S. military. This occurred in June 2024, fulfilling a $14 million purchase order that included 120 drones, spare parts and accessories.
Latest Information on Blue and Green UAS
Obtaining this blue or green stamp of approval is very important for drone manufacturers like Hoverfly. With these certifications, drone manufacturers can now sell their products to a wider audience, helping them secure top-tier customers. (Typically these are non-defense customers who still require strong cybersecurity.) In the end, some serious customers often only purchase drones with blue or green permits.
This means drone companies can gain more customers. It also simplifies the research process by eliminating the need for individual customers (assuming they trust the Green UAS approval standard) to individually research the products they are purchasing.
Other green-certified components included on DIU’s Blue UAS Framework list include the Aeronav ground control station from UXV Technologies, the HD45 gimbal from Trillium Engineering, the Embedded Mesh Rider radio from Doodle Labs, the StreamCaster LITE 4200 radio from Silvus Technologies, and the WIRIS Enterprise camera. there is. Workswell.
The Hoverfly tethered drone Green UAS approval comes at a time when the Defense Innovation Unit is carrying out a “supplier and platform refresh of the Blue UAS Cleared List.” Ultimately, drone manufacturers are constantly changing component manufacturers. A company’s cyber hygiene practices may change (maybe more lax depending on who is in charge).
In preparation, the agency said it is “prioritizing UAS that have already been proven to meet the highest level of cybersecurity and NDAA supply chain requirements.”
AUVSI said it has a robust pipeline of more companies seeking Green UAS approval. In fact, there are more than a dozen companies so far in various stages of the approval process. In a statement to The Drone Girl, AUVSI said it plans to announce Green UAS approvals for a handful of other drones and components in the coming weeks and months.
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