Industry leader AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. announced today that senseFly, its recently acquired subsidiary, has been named to the Blue sUAS 2.0 list, published by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) earlier this month.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

The Blue sUAS 2.0 project comes after the U.S. Army and DIU’s partnership on the Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), which began in 2019. DIU’s Blue sUAS 1.0 project followed the SRR program in August 2020 and made slight alterations to five SRR candidate air vehicles and created integrated commercially-based ground control stations to form a standalone commercial/enterprise configuration available to the Department of Defense (DoD) and other U.S. government entities.

The 2.0 project was later initiated in order to improve upon the variety, capability and affordability of UAS on DIU’s “Blue UAS Cleared List.” The project also involves an effort to define and communicate a common standard across the DoD for UAS vendor onboarding, and a consistent process to aid authorized vendors in the procurement process. DIU sought proposals from UAS vendors in March 2021, and in the brief window the Request for Prototype Proposals was listed on its website, www.sam.gov, DIU received over 100 responses. Out of this group, senseFly was selected alongside ten other companies to take part in the Blue sUAS 2.0 program to prototype a new approval process, greatly increasing the range of UAS capabilities available to all branches of the U.S. military.

senseFly has completed two demonstrations for U.S. government officials as part of the Blue sUAS 2.0 registration and qualification process, showcasing its rugged eBee TAC UAV, a hand-launched fixed wing tactical mapping drone solution that allows users in remote areas to safely and efficiently execute complex mapping and scouting missions. At only 3.5 pounds, eBee TAC utilizes a digital camouflage skin for improved stealth and can be deployed quickly, from assembly to hand-launch, in three minutes by a single user.

An initial technical demonstration was held at Fort Hunter Liggett, the U.S. Army Reserve’s largest training installation, last July, where senseFly’s eBee TAC underwent testing and evaluation of its system configuration, flight test profile and safety of flight procedures, along with the repeatability and reliability of flights and data capture. AgEagle conducted a second demonstration in September at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, consisting of a variety of flight demos of the eBee TAC in order to test and evaluate the system’s capabilities in adverse and high altitude environments. senseFly expects to complete the registration process prior to the end of this year.

“Since their creation more than 50 years ago, drones have continued to evolve, becoming one of the main tools integrated into military and defense forces throughout the world,” said AgEagle CEO Brandon Torres-Declet. “Through senseFly’s innovative eBee TAC, AgEagle believes our Company can become an important player in the UAS domestic industrial base for the U.S. and its allies, helping to ensure delivery of secure drone mapping and scouting solutions that the DoD and other government entities will come to depend on.”

Read more about the GSA decision to clear Blue sUAS drones, and DoD commentary on the Blue sUAS program.

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.