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The growing importance of the Blue UAS Cleared List

21st October 2025 - 13:43 GMT | by Matty Todhunter in London, UK

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The US Department of Defense added the Skydio X10D to the Blue UAS Cleared List in May 2024. (Photo: Skydio)

Inclusion on the Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List is set to become ever more crucial for uncrewed aerial vehicle manufacturers due to the access it gives to the US market, which is set to expand significantly over the next 10 years.

US-based drone manufacturer Skydio announced on 14 October that it had been awarded a US$7.9 million contract to deliver its X10D rotary-wing uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the US Army’s Short-Range Reconnaissance (SRR) Tranche 2 Low-Rate Initial Production contract.

This contract is the second Skydio has received for the drone through the SRR effort, having delivered a batch of X10Ds to the Army in May 2025, in a contract now believed to be worth $4.4 million based on Skydio’s confirmation that it had been awarded $12.3 million in SRR contracts in FY2025.