WASHINGTON — The Director of the Defense Innovation Unit criticized a visual analysis of military quadcopter components published last month by the Wall Street Journal. The director stated the article omitted dozens of U.S. companies involved in drone component manufacturing.

"By leaving out the dozens of U.S. companies that have plunged into drone component manufacturing, this article disappoints," the Director of the Defense Innovation Unit stated.

Various American companies meet criteria related to drone component production. For instance, approximately 36 U.S. companies focus on additive manufacturing for drones and met the inclusion criteria of excluding non-U.S. domiciled firms. Additionally, 17 American companies producing flight stack software and hardware met requirements of being U.S.-domiciled and claiming National Defense Authorization Act compliance, or appearing on the Defense Contract Management Agency's "Blue List" or the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International's "Green List."

The "Blue List" includes 67 whole, ready-to-fly drones with government-verified supply chain security. The "Blue UAS Framework" is a catalog of 135 companies selling individual or modular drone parts with government-approved supply chain security. The "Green List" certifies companies' compliance with the National Defense Authorization Act, while National Defense Authorization Act compliance frameworks require specific criteria for approved suppliers, though compliance is self-reported.

Further analysis of other component categories identifies additional U.S.-based manufacturers. There are 16 American rotor and motor companies that are either Blue List, Blue Framework, or National Defense Authorization Act compliant. Approximately 10 American battery producers for drones met the inclusion criteria of being U.S.-domiciled and claiming National Defense Authorization Act compliance or appearing on the Blue List or Green List.

Seventeen American-domiciled antenna and datalink companies met one of the three inclusion criteria: National Defense Authorization Act compliance, Blue List inclusion, or Green List inclusion. Six American-domiciled companies in the inertial navigation systems category are either Blue Framework or National Defense Authorization Act compliant. Additionally, 16 companies in the payload category, which includes explosive devices and electronic warfare suites, met one of the three inclusion criteria. Sixteen camera and sensor companies also met one of the three inclusion criteria: National Defense Authorization Act compliance, Blue List inclusion, or Green List inclusion.