Technical Resources

Guides for defense drone engineers.

Reference material on ESC compliance, firmware, protocol architecture, and procurement — written for systems engineers integrating NDAA-compliant components into production UAV programs.

Procurement Guide
What Makes an ESC NDAA-Compliant?

A complete guide to the four compliance regimes — NDAA §848, §817, ASDA FY24, and EO 13981 — as they apply to electronic speed controllers. Covers covered-component definitions, required documentation, supplier evaluation, and red flags.

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Topics covered
NDAA §848, §817, ASDA, EO 13981, covered components
Audience
Procurement officers, OEM program managers
Key questions answered
Is firmware covered? What docs do I need? Red flags?
Firmware Guide
AM32 vs BLHeli_32 for Defense UAVs

Open-source vs closed-source ESC firmware — technical and compliance comparison. Covers codebase auditability, Dshot and CAN support, supply-chain origin, licensing, and why auditable firmware matters for defense programs.

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Topics covered
AM32, BLHeli_32, firmware auditability, Dshot, CAN
Audience
Systems engineers, security reviewers, OEM avionics teams
Key questions answered
What is AM32? Does firmware affect NDAA? Which to choose?
Protocol Guide
CAN Bus vs PWM ESC Control for Defense UAVs

A systems engineer's comparison of PWM, Dshot, CAN bus, and Ethernet for ESC control. Covers latency, noise immunity, per-motor telemetry, fault detection, wiring architecture, ArduPilot and PX4 support, and when each protocol is the right choice.

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Topics covered
PWM, Dshot 300/600, DroneCAN, CAN bus, Ethernet
Audience
Avionics integrators, systems engineers, flight stack teams
Key questions answered
CAN vs PWM vs Dshot? Does latency matter? ArduPilot/PX4?