New tool tracks drone-contractor performance

Photo By Christian Raterman | Members of the Experimental Test Force and private industry conduct a performance-based sUAS experiment during the inaugural "Game of Drones" event held at Edwards AFB, CA Dec. 8-12. The week-long effort brought together six industry partners and engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory to conduct live experimentation of emerging small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and associated hardware. As the battlefield continues to diversify, the Department of War has called upon both service and industry to rapidly accelerate testing, acquisition, and production of unmanned systems for the warfighter, referred to as Drone Dominance. “Game of Drones” offers a speed-of-now playbook to meet this intent, going from idea to execution in less than four months. In "Game of Drones", industry partners from emerging to established can rapidly design, 3D-print, and test sUAS systems through agile experimentations across multiple domains such as C2 interoperability, counter-sUAS, rapid field printing, and autonomous swarming. The combination of collaboration and real-time feedback will help users from across the joint services identify key technologies and designs to expand the Department of War’s Blue List, a program that allows for rapid selection of approved unmanned aerial systems. (Air Force photo by Christian Raterman)  

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

05.13.2026

Story by Jason Kaneshiro 

Defense Contract Management Agency

SAN DIEGO–Monitoring defense contractor performance is one of the core functions of Defense Contract Management Agency.

A DCMA employee developed a new tool to remediate the critical information delays that could arise in the time gaps between regular monthly reporting cycles.

Jared Arredondo, a computer engineer with DCMA Unmanned Systems-Experimental contract management office, developed a data visualization dashboard that consolidates multiple reporting data sets into a single, real-time view of program health and supplier performance.

“By integrating and visualizing the data in a single location, it reduces the risk of potentially overlooked performance issues and supports timely corrective actions,” Arredondo said. “This approach helps shift our team from a reactive to a proactive posture, helping to avoid potential delays and inefficiencies that could affect program delivery and readiness.”

Throughout the development process, Arredondo said he worked alongside Air Force Capt. Reginald Slater, DCMA US-X program integrator, to create a tool that became a “single source of truth” for government stakeholders by providing clear, actionable information.

“To ensure the solution could be replicated across other CMOs, I also documented a detailed step-by-step guide,” Arredondo said. “While the tool is still evolving, it lays the groundwork for broader agency adoption.”

The work draws from the efforts of a cross-functional team to maintain control over program outcomes to support the agency’s oversight mission through standardizing data and improving transparency that ensures responsible custodianship of taxpayer dollars, Arredondo said.

“As a software engineer, my work provides accurate, actionable information that helps DCMA ensure contractors deliver on schedule, within budget and in compliance with technical requirements,” he said. “Through scalable solutions and real-time insights, I help ensure the military has the systems and support it needs when and where they are required.”

• Date Taken: 05.13.2026
• Date Posted: 06.12.2026 17:14
• Story ID: 567642
• Location: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US