Advertise on podcast: Drone News Update

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you this week: Zipline rolls out software to make delivery drones quieter, a federal judge hands Alibaba a win over a Pentagon lobbying law that DJI is watching closely, and Michigan funds drone organ flights. Let's get to it. First up, Zipline says its delivery drones are now flying quieter. The company calls it sound-optimized dynamic flying. It is now running across the entire fleet.Zipline claims a 68% drop in overall sound exposure per flight. Peak volume is down 24%. Both numbers compare against its 2025 fleet. But they come from Zipline's own modeling, not independent testing.Here's how it works. The drone reads real-time wind data and uses an acoustics model. Then it adjusts speed and altitude to cut noise. It might dip its nose to pick up speed, like a cyclist coasting downhill. The aircraft is fixed wing, so it can shut down all but one motor in cruise.Zipline also says flights are 53 seconds shorter and use 21% less energy.Why care? Noise complaints are growing. Residents in Richardson, Texas have complained about Amazon drones. Community acceptance could decide how fast delivery grows.Next up, a federal judge in San Jose has blocked the Pentagon from enforcing a lobbying law against Alibaba. Judge Eumi Lee found it likely violates the First Amendment.The law took effect June 30. It stops the Pentagon from contracting with any company that hires a lobbying firm that also lobbies for a listed Chinese military company. That list is the Section 1260H list. DJI has been on it since October 2022.Alibaba says it lost all its lobbyists. DJI, meanwhile, still had two outside firms working for it after the law took effect. CLS Strategies reported $170,000 for the quarter. Liberty Government Affairs reported $27,500.Important detail. The ruling only protects Alibaba. Any company that shares a lobbyist with DJI gets no such shield.DroneXL found no DJI challenge to this law as of October 27th. Watch whether that changes. Also remember, the ban on indirect Pentagon purchases through suppliers starts June 30th, 2027.Finally, Michigan is putting real money into drone projects. The state announced 12 grants worth about $1.7 million on October 21st.The biggest one is $245,000 for blueflite. The company will test flying donor organs to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. Testing starts at the Mcity Test Facility. The partners set public targets. That's at least 20 demonstration missions. They want a 30% cut in last-mile transport time. And they want 95% mission reliability. Remember, those are goals, not results.Eight of the 12 projects are in Detroit. They total $990,000. Another grant gives Battle Creek Police a drone as first responder program.Why it matters. Organs are time critical. Minutes lost in traffic can hurt outcomes. Published targets mean we can check the results later. That's a good model for every drone pilot program.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/10/28/delivery-drone-noise-zipline-software/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/27/alibaba-pentagon-lobbying-ban-ruling-dji-lobbyists/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/26/michigan-medicine-drone-organ-flights-aam-grants/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the spray drone industry asks the FCC for a carve-out, the FCC adds Pentagon letters to the DJI and Autel records, DJI ends service for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, and a Massachusetts town votes to ban Amazon drone pads. Let's get to it. First up, U.S. sales of new agricultural spray drones fell 59 percent between 2024 and 2025. The American Spray Drone Coalition says about 3,711 units sold in 2025, down from roughly 8,950 in 2024. The group blames the Customs and Border Protection's hold on DJI shipments that began in October 2024. These are industry estimates, not customs records. Even so, sprayed acreage rose almost 59 percent, to more than 16 million acres.Now the coalition wants a carve-out from the FCC. The FCC's July proposal would ban foreign "military-grade" drones. That includes any drone that can dispense "economic poison." That's the Part 137 definition of any crop sprayer. So it would cover every foreign spray drone.The coalition wants Part 137 drones excluded. It also wants two years of spare parts imports. As of October 21, the FCC hasn't adopted the proposal to classify spray drones and many others as "military grade". Next up, the FCC has added Department of War letters to its records on DJI and Autel. A public notice on October 14 covers both dockets. But here's the catch. The FCC says it did not rely on these letters when it added the companies to the Covered List.Only the redacted, unclassified cover pages are public. The classified letters were filed under seal. The public pages say the government worries foreign-controlled drone makers could harm Americans. They don't name any specific vulnerability or give any technical evidence.The FCC added foreign-produced drones to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. DJI filed a petition for reconsideration in January. Autel filed an application for review. DJI is also suing the FCC for its inclusion on the covered list, and the Department of Defense after being labeled a Chinese military company. Service support for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is ending this month. The date is October 31st, 2026. After that, DJI says it will no longer offer product inquiries, technical support, or maintenance for the aircraft and its accessories.The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 launched in May 2018. It has a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor, a mechanical shutter, and 4K video at 60 frames per second. That mechanical shutter is why some mapping and survey pilots still fly it.Finally, voters in Westborough, Massachusetts just took on Amazon. On October 19th, a Special Town Meeting passed a bylaw by 510 to 13. It bans any commercial drone launch pad, landing pad, or delivery drop zone in town.It was written in response to Amazon's plan to fly Prime Air MK30 drones from its warehouse at 64 Otis Street. The fine is $300 per offense. It takes effect only after the Massachusetts attorney general approves it, or lets 90 days pass. The motion also says MassDOT Aeronautics must approve it. The bylaw reportedly says it does not regulate flight, altitude, or flight paths. The question is whether a ban on landing sites conflicts with the ground end of a federally authorized operation under Part 135.Amazon faces more hurdles. A zoning appeal is set for November 2nd, and a Planning Board hearing is set for November 10th. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/21/spray-drone-sales-fell-59-percent-asdc-fcc-part-137-carve-out/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/15/fcc-dji-ban-pentagon-letters/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/12/phantom-4-drone-service-repair/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/20/westborough-510-13-drone-bylaw-bans-amazon-prime-air-launch-pads/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you this week: the FCC moves to shut out Chinese test labs, Versaterm brings LAANC into DroneSense, and DJI launches Dock 4 with automatic battery swaps. Let's get to it. First up, the FCC will vote on October 29th on an order that ends recognition of every test lab in mainland China. The cutoff date is December 1st, 2028. Keep in mind, every phone, camera, router, and other electronic device needs FCC authorization before it can be imported to the US. Interestingly, private labs do that testing, and Chinese labs tested 82% of the devices that applied in 2025. U.S. labs tested less than 4%. That means that out of 46,402 devices that applied, 38,491 were tested in China. It also means that only 1856 were tested in the US. This does not change the Chinese drone ban. Foreign-made drones went on the Covered List on December 22nd, 2025. No new grant is possible no matter who tests it. This hits the products that can still get grants, like DJI's Osmo cameras, plus chargers and accessories, and any other brand of device that performs its testing in China. Next, Versaterm has built LAANC authorization directly into its DroneSense platform. Public safety agencies can now request airspace approval without leaving the app they already use to dispatch and manage drones. The connection runs through Aloft, which Versaterm acquired in February. DroneSense is now an FAA-approved LAANC Secondary Data Service Provider.The goal is speed for Drone as First Responder programs. That matters in search and rescue or a tactical call near an airport. Existing DroneSense customers get this at no extra cost. A reminder, an integrated workflow does not guarantee approval. Agencies still have to meet FAA requirements and get the clearance. Currently there's no roll-out date, so for those of you using DroneSense, On the hardware side, DJI has launched the Dock 4 and the Matrice 5TD. Dock 4 is the first DJI dock that swaps the battery automatically. Earlier docks only charged the pack inside the drone. DJI says the swap takes 25 seconds. Landing to takeoff takes 45 seconds, and the Matrice 5TD flies up to 59 minutes per pack. The 5TD has three 50 megapixel cameras, a thermal camera, LiDAR, and mmWave radar. The dock holds three spare batteries and charges two at once. With the Covered List in place, there is no path to U.S. sale or use, so while this might be a great upgrade for folks who use the Dock 3 or Matrice 4D series, it won't be available in the US. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/10/fcc-vote-chinese-test-labs-82-percent-us-devices/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/10/versaterm-aloft-dronesense-laanc-faa/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/14/dji-dock-4-matrice-5td-battery-swap-launch-no-fcc/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: DJI Neo 3 video leaks, Sky Elements sets Guinness record, the FAA hands out 12 million dollars to drone test sites, and the FBI doubles its counter drone school. Let's get to it. First up, a 49-second unboxing video of the DJI Neo 3 Fly More Combo has leaked. DroneXL's Jasper Ellens posted it Tuesday. He says it first appeared on TikTok.This time, the drone comes out of the box. As you can see, it has spoked prop cages on all four propellers, a RC Mini controller with a screen, a charging hub, and three batteries. The drone also appears to have a small screen on its nose, but it’s unclear what it does yet. A production listing puts the weight at 192.7 grams. The RC Mini has FCC approval, while the rumored Neo 3 does not. It doesn’t look like we’ll get this one here in the US. Next up, Sky Elements has set two Guinness World Records in Blue Ridge, Texas. Working with Damoda America, they flew 71,207 drones during shows from September 27th through the 29th. The old record was 55,939.Six shows used more than 10,000 drones each, with the finale using 11,000. The company says that's the largest drone show ever flown in the US. Crews had to recharge, reset, and relaunch the fleet between shows, which I’m sure was a ton of work. The CEO says shows this big have mostly happened in Asia and the Middle East. Sky Elements now wants to sell these large shows to sports leagues, cities, and brands. Now to the FAA. On Monday, it announced $12 million for 19 drone research projects. Each project is paired with one of the nine FAA UAS test sites.The projects cover detect and avoid, command and control, traffic management, and drone identification. As always with these grants, the FAA wants real world data it can use in future rulemaking. This isn't new money. Congress ordered $6 million a year in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. Companies awarded must also match the funding at least one to one. Word is that this data should inform is Part 108, the BVLOS rule thas sat at OIRA since July 10th. That's 87 days. An unnamed FAA official said last month it's at the 10-yard line and he hopes it publishes by year end. We’ll have to wait and see. Finally, the FBI is doubling its counter drone school. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward toured the National Counter-UAS Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama on October 1st, and stated capacity will more than double in year two. Woodward said that every host city for the World Cup attended and that over 700 drones were taken down. He also noted that none of the aircraft mitigated carried ordnance. If you’re unfamiliar, since July 1st, it's the only place a state or local officer can earn authority to take a drone down under the Safer Skies Act. When the rule published, only 61 officers nationwide held that certificate. The first class last October had just 12.Woodward didn't say the current capacity, so the doubling has no public baseline. The FBI plans to graduate 250 more officers next fiscal year.According to this information and other publicly available info, those 700 drones weren't threats. They were pilots who flew into restricted airspace without approval. It’s a good reminder to check for TFRs, every time.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!Sourceshttps://dronexl.co/2026/10/06/dji-neo-3-unboxing-video-leak-battery-slots/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/05/drone-show-record-sky-elements/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/faa-12-million-drone-test-sites-part-108-unsigned/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/fbi-counter-drone-school-double-capacity-woodward/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: DSPA asks Congress to look at Blue UAS Report, Fifteen states sue the FAA over drone delivery, DJI's next enterprise drone leaks in China, And Skydio unveils a fixed wing drone and a robotic dock. Let's get to it. The Drone Service Providers Alliance is asking every drone pilot and first responder in the country to call Congress. This is a group that normally lobbies for commercial drone operators. Its CEO, Vic Moss, says this issue is big enough to step outside that lane.If you haven’t seen the report, DHS tested six Blue UAS listed drones and two Chinese drones in New York City. From the Blue drones, three of them could not hold position, one had a flyaway, and another failed to pair with its controller for up to 15 minutes. The results for the Chinese drones were not released. Of the six tested, the Skydio X10 came out with the best overall score with a 3.7 out of 5 total. The only other aircraft that was able to be tested in the complex urban environment was the Parrot Anafi USA Gov, which got a 2.4 out of 5. Problems with these aircraft included latency, connection issues, and slow boot up and connection times. Based on the results from this report, DSPA wants Congress to name an agency and test every manufacturer’s security the same way as the usability was tested, regardless of country of origin.Fifteen states and Harris County, Texas are suing the FAA. New York's Attorney General filed the case on September 28th. The target is a nationwide environmental clearance the FAA issued in July. That clearance lets the FAA approve new drone delivery markets without an environmental review for each one. The states say the FAA barely addressed lithium battery fire risk, even after an Amazon drone battery burned near a home in Arizona last October. No stay has been requested yet, so deliveries keep flying for now. The DJI Matrice 5D has leaked in China. It's listed at just over three kilograms, about 750 grams heavier than the current Matrice 4TD. These specs come from a leaker, not DJI, so treat it as unconfirmed for now. But the leaker has a good track record with DJI specs. The extra weight likely means built in LiDAR and a built in RTK antenna. This is unfortunately not one we’ll see in the US, as DJI aircraft can’t get approval from the FCC, but it goes to show that DJI is going to continue to innovate.Skydio show off the F10 Lightrunner again, with quite a bit more detail and refinement than the initial announcement. Skydio says it can hit 100 miles per hour, cover a 30 mile radius, and stay on mission for up to two hours. It launches and lands from something called the MegaDock, using a robotic arm that grabs the aircraft out of the air. No runway. No person standing there to catch it. Skydio also announced new software called Asset Command for utility inspections, and Security Command for autonomous property patrols. The pitch is fewer pilots watching individual drones, and more autonomous systems covering entire counties or utility corridors. Skydio says the F10 won't actually reach customers until 2027, and pricing wasn’t released. Based on the infrastructure required for the MegaDock, It’s likely in the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/09/28/dspa-vic-moss-dhs-blue-uas-report-congress-ask/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/29/15-states-sue-faa-drone-delivery-environmental-review/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/27/dji-matrice-5td-china-registration-leak-750g-heavier-matrice-4td/https://dronedj.com/2026/09/25/skydio-new-drone-f10-megadock/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/01/dhs-addendum-dji-matrice-scores-blue-uas-hudson-yards/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 3 stories for you this week: SkyeBrowse rolls out new pricing tiers, The FCC moves to block DJI and Autel chips, and Amazon's delivery drones are overwhelming a Texas suburb. SkyeBrowse just overhauled its pricing for drone 3D mapping. If you're not familiar, SkyeBrowse turns drone video into 3D models and maps. It's used for construction, inspections, insurance claims, and even crime scene documentation. The commercial teir starts at about 20 dollars a model, for basic capture and sharing. Pro adds exports and AI tools, like automatic floor plans and site plans. And a Public Safety and Enterprise tier costs 199 dollars a model per year, and adds things like CJIS compliance and Axon Evidence integration for law enforcement. Existing subscribers keep their old plans. And of course, the “Freemium” option is still available for those who want to try before you buy. Next, Starting October 13th, the FCC will block a brand new type of application. If a drone contains a circuit board made by DJI or Autel, it can't get a new FCC authorization. And here's the twist. It doesn't matter where the drone was built. Even a drone assembled entirely in the US, one that qualifies as Buy America or Blue UAS approved, can still get rejected if just one internal chip traces back to DJI. Pending applications filed before October 13th are grandfathered in. But if you change even one part on that application, the grandfathering goes away. If you're a US manufacturer with an application in the pipeline, now is the time to file, and to ask your suppliers exactly who made every board inside your aircraft. Last up, one resident in Richardson, Texas tracked 52 Prime Air drones flying overhead in a single day. Some flew as low as 150 feet. Amazon's permit allows up to a thousand flights a day from that hub. A local homeowners association leader told the Times the FAA has failed the city. Part of the frustration comes from the FAA's own ruling. Back on July 28th, the agency decided drone delivery noise does not count as a significant environmental impact nationwide. That decision also ended local comment periods for new hubs. There's also a mixed message on cameras. Richardson's city website tells residents the drones don't record video. Amazon told the Times its drones do record footage near delivery points. Speaking of Amazon…They’re now asking the FAA for up to a thousand drone flights a day out of a new hub in North Haven, Connecticut. That’s up to 365,000 flights a year, covering a 7.5 mile radius that reaches into New Haven, Hamden, and Wallingford. This is the first Prime Air hub in the Northeast to get a public comment window. Connecticut's environmental agency opened that window on September 16th. It closes October 1st. That thousand-flight number is nothing special. It's the same ceiling Amazon files in almost every city. What's unresolved is how much scrutiny this specific hub will get, since the FAA's new national noise ruling may let it skip a full local review altogether. If you live near New Haven, this is your window to speak up before it closes.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/09/22/skyebrowse-price-drone-3d-model/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/21/fcc-logic-bearing-components-drones-october-13/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/21/amazon-drones-richardson-nyt-faa-signed-off/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/20/amazon-prime-air-north-haven-connecticut-1000-flights/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have 4 stories for you this week: a Boston police drone crashes, DJI Neo 3 leaks, Wingcopter unveils a new recon drone, and a search and rescue team in Canada uses drones to save a stranded climber. Let's get to it. First up, a Boston Police drone crashed onto a parked car just days after the department launched its new Drone as First Responder program. The crash happened last Thursday around 1:30 in the afternoon. The falling drone landed on a Mazda 3, smashing the rear windshield and trunk and destroying the aircraft. The owner wasn't home at the time, he came back to a windshield note and a wrecked car. Boston Police recently partnered with Motorola Solutions and BRINC on this program, launching it publicly on August 28th. The pitch was speed and safety, with drones reaching emergency scenes in as little as one minute, but this crash occurred less than 7 days after the program officially launched. The Boston Police Patrolmen's Association is not impressed, with Union president Larry Calderone calling the program invasive surveillance technology, and said the department should be hiring more officers instead. Under FAA Part 107, any drone accident causing more than 500 dollars in damage must be reported to the FAA within 10 days. It's also unclear if the drone was equipped with a parachute recovery system, which would have likely been required in this type of operation.Next, a leaked retail box may have just told us more about DJI's plans than DJI wanted. The box is for the DJI Neo 3, and it showed up online on September 15th. It's a beginner-friendly drone with fully enclosed propellers and a gimbal camera. The box lists a DJI RC Mini, a remote with its own built in screen. That controller matches a device that already has FCC approval here in the US, granted back in December 2025. The approval came through just three days before the FCC's Covered List cutoff blocked new authorizations for foreign made drones. The problem is the drone itself never got approval. Without it, the Neo 3 can't be sold in the US. The Wingcopter 262 was unveiled on September 14th, and it’s a reconnaissance drone. This is a tilt rotor aircraft that takes off and lands vertically, then flies like a fixed wing plane. Wingcopter says it can stay airborne for up to six hours, fly up to 93 miles, and it carries a swappable payload including thermal cameras with 80 times zoom. It's built for military and border security customers, and it's the first product from Wingcopter's new Security and Defense division. No independent flight testing has been published yet, and there's no price, customer, or delivery date. It’s unclear at this time if future payloads will include LiDAR or Mapping cameras. And finally, some good news. A drone helped save a stranded climber in British Columbia. It happened the night of September 10th at Stawamus Chief, near Squamish. A climber got stuck on a 10 inch ledge, 250 feet up, with no rope left to get down. Squamish Search and Rescue sent up two drones. One lit up the cliff face. The other flew a pilot line up to the climber, who used it to pull up a jacket and a headlamp. Rescuers then used a second drone to carry up 300 feet of lightweight rope. The climber was able to grab the rope out of the air, tied it into his harness, and rappelled safely to the ground.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://hoodline.com/2026/09/brighton-man-s-mazda-damaged-by-boston-police-drone-days-after-safety-pitch/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/15/dji-neo-3-leak-rc-mini-fcc/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/15/wingcopter-262-reconnaissance-drone-six-hours/https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/climber-drone-rescue-stawamus-chief/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have four stories for you this week: Zipline Drone Mishap, Part 108 Progress Update, and the FCC got over 3800 comments. Let’s get to it. First up, a Zipline drone near Houston Texas experienced a mishap this week. According to Zipline the aircraft was on its way to pick up an order when it experienced a “mid-flight issue” and deployed its parachute. The aircraft descended under the parachute, coming to rest in a road. No property was damaged and no one was hurt as a result of this mishap. This isn’t the first drone delivery mishap we’ve seen this year, but it is the first that has come down under a parachute. Back in February we talked about an Amazon drone that hit an apartment building in Richardson Texas, and nearly a year ago, two Amazon drones hit a crane in Tolleson, Arizona. There’s currently no word on what the issue was with this Zipline aircraft, but we’ll keep you updated as we see more. Next, TSA is planning some closed door talks about security, and the meetings will happen AFTER Part 108 final ruling is released. Requests to participate are due October 19th. What this actually suggests is that the security portion of Part 108 isn’t ready and won’t be ready until after the FAA publishes their portion. The format of these meetings appears to be round table style discussions, with individual views rather than a group recommendation. In addition, there is no public comment period for this. Currently, Part 108 states with OIRA, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. OIRA has meets booked through September 16th, so publication before then is unlikely. If you’re unfamiliar, OIRA’s job is to review major draft rules to ensure it helps the public more than the cost to run, keeps paperwork low, and ensures that the new rule doesn’t conflict with other agencies rules. Currently, it’s unclear if the TSA rule will be included in Part 108 or come as a separate rule. We’re following this closely, and we’ll update when we see more.Last up, the FCC’s Military definition notice got 3829 comments, and we read them all. I’ll give you some quick facts and then I’d recommend you go and check out our full video on the proposal. 98.6% of filings oppose the proposal as written, 1575 out of 1584 that engaged the definition of military grade called it over broad, only 30 agree the security risk is as acute as the commission described, and only 1 out of 3829 agreed the economic impact would be minor and contained. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday, and be sure to check out the full breakdown of the responses on the FCC’s Notice! https://dronexl.co/2026/09/05/zipline-drone-parachute-highway-6-houston-cypress/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/04/tsa-part-108-bvlos-security-roundtables-closed-door/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/03/fcc-drone-ban-comments-3770-against-16-for/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you this week: a DJI Mavic 4 Pro gets shot out of the sky in Alabama, GoPro sells 90% ownership, and UAS Sentry launches a new portable Remote ID detection tool. Let's get to it. Up first, A real estate photographer in Athens, Alabama, had his drone shot down mid-job. Michael Gardner was flying his DJI Mavic 4 Pro off Lindsay Lane on Saturday, August 29, when he heard a gunshot. His video feed went haywire and the drone dropped out of the sky. He got it back two days later, after someone else found it. No shooter has been identified yet, and Gardner is filing a police report and reaching out to the FAA. Remember, shooting at a drone is a federal felony. It falls under the same law that protects airliners, and it carries up to 20 years in prison. Courts have already sent people to prison for this exact thing. If someone shoots at your drone, land safely if able, document everything, and call the police and the FAA.Next up, GoPro is selling 90% of, well, itself. The company announced a merger with Starman Optical, a private US optics company, paying GoPro shareholders 285 million dollars and wiping out 92 million in debt. GoPro keeps about 10% of the combined company and stays on the Nasdaq. This rescue comes after a rough stretch. GoPro stock is down 96% since its 2014 debut, and in June, the company warned it might not survive another 12 months. In July, founder Nick Woodman put in 20 million dollars of his own money just to keep the lights on. The new plan points GoPro's optics at defense, government, and AI data centers. GoPro says it will keep supporting existing cameras, but makes no promises about future models.UAS Sentry unveiled a new portable Remote ID detection unit at Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas. It's called the Nexus Observer, and it costs $1,595 dollars. It uses two antennas and two separate processors to scan both the 2.4 and 5.8 gigahertz bands that drones use to broadcast Remote ID. It has a built-in touchscreen, so no phone or app is required to see a drone's location and its pilot's location in real time. The unit runs over 12 hours on battery and comes in a water-resistant case. Buyers get two years of cloud access included, with alerts, geofencing, and flight replay. Drone detection tech is getting cheaper and easier to deploy, which means Remote ID compliance matters more than ever if you're flying.No Post Flight this week since Greg, Jason, and Ben are out, and no Monday Live for Labor Day weekend. Have a great weekend and we will see you for News Update next week. https://dronexl.co/2026/09/02/dji-mavic-4-pro-shot-down-athens-alabama/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/02/gopro-starman-optical-merger-defense-pivot/https://www.suasnews.com/2026/09/uas-sentry-unveils-nexus-observer-portable-dual-band-remote-id-drone-detection-system-at-commercial-uav-expo/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 4 stories for you this week: Washington state jacks up commercial drone fees, an industry survey shows DJI still dominates, the FCC tells certification labs to tighten their screening, and SiFly raises $20,000,000. Let's get to it. Starting January 1st, 2027, commercial drone operators in Washington state will pay $150 a year per aircraft to register. Right now it's $15. That's a ten times increase. Here's where it came from. Washington repealed a luxury tax on private jets before it ever took effect. To make up that lost revenue, lawmakers added a new $120 excise tax on commercial drones, plus doubled the existing registration fee to $30. Ninety percent of that money goes to a sustainable aviation fuel account. Not to airports. Not to drone programs. To jet fuel research. The drone fee got exactly one hearing, buried inside a bigger transportation bill, and no drone operators showed up to testify. For comparison, Minnesota charges $25 a year. Utah charges $5. A DJI Mini flown for real estate photos in Washington will now cost the same to register as a Cessna 172. This takes effect in 2027. If you fly commercially in Washington, start budgeting now.The Associated Builders and Contractors, a major construction trade group, asked its members what drones they fly. DJI came out on top with 97.1 percent. Autel took the rest. Skydio, the only American brand on the list, got zero percent. This survey happened months after the FCC's ban on new DJI models hit the market. And it shows the ban hasn't pushed contractors toward American alternatives. It's just frozen them on the hardware they already own. Almost 20 percent of these fleets use thermal cameras and about the same use lidar. Both of those payload types are part of a new FCC proposal that could pull them from shelves entirely. The trade group is asking lawmakers to simplify compliance, and based on the results of their survey, I understand why! The FCC just told a company called HOVERAir to stop selling its VERSA flying camera immediately, calling it a violation of US law. Here's the twist. A certification lab had already approved that camera for sale. The FCC says that approval was granted in error, and it's now been pulled. The FCC is sending new guidance to every certification body it accredits. If you’re unfamiliar, these are private companies, paid by manufacturers, that actually decide whether a device gets approved. The FCC wants them to screen harder for banned drone components, though, that guidance hasn't been published anywhere. No public notice and no docket number. This matters because the whole system for enforcing the drone import ban runs through private labs. If one bad approval got through, and it takes a viral product launch to catch it, that raises real questions about how many others might be sitting out there right now. This is a developing story and we'll keep tracking it. Last up, SiFly announced a $20,000,000 Series A financing. According to the press release, the funds will be used to scale production and customer deliveries of the SiFly Q12. If you’re unfamiliar with the Q12, it currently holds the Guinness Record for longest flight by an electric multi rotor in its class, at 3 hours and 11 minutes. The aircraft carries a payload up to 10lbs, and a maximum range of up to 90 miles on a single charge. It’ll be cool to see these start hitting the hands of customers and hear the feedback! And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!Sourceshttps://dronexl.co/2026/08/25/washington-commercial-drone-fee-150-jet-tax-repeal/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/24/abc-survey-dji-97-percent-contractor-drones-fcc-ban/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/21/fcc-tcb-guidance-drone-certification/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you: DJI gets a big win, new drone tariffs, and a Chinese drone maker somehow gets FCC clearance. Let's get to! DJI just scored its biggest legal win in years. On August 14th, a federal appeals court partially reversed a lower court ruling in DJI's fight against its Pentagon blacklist status. DJI was added to that list back in 2022 as an alleged Chinese military company. The court sided with the government on most points, but on one key issue it agreed with DJI. The Pentagon claimed DJI contributes to China's defense industrial base, but that section of the report was entirely redacted. The court said you can't take the government's word for it. Now the case goes back to the lower court for another look. DJI is still on the blacklist for now and nothing changes for consumers today. But this is the strongest pushback yet against one of the government's key arguments that so far, has lacked public evidence.The Trump administration just announced new tariffs on imported drones and drone parts. Some tariffs go as high as 100%, with drones over 55 pounds and thermal drones facing the top tariff rate. Smaller drones without those features generally face a 25% tariff, allied countries like Japan, Taiwan, and the EU get a lower 15% rate, and the UK gets 10%. Most of these tariffs kick in within weeks. The goal is boosting US drone manufacturing and cutting reliance on China. However, with the FCC appearing to target foreign manufacturer’s ability to sell drones in the US at all… a 100% tariff on $0 is still $0. And HOVERAir just opened pre-orders for its new VERSA, a pocket camera that converts into a self-flying drone. And unexpectedly, it's cleared for sale in the US. That’s right, the HOVERAir VERSA is FCC approved… That's notable because HOVERAir's last drone, the AQUA, missed FCC authorization by weeks and had to refund over two million dollars to US backers. The VERSA weighs 230 grams, shoots 4K at 60 frames per second, and comes in under the FAA's 0.55lb registration threshold. This is a stark contrast to DJI's Osmo Pocket 4, a camera that doesn't fly, is still blocked from US sale. It's a strange contrast, a flying camera gets in, and a handheld one doesn't. Keep in mind this is a crowdfunding pre-order, not a guaranteed purchase, so shipping delays or changes are always possible.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/08/18/dji-us-blacklist-court-win/https://dronedj.com/2026/08/17/us-drone-import-100-tariffs/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/18/hoverair-versa-fcc-clearance-indiegogo-launch/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you this week: DARPA hands out half prizes as a conventional helicopter wins the Lift Challenge, a drone delivered defibrillator saves a man's life in Sweden, and the FCC weighs banning DJI drones that are already approved and sold in America. Let's get to it. DARPA's Lift Challenge wrapped up in Dayton, Ohio, and the winner wasn't some futuristic multi-rotor. It was a basic single rotor helicopter called the Katana. It carried over three point eight times its own weight, the best ratio of the week. But DARPA's target was four to one, and nobody hit it. So under the contest rules, every prize got cut in half. First place took home $1,250,000 instead of $2,500,000. Teams that pushed harder for the full four to one target actually failed. Some ran out of battery mid course, others had structural issues. The takeaway here is that lift isn't the problem for heavy drones anymore. Battery energy density is.In Sweden, a man in his sixties survived a cardiac arrest after a drone beat the ambulance to the scene. The autonomous aircraft was airborne just fifteen seconds after the emergency call came in. It flew to the address and lowered a defibrillator on a winch line. A bystander grabbed it, followed instructions from the dispatcher on the phone, and shocked the man's heart back into a regular rhythm before paramedics even arrived. This is part of a network of six drone bases in Sweden covering three hundred thousand residents, with drones beating ambulances by several minutes on average. Here in the US, similar trials just started this summer in North Carolina and Virginia, but they still need case by case FAA approval. Sweden runs this as routine dispatch. The rule that could get the US there, called Part 108, is sitting at the White House right now. Rumor is the wait for Part 108 is almost over, so if you want to get updated when it goes live, be sure to subscribe!Last up, this is now the second time we’ve covered this story. We need YOU to go comment BEFORE the September 2nd deadline. If you haven’t heard, the FCC is considering a rule that could pull existing foreign made drone off American shelves. This isn't about new models, it’s about ones that are already approved, like the Mini 5 Pro and the Air 3S. The proposal targets what the FCC calls “military grade tech”. Their definition includes LiDAR, thermal cameras, agricultural spraying, docking stations, and drones over 55 pounds. The problem is those aren't just military features, they’re obstacles avoidance and commercial payloads. LiDAR for example helps your drone avoid obstacles at night while thermal cameras help search and rescue teams find missing people. If this passes, you could still fly the drone you own BUT you might not be able to buy a new one of the same model or replace parts. Public comments are open until September 2nd, so make your voice heard. We’ve got an upcoming webinar on August 20th, with Kyle Nordfors. We’ll reviews challenging situations that SAR teams have faced in the field, then dissects them together to see what we can learn as a group. Bring your own hard problems, too: if your team is stuck on a challenge, this is the place to put more minds on it. Anything related to training, standard operating procedures, equipment, case studies, and more is fair game. We’ll see you there! And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/08/10/darpa-lift-challenge-results-avidrone/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/07/everdrone-aed-drone-boras-cardiac-arrest-save/https://dronedj.com/2026/08/11/fcc-drone-ban-dji-mini/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the FIFA World Cup drone crackdown wraps up with more than 700 seizures, wildfire drones ground firefighting aircraft in Spokane 26 times in just three days, the FAA rolls out a 9 million dollar inspection grant that barely covers the DJI ban fallout, and DoorDash becomes a certified drone airline. Let's get to it. The US Department of Transportation says it just ran the largest counter-drone operation in US history. More than 700 unauthorized drones were seized during the FIFA World Cup, with over 1,100 total detections. That's across all 11 US host cities, fan zones, hotels, and training sites.. The FAA set up nearly 250 Temporary Flight Restrictions, and Ground Intercept Teams were stationed at venues to catch violators fast. This wasn't just confiscation either. Federal prosecutors in Houston filed criminal charges against four people for flying into restricted zones, and there are likely more in progress. Officials are calling this a blueprint for the 2028 LA Olympics, and the message for pilots is simple: Don’t fly in TFRs.Speaking of TFRs, wildfires are burning through Spokane County Washington, and drone pilots keep making it worse. If you’re unfamiliar, These fires have destroyed 700 structures and forced 65,000 people to evacuate. The sheriff's office counted at least 26 drone incursions into the fire's flight restriction in three days. It’s currently unclear how these detections occurred, but at least four of those drones allegedly flew into the path of firefighting aircraft. One incursion on August 3rd grounded all 35 firefighting aircraft, while homes were actively burning. Only two operators have been cited so far. Federal penalties can exceed $20,000 and up to a year in prison. Remember to check TFR.FAA.GOV before every flight and don’t be that guy. The Department of Transportation just posted a new grant forecast. 9 million dollars for agencies that want to inspect bridges, dams, and roads with drones. Applications open in September and close November 15th, and five awards are expected. Since December of last year, federal funds can't be used to buy or operate Chinese-made drones. That grounded hundreds of state government drone fleets overnight. State officials asked Congress for 50 million dollars to help replace them. Congress authorized 12 million for this year, and only 9 million actually got funded. If your agency relies on federal drone funding, this program is real money, but it is nowhere close to funding a replacement for all the grounded aircraft. Last up, DoorDash just got FAA Part 135 certification. That makes it only the 8th company in the US approved to run commercial drone delivery. The new program is called DoorDash Air. Instead of just partnering with drone companies like Wing or Flytrex, DoorDash built its own aircraft and its own software to decide how each order gets delivered. Car, robot, or drone. The company says drone deliveries under five miles can arrive in under 25 minutes. DoorDash says the drone is American designed and built. Details on the aircraft itself are still under wraps, with more coming later this year. We’ll keep you updated when we see more! And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/08/05/fifa-drone-pilot-court-fine/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/04/spokane-wildfire-drone-incursions-ground-aircraft/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/03/usdot-diig-9-million-drone-inspection-grants-fy26/https://dronedj.com/2026/07/31/doordash-air-drone-delivery-launch/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you this week: two more drones just got exemptions from the FCC's foreign drone ban, Axon Vision and ParaZero team up on a new non-destructive counter-drone system, and the FAA approves a drone system that can trigger avalanches on purpose. Let's get to it. The FCC just granted Conditional Approval to two more drone systems. That's Exedy Globalparts' Ayre CX and Parallel Flight Technologies' Firefly. That brings the total number of exempted drone companies to 17. Back in December, the FCC put nearly all foreign-made drones on its Covered List. That blocked new FCC approvals over national security concerns. But since March, the agency has been approving individual drones almost every month. And there's a bigger change too. As of July 21st, these approvals no longer expire at the end of 2026.Manufacturers can now keep them indefinitely, as long as they follow their onshoring plans. For everyday consumer pilots, nothing changes right now. These are commercial and industrial drones, not camera drones. And DJI and Autel still can't get new models approved under this system.Axon Vision and ParaZero Technologies have announced a new counter-drone setup. It combines Axon's ForceField detection system with ParaZero's DefendAir interceptor. DefendAir uses a net to capture rogue drones instead of shooting them down. The companies are marketing this as a non-destructive option for airports, power plants, and other sensitive sites. They say it was tested during a trial in Israel. Now, the report is a company press release, so treat the performance claims with some caution. Instead of one-size-fits-all kinetic responses, companies are building modular systems that can switch between destructive and non-destructive interception depending on the environment. What’s interesting here is that “non-destructive” involves using a net to take down a rogue drone, which still poses a threat to both the drone and people on the ground while falling. The FAA has approved Drone Amplified's MONTIS system for avalanche mitigation. This lets ski resorts and transportation agencies use drones to deploy explosive charges. The goal is to trigger small, controlled avalanches before unstable snow builds into something dangerous. This won't replace helicopters or artillery towers. But it gives crews another tool, especially when weather grounds manned aircraft. It also means fewer people need to physically enter high-risk avalanche terrain. MONTIS shares engineering with the company's IGNIS platform, which is already used for prescribed burns. Drone Amplified developed this with explosives partners Austin Powder and CIL Avalanche, along with help from the Alaska Department of Transportation. It's a solid example of drones taking on jobs that are genuinely dangerous for humans.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/07/27/fcc-drone-ban-exemption-update/https://www.suasnews.com/2026/07/axon-vision-and-parazero-introduce-new-forcefield-configuration-fornon-destructive-counter-uas-interception/https://dronedj.com/2026/07/15/montis-avalanche-drone-amplified-faa/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 3 stories for you this week: a Colorado drone pilot facing federal charges after grounding wildfire aircraft, a possible US ban on imports of some “military-grade” drones, and the National Press Photographers Association pushing back on the FAA's Section 2209 rule. Let's get to it. This week Pilot Institute is in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for EAA AirVenture. If you've never been it's a really cool event with thousands of aircraft on display, air shows, workshops, and Pilot Institute. Greg and the team will be there through Sunday, July 26th, and would love to see you in person. If you're in the area stop by the big pink tent and meet the team. And when you meet Pilot Institute, you don't just leave with memories, no. You'll also be leaving with free Pilot Institute gear and giveaways. Plus, I hear there are fantastic cheese curds and double-fried French fries close by. I have sent a request to Greg to have a BVLOS french fried drone delivery sent all the way back to Arizona, but I am still waiting on that response.Alright, in our first story, A drone pilot in southern Colorado is facing federal charges. On Friday, July 17th, someone flew a drone into the temporary flight restriction over the Aspen Acres Fire near Rye. That fire has burned more than 100,000 acres. It's the largest wildfire currently active in Colorado.In case you don't know, once a drone is detected, every helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft on the fire has to stop flying. However, investigators didn't have to work hard on this one. The pilot posted the flight on social media and The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office used that footage to identify the suspect. Civil penalties can exceed 75,000 dollars. Next up, The FCC announced 2 drone supply chain actions, but the one that matters most for equipment is a new request for public comment. The Commission is asking whether it should prohibit the import, marketing, or sale of certain “military-grade” foreign-made drones already on its Covered List. The categories under consideration include swarming drones, drones designed to carry defense articles, thermal imaging drones, drones with LiDAR sensing, drones capable of dispensing aerosols classified as economic poison under FAA rules, drone docking stations, and any drone weighing 55 pounds or more. Several things would be excluded from any such ban: equipment not on the Covered List, equipment sold for federal government use or for commercial testing and product development, and any drones people already own. Separately, the FCC extended its exceptions for trusted drones, with the Blue UAS and Buy America carve-outs now running through January 1, 2028, and Conditional Approval products losing their expiration date entirely. Comments on the proposed prohibition are due 30 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.The National Press Photographers Association just filed comments on the FAA's proposed Section 2209 rule. This is the rule that lets critical infrastructure sites apply for permanent drone flight restrictions, called UAFRs. The FAA has identified about 125,000 candidate facilities total, and they're expecting around 9,000 applications over the next five years. The NPPA's complaint is simple. As written, these restrictions could last forever, with no expiration date, no public record of why they exist, and no way to challenge one. The comment deadline is August 5th, 2026. Be sure to check out our full discussion of the proposed rule.No post flight this week, but we'll still have a Monday live Q&A with our guest host, Vic Moss. Hope we see you there. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/07/21/drone-pilot-charges-aspen-acres-fire/https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-takes-action-secure-drone-supply-chainhttps://dronexl.co/2026/07/20/nppa-faa-section-2209-drone-rule-press/