DJI Leaks? Possible Midair with Drone, Remote ID and the Super Bowl

Welcome to the Weekly UAS News update. We have three stories for you this week. The first one concerns DJI leaks for the DJI Mini 4. We also have a report of a drone that allegedly hit an Airbus in France. Lastly, we discovered that Remote ID was actually in use at the 2023 Super Bowl. Let's dive in.

Your first story this week involves some leaks of a potential DJI Mini 4. We covered that a while back and stopped discussing it because we weren't certain of its authenticity. The Mini 3 Pro was released just a year ago, in May of 2022. A video shared on Twitter suggests that a Mini 4 might be in the works, which has us intrigued. From the video, it appears similar to the design of the Mini 3, but it features a front landing gear – a modification we had done for our Mini 3 due to stability issues. Currently, there aren't any leaked specs or concrete details from the usual sources. It would be surprising if DJI chooses to release a new mini drone so soon after the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro. One speculation in our office is that it could be a Mini 3S Pro. This would potentially have the same camera but might feature minor changes, such as the OcuSync 4 that we saw on the Air 3. Share your thoughts in the comments and let us know if you believe this rumor is legitimate.

Onto the next story, a large drone supposedly hit an Airbus A380 on approach to the Nice Airport in France. To reiterate, this is still speculative. There hasn't been any confirmation that the damage was indeed caused by a drone. However, significant damage to the leading edge of the A380 is evident from available images. The French BEA, equivalent to the NTSB, is investigating. At this stage, there is no solid proof that a drone was involved. The reason we're discussing this is the rampant speculation online about the incident. As of now, there's no official confirmation, but we'll keep you updated.

Finally, your favorite topic – the Remote ID. We now know that remote ID receivers and transmitters were voluntarily utilized during this year's Super Bowl by certain participants. The drone show at Super Bowl 57 had Remote ID on every drone. Furthermore, Police and other public safety drones were equipped with Remote ID. The system was managed by Pierce Aerospace and included both their Remote ID broadcast module and a Remote ID receiver to ensure authorized drone operations within the TFR.

Regarding the Remote ID topic, we'll soon release a video comparing these modules, including the Pierce Aerospace B1 and five or six others. The delay in releasing this video stems from difficulties in acquiring these modules. By early next week, we hope to provide a detailed recommendation based on our tests.

One final note: We'll host a drone live stream on Monday at 4 P.M Pacific and 7 P.M Eastern. Join us for discussions, ask questions, and participate in giveaways.

Thank you for tuning in. Like, subscribe, and we'll see you next week!