Part 108 NPRM Updates, Skydio’s New Drones, $130M for Auterion, Drone Collision Update

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week: Part 108 NPRM updates, Skydio unveiling two new drones for specialized operations, Auterion securing $130 million in funding, and an update to last week’s story on the SuperScooper mid-air collision. Let’s get to it.

Part 108 NPRM: Deadline Approaching

First up this week, let’s talk about some Part 108 NPRM developments. The deadline is approaching for submitting your comments. At the time you’re watching this video, if you watch it when it’s posted, you have 10 days. Please take the time to write your comment on how this will affect your ability to fly beyond visual line of sight. If you are planning to fly beyond visual line of sight, it will affect your ability as currently proposed.

We created two videos: one that explains the NPRM in full detail and another that explains how we plan on commenting. We have almost 200 companies that have backed our proposal so far. If you want to be one of those, there’s a link in the comments. There are currently only 800 comments. As I looked while writing the script, there were over 50,000 comments on the NPRM for Remote ID. We have 10 days to submit many more comments.

DJI Sounds the Alarm

Also on this topic, DJI sounded the alarm this week on the NPRM. The company is warning that the rules as currently written could effectively ground the vast majority of drones being used today—not just DJI drones—and sideline thousands of skilled pilots.

Everyone agrees that we need a clear pathway for BVLOS operations, and DJI is pointing out several issues in the draft. Their biggest concern is the proposed country of origin restriction. The rule would limit airworthiness acceptance to drones made in the United States or in countries that have specific bilateral agreements. Here’s the problem: the United States currently does not have any of those agreements for UAS. This would immediately disqualify almost every drone currently being used by public safety agencies, inspectors, and commercial operators—again, not just DJI drones.

Another major concern is the simplified user interaction (SUI), which prevents any kind of manual flying. This would exclude operations that rely on a skilled pilot in the loop, which is how most of us fly today, including those with waivers to fly beyond visual line of sight.

The proposal also looks to bar the use of the common 2.4 to 5.8 GHz radio link for any BVLOS flights that happen over Category 2 populations, which is very easy to encounter. This would also ground most existing drones, not just DJI drones.

All of these are valid concerns that we also mentioned in our response. Please, if you haven’t yet written your comment for Part 108, time is running out. All comments must be submitted by October 6, 2025.

Skydio Unveils Two New Specialized Drones

Next up, American drone manufacturer Skydio is expanding their lineup with two new specialized drones. They’ve announced the R10 for indoor operations and the F10 for long-range fixed-wing flight.

The R10: Indoor Operations

The R10 is designed for tactical indoor situations where you wouldn’t want to send a person. Think about the DJI Avata 2, which many agencies are using now, or even the Avata 1 or DJI FPV. It’s compact at 10×10 inches, weighs 1.7 pounds, and has a built-in blade guard for navigating tight or dangerous spaces. It offers features for first responders, including lighting, two-way radio communication to communicate with suspects or victims, and Skydio’s obstacle avoidance for flying in complete darkness. The idea is for the drone to be used as the first drone through the door, giving officers eyes inside before they actually enter. The R10 is slated to come out later this autumn and will cost around $6,000 plus another $3,000 yearly service fee.

The F10: Speed and Endurance

The F10 is built for speed and endurance. This fixed-wing drone can hit speeds of up to 80 miles per hour and stay airborne for more than 90 minutes. This is still a prototype during the event, but it’s a good fit for large-scale BVLOS missions like monitoring wildfires or conducting long search and rescue operations. The F10 is scheduled to be released in the first half of 2026. Both drones integrate with the X10 ecosystem using the same software, controllers, and workflow. It will be interesting to see if we can get our hands on one of these and put them to the test.

Auterion Secures $130 Million in Series B Funding

Auterion has secured a massive $130 million in Series B funding to scale their defense software. The company, which began with open-source drone software, has evolved into a major defense contractor. They’re creating an operating system for autonomous systems across air, land, and sea. According to reports, their technology is already being used on the battlefield in Ukraine, where they are delivering tens of thousands of AI strike kits under a Pentagon contract. This new funding will help Auterion expand its work on AI-enabled software for large-scale coordinated drone operations. Unfortunately, there was no discussion about entering the commercial or consumer market, which is really what we need at the moment.

SuperScooper Collision: Updated Penalties

Finally, an update to last week’s story about the drone that hit the firefighting airplane in LA earlier this year. We mentioned last week that the operator had to pay over $60,000 in repairs for the aircraft and perform several hundred hours of community service. We found out after we published our video that Peter Tripp Akemann is also facing jail time and a staggering $156,000 fine after he crashed his Mini 3 Pro into a firefighting airplane. He admitted to flying the drone in the temporary flight restriction over the wildfires near LA, where the drone collided with a SuperScooper airplane, punching a football-sized hole into the wing and forcing it to land for repairs. The pilot pleaded guilty to unsafe operation and was sentenced to 14 days in prison, 30 days of home detention, 150 hours of community service, and a total fine of $156,000. Again, a great reminder: just don’t be that guy.

Postflight Preview

In Postflight this week—our show in the premium community where we share our opinions in more depth—we’re going to cover all three of these topics and discuss the DJI Mini 5 weight controversy. We’ll talk to you there, and in the meantime, fly safe and we’ll see you next week.