Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Founder of DroneXL.co, where he covers all drone-related news, DJI rumors and writes drone reviews, and of EVXL.co, for all electric vehicle news. Haye can be reached at haye @ dronexl.co or @hayekesteloo. Also on LinkedIn, Muck Rack, Instagram and YouTube.
Poland plans to build a national anti-drone defense system within months without waiting for the European Union’s stalled “drone wall” initiative, Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk announced in a Bloomberg interview today. The decision comes after 19 Russian drones violated Polish airspace in September, forcing NATO to shoot down hostile aircraft for the first time…
DJI launched the Zenmuse L3 aerial LiDAR system today, featuring a 950-meter (3,117-foot) detection range and dual 100-megapixel cameras that dramatically extend professional mapping capabilities beyond the company’s previous L2 payload. The long-range system can cover up to 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) per day when mounted on the Matrice 400 drone platform. DJI…
DJI released Fly app version 1.19.0 on October 30, 2025, adding full compatibility with the newly-launched Neo 2 drone alongside intelligent flight features that make the palm-launched platform significantly more capable. The update introduces SelfieShot multi-angle capture, enhanced gesture controls, customizable mode sets, and improved ActiveTrack flexibility—positioning the Neo 2 as DJI’s most
DJI posted teaser images across its social media channels today announcing a November 18, 2025 product launch event at 12 PM GMT—and notably, the company has created a dedicated US landing page for the announcement. The teaser, titled “Square Up, Nail the Move,” shows what appears to be a square-shaped action camera, strongly indicating the…
Ukraine’s military has transformed drone warfare into a competitive video game where verified kills earn points redeemable for advanced weapons, resulting in 18,000 Russian casualties in September alone. The gamified “Army of Drones Bonus System” has gone viral among Ukrainian units and now extends beyond drone strikes to artillery, reconnaissance, and logistics operations, fundamentally reshaping
Belgium’s chief of defence has authorized military personnel to shoot down unauthorized drones flying over the country’s military bases following three consecutive nights of suspected espionage operations at Kleine-Brogel Air Base, which houses U.S. nuclear weapons and F-16 fighter jets. The shoot-down order marks a significant escalation in Belgium’s response to what defense officials characteriz
University of Minnesota researchers successfully completed their 11th field trial of autonomous AI-powered drone swarms that analyze wildfire smoke patterns in three dimensions, marking a significant step toward deploying academic research for real-world emergency response as climate change intensifies fire seasons nationwide. On October 24, graduate student Nikil Krishnakumar stood on a 30-acre p
Sydney-based Sphere Drones has secured approval under Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) new Broad Area Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Self-Assessment framework, becoming one of the first operators nationwide authorized to independently evaluate operational areas for autonomous drone flights. The milestone approval dramatically accelerates deployment timelines from months to d
One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.
