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.
A blockchain startup is offering property owners the chance to monetize low-altitude airspace for drone operations. Legal experts say the underlying property rights don’t exist under current law. SkyTrade, a Delaware-based startup, is building what it calls the world’s first marketplace for air rights, promising property owners they can earn passive income by renting airspace…
The era of personal flying vehicles isn’t coming—it’s already here. The Pivotal BlackFly, a single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has quietly become the first ultralight “flying car” to reach actual consumers in the United States, racking up over 1,000 crewed flights and proving that personal aviation is no longer science fiction. The…
The Texas Department of Public Safety has become the first law enforcement agency in the United States to deploy helicopter-mounted drone detection technology, marking a significant shift in how agencies protect their aircraft from unauthorized drones during high-risk operations. The system went fully operational in August 2025. The move comes just months after a rescue…
A DJI Mavic 4 Pro, DJI’s newest flagship drone, suffered catastrophic propeller failure just eight seconds into a hover test, crashing from approximately 10 feet and breaking an arm. The drone incident serves as a stark reminder that even high-end drones can fail without warning, and that pre-flight inspections alone aren’t enough to guarantee safe…
Dutch drone manufacturer Acecore Technologies has launched the next generation of its flagship Noa heavy-lift hexacopter, bringing significant upgrades to deployment speed and flight efficiency while maintaining the 20kg (44-lb) payload capacity that made the original a workhorse for professional operators. The redesigned Noa addresses a critical pain point for field operators: setup time. The…
A popular tech YouTuber has reverse-engineered a $40,000 military-grade reconnaissance drone for just $120.07 using open-source hardware and off-the-shelf components. The DIY system successfully streams live FPV video directly into ATAK—the same tactical mapping software used by the U.S. military—proving that cutting-edge surveillance capabilities don’t require defense contractor budgets. Data Sla
Think Media has published an in-depth hands-on review of DJI’s new Mic 3 wireless microphone system, praising its compact design and professional features while uncovering a surprising design flaw with the magnetic mount—and offering a simple free fix. In this video review, the creator walks through the Mic 3’s impressive feature set, from its half-size…
Iran summoned Poland’s ambassador in Tehran on Thursday to formally protest Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski’s participation in a UK Parliament display of a captured Shahed-136 drone allegedly used by Russia in Ukraine, according to Press TV. The diplomatic summons escalates tensions over Western accusations that Iran supplies attack drones to Moscow’s military campaign. The…
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