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.
A Ukrainian commander’s blunt critique at a 2023 Warsaw summit exposed a harsh truth: American drones, even from top manufacturers, are failing on the modern battlefield. “They’re shit,” he declared, poking a Marine Corps representative in the chest, highlighting a crisis in U.S. drone capabilities. This stinging rebuke, coupled with bureaucratic gridlock, has spurred veterans…
The race to deploy fully autonomous strike drones has reached a pivotal moment, with Munich-based start-up Stark announcing that such technology is now within reach. As reported by the Financial Times, Stark’s latest innovation, the OWE-V drone, can strike targets up to 62 miles away, signaling a transformative shift in modern warfare that’s already reshaping…
Elon Musk, the influential CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, issued a stark warning on April 26, 2025, about the future of crewed military aircraft, declaring that they “will be destroyed instantly by cheap drone swarms.” This statement, posted on X, comes amid growing scrutiny of the F-35 fighter jet program, which has faced significant criticism…
In a groundbreaking environmental mission, a drone soared over Florida’s Indian River Lagoon on April 25, 2025, releasing millions of tiny “super clams” to combat decades of ecological decline. This high-tech deployment, part of the Indian River Lagoon Billion Clam Initiative, led by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida, aims to restore water quality and…
On Mount Everest, a DJI FlyCart 30 cargo drone operated by Nepal’s Airlift Technology encountered a gust-induced emergency landing at 19,685 feet, halting operations for four days and igniting concerns about the safety of heavy-lift drones in extreme environments. This incident, the first significant setback for drones revolutionizing logistics on the world’s highest peak, underscores…
The Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese-made drones, unmitigated by recent exemptions for other electronics, are poised to devastate the U.S. drone industry, warns Vic Moss, president of the Drone Service Provider Alliance (DSPA), in an urgent open letter to President Trump. As prices for DJI’s industry-standard drones, used by 90% of pilots and 95% of…
In orchards across the globe, a quiet revolution is unfolding as Tevel’s Flying Autonomous Robots (FARs) redefine fruit harvesting with unparalleled precision. These AI-driven drones, already deployed in the U.S., Italy, Chile, and Israel, are slashing labor costs and boosting efficiency, while experimental technologies like UC San Diego’s GRIP-tape gripper hint at an even smarter…
In a groundbreaking study, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate student Amanda Griswold has harnessed drone technology to redefine how scientists monitor waterfowl populations, offering a less invasive, more precise tool for preserving Wisconsin’s vital wetland ecosystems. Her research, supported by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and conservation groups, reveals dron
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