Haye Kesteloo

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.

6,610

Articles

275

Beats covered

2020

Writing since

Oct 27

Latest story

Jason Day of DRONERESPONDERS in a white cowboy hat and dark suit speaking at a podium marked Commercial UAV Expo, lit by blue stage lighting

ERIC TALLEY AWARD

DRONERESPONDERS Honors The Texas Program Behind 100,000 Sorties

Greg Whiting took the Eric Talley Public Safety UAS Excellence Award at Commercial UAV Expo, days after his Texas program logged its 100,000th sortie.

Haye KestelooSep 1

A commercial drone pilot in a lime high-visibility vest holds a controller with both hands while a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual hovers directly above him against a deep blue sky.

DOCKET 26-189

FCC Drone Deadline Is Tomorrow. Fewer Than 3,000 Comments Are In.

Fewer than 3,000 comments have been filed in PS Docket 26-189 against nearly half a million certificated remote pilots. The window closes September 2.

Haye KestelooSep 1

UAV EXPO

Pilot Institute Warns Of A Drone Hiring Cliff In Two To Three Years

Greg Reverdiau told Commercial UAV Expo the affordable drone that created this industry is disappearing, and aviation already ran this experiment once.

Haye KestelooSep 1

Matt Collins presents a bar chart titled The Gap Is Skills, Not Headcount on stage at the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas.

UAV EXPO SURVEY

FCC Covered List Has 45.8% Of Operators Frozen, Expo Survey Finds

A survey of 885 drone professionals at Commercial UAV Expo found 45.8% in wait-and-see mode on fleet procurement, and only 13.8% actually moving.

Haye KestelooSep 1

AVIDrone Katana unmanned helicopter drone hovering against a clear blue sky, showing its main rotor, long tail boom, tail rotor and four-legged landing gear

Technology

DARPA Doubles Lift Challenge Payload After 5 Of 76 Teams Scored

DARPA brings the Lift Challenge back in summer 2028 with the minimum payload doubled to 220 pounds and the course doubled to 10 nautical miles.

Haye KestelooSep 1

COVERED LIST

FCC Covered List Doesn't Ground Your Drone. Repair Waits Do.

A Commercial UAV Expo panel spent the morning correcting the word ban. What bites operators is parts, repair queues and six to nine week lead times.

Haye KestelooSep 1

Alteon founder Samay Sanghvi seated in front of the company's fixed-wing dynamic-soaring aircraft

India

Alteon Raises $2.5M To Fly A Drone For A Year On Ocean Wind

Bengaluru startup Alteon raised $2.5 million led by Lachy Groom to build a drone that harvests ocean wind shear and stays aloft for over a year.

Haye KestelooSep 1

A Commercial UAV Expo 2026 attendee badge for Haye Kesteloo of DroneXL on a desk beside a drone controller.

Day 1

DJI Sets Up At Booth 903 With $1.56 Billion Stuck At The FCC

Commercial UAV Expo opens in Las Vegas with an FCC Covered List panel while DJI works booth 903, no keynote, and a Ninth Circuit case worth $1.56 billion.

Haye KestelooSep 1

Haye Kesteloo

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.