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.
German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems unveiled a jet-powered target drone called the RAT (Red Air Target) at the 62nd Munich Security Conference, held February 13–15, 2026 — and the problem it solves is blunter than the name suggests. European air-defense units cannot effectively train against Shahed-style mass drone attacks because they have no realistic targets…
Freefly Systems will hold its 5th annual Freefly Fest on August 19, 2026, just outside Seattle, Washington. Chief Revenue Officer Matt Isenbarger announced the date on LinkedIn, describing the event as a day of hands-on demos, BBQ, and tours of Freefly Systems HQ. No venue has been announced yet — Freefly’s own shipping page lists…
DRONERESPONDERS and the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) have scheduled their next Search and Rescue (SAR) Working Group virtual roundtable for May 19, 2026. The session focuses on training — specifically how to become a more efficient small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) SAR pilot — and is open to anyone who works in or cares about…
On the table at the Brave1 pavilion at XPONENTIAL Europe 2026 in Düsseldorf sat a drone unlike anything else on the floor. The frame was large — arms stretched wide, propellers big enough to move serious air. Strapped to the body was a black housing with the VARTA logo and a prominent blue battery pack.…
The ACLU’s new whitepaper argues U.S. drone rules favor government and corporations over citizens — and cites DroneXL’s own protest surveillance reporting as evidence.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 390, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Act, by a unanimous vote on February 24, 2026, sending the bipartisan wildfire drone bill to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA-20) and co-led by Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4), the legislation directs NASA to expand its existing…
Germany is funding the production of 15,000 Ukrainian-made STRILA interceptor drones for the National Guard of Ukraine, according to an announcement from the German Embassy in Ukraine on March 23. The multimillion-euro agreement — signed in Kyiv in the presence of German Chargé d’Affaires Maximilian Rasch, alongside representatives of the National Guard and Quantum Systems…
Two DJI Mavic 3 drones hovering at least 25 meters above the Caribbean Sea on July 8, 2023, recorded what scientists are calling the most detailed cetacean birth ever documented: a sperm whale calf entering the world off the coast of Dominica, lifted immediately to the surface by a coordinated group of 11 whales. The…
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