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.

6,733

Articles

276

Beats covered

2020

Writing since

Nov 14

Latest story

Tan Joint Light Tactical Vehicle with a boxy laser beam director mounted on its roof, parked on dirt at night

Counter-Drone

Mar-a-Lago Gets the Laser Family Behind El Paso's Airspace Shutdown

A 20 kW LOCUST laser on a JLTV now guards Mar-a-Lago beside Avenger missiles, three miles from DJT's runway. The TFR warns drones may be destroyed.

Haye KestelooNov 8

An olive-green Army Infantry Squad Vehicle with a boxy laser turret and two sensor pods on its roll cage parked on gravel in front of a rust-colored border wall under a blue sky, a soldier seated inside.

Department of Defense

Pentagon Counts 300 Border Drone Defeats. Two Were Publicly Identified

The Pentagon says it defeated 300 drones on the US-Mexico border in 2026. The only two targets ever made public were party balloons and a CBP drone.

Haye KestelooNov 8

Indiana

Indiana FAA Drone Test Site Plans Kinetic Tests Under A Civil Program

Purdue's Windracers ULTRA opened Indiana's FAA test site with a flood-relief drop. Its director says kinetic and counter-UAS tests set it apart.

Haye KestelooNov 8

A dark DJI Matrice police drone hovering in the sky above a Texas city, with mountains and a downtown skyline in the background

Counter-Drone

Houston Approves Counter-Drone Bid on Consent, Use Rules Unfinished

Houston City Council passed its FY2027 FEMA counter-drone grant bid on the consent agenda, untagged. The use policy is still being written.

Haye KestelooNov 6

A technician in a white lab coat fastens a component onto a white Wing delivery drone on an assembly bench, with an American flag on the wall behind him

Drone Delivery

Wing's $125M Texas Plant Can Build Tens of Thousands of Drones a Year

Wing will spend up to $125 million on a 15,000 sq ft Fort Worth plant sized for tens of thousands of drones a year, a day after Zipline raised $1.5 billion.

Haye KestelooNov 6

Two gray folding drones on the red hood of a fire department vehicle, a DJI Mini 5 Pro labeled KILG_FD_UAS1 in front and a larger drone with a thermal payload behind it, with a red Kilgore fire truck and pine trees in the background at dusk

Search & Rescue

Kilgore Drone Finds Alzheimer's Patient on an Oil Lease in 90 Minutes

Kilgore Fire Marshal Terry Linder found a missing woman with Alzheimer's on a Rusk County oil lease after 90 minutes in the air. She was gone for hours.

Haye KestelooNov 6

DJI Mavic 4 Pro hovering between pine trees with its Hasselblad gimbal camera facing forward

OPINION

DJI Ban Outlasts the Midterms: Democrats Can't Lift It Before 2029

Democrats won the House and Senate on November 3. DJI's FCC ban rests on a law Biden signed, a Republican FCC through 2028 and a Trump veto until 2029.

Haye KestelooNov 6

Three gray Skydio drone docks numbered 01 to 03 on a flat white rooftop under an overcast sky, with two American flags in the background

DFR

Axon Puts $1.2B Into Skydio, and US Police Now Buy Only Through Axon

Axon invests $1.2 billion in Skydio for a 37% stake at a $5.2 billion valuation and becomes Skydio's only public safety channel in the US and Canada.

Haye KestelooNov 6

Haye Kesteloo

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.