Rafael Suárez is a drone journalist and content creator with more than 20 years behind the lens. He began in film photography in 1998, moved to digital in 2005, and has been flying and filming with drones since 2016. As a commercial videographer he has produced work for premium brands including BMW, Porsche, and MINI, and his documentary work champions a #flysafe mentality across the industry. Based in Quito, Ecuador, he covers drone news, hardware, and the policy and business shaping the industry for DroneXL, and shares reviews and cinematic flight on his YouTube channel. A dad and a lifelong aviation nerd, he's happiest when something is in the air.
American creators who wanted the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P and got blocked by the FCC now have a workaround with a familiar shape. A US-registered brand called Xtra is preparing the Muse 2 Pro, a dual-lens gimbal camera whose spec sheet reads almost line for line like the Pocket 4P that DJI cannot legally sell…
A Holly homeowner’s doorbell camera caught an 18-month-old boy walking alone past the 500 block of Elm Street at 11:54 a.m. on June 19, and within minutes Holly Police had Oakland County Sheriff’s Office drones and a K-9 team in the air and on the ground looking for him. The aerial search ran for the…
Thales and Renault Group rolled out a joint hybrid 4×4 tactical vehicle named 4 TROOP at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris-Nord Villepinte on June 15, designed to serve as a mobile command and control node for unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles operating around it. The platform is a civilian Renault chassis carrying a Thales…
The Orlando Police Department activated its automated Drone as First Responder network on June 17, four months after council approved the $6.83 million contract amendment to deploy 11 Skydio drones across nine rooftop docks. The system is now responding live to 911 calls involving life-threatening situations, major property damage, and time-sensitive emergencies. Orlando is the…
A Bay County District Court jury has convicted Bay City digital creator Ray A. Rocha of interfering with a police search by flying his drone over the same airspace where Sheriff’s deputies were running their own search on November 10, 2024. The six-person jury delivered the verdict on May 1, 2026, and Judge Timothy J.…
The Normal Police Department will add a Flock Drone as First Responder unit to its existing six-drone fleet under a one-year pilot, after the Town of Normal Council approved the $50,000 purchase at its June 15 meeting. The seventh aircraft is the department’s first Flock platform and the first one in the fleet designed for…
Seattle is running a drone scoreboard for the six 2026 FIFA World Cup matches it hosts, with a 400-drone Sky Elements show flying after dark over Seattle Center to project the final score and both flags alongside the Space Needle. The first show ran Monday, June 15 after the Belgium-Egypt match, and the program continues…
The Texas Department of Public Safety has seized eight drones flown inside the Federal Aviation Administration’s Temporary Flight Restriction zone around Houston 2026 FIFA World Cup venues since the tournament opened. One operator now faces felony charges, per KHOU, after DPS Air Ops tracked the aircraft to roughly 900 feet (274 m) over a restricted area. It is the first major US sporting event…
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