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Rafael Suárez

Rafael Suárez

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.

1,178
Articles
144
Beats covered
2025
Writing since
Aug 13
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Eight Skydio Drones Now Fly Dallas 911 Calls
Skydio

Eight Skydio Drones Now Fly Dallas 911 Calls

The Dallas Police Department officially launched its Drone as First Responder program on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, deploying eight remotely piloted Skydio aircraft from Dallas Fire-Rescue stations across the city. Each drone covers a two-mile radius from its base, with operators working from the department’s Fusion/Real Time Crime Center. The first operational deployment landed the…

DJI Matrice 300 Recovers Stolen Telehandler
DJI

DJI Matrice 300 Recovers Stolen Telehandler

A police drone operator with Nottinghamshire Police located a stolen telehandler hidden under trees near the A46 on May 20, 2026, using a DJI Matrice 300 RTK, five days after the bright-yellow machine had been reported missing from Hawton near Newark on Friday, May 15. Photos from the scene confirm the airframe. The recovered telehandler…

Vanderbilt's Campus DFR Goes Live With Skydio X10
Skydio

Vanderbilt’s Campus DFR Goes Live With Skydio X10

Vanderbilt University Public Safety has launched a drone first-responder program for its Nashville campus, with installation and personnel training completed in April 2026 and initial operations conducted during Commencement week. The fleet is built on Skydio X10 platforms, equipped with high-resolution cameras, thermal imaging, and a parachute recovery system. According to the university, a drone

Amazon Wants Idaho Sky Next: Nampa Vote May 26
Amazon

Amazon Wants Idaho Sky Next: Nampa Vote May 26

Amazon Prime Air has filed for a conditional use permit in Nampa, Idaho, asking the city to approve a 21,000-square-foot drone delivery center at its existing fulfillment site on East Franklin Road. The Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to vote on the application on May 26, 2026. If approved, MK30 drones would serve…

One Drone Empties a NATO Capital
Drone Incidents

One Drone Empties a NATO Capital

The trigger was a single radar signature picked up over Belarus, with characteristics matching an unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone

Belarus Unveils Scanner 2.1 Acoustic Drone Detection System
Ukraine

Belarus Unveils Scanner 2.1 Acoustic Drone Detection System

Belarus has unveiled a new acoustic drone detection system called Scanner 2.1, developed by the Belarusian company InnoTech Solutions and presented at the State Authority for Military Industry on May 19, 2026, according to Belarusian state media reporting. The system is designed specifically to detect drones that conventional radio-frequency monitoring cannot easily track, including the…

U.S. Navy Tests GARC and Lightfish Drones Off Northern Norway
Norway

U.S. Navy Tests BlackSea GARC and Seasats Lightfish in Norway

The U.S. Navy is running an exercise called Arctic Sentry 2026 off the coast of northern Norway through May 24, putting unmanned surface vessels and underwater drones through their paces in cold-climate maritime operations. The two surface platforms identified in the exercise are the Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft, known as GARC, built by BlackSea Technologies…

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8,400+
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340+
Beats & desks
2020
Covering drones since
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