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.
Japan's defense ministry pushed four drone makers into navy testing under a rapid development program built on Ukraine's battlefield lessons, as Chinese carriers operate near Iwo Jima and Tokyo's own commercial drone market stays dominated by Chinese imports.
Meteomatics and NOAA flew Meteodrones over Purcell, Oklahoma on July 30, profiling the lowest layers of the atmosphere on demand — the exact altitude band where tornadoes form and where balloons and satellites leave forecasters half blind. Switzerland has 10 sites and Norway is building 30. Oklahoma has one.
Civilian drones entered restricted airspace over the Spokane County wildfires at least 26 times in three days, repeatedly grounding helicopters and air tankers while three uncontained fires burned homes below. Two operators have been cited, and the cases have been referred to the FAA.
Tampa General Hospital and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue are set to launch the nation's first EMS-driven drone program flying whole blood to trauma scenes in under three minutes, covering 70 square miles of Hillsborough County starting this October.
A drone off the New South Wales coast filmed a humpback whale giving birth on July 28 — only the fourth complete humpback birth ever captured on film, and the first ever recorded from the air.
Sikorsky has completed the initial ground and flight test phase of its Nomad 100 tail-sitting drone for DARPA's EVADE program, sending the 18-foot hybrid-electric aircraft to a government facility for a more demanding multirole test campaign.
Amazon switched on Prime Air drone deliveries in Papillion, Nebraska, its 11th US market, flying packages under 5 pounds for $2.99 per Prime delivery — while Walmart's store map still defines the race.
HOVERAir's new VERSA is a handheld 3-axis gimbal camera that snaps into a propeller carrier and flies itself, confirming the modular flying camera DroneXL reported on July 25 — though the launch names no sensor, price, or ship date.
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