DEALS
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
Latest story
Sort
Eurovision 2026 Opens With Europe's Largest Drone Show
India

Eurovision 2026 Opens With Europe’s Largest Drone Show

Vienna didn’t open the 70th Eurovision Song Contest with fireworks. It opened with 3,000 drones, as ESCXTRA reported. On the evening of April 27, Dubai-based production company Cyberdrone launched what organizers are calling the largest drone show ever staged in Austria over the Schönbrunn Palace, the 18th-century imperial complex that Viennese locals sometimes call the…

After Lahaina, Hawaiian Electric Bets on Drone Inspections
United States

After Lahaina, Hawaiian Electric Bets on Drone Inspections

Two and a half years after a downed power line sparked the fire that killed 102 people and erased most of Lahaina, Hawaiian Electric is flying drones over every island it serves, as Maui News reported. The utility has contracted three separate inspection firms across Maui County, Molokai, the Big Island, and Oahu, all targeting…

Russia Builds Shahed Drones With Teen Labor at Alabuga
FAA

Russia Builds Shahed Drones With Teen Labor at Alabuga

A 16-year-old named Darina stares into a YouTube camera and announces she’ll soon earn 150,000 rubles a month, roughly $2,000, assembling drones at what her recruiters call the world’s largest drone factory. Her parents are proud. She wants other teenagers to follow her in, as Coda Story reports. The factory is the Alabuga complex in…

Drones Hit Record Number of UK Air Ambulance Missions
DJI

Drones Hit Record Number of UK Air Ambulance Missions

The UK Civil Aviation Authority confirmed nine air ambulance flights were disrupted by drones flying too close to helicopters during emergency missions in 2025. That’s the highest annual figure ever recorded, up from six cases in 2024 and eight in 2023. In the worst incidents, lifesaving flights were delayed or aborted entirely, as AVWEB reports.…

NASA's Dragonfly Octocopter Hits Three Build Milestones Ahead of 2028 Titan Launch
NASA

NASA’s Dragonfly Octocopter Hits Three Build Milestones Ahead of 2028 Titan Launch

NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft is no longer a render. Over the past two months, the team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has bolted together the lander’s primary structure, dropped a full-scale parachute system over the Arizona desert, and finished testing the laser inside the science payload that will sniff Titan’s surface for the…

BRINC Drones Land in Victorville for $832K DFR Rollout
Brinc

BRINC Drones Land in Victorville for $832K DFR Rollout

The City of Victorville just flipped the switch on a Drone as First Responder program with BRINC Drones, becoming the first contract city under the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department to put DFR technology into the field, as Public CEO reported. The City Council unanimously approved the three-year service agreement back in October 2025, and…

Cobb Police Deploy Skydio Drones to Track Murder Suspect in I-75 Corridor
Skydio

Cobb Police Deploy Skydio Drones to Track Murder Suspect in I-75 Corridor

Cobb County police responded to a shooting involving a murder suspect near Leland and Windy Hill roads on Tuesday afternoon, deploying drones alongside SWAT teams and K9 units to track Damian Strozier, 31, who fled after exchanging gunfire with officers, as Marietta Daily Journal reported. Strozier, wanted on murder charges by Atlanta Police, pointed a…

— The DroneXL Briefing · Free

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.

One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.

8,400+
Articles published
340+
Beats & desks
2020
Covering drones since
100%
Independent