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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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Santa Maria PD Eyes Drones for 90 Second Response
FAA

Santa Maria PD Eyes Drones for 90 Second Response

Santa Maria Police Department wants to shave precious seconds off emergency response times, and they are looking up to do it. The department is exploring a Drone as a First Responder program, also known as DFR, that could put a drone over an emergency scene in under two minutes. In many cases, that means the…

DJI Drones Find Missing Dogs Alive in Arctic Cold
DJI

DJI Drones Find Missing Dogs Alive in Arctic Cold

When the temperature drops below zero and the wind starts biting like a pack of wolves, hope can feel very small. That is exactly where Ella and Bebe’s family found themselves. The two Boxers slipped out during a brutal Arctic blast that swept across Northeast Ohio. Temperatures plunged to negative 3 degrees. Snow piled up…

Insta360 Luna Takes on DJI Pocket 4
DJI

Insta360 Luna Takes on DJI Pocket 4

Insta360 just walked onto the stage and introduced Luna, its first true pocket gimbal camera as our favorite news detective posted on his twitter account, and the entire room probably did a double take. Not because it is small. Not because it is modular. But because it looks like Wall E decided to quit cleaning…

Portuguese Drone Unicorn Expands in Ukraine
NASA

Portuguese Drone Unicorn Expands in Ukraine

Portuguese drone unicorn Tekever is deepening its footprint in Ukraine, betting on local engineers, local partnerships, and battlefield hardened AI systems to anchor its long term presence in the country’s defense tech ecosystem, as Kyiv Post reported. The move signals more than symbolic support. It reflects a strategic shift toward embedding Western drone companies directly…

Savannah Police to Spend $54K on BRINC Drones
Brinc

Savannah Police to Spend $54K on BRINC Drones

Seven years after first deploying drones, the Savannah Police Department is moving to modernize its aerial fleet, replacing three aging UAVs with new models that cost roughly $54,000 each, as Savannah Now reports. The twist is that the department is moving away from DJI equipment and toward BRINC drones, a U.S. manufacturer that focuses on…

SkyPixel’s 11th Contest Raises the Bar Again
SkyPixel

SkyPixel’s 11th Contest Raises the Bar Again

For the 11th year in a row, SkyPixel has opened the gates to what is essentially the Olympics of drone storytelling. Except instead of javelins and gymnastics, competitors are throwing pixels and bending gravity. The 11th Annual SkyPixel Photo and Video Contest is now live under the theme “Frame Your World,” and if that sounds…

Austintown FD Joins Ohio Drone Pilot Program
Search & Rescue

Austintown FD Joins Ohio Drone Pilot Program

Ohio is quietly building something that could reshape emergency response across the state, and Austintown Fire Department is right in the middle of it. Under Ohio House Bill 96, the state has launched the Drones for First Responders pilot program, a structured effort to test how drone technology can improve situational awareness, cut response times,…

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8,400+
Articles published
340+
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2020
Covering drones since
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