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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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Coventry Advances Drone Research for Emergencies
Drone Research

Coventry Advances Drone Research for Emergencies

Coventry University has started a new research program to explore how drones can support emergency operations in crowded cities, and the Urban Ascent project brings together Coventry City Council, Skyfarer, The Manufacturing Technology Centre and Slink Tech to test how unmanned aircraft can move medical supplies, map damaged areas and provide communication links during disasters,…

Northrop Reveals Project Talon Combat Drone
Weaponized drones

Northrop Reveals Project Talon Combat Drone

Northrop Grumman has revealed a new autonomous combat drone called Project Talon, a design meant to fix the mistakes that cost the company a win in the first round of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, as reported by Breaking Defense. The company’s earlier proposal earned strong marks for performance but stumbled on price…

Inside Ukraine’s Killhouse Drone Academy
Ukraine

Inside Ukraine’s Killhouse Drone Academy

Inside an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Ukraine, instructors are shaping the country’s next generation of FPV drone pilots, and the space feels more like a live fire maze than a classroom. The Killhouse Academy, as students call it, is built from plywood walls, narrow corridors, and improvised obstacles, all arranged to push new pilots to…

Students Gear Up for Mescalero Apache Drone Competition
Education

Students Gear Up for Mescalero Apache Drone Competition

The students at Mescalero Apache Middle and High School are getting ready for their annual aerial drone competition, which takes place this Saturday, December 6, on the reservation near Ruidoso in New Mexico, as reported by Ruidoso News. The event brings together pilots, navigators, teachers and families, and it turns the school gym into a…

Amazon's Drones Now Have a 'Plan B' for Safe Landings
Amazon

Amazon Prime Drone Delivery Takes Flight in North Texas

Amazon has officially switched on its drone delivery service in Richardson, Texas, and this new expansion marks another chapter in the company’s long journey to make aerial delivery a normal part of everyday life. The drones now take off from the fulfillment center on Research Drive, and they can carry packages up to five pounds,…

Chinese Man Sends Flying Swords Into the Sky
FPV

Chinese Man Sends Flying Swords Into the Sky

When you grow up watching Chinese fantasy shows, you expect flying swords to stay on the screen, not hover past your window like confused mosquitoes with attitude, yet here we are. Fan Shisan, an influencer from Sichuan, has decided gravity is optional and swords should move like flocks of well trained metallic pigeons. Futurism reports…

Cal Fire’s Drone Team Rises As A New Force In Emergency Response
Drone as First Responder

Cal Fire’s Drone Team Rises As A New Force In Emergency Response

Cal Fire’s San Benito Monterey Unit did not plan to become a state leader in drone operations, but a simple act of generosity changed everything, as a local photographer donated two drones back in 2021, and those small aircraft pushed the agency toward a future no one expected. Battalion Chief Josh Silveira still laughs about…

Pentagon Plans Huge Buy of Kamikaze Drones Through 2028
Ukraine

Pentagon Plans Huge Buy of Kamikaze Drones Through 2028

The Pentagon is finally moving with more urgency, launching a one billion dollar effort to buy hundreds of thousands of small one way attack drones, and the goal is to force the entire defense industry to reorganize around scalable, low cost production, The War Zone reports. The initiative is called the Drone Dominance Program, and…

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