Export controls, the Shenzhen supply chain, and the geopolitics of the world’s drone-manufacturing superpower.
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week, and they’re quite interesting. First up, the FAA abruptly shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas. A former DJI VP has been detained in China. A new bill gives Kansas City police the authority to take down drones. And…
China’s coastguard just gave us a rare window into how drones are shaping operations at Scarborough Shoal, and it did not come through a defense white paper or satellite imagery analysis. It came through a Lunar New Year post. Behind the festive tone was something far more strategic. Beijing is increasingly relying on uncrewed aircraft…
More than $100 million in federal funding is headed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, reinforcing the region’s growing role as a national hub for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), space, and defense technology, as the Grand Forks Herald reports. Speaking at the HIVE innovation center, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) detailed a sweeping investment package that…
As global militaries sprint through the AI arms race, China is leaning into a strategy that sounds less like a defense white paper and more
Chinese authorities have criminally detained DJI’s former Vice President of Sales on suspicion of accepting bribes during a five-year tenure that coincided with the drone giant’s most turbulent period of global regulatory pressure. The executive, identified only by surname Yuan, oversaw DJI’s entire global sales operation from May 2019 through May 2024. The detention was…
At the recent Singapore Airshow, China brought its aviation fireworks. Front and center stood the sleek J-35A, posed like a stealthy supermodel under bright expo lights. But over at the massive booth of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, something quieter sat with far more realistic export potential. The new Wing Loong X, as reported by…
The HAMZA-3 has a trick most kamikaze drones don’t: modular Lüneberg lenses that inflate its radar cross-section to mimic a fighter jet. Enemy air defense systems burn through expensive interceptor missiles on a drone that costs a fraction of the aircraft it pretends to be. The HAMZA-3 fills the gap between FPV kamikaze drones and…
A Chinese automation company is openly promoting a drone assembly line reportedly bound for North Korea, raising serious questions about export controls and compliance with United Nations sanctions. According to NK News, a video posted on Douyin shows an employee of Jiangsu Nengtai Automation Equipment presenting a fully built drone production line inside its factory…
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