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Export controls, the Shenzhen supply chain, and the geopolitics of the world’s drone-manufacturing superpower.

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China Flies 6-Ton Tiltrotor Cargo Drone R6000
China

China Flies 6-Ton Tiltrotor Cargo Drone R6000

China has quietly crossed another unmanned aviation threshold, this time with something that looks less like a drone and more like a small aircraft that forgot to hire a pilot. On December 28, 2025, the Lanying R6000 completed its maiden flight at the Deyang Shifang test site in Sichuan Province, becoming the first known six…

FPV Pilot Joshua Bardwell: FCC Component Ban May Not Be as Bad as It Sounds
Police

FPV Pilot Joshua Bardwell: FCC Component Ban May Not Be as Bad as It Sounds

While the drone world panics over the FCC’s sweeping ban on foreign drones and components, FPV expert Joshua Bardwell is urging pilots to take a breath. His analysis raises a critical question that most coverage has missed: Does the FCC even have jurisdiction over half the components it listed? In a video published December 23, Bardwell…

DJI Mini 4 Pro shown from the top with the battery partly ejected.
Skydio

FCC Banned Foreign Drone Batteries, But China Makes 99% of Them

Yesterday, I wrote about the FCC’s sweeping ban on all foreign-made drones and critical components. Today, the New York Times published an article that exposes a fundamental problem with the administration’s “American drone dominance” strategy: the batteries don’t exist. The FCC’s National Security Determination explicitly lists “batteries and battery management systems” as covered critical compon

China’s CH-7 Stealth Drone Completes First Flight
China

China’s CH-7 Stealth Drone Completes First Flight

China’s high altitude stealth drone known as the CH-7 has officially left the runway and returned in one piece, which in the world of advanced flying wing aircraft is no small achievement and usually a reason for quiet celebrations and strong coffee. Also called the Caihong-7 or Rainbow-7, the large unmanned aircraft completed its maiden…

Rapid NATO Counter-Drone System Shines at Bold Machina
China

Rapid NATO Counter-Drone System Shines at Bold Machina

If there is one thing modern conflicts have made painfully clear, it is that small drones punch far above their weight. Cheap, fast, and everywhere, they have become the airborne equivalent of mosquitoes with cameras, explosives, or both. At NATO’s Bold Machina exercise in the Netherlands this September, a rapidly developed counter drone prototype showed…

Hong Kong eVTOL Plans Reveal China’s Global Aviation Standards Strategy
EHang

Hong Kong eVTOL Plans Reveal China’s Global Aviation Standards Strategy

Hong Kong just revealed its hand in the global eVTOL race, and it’s not just about air taxis. It’s about who writes the rules. Dominic Chow Wing-hang, Hong Kong’s deputy director general of civil aviation, announced Saturday that passenger-carrying eVTOLs could begin trials within two to three years. But the announcement came at a Belt…

DJI Responds to Court Ruling, Denies Military Ties Despite Pentagon Designation - Trump Administration Targets Chinese Drone Imports in September Crackdown
Department of Justice

U.S. Sells China AI “Brains” But Blocks DJI Drone “Eyes” as a Security Threat

We’re living in a strange paradox: the U.S. is willing to sell China the “brains” that power advanced AI systems (because it pays), while blocking Chinese-made “eyes” like DJI camera drones under the banner of security and human rights. Different agencies, different laws – sure. But if the standard is credible, evidenced risk, it should…

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