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

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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…

NYT Warns AI Drone Swarms Could ‘Hunt and Kill on Their Own’ as Pentagon Loses War Games
DJI

NYT Warns AI Drone Swarms Could ‘Hunt and Kill on Their Own’ as Pentagon Loses War Games

The New York Times Editorial Board just issued one of the most alarming assessments of American military readiness in recent memory, and drones are at the center of it. In a sweeping editorial series titled “Overmatched,” the newspaper warns that cheap, autonomous drone swarms are reshaping warfare faster than the Pentagon can adapt, and that…

Croatian Drone Maker Orqa Scales Up for Pentagon Demand
Drone Companies

Croatian Drone Maker Orqa Scales Up for Pentagon Demand

Orqa, a leading drone maker from Croatia, has opened a larger production facility in the city of Osijek, as Defence-Blog reports. The company says the upgraded plant can now build as many as 280,000 NDAA compliant drones every year, a major increase aimed at meeting the rapid rise in Western military demand. The company explains…

Overhead black-and-white view of a DJI Phantom quadcopter surrounded by folding DJI Mavic drones and other multirotors arranged on a white surface
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…

Taiwan’s Drone Takeover Plan Sparks Big Security Debate
Counter-Drone

Taiwan’s Drone Takeover Plan Sparks Big Security Debate

Taiwan is moving fast to build new systems that can stop small commercial drones from flying near airports, power plants, and other key sites, as SCMP reports. Part of the plan includes takeover technology. This tech can jam a drone, spoof its signals, and even hack it so operators can land it safely. At a…

Chinese Businessman Takes 5% Stake in Sanctioned Russian Drone Maker, Then Russia Deletes the Evidence
China

Chinese Businessman Takes 5% Stake in Sanctioned Russian Drone Maker, Then Russia Deletes the Evidence

A Chinese drone parts supplier has taken an ownership stake in one of Russia’s most important military drone manufacturers, according to a bombshell Financial Times investigation published today. The revelation marks the first documented case of direct Chinese equity investment in a sanctioned Russian defense company. Wang Dinghua, owner of Shenzhen-based drone parts company Minghuaxin,…

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