Export controls, the Shenzhen supply chain, and the geopolitics of the world’s drone-manufacturing superpower.
The Pentagon’s ambitious Replicator Program—designed to deploy thousands of AI-enabled drones against China in a potential Taiwan conflict—has fallen significantly behind schedule due to widespread technical failures and procurement missteps. The Wall Street Journal reported September 26 that the troubled program has been transferred to a new Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) in a bid…
DJI suffered a comprehensive legal defeat on September 26, 2025, when US District Judge Paul Friedman rejected the Chinese drone giant’s challenge to its Pentagon “Chinese Military Company” designation, dealing a crushing blow to the world’s dominant drone manufacturer despite the court’s acknowledgment that the Defense Department’s evidence wasn’t “bulletproof,” reports Reuters. The 49-page rulin
Chinese drone experts have been working directly with sanctioned Russian weapons manufacturer IEMZ Kupol to develop military drones, according to new intelligence documents obtained by Reuters. The collaboration involves multiple site visits and shipments of attack drones, revealing a deeper partnership between Chinese commercial drone companies and Russia’s defense industry than previously known.
Poland has become Taiwan’s largest drone customer, capturing nearly 60% of the island nation’s drone exports as European countries rapidly pivot away from Chinese defense technology in response to growing security concerns. Taiwan’s drone exports have skyrocketed to approximately $32 million through August 2024—up from virtually zero in previous years—with Poland driving the surge, according…
For every drone pilot who has watched a bird effortlessly glide on the wind and felt a pang of jealousy, this one’s for you. Researchers at Northwestern Polytechnical University have unveiled RoboFalcon 2.0, a flapping-wing drone that so perfectly mimics the flight of a bird that it can take off and fly slowly on its…
Just when we thought we had a handle on China’s rapidly growing fleet of stealth drones, another one appears. This week, as TWZ reported, a new, mysterious, twin-jet engine flying-wing drone has been spotted on the ground at the Changchun Air Show, and its appearance is sending another ripple of shock and awe through the…
Military drones like the MQ-9 Reaper are now easier to buy for allied nations. The US has reinterpreted its export rules to make it significantly easier
More than a dozen advanced kamikaze drones with ranges of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) were identified near Nyala airport in Sudan’s Darfur region in May, signaling a major escalation in the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) drone capabilities, according to images analyzed by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab and verified by Reuters. The new…
One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.
