California
California Drones: Get the latest drone news and regulations in California. Learn about drone activities and technology shaping the state.
FCC Exempts Blue UAS Drones From Foreign Ban, But the Clock Is Already Ticking
I predicted the FCC would need to walk back parts of its sweeping foreign drone ban. Sixteen days after adding all foreign-made drones to the Covered List, the Pentagon has carved out exemptions for Blue UAS platforms and domestically assembled…
Gilbert Tests Various Drones as First Responders
The Town of Gilbert, Arizona is quietly building one of the more serious Drone as First Responder programs in the Southwest, with its Police and Fire departments jointly testing autonomous drone deployments to improve emergency response times, as reported by…
How UC Santa Cruz Is Using Drones to Help Communities Read Air Quality Before It’s Too Late
If you live in a community that gets hammered by wildfire smoke, agricultural drift, or industrial emissions, “check the air quality” can be easy advice to give and hard advice to follow. The closest official monitor might be miles away,…
Drones Take on Mosquitoes in California’s Coachella Valley
Mosquitoes are small, loud, and extremely good at ruining everything. In California’s Coachella Valley, they now have a new enemy that does not complain about heat, mud, or hard to reach terrain. The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District…
FEMA’s $500M Counter-Drone Program Launches With World Cup Funding
I’ve been tracking the expansion of police counter-drone capabilities for months, and what just happened is bigger than the headlines suggest. Missouri received $14.24 million in federal funding for World Cup drone security, but that’s not the real story. The…
Police Drone Programs Hit 6,000 Nationwide As Legal Challenges Mount
I’ve been tracking police drone expansion all year, and the Wall Street Journal just confirmed what we’ve been reporting: this technology is spreading faster than anyone anticipated. But buried in their coverage is a detail most outlets are missing. The…
DJI Ban: Why Everyone Owes Drone Pilots Honest Answers
This week, DJI’s Head of Global Policy Adam Welsh sat down with YouTuber Faruk from iPhonedo for what was billed as a deep dive into the looming December 23 DJI ban. I watched the interview hoping for hard questions. What…
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…
DJI Drones Save American Lives: Here’s The Proof Politicians Are Ignoring Before December 23
We have been reporting on the DJI ban for over a year, but today we are publishing something different: a comprehensive, documented record of American lives saved by the very drones that will be banned in nine days. DroneXL reader…
Honda eVTOL Emerges From Stealth Mode: Full-Scale Prototype Flying March 2026
Honda has finally pulled back the curtain on one of aviation’s best-kept secrets. After four years in “stealth mode,” the Japanese automaker revealed at the Dubai Airshow 2025 that its hybrid eVTOL program is far more advanced than anyone outside…
Walmart Zipline Drone Delivery Launches in Royse City as 17th DFW Location
Walmart and Zipline have launched drone delivery service in Royse City, Texas, adding another suburb to what is quietly becoming America’s largest commercial drone delivery network. The announcement, made Monday, marks the 17th location in the Dallas-Fort Worth region where…
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…