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Aug 30

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San Bernardino County Tests FireSparrow Drone

Wildfire

San Bernardino County Tests 1st FireSparrow Drone

The department has partnered with Ponderosa.ai to pilot what they describe as the nation’s first water dropping suppression drones

Rafael SuárezFeb 17

REC Foundation banner for the Aerial Drone Competition hosted in Nevada.

DJI

California JROTC Team Heads to Nevada Drone Battle

Fifty four teams. One competition floor in Reno. And just one squad carrying the Kern County banner, as 23ABC reports. Arvin High School’s five member JROTC drone team is heading to Nevada for the 8th Brigade Aerial Drone Competition, and they are not going as tourists. They are going as contenders. Their instructor, Sgt. John…

Rafael SuárezFeb 13

Santa Barbara County Fire crews searching the shoreline at Haskell Beach in Goleta, California.

DJI

DJI Matrice 30 drone helps rescue surfer swept offshore in California

A surf session off the California coast nearly turned tragic, but a lobster trap buoy and a DJI Matrice 30 drone helped write a very different ending, as reported by FOX WEATHER. High surf pulls surfer away from shore The incident happened Friday at Haskell Beach in Goleta, California, where a surfer in his 20s…

Rafael SuárezFeb 9

Oregon Exposes the Real Cost of the DJI Ban - No Audit, No Agency, No Due Process: DJI Reveals Why December 23 Ban Will Happen By Default DJI Warns FAA’s Proposed BVLOS Rules Could Ground Most Drones

DJI

DJI vs. TikTok: The Chinese Drone Giant Tried a US Strategy First, Then Abandoned It for Shell Companies

TikTok just pulled off what many considered impossible. On Thursday, ByteDance agreed to spin out a U.S. TikTok entity where non-Chinese investors will own approximately 80 percent of the American app. ByteDance keeps just 19.9 percent. The deal effectively neutralizes the national security concerns that had lawmakers demanding a sale-or-ban for years. Meanwhile, DJI sits…

Haye KestelooJan 24

Anduril

Anduril’s $1 Billion Long Beach Gamble: Why Palmer Luckey’s Drone Empire Is Doubling Down on Southern California

Anduril announces $1 billion drone research campus in Long Beach, creating 5,500 jobs as Palmer Luckey's defense tech company expands beyond Ohio factory.

Haye KestelooJan 23

Ambarella Photos and Snapshots | Photo Credits: Ambarella

Antigravity A1

Ambarella’s Hardware Hides In The Antigravity A1 Drone, and it’s a 360-Degree Disappointment

Ambarella is one of those names that stays invisible until a company wants to brag about what’s under the hood of their new product. Based in Santa Clara, California, Ambarella builds the AI “brains” that handle heavy video processing and onboard calculations for cameras, instruments, robots, and yes, drones. The company announced that its CV5…

Zachary PeeryJan 16

FAA

Super Bowl LX: FAA Grounds Drones Hard

Super Bowl Sunday is famous for wings, commercials, and at least one friend explaining formations like they invented football. Super Bowl LX, happening February 8, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, adds one more tradition to the list: aggressively restricted airspace. The FAA has released its official flight advisory at the request of the…

Rafael SuárezJan 8

Javier Gonzalez-Rocha, UCSC professor Photo with UC Santa Cruz Students Observing Their Air Quality Sensing Drone | Photo Credits: UCSC

Drone Research

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, and the conditions can change street by street. If the only way to see the…

Zachary PeeryJan 3

California

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.