News, deep dives, and analysis — every Kansas story, newest first.
The Air Force has had enough of watching small drones poke around its installations without a reliable way to stop them. This week, the service’s Point Defense Battle Lab put out two Requests for Information asking industry for exactly what’s been missing: systems that can spot the threat and systems that can kill it, as…
The ask is direct: $650,000, two robotic dogs, two high-risk units. The Wichita Police Department brought the request to the Wichita City Council on March 3, 2026, with one quadruped robot earmarked for the SWAT team and a second for the bomb squad. What separates these from the robots WPD already operates is mobility, specifically…
Representative Eric Burlison (R-MO) has introduced H.R. 7525, the Counter Drone State and Local Defender Act, a bill that would permanently authorize state, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to operate counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems against unauthorized drone operations. The bill was received in Congress on February 12, 2026, and currently has no cosponsors. H.R.…
Eight drone nests, 30 seconds to scene, and a Chinese-made aircraft at the center of an American public safety debate. Kansas City just went live. The System That Gets There Before the Cruiser Eight drone nests are now positioned across Kansas City, all controlled from KCPD’s real-time crime center, as Axios reports. When a call…
Amazon is bringing its Prime Air drone delivery service to Chicago’s south suburbs this summer, and the company wants to introduce itself to the neighbors first. As Patch reports, a free community meet-and-greet is scheduled for Monday, March 2 at the Tinley Park Convention Center, where residents can see a static MK30 drone up close…
Kansas is putting serious money behind agricultural drones. Governor Laura Kelly announced the state will invest $3 million in a drone initiative aimed at improving yields, reducing input costs, managing livestock, and expanding precision agriculture capabilities across the state. The funding will support Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems in developing systems capable of operating beyond visual…
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week, and they’re quite interesting. First up, the FAA abruptly shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas. A former DJI VP has been detained in China. A new bill gives Kansas City police the authority to take down drones. And…
Kansas City may soon get something it has never had before, local police with the legal authority to knock a drone out of the sky, as KCTV5 reports. A new bill introduced by Eric Burlison would temporarily give state and local law enforcement the power to intercept and disable unmanned aircraft during the 2026 FIFA…
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