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Sep 20

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Three-panel sequence of an Amazon Prime Air MK30 drone releasing a package over a suburban Arizona backyard

Michigan · Drone Delivery

Amazon Drones Drop Packages Where State Law Calls It a Crime

Ten states restrict dropping objects from aircraft more tightly than the FAA. Amazon's MK30 is the only delivery drone that releases packages in flight.

Haye KestelooSep 2012 min read

Render of a blue blueflite tiltrotor cargo drone with four rotors and fixed wings

Drone Delivery

Michigan Ford Dealer Flies Auto Parts By Drone On $740,000 Grant

Jack Demmer Ford launched a state-funded drone parts delivery network in metro Detroit, flown by an aircraft that cleared both the FAA and the FCC Covered List.

Haye KestelooAug 26

Detroit City Council President James Tate

Detroit DFR

Detroit Police Drone Grant Went To Washington Without City Council Approval

Detroit filed a $2.2 million DOJ grant application for a police drone as first responder program without City Council approval. Six members voted no, the city may withdraw it, and DPD still has no approved drone policy.

Haye KestelooJul 30

Skydio

Kent County Wires Deputy Body Cameras to Drone Docks

The Kent County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan has wired its deputies’ body cameras into its drone fleet. When a deputy presses a button on the camera, the nearest rooftop-docked Skydio X10 launches and flies straight to that officer’s location. The agency stages three of the drones on rooftops across West Michigan, in Cutlerville, Comstock Park…

Rafael SuárezJul 7

Amazon

Amazon’s Prime Air Drones Head for the Omaha Suburbs

Amazon has confirmed that its next drone-delivery market is the Omaha area, with Prime Air aircraft set to fly out of the company’s warehouse in Papillion, Nebraska. The service will carry items under five pounds (2.3 kg) that fit in a shoebox, to homes within a 7 to 8 mile (11 to 13 km) radius…

Rafael SuárezJul 3

Police

Oakland Sheriff Drones, K-9 Find Missing Holly Toddler Safe

A Holly homeowner’s doorbell camera caught an 18-month-old boy walking alone past the 500 block of Elm Street at 11:54 a.m. on June 19, and within minutes Holly Police had Oakland County Sheriff’s Office drones and a K-9 team in the air and on the ground looking for him. The aerial search ran for the…

Rafael SuárezJun 20

DJI

Michigan Drone Operator Fined $575 in Jury Conviction

A Bay County District Court jury has convicted Bay City digital creator Ray A. Rocha of interfering with a police search by flying his drone over the same airspace where Sheriff’s deputies were running their own search on November 10, 2024. The six-person jury delivered the verdict on May 1, 2026, and Judge Timothy J.…

Rafael SuárezJun 19

Amazon

Amazon Lands in South Africa, but Prime Air Stays Home

Amazon just launched Prime in South Africa at 59 rand a month, and shoppers got same-day delivery, discounts, even cloud gaming. What they didn’t get is a single delivery drone. Prime Air isn’t coming, and when Amazon’s own regional boss was asked about it, he had nothing to say. The silence is the story, because…

Rafael SuárezJun 9

Michigan

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.