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Sep 27

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A Manna Air Delivery employee in a white jacket holds a Manna delivery drone overhead against a blue sky

Oklahoma · Manna Aero

Manna Pitches Tulsa Fire Drone AEDs, an Idea Dublin Never Launched

Tulsa Fire gets a free Manna drone pilot for defibrillators and trauma kits. The Irish trials Manna cites: one simulated drop from a hub it has since shut.

Haye KestelooSep 275 min read

A small white hexacopter weather drone climbs vertically against a clear blue sky, seen from below.

Drone Research

Meteomatics Weather Drones Give NOAA Forecasters New Eyes

Meteomatics and NOAA flew Meteodrones over Purcell, Oklahoma on July 30, profiling the lowest layers of the atmosphere on demand — the exact altitude band where tornadoes form and where balloons and satellites leave forecasters half blind. Switzerland has 10 sites and Norway is building 30. Oklahoma has one.

Rafael SuárezAug 5

Joby Aviation's Manhattan Demo Closes Quieter Than I Expected: A Witness Account From Blade Lounge East

Department of Transportation

FAA Breaks Ground On $8.3 Million V-PAR Range While The eVTOLs It Will Study Are Already Flying

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation broke ground on June 25 on the Vertical Take-Off and Landing Procedures and Analysis Range, or V-PAR, at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. The roughly $8.3 million facility gives the agency its first dedicated range for studying how electric and hybrid vertical…

Haye KestelooJul 6

Department of Homeland Security

Bridgepoint Weighs $1 Billion Sale Of MyDefence, The Counter-Drone Firm Guarding World Cup Airspace

Private equity owner Bridgepoint is preparing to sell MyDefence, the Danish counter-drone company whose jammers and detectors are helping guard airspace at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in a deal that could value the business at around $1 billion. The London-listed firm has hired an adviser to prepare an auction toward the end of this…

Haye KestelooJun 14

DJI

Chula Vista PD’s DFR Drone Program Crosses 25,000 Missions

The Chula Vista Police Department announced this week that its Drone as First Responder (DFR) program has surpassed 25,000 missions since launch, making the agency that pioneered the entire model in 2018 the clearest proof yet that drone-led emergency response works at scale, as FOX 5 San Diego reported. The milestone matters because CVPD isn’t…

Rafael SuárezMay 15

Amazon

Manna Air Delivery’s Healy At XPONENTIAL: Manufacturing Moving From Dublin To Tulsa

Manna Air Delivery CEO Bobby Healy tells XPONENTIAL Detroit he is moving Manna's manufacturing from Dublin to Tulsa and targeting 2,000-3,000 US jobs.

Haye KestelooMay 13

Skydio

Oklahoma City Drone Finds Armed Suspect, Robot Ends Standoff

Oklahoma City police handled a potentially deadly standoff last month without a single injury using two tools that are becoming standard equipment in modern patrol operations: a drone and a tactical robot, as reported by Officer. The April 8 incident on SW 96th Street is another data point in a pattern that’s accelerating across American…

Rafael SuárezMay 13

Skydio

Skydio Gets FAA Approval for One Pilot to Fly Four Drones at Once, and 12 Police Departments Are Already In

The FAA has approved 14 agencies to let one pilot fly up to four Skydio X10 drones simultaneously under a new streamlined BVLOS waiver process.

Haye KestelooMar 28

Oklahoma

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.