United States

Drone policy, incidents, and industry news across the United States — from statehouses to the national airspace.

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Oct 21

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A Zipline Platform 2 delivery aircraft docked beneath a charging tower at dusk, tail number 124 on its fuselage, with the delivery pod and its fiducial docking targets suspended below and a windsock on the hillside behind.

FAA

Zipline Asks FAA For 220,000 Texas Drone Deliveries A Day

The FAA's draft environmental assessment for Zipline covers Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Amarillo and El Paso. Public comments close October 11.

Haye KestelooSep 15

Wing delivery drone carrying a blue Walmart package in flight against a clear sky

Drone Delivery

Wing's First Washington Drone Hub Surfaces in a Tacoma Permit

A permit at a Tacoma Walmart is the first public sign of Wing in Washington, a state whose attorney general fought the FAA's delivery shortcut.

Haye KestelooSep 15

A US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft in flight against an overcast sky

Iran

Pentagon Counts 30 Reapers Lost in Iran War, No Line to Rebuild

The first official Pentagon accounting of the Iran war lists as many as 30 MQ-9 Reapers destroyed, more than every crewed aircraft loss combined.

Haye KestelooSep 15

UPS Airlines Airbus A300 N148UP taking off from San Jose International Airport

Drone Incidents

UPS Pilot Reported A Drone At 5,000 Feet. It Was A Bird.

A UPS crew told ATC they hit a drone or balloon at 5,000 feet. UPS confirmed a bird. Why drone is now the first word pilots reach for.

Haye KestelooSep 14

Louisiana

Prison Drone Flew $31,000 of Meth Back to Its Launch Site

A Grant Parish deputy found the drone on the ground with the meth still strapped to it. A dying battery had flown it home, and two Texas men are in jail.

Haye KestelooSep 14

Two Dexa technicians in hi-vis vests standing beside a hexacopter delivery drone and a Dexa-branded trailer

Drone Delivery

Dexa Takes Its FAA-Certified Drone Airline To TechCrunch Disrupt

Dexa, the Dayton drone delivery operator with a Part 135 certificate, made TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield 200 and pitches at Disrupt in October.

Haye KestelooSep 14

Amazon

Amazon Brought a Drone to a Car Show. Tracy Got No Comment Period

Amazon displayed its MK30 at a Tracy car show before launch. The FAA has published no environmental assessment for the site, and no comment period opened.

Haye KestelooSep 14

Amazon

Amazon Drone Lands Itself Beside a Baton Rouge Road, Two Months In

An Amazon MK30 set itself down on a Florida Boulevard grass strip Friday, props intact, as storms crossed the parish. Amazon has not said why.

Haye KestelooSep 12

United States

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