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

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Safer Skies Act Gives Amusement Parks New Counter-Drone Tools — But the FAA's Section 2209 Rule Is the Real Prize - Trespassing warning after illegal drone flight over Disney World
United States

Disney World Has a No-Fly Zone. Now It Has Teeth.

Theme parks like Disney World across the U.S. spent years watching unauthorized drones buzz their crowds with essentially no legal way to stop them. That finally changed in December 2025, and the industry is still figuring out what it means, as reported by Facilities Dive. The Safer Skies Act, embedded in Sections 8601 through 8607…

Army Launches Altius-700 Drone From an Apache in Under Six Months
Bell

Army Launches Altius-700 Drone From an Apache in Under Six Months

The U.S. Army just demonstrated something that sounds straightforward until you think about what it actually required: launching an autonomous strike drone from a moving Apache attack helicopter in less than six months from the day someone wrote the requirement down. The demonstration took place on February 26 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, using…

ACSL SOTEN Gets SAMO: A 64MP Thermal Payload Built for Operators Who Can't Use DJI
ACSL

ACSL SOTEN Gets SAMO: A 64MP Thermal Payload Built for Operators Who Can’t Use DJI

ACSL is actively promoting SAMO, its dual optical-thermal swappable payload for the SOTEN drone, as the Japan-made platform pushes deeper into U.S. public safety and inspection markets. Built around Teledyne FLIR’s Hadron 640R module, SAMO pairs a 64-megapixel visible camera with a 640×512 radiometric Boson thermal sensor — all in an NDAA-compliant, ITAR-free package. Teledyne…

Freefly Systems Sets Freefly Fest 2026 for August 19 Near Seattle
FreeFly Systems

Freefly Systems Sets Freefly Fest 2026 for August 19 Near Seattle

Freefly Systems will hold its 5th annual Freefly Fest on August 19, 2026, just outside Seattle, Washington. Chief Revenue Officer Matt Isenbarger announced the date on LinkedIn, describing the event as a day of hands-on demos, BBQ, and tours of Freefly Systems HQ. No venue has been announced yet — Freefly’s own shipping page lists…

The High Cost of Security: Why the "Pain" of a DJI Ban Means Lives Lost, Not Just Lost Profits - Drones Favored by Utah Search and Rescue Crews: Enhancing Efficiency in Wilderness Operations
NASA

DRONERESPONDERS SAR Working Group Hosts May 19 Virtual Meetup on Drone Pilot Training

DRONERESPONDERS and the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) have scheduled their next Search and Rescue (SAR) Working Group virtual roundtable for May 19, 2026. The session focuses on training — specifically how to become a more efficient small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) SAR pilot — and is open to anyone who works in or cares about…

University of Minnesota Drone Swarms Map Wildfire Smoke in 3D to Predict Fire Behavior
Wildfire

House Passes ACERO Act Unanimously, Sending Drone Wildfire Bill to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 390, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Act, by a unanimous vote on February 24, 2026, sending the bipartisan wildfire drone bill to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA-20) and co-led by Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4), the legislation directs NASA to expand its existing…

BRINC LEMUR 2 tactical drone with ducted rotors and a sensor head on white.
Drone as First Responder

K-State Salina Hosts First Responder Drone Summit in April

Kansas State University Salina is bringing together law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency management agencies for a full day of drone education and hands-on demonstrations on April 22, connecting public safety professionals with UAS experts, FAA representatives, and the vendors building the hardware they’re already flying in the field, as reported by The Salina Post.…

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