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Sep 15

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

Washington · 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 155 min read

Pilot Institute host presenting the week 380 drone news update in a pink and blue studio, with headlines listed beside him

DJI

Washington Jacks Up Commercial Drone Fees 10x, DJI Still Dominates at 97%, FCC Tightens Lab Screening, and SiFly Raises $20 Million

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week. Washington state jacks up the commercial drone fees, an industry survey shows DJI still dominates, the FCC tells certification labs to tighten their screening, and SiFly raises $20 million. So let's get to it.

Greg ReverdiauAug 28

A DJI Mini 5 Pro hovering above a field of goldenrod

State Law

Washington Commercial Drone Fees Jump 10x to $150 After Jet Tax Repeal

Washington will charge commercial drone operators $150 per aircraft a year from January 2027, up from $15, in the bill that repealed its luxury jet tax.

Haye KestelooAug 25

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter hovers low over a forest lake, lowering an orange Bambi Bucket into the water as rotor wash sprays mist across the surface.

Drone Incidents

FBI Task Force Forced Down Hobby Drones Over Spokane Wildfires

An FBI-led counter-drone unit built for the FIFA World Cup detected 41 unauthorized drones over the Spokane wildfires in four days and used electronic countermeasures to force them down. No pilots were arrested; the cases went to the FAA with fines of up to $100,000 each.

Haye KestelooAug 20

Wildfire

BRINC Ships Free Wildfire Layers In Days, On NOAA Data That Comes With Warnings

BRINC added live wildfire detections and smoke coverage to its LiveOps software at no additional cost, shipping the feature days after an engineer prototyped it. The layers run on NOAA satellite data that the agency itself labels strategic guidance rather than tactical fire intelligence.

Haye KestelooAug 10

A sensor tower with cameras and antennas stands over green farmland and a river at sunset.

Counter-Drone

Anduril WISP Helps National Guard Tell Drones From Birds

The Washington National Guard's 10th Civil Support Team trained for two weeks on Anduril's WISP sensor suite, a fused stack built to tell a drone from a bird before a counter-drone response begins — with World Cup security driving the timeline.

Rafael SuárezAug 6

Low flames and heavy smoke burn through a ponderosa pine forest along the shoulder of a two-lane road, with the sun glowing orange through the haze.

Drone Incidents

Drone Pilots Ground Spokane Firefighting Aircraft 26 Times

Civilian drones entered restricted airspace over the Spokane County wildfires at least 26 times in three days, repeatedly grounding helicopters and air tankers while three uncontained fires burned homes below. Two operators have been cited, and the cases have been referred to the FAA.

Rafael SuárezAug 4

Skydio

Spokane's Skydio Drones Hit 400 Flights In Three Weeks

Spokane police say four Skydio X10 drones flew about 400 missions in three weeks, including a pursuit where the aircraft tracked suspects overhead after patrol cars backed off.

Rafael SuárezJul 25

Washington

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