Washington
Washington state drone news: regulations, industry developments, innovative uses, events, and the impact on businesses and communities in the state.
Shield AI’s X-BAT: SpaceX-Style Vertical Landing Meets Combat-Proven AI in $27M Fighter Drone
A jet-powered drone that launches vertically like a rocket, flies over 2,000 miles autonomously without GPS, and lands tail-first on a trailer could reshape air warfare—and it’s built by engineers who perfected SpaceX’s reusable rocket landings. Shield AI unveiled the…
MQ-9 Predator Drones Monitor US Protesters for First Time Since 2020
The Department of Homeland Security deployed MQ-9 Predator drones over Los Angeles anti-ICE protests in June 2025, marking the first time since 2020 that military-grade surveillance aircraft have monitored domestic demonstrations on U.S. soil. The deployment represents a significant departure…
Venezuela’s “Drone Simulator” Looks Like a $3 Steam Game
In the middle of growing tension with the United States, Venezuela has unveiled what it claims is a new drone simulator for its army. The problem? It looks almost identical to a cheap video game sold on Steam for just…
From Teenage Drone Racers To $121M Defense Contractors: How Two 20-Somethings Are Building America’s FPV War Machine
Soren Monroe-Anderson was just 20 years old when he walked into the Pentagon with his friend Olaf Hichwa, trying to sell drones they’d built in his parents’ garage. A senior Department of Defense official shut them down immediately: “You can’t…
Three in Georgia Accused of Using a Drone to Deliver Contraband inside a Prison
A late-night drone run outside Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia ended with three arrests and a car being pinned after a PIT maneuver. According to wrdw.com, a Washington County deputy heard a drone overhead around 2:45 a.m., then watched…
DJI Osmo Mobile 8 Launches With 360° Rotation and Pet Tracking—But Not in America
DJI has launched the Osmo Mobile 8 smartphone gimbal with significant upgrades including full 360° horizontal rotation and the ability to track cats and dogs, but the company confirmed the device won’t be officially available in the U.S. market through…
Victorville Becomes First Contract City To Launch BRINC Drone First Responder Program With $832K State-Funded Deal
The City of Victorville is set to become the first contract city with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department to implement a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program, following a unanimous City Council vote earlier this month that approved an…
Pentagon Chief Pitches U.S. Drone Technology to Counter China’s South China Sea Aggression
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Southeast Asian nations to deploy unmanned surveillance technologies in a unified network to counter what he described as China’s escalating aggression in the disputed South China Sea. Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian…
Pentagon’s DOGE Unit Seizes Control Of Drone Program After Replicator Failures, Targets 30,000-Unit Buy
The Pentagon’s Department of Government Efficiency unit is leading a previously undisclosed effort to overhaul the U.S. military drone program, aiming to acquire at least 30,000 cheap drones in the coming months—a dramatic intervention that positions Red Cat, Skydio, and…
101st Airborne Soldiers Build $740 Combat Drone After Telling Leadership ‘I Can Build That’
Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division are building disposable combat drones for less than $800 each, dramatically undercutting commercial alternatives that cost up to $11,000 while delivering the same battlefield capabilities. The Attritable Battlefield Enabler, or ABE 1.01, costs just…
DJI Urges U.S. Government To Complete Security Review As Retroactive Ban Powers Take Effect
DJI issued its first official statement to DroneXL following the FCC’s unanimous vote earlier this week, warning that the company faces automatic addition to the agency’s Covered List in 55 days—potentially triggering retroactive bans that could affect recently released drones,…
Canada’s First Anti-Drone Prison Task Force Cuts Contraband Drops 50% in Nine Months
A basketball stuffed with tobacco and cellphones. Ceramic knives that slip past metal detectors. Drones equipped with deep-sea fishing release mechanisms. These are just some of the seized contraband items displayed by a groundbreaking joint task force in Kingston, Ontario—Canada’s…