News, deep dives, and analysis — every Washington story, newest first.
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.
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.
The Seattle Fire Department wants up to three drones for structure fires, water rescues, hazmat calls and mass-casualty scenes, but the rescue program still has to pass through the city's surveillance-technology review process.
A hit-and-run suspect who crashed into two cars and ran through residential yards in Beaverton, Oregon, didn’t get far. Washington County’s new Drone as First Responder program tracked him from above and guided deputies straight to him. The arrest on April 2 gave the six-week-old trial program one of its most visible results yet, as…
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…
Zipline has closed an additional $200 million on top of its Series H round, pushing the total to $800 million, TechCrunch reported. The new capital includes participation from crypto investment firm Paradigm and arrives ahead of schedule. “Things have moved a little faster than we expected,” CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton said in a video posted…
In the blue hush of a 5 a.m. Washington morning, when frost grips the grass and most of the world is still asleep, a small aircraft lifted into the air above Deer Park. Not a helicopter. Not a plane. A DJI bird. Like the ones that you and me fly everyday. Well, not exactly like…
The incident immediately raised alarms because the base plays a critical role in U.S. electronic warfare operations and hosts the Navy’s carrier
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