Teal
WPI Develops Bat-Inspired Drones That Navigate in Darkness
At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), researchers are taking a cue from one of nature’s stealthiest night flyers — the bat. Led by Professor Nitin Sanket, the team is developing tiny, autonomous drones that can navigate in total darkness using ultrasound,…
DJI Zenmuse L3 LiDAR, Drone Maker in Lawsuit, New Autel Releases, & Drone Crash Wildfire
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week. DJI launches the new Zenmuse L3 LiDAR, which is quite impressive. A drone maker trade secret lawsuit—well, we’ll see how that unfolds. New products from…
Apium Swarm Robotics Joins Red Cat Futures Initiative After Successful Army Demonstration Of Distributed Drone Autonomy
Apium Swarm Robotics has joined Red Cat Holdings’ Futures Initiative following successful U.S. Army testing of autonomous drone swarm technology that enables single operators to control multiple drones without centralized ground control. The partnership, announced November 4, 2025, comes as…
China’s Military Deploys Cost-Efficient DeepSeek AI Across Drone Swarms and Robot Dogs
China’s People’s Liberation Army has rapidly integrated DeepSeek artificial intelligence into military weapons systems ranging from autonomous combat vehicles to drone swarms, according to a Reuters investigation that reviewed hundreds of research papers, patents, and procurement records. The development threatens…
North Korean Hackers Target European Drone Makers in Sophisticated Espionage Campaign
North Korean state-sponsored hackers are actively targeting European defense contractors in a cyberespionage campaign designed to steal drone manufacturing secrets, security researchers revealed this week. The attacks, linked to the notorious Lazarus Group, focus specifically on companies developing unmanned aerial…
From Film Casting To Billion-Dollar Defense: Ukraine’s Fire Point Faces Corruption Probe As Drone Industry Matures
Three years ago, Fire Point was scouting locations for Ukrainian film productions. Today, it’s a $1 billion defense contractor producing long-range strike drones and cruise missiles that are pounding Russian infrastructure. But the company’s meteoric rise has triggered a corruption…
Firefighting Drone Startup Seneca Secures Record $60M to Deploy Autonomous Suppression System
California-based startup Seneca has emerged from stealth mode with $60 million in funding to deploy AI-powered autonomous firefighting drones capable of suppressing wildfires within minutes of detection. The round, believed to be the largest early-stage investment in wildfire defense technology,…
China’s 15,947-Drone Show Breaks World Records
Forget what you thought you knew about drone light shows. Liuyang, China—the place famous for its fireworks—just set a whole new standard. Nearly 16,000 drones lit up the sky together, pulling off a performance so big it landed two Guinness…
DJI Mini 5 Pro: Can It Replace Your Professional Drone?
Since I ditched my DJI Air 2S and went all-in on the DJI Mini series, a lot of friends and customers have started asking me, “What happened to your big drone?” My answer is always the same: why would I…
French Drone Maker Harmattan AI Targets $1B Valuation in Defense Boom
Harmattan AI, a Paris-based defense drone startup, is seeking a billion-dollar valuation in its latest funding round, just 18 months after launching, according to reporting by Sifted. The ambitious raise comes as the company has already secured major contracts with…
DJI Unveils Mavic 3TA Enterprise Drone with Upgraded Thermal Tech
DJI has quietly launched the Mavic 3TA, an advanced thermal variant of its popular Mavic 3 Enterprise series, targeting professionals in search and rescue, infrastructure inspection, and public safety. The drone, introduced in mid-September 2025 without fanfare, features enhanced thermal…
Lockheed’s Skunk Works Unveils New “Vectis” Stealth Drone
The secretive and legendary Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the same minds that brought us the F-117 Nighthawk and the F-35 Lightning, have just pulled the curtain back on their newest creation: a stealthy, autonomous combat drone called Vectis. Unveiled on…