Drone Industry
Drone Industry News: trends, company developments, mergers and acquisitions, funding rounds, and innovations driving the UAV sector forward.
The AntiGravity A1 Drone Delivers on Its Promise: A Complete Beginner Flew It in Two Minutes
Something genuinely rare happened in the drone industry last month. A brand-new company shipped a first-generation product that actually works as advertised. After spending weeks reading press releases and spec sheets about the AntiGravity A1, watching real-world footage from content…
FCC’s New Drone Exemptions Open Loopholes for Retailers, But the Fine Print Matters
When the FCC dropped its sweeping foreign drone ban two weeks ago, practically everyone in the industry said the same thing: “A literal reading of this announcement can’t possibly be true, and it also can’t be legal.” FPV expert Joshua…
Commerce Department Drops Drone Restrictions as Trump Prioritizes Xi Diplomacy Over China Hawks
I spent the morning reading a story that should make every drone pilot pay attention to what is happening in Washington, not just with the FCC, but with the broader diplomatic chess game being played between the United States and…
DJI’s Shell Company Gambit Backfired Spectacularly, and the Entire Drone Industry Paid the Price
I’ve spent months documenting DJI’s network of suspected shell companies, from Skyany to Spatial Hover to Jovistar. What started as investigative journalism became a front-row seat to watching a company outsmart itself into oblivion. Now that the dust has settled…
A Silicon Valley Founder Exposed Why U.S. Drone Manufacturing Won’t Scale Anytime Soon
I’ve been reading a lot of optimistic press releases about American drone independence lately. The Pentagon wants a million drones. Executive orders promise to unleash domestic production. Politicians declare that we’re breaking free from Chinese supply chains. Then a defense-tech…
AAIB’s “Record-Only” Kent Police Drone Crash Investigation Raises Troubling Questions About UK Police Drone Oversight
I’ve spent the morning going through the Air Accident Investigation Branch’s newly released findings on the Kent Police drone crash that injured a child last August, and I’m genuinely troubled by what I’m reading. While the headlines are focused on…
FCC Exempts Blue UAS Drones From Foreign Ban, But the Clock Is Already Ticking
I predicted the FCC would need to walk back parts of its sweeping foreign drone ban. Sixteen days after adding all foreign-made drones to the Covered List, the Pentagon has carved out exemptions for Blue UAS platforms and domestically assembled…
Pilot Institute Survey: 8,056 Operators Reveal DJI Ban Will Devastate American Drone Industry
I’ve been warning about the consequences of a DJI ban for over a year. Now we have the data to prove it. Pilot Institute surveyed 8,056 drone operators across the United States, and the findings confirm our worst fears: the…
Eric Schmidt’s AI Drones Hit 70% Kill Rate as Commercial Tech Goes to War
The drone skills you learned for your Part 107 business are now battlefield capabilities. That’s the uncomfortable reality buried in a massive New York Times investigation published this week, and it should concern every commercial operator in America. C.J. Chivers…
Chip War Author: FCC Ban Succeeds Where Trump Tariffs Failed Against DJI
It was clear that Trump’s tariffs were never going to stop DJI. Now one of the most influential voices in US-China tech competition is making the same argument in the Financial Times. Chris Miller, author of the Pulitzer Prize-finalist book…
FCC Foreign Drone Ban Could Hit US Farmers Where It Hurts Most
When the FCC quietly added foreign made drones and components to its Covered List last week, the move was framed as a clean national security win. Chinese manufacturer DJI was effectively frozen out of future approvals, a decision the agency…
Ukraine’s Drone Architect Named Defense Minister in Major Strategy Shift
Mykhailo Fedorov, the man who built Ukraine’s “Army of Drones” from scratch, is taking over as Defense Minister. This isn’t just a cabinet shuffle – it’s Ukraine officially declaring that drone warfare is now the foundation of national defense strategy.…