Europe

EASA rules, U-space, and drone news across the continent.

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Sep 26

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CiS ORKA drone landing in the ORKA Dock on the deck of a FLANQ Q-RECON 24 uncrewed surface vessel

Industry

CiS ORKA Dock Demand Outruns The 30-Person German Factory Behind The Moving-Deck Drone First

German drone maker CiS says European demand for its ORKA Dock and drone now exceeds what its 30-person Rostock factory can build.

Haye KestelooJul 27

Top-down drone view of Formula 1 cars sweeping through a corner during the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix broadcast

FPV

Formula 1 Flies Its Drone Under The Sponsor Bridge At Hungarian GP And Nobody Blinked

Formula 1 used drone footage more aggressively, and more creatively, in today's Hungarian Grand Prix broadcast than in any race I have watched this season. Watching the Apple TV feed on Sunday, July 26, I counted drone angles woven into the live coverage from lap 3 onward, and two of them stopped me cold…

Haye KestelooJul 26

Ukraine

EU Launches Drone Alliance With Ukraine, Putting 18 Companies Behind A 2026 Joint Production Target

The European Commission has formally launched the EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance, pairing nine EU companies with nine Ukrainian manufacturers behind a joint drone and counter-drone production push targeting the end of 2026. The move turns months of bilateral defense-industrial deals into formal EU policy and puts companies like Quantum Systems and Vyriy on the founding board.

Haye KestelooJul 20

DJI

DJI AP100 Parachute Is The “Priceless Below” Reveal, And It Does More For European Matrice 400 Crews Than A New Drone Would

DJI released the DJI AP100 Parachute for the Matrice 400 on July 8, 2026, a rear-mounted recovery system that deploys in under 600 milliseconds and brings the aircraft down at less than 5 meters per second (16.4 feet per second). The launch landed in the 8 AM EDT slot DJI had teased, under the tagline…

Haye KestelooJul 8

French Navy Receives New Naval Drone With Next Gen Sonar

Underwater drone

Thales Beats Safran To Exail With €3.9 Billion Bet On Underwater Drone Warfare

Thales agreed on Monday to buy the Gorgé family’s 35.51% stake in Exail Technologies for €134 per share ($153), the first step in a full takeover of the French maritime drone maker at an enterprise value of €3.9 billion ($4.45 billion). The agreement lands three days after rival Safran abandoned its own exclusive talks for…

Haye KestelooJul 6

Ukraine

Ukraine Wants Drone Deals With Seven NATO Countries By Year’s End, And Drones Are The Smallest Part

Ukraine plans to sign drone agreements with at least seven NATO countries before the end of 2026, and some signatures could come as soon as this week’s alliance summit in Ankara. Davyd Aloian, deputy secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, set the target in an interview published Monday. Six countries have already signed:…

Haye KestelooJul 6

Netherlands

Netherlands Bets €30 Million That Drone Software Beats Drone Hardware

The Dutch Ministry of Defense will invest more than €30 million in Intelic, the Amsterdam company whose NEXUS command-and-control software lets drones from competing manufacturers fly inside a single operational picture. The three-year strategic partnership, announced Friday, makes the Netherlands what Intelic says is the first country in the world to formally fund a Software-First…

Haye KestelooJul 5

Congress Mandates Security Evaluation of DJI and Autel Drones in FY25 NDAA Bill

Autel Robotics

Autel’s Corporate Sibling Files Again for Hong Kong IPO, and Drones Are Part of the Pitch

Autel Intelligent Technology, the Shenzhen company that shares its founder and brand name with drone maker Autel Robotics, has refiled for a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing. The Shanghai-listed firm (688208.SH) submitted its application to the HKEX Main Board on June 30, 2026, with CICC as sole sponsor, after its first attempt, filed December 19,…

Haye KestelooJul 4

Europe

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