Drone Incidents
NASA Kennedy Drone Case: Chinese Tourist Pleads Guilty, Faces a Year
Xiaodong He pleaded guilty over a 12-minute drone flight near Kennedy Space Center. Two earlier cases show what sentencing could look like.
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The full firehose — every story on DroneXL, newest first. Breaking news, deep dives, reviews, and the deals ticker archive.
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Technology
NATO-Backed Drone Picked Its Own Target And Dropped A Bomb
Scaleout's onboard AI picked an armored vehicle out of a Swedish test range and struck it with no direct human command. Geneva is still arguing.
Drone Delivery
Upstate Medical Hires FAA Veteran Behind The First BVLOS Approvals
Upstate Medical named Cliff Sweatte director of UAS operations, months after an FAA waiver opened 50 miles of Central New York airspace to its drones.
Technology
Joby Flew 3,199 Miles With Zero Pilot Input, in a Cessna Caravan
Joby flew a converted Cessna Caravan 3,199 miles across the US with zero pilot inputs, supervised remotely from California and Shaw Air Force Base.
DJI
DJI Mic Mini Drops to $79 While DJI's Own US Store Is Empty
DJI Mic Mini is $79 at Amazon, $20 off list. DJI's own US store shows every configuration out of stock, and the Mic Mini 2 and 2S both skipped America.
Drone as First Responder
Boston Police Drone Crashes on a Car Days After Its DFR Launch
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have four stories for you this week: a Boston police drone crashes, DJI Neo 3 leaks, Wingcopter unveils a new recon drone, and a search and rescue team in Canada uses drones to save a stranded climber. Let's get to it.
Zipline
Zipline Seeks $20 Billion Valuation With Part 108 Still Unsigned
Zipline is in talks to raise $1 billion at a $20 billion valuation, nearly triple its January price. The FAA rule its US plan needs is still unpublished.
DJI
DJI Prices SDR Transmission 2 at €349. The US Isn't On The List
DJI launched the SDR Transmission 2 worldwide at £309 and €349. The FCC Covered List keeps it off American sets, where the 2024 model sold for $549.
Zipline
Zipline Answers Safety Questions on the Record. Amazon and Wing Don't
DroneXL sent Amazon, Wing and Zipline the same drone delivery safety questions on one deadline. One company answered. Its answers are published in full.
US Army
US Army Axes Drone Battalion Months After Ukrainians Beat Its Troops
Ukrainian drone operators beat US troops at Hohenfels. Now the Army is ending its only drone assault battalion, and an ex-Pentagon official asks why.
Japan
Japan's $110M Global Hawk Drone Crashes on Undisclosed Mission
Japan's first RQ-4B Global Hawk loss: the $110M drone crashed off Tottori three minutes after its link failed. The ASDF won't say what it was doing.
Counter-Drone
Russian Drone Off Poland Carried a Live Warhead. Its Route Is Unknown
Polish prosecutors say the Gerbera 2 pulled from the Baltic near Rusinowo was armed with a fragmentation warhead, destroyed on the beach Tuesday.
Ukraine
Ukraine's Drones Kill the General Who Told Putin Kostiantynivka Fell
Ukraine's drone forces killed Maj. Gen. Anton Grunis, the Hero of Russia who told Putin in July that Kostiantynivka had fallen. Moscow confirmed the death.
Counter-Drone
Korean Drug Lord's Drone Jailbreak Undone by a Viral Test Flight
Park Wang-yeol planned to fly out of a Philippine prison hanging from a 165-pound-capacity drone. A viral rehearsal clip killed the plot.
Drone Delivery
Flytrex Puts Drones on Roofs Before You Order, Cutting Costs 60%
Flytrex will preposition delivery drones on restaurant rooftops using predictive AI, claiming a 60% cut in cost per delivery and half the wait time.
DJI
DJI Osmo 360 II Review: 1-Inch Sensors, 8K60 and User-Replaceable Lenses Put to the Test
Jake Sloan takes the DJI Osmo 360 II into the forests and rocks to test its new 1-inch type sensors, 8K60 video, Spotlight Follow, low light and swappable lenses.
Industry
Wingcopter 262: Delivery Drone Maker Launches 6-Hour Recon Drone
Wingcopter's all-electric 262 VTOL flies up to six hours and 93 miles at 22 pounds, and the German delivery company is lining it up for Ukraine.
LEAK
DJI Neo 3 Box Leaks With an RC Mini the FCC Already Approved
A leaked DJI Neo 3 box shows full prop guards and a DJI RC Mini, a controller name that cleared the FCC before the Covered List cutoff.
Amazon
Amazon Moved Omaha Drone Routes for Eagles as Neighbors Complain
Amazon rerouted its Papillion drones 1,000 feet from bald eagle nests. Residents counting 50 flights an hour got the FAA's address instead.
Matternet
Matternet to Fly Repair Parts to Technicians, No Launch Date Set
Matternet will fly replacement parts to AVI-SPL field technicians in congested metro areas. No launch date, no city, and no fleet size were disclosed.
Technology
Electra CEO Keynotes Ohio Air Mobility Forum, EL9 Not Flying Yet
NAAMCE hosts its fifth advanced air mobility forum in Springfield on October 15, with Electra CEO Marc Allen keynoting a day about reaching production.
FAA
Zipline Asks FAA For 220,000 Texas Drone Deliveries A Day
The FAA's draft environmental assessment for Zipline covers Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Amarillo and El Paso. Public comments close October 11.
Drone Delivery
Wing's First Washington Drone Hub Surfaces in a Tacoma Permit
A permit at a Tacoma Walmart is the first public sign of Wing in Washington, a state whose attorney general fought the FAA's delivery shortcut.
Europe
Unifly Now Owns The Auditor And The Consultancy EU Operators Use
EuroUSC-Benelux is now Unifly Compliance. EU law bars a Qualified Entity from selling into the market it audits, and accreditation records are not public.
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