Drone Delivery
Amazon's Pool Drop Shows Why Zipline Is Winning Drone Delivery
An Amazon MK30 dropped a package into a Texas pool. Zipline's tethered droid and parachute designs show why the 83-pound drone keeps missing.
All Coverage
The full firehose — every story on DroneXL, newest first. Breaking news, deep dives, reviews, and the deals ticker archive.
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Articles
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Oct 7
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FAA
The FCC's 'Military-Grade' Drone Definition Is Broad Enough to Catch Your DJI Neo 2
The FCC wants to redefine 'military-grade' drones so broadly it could stop sales of thermal, LiDAR, and dock-equipped models already on the market — including the LiDAR sensor in a 151-gram DJI Neo 2. Pilot Institute's Greg Reverdiau breaks down all seven categories and how to file a comment before September 2.
Industry
FCC Tells All Certification Labs To Tighten Drone Screening
After an erroneous grant let a Chinese flying camera reach US buyers, the FCC is sending guidance to every certification body it accredits.
DJI
The DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Accessories I Actually Use: Protection, ND Filters, Mics, Batteries, and Car Rigs
Jake Sloan shares the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P accessories he actually uses — protective covers, Freewell ND filters, mics, batteries, LUTs, and car rig gear.
Insta360
Insta360 X6 In-Depth Review: What's Actually New — and Where It Falls Short
Ray from DC Rainmaker spent six weeks testing the Insta360 X6 underwater, on the water, and on the ground — new 1/1.1-inch sensors, 8K50, 10-bit, InstaFrame 2.0, and the features that don't quite deliver.
DJI
DJI Offers $10,000 For Your Best Avata 360 Video While Washington Decides Its US Future
DJI's All For Passion Challenge pays up to $10,000 for Avata 360 sports videos through September 30. The drone's US story makes it complicated.
DJI
DJI Names 15 Onboard AI Challenge Winners, From Banana Farms to Bridge Cracks
DJI names 15 winners in its Enterprise Drone Onboard AI Challenge 2026, from a Colombian banana farm crop counter to closed-loop traffic inspection in China.
DJI
DJI Scores Its Biggest Legal Win in Years, New Drone Tariffs Hit 100%, and the HOVERAir Versa Clears the FCC
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you. DJI gets a big win. We have a new drone tariff. And then lastly, we have a Chinese drone maker that is somehow getting FCC clearance. So, let's get to it.
OPERATORS
DJI Ban Hits Home: Drone Pilots Ask Whether Their Businesses Survive
A new Part 107 pilot asked Facebook if the DJI ban killed his drone business before launch. 268 comments show what operators face ahead of September 3.
Industry
Navy Puts $50 Million On Shield AI's X-BAT While The Air Force Watches
The Navy and Defense Innovation Unit are investing $50 million in Shield AI's X-BAT, a tail-landing fighter drone that has never flown. The Air Force is deliberately sitting this one out, and the hard part is the landing.
US Government
White House Summons 40 Drone Companies As Tariff Deadline And Beijing Loom
The first White House Drone Dominance event packed roughly 40 drone makers into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, two weeks before Section 232 tariffs hit and hours before Beijing demanded their withdrawal.
Drone Incidents
FBI Task Force Forced Down Hobby Drones Over Spokane Wildfires
An FBI-led counter-drone unit built for the FIFA World Cup detected 41 unauthorized drones over the Spokane wildfires in four days and used electronic countermeasures to force them down. No pilots were arrested; the cases went to the FAA with fines of up to $100,000 each.
ADVOCACY
DSPA Presses AUVSI To Back Operators Over Bans After Robbins Exit
DSPA calls on AUVSI to reset after Michael Robbins' exit: back drone operators, demand evidence, and judge drones on risk, not country of origin.
US Army
US Army Kills the Drone Battalion It Created Just Seven Months Ago
The US Army is phasing out the 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, its only drone assault unit, seven months after creating it to absorb Ukraine's drone war lessons.
Counter-Drone
Northcom Cannot Stop A Homeland Drone Swarm. Its Deputy Commander Said So.
Asked if he could defeat a drone swarm launched inside U.S. borders, Northcom's deputy commander said no. Nine days earlier, five autonomous drones hit a tank in Maryland.
Leipzig Drone Bomb
Germany Opens Counter-Drone Test Center After Leipzig Explosive Drone
Germany opened the DLR Drone Security Technology Center at Cochstedt airport two weeks after an explosives-laden drone struck a Ukrainian An-124 at Leipzig.
Deal
DJI Flip Hits $349 on Amazon Two Weeks Before Trump's 25% Drone Tariff
The DJI Flip is back at $349 on Amazon, with the RC 2 bundle at $509, two weeks before Trump's 25% drone tariff takes effect on September 3.
Amazon
Amazon Prime Air Promises 500 Cities This Year, One 15-Mile Circle At A Time
Amazon plans Prime Air drone delivery in nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of 2026, adding Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, Syracuse, and Boise.
DJI RUMORS
DJI Sets September 1 For SDR Transmission 2. US Buyers Are Blocked.
DJI has set September 1 for what leaked packaging calls the SDR Transmission 2 Combo. The FCC Covered List already bars its US sale.
RESEARCH
Duke University Drone Tracks Another Drone Using Only Its Sound
Duke's SonicFly follower quadcopter chases a leader drone with a 10-gram microphone array, no GPS sharing, no radio link, and no camera.
LOBBYING
AUVSI's Robbins Exits For SIA As The Drone Ban He Backed Rolls On
Michael Robbins leaves AUVSI September 30 to run the Semiconductor Industry Association, the industry he spent three years telling drone makers to copy.
Japan
Helsing Pitches Japan A Strike Drone With A Contested Combat Record
Rakuten is brokering Helsing's sale of HX-2 strike drones to Japan's army, and the aircraft under test is the same one a German defense ministry document said struggled to launch in Ukraine.
Technology
HOVERAir VERSA FCC Certification Was Granted In Error, FCC Says
The FCC tells DroneXL it has ordered HOVERAir to stop selling the VERSA in the US, set aside the device's certification, and is weighing further action.
Counter-Drone
Texas Wants Counter-Drone Power. Only 61 US Officers Are Certified.
El Paso police told Texas senators they have tracked 1,776 cross-border cartel drone incursions and need more authority to respond. Congress already granted that authority in December. The constraint is a single FBI school in Alabama that has certified 61 officers nationwide.
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