Drone News
XDOWN’s STUD Drone Goes From Backpack to Airborne in 2 seconds Flat
US defense startup XDOWN has unveiled the STUD (Small Tactical Unmanned Drone), a hand-launched UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) designed to reach active flight from a stowed position in two seconds. According to NextGen Defense, a single soldier can carry 8…
Colorado Springs Drones First on Scene 61% of Calls
The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is telling the full story of what seven drones stationed across the city are actually doing, and the numbers are hard to argue with. In an interview with KKTV published April 6, 2026, CSPD…
FAA’s eIPP lets Wisk and Reliable Robotics fly commercial before certification, and that changes everything
The FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) is now doing something U.S. aviation regulators have never done: letting companies fly commercial missions with uncertified aircraft, then using the data to write the rules afterward. A detailed report from Aviation International…
No Replacement for DJI, FCC Opens Public Comments, and Oregon Wants New Drone Test Sites
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week: a report that confirms that, sadly, nobody is coming to replace DJI in the consumer market; the FCC has opened public comments on drone spectrum…
US Army Grenadier System Adds Counter-Drone Ammo After 18 Years
The U.S. Army is finally moving past two decades of failed grenade launcher programs, and this time it’s baking counter-drone capability directly into the weapon from the start. A new solicitation published April 6, 2026, asks defense contractors to submit…
Ukraine’s Petcube Founder Built AI Drones That Strike Without a Pilot, and Investors Are Lining Up
Yaroslav Azhnyuk went from building a smartphone-controlled laser toy for bored pets to manufacturing AI-guided kamikaze drones that fly their final attack run without human input. The New York Times profiled Azhnyuk and his two defense companies today, documenting how…
Skyrover Pledges to Stay in the US, But Its DJI Ties Raise Questions the Five-Year Plan Doesn’t Answer
Skyrover posted a “We’re Here to Stay” announcement to its official Reddit community this week, formally titled “A Letter to Our U.S. Customers: Our Long-Term Commitment to the Drone Community.” The statement lays out a five-year roadmap covering FCC compliance,…
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr climbs 2,000-foot tower, and it looks like a drone captured the whole thing
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr scaled the WCTI broadcast tower in Jones County, North Carolina, on Thursday, riding a hydraulic hoist most of the way up before climbing the final 101 feet by hand. Carr posted video and…
Harvard Students Build Fixed-Wing VTOL Drone to Track Sperm Whales in Dominica
Two Harvard mechanical engineering seniors have built a fixed-wing VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) drone from scratch to help marine biologists locate sperm whales tagged with VHF (very high frequency) transmitters off the coast of Dominica, according to a project…
Avinox M2S and M2 Push DJI’s E-Bike Motor Ambitions to 1,500W and 150 Nm
Avinox, DJI’s e-bike drive system brand, has announced its next-generation M2S and M2 drive units, targeting the high-performance end of the e-bike market with peak outputs that put them closer to light electric motorcycles than traditional mid-drive systems. The M2S…
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Calls for US Drone Production, Backs $1.5 Trillion Security Initiative
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase, used his annual letter to shareholders, released April 6, 2026, to call explicitly for the United States to rapidly develop and produce drones domestically, and to announce a $1.5 trillion,…
DJI Confirms Osmo Pocket 4 Launch for April 16, Single-Camera Design Now Official
DJI officially announced the Osmo Pocket 4 launch event via a teaser posted to DJI’s X account on April 9, 2026. The post carries the tagline “The World In My Pocket” and sets the reveal for April 16, 2026, at…
FirePoint’s $2.5 Billion UAE Deal Rejected Before It Could Begin
Ukraine’s anti-monopoly committee sent back an application for a $760 million acquisition of a 30% stake in FirePoint, the country’s top long-range drone and missile maker, according to a written response the committee gave to Reuters on April 8, 2026.…
Vidun Fixed-Wing Interceptor Gets Ukraine Military Approval, But Procurement Delays Are Already Cutting Production
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has codified the Vidun fixed-wing interceptor drone for operational use by the Armed Forces, according to Defender Media, a Ukrainian defense publication that reported on the codification on April 4, 2026. The article’s title, “Fixed-Wing Interceptor…
Terra Drone Invests in Ukraine’s Amazing Drones and Launches Terra A1 Interceptor to Target the Global Defense Market
Terra Drone Corporation has announced a strategic investment in Ukraine-based Amazing Drones LLC and the joint launch of a new interceptor drone called the Terra A1, according to a company announcement. The deal was structured through Terra Drone’s subsidiary Terra…
DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Photographed Up Close by OsitaLV Ahead of Expected April Launch
The DJI Osmo Pocket 4 showed up in close-up photos posted today by OsitaLV (@OsitaLV on X), a verified DJI BBS pilot and aerial filmmaker with 24,000 followers. The two images show the camera body and quick-start guide inside what…
DJI Neo 2 Has a Phone-Only Spotlight Trick That Blows Past the Preset Tracking Distances
The DJI Neo 2 ships with three preset tracking distances in follow mode, and most pilots never go beyond them. A new tutorial from Stewart Caroll of Drone Film Guide shows there is a way to override those limits using…
RCTESTFLIGHT Builds 41-Inch Variable Pitch Quadcopter That Outperforms Direct Drive on Efficiency
Daniel Riley, the engineer behind the RCTESTFLIGHT YouTube channel, has published a new video documenting a years-long project to build a large-format quadcopter with variable pitch rotor blades, belt-drive reduction, and fixed-RPM motors. The result is a 41-inch, gear-reduced quadcopter…
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