All Coverage

DJI Matrice 300

New FoxFury Rugo lighting systems for DJI M210 and 300 drones

FoxFury Lighting Solutions (FoxFury) officially announces the addition of new and improved Rugo drone mounts for use on DJI Matrice and...

Haye KestelooOct 13

Drone footage shows the devastation in the wake of hurricanes Delta and Laura

Air Photography

Drone footage shows devastation of hurricanes Delta and Laura

Drone footage shows the devastation left behind in the wake of hurricanes Delta and Laura that battered the Gulf Coast in short succession.

Haye KestelooOct 13

Drone Delivery

Remote ID for Drones is on track for finalization by the end of 2020

OMB has 90 days to review Remote ID for Drones. It appears that the new rules are well on track for finalization and publication in 2020.

Haye KestelooOct 13

DJI Mavic Mini Fly More Combo discounted. Now only $399!

Amazon

DJI Mavic Mini Fly More Combo discounted. Only $399!

The DJI Mavic Mini Fly More Combo discounted by 20% bringing the price down to $399 instead of $499 when Amazon Prime Day starts off.

Haye KestelooOct 13

Industry

Daily Drone News – Monday October 12, 2020

Here are today’s most important drone news articles. We publish this post every weekday at 5:30 p.m. Some of these stories are from DroneXL.co and some of them will be from other sources. If you’d like to receive this in an email going forward, be sure to subscribe using the form below.

Haye KestelooOct 12

New Mavic 3 unlikely to appear before the summer of 2021

DJI

New Mavic 3 unlikely to be released before the summer of 2021

Even if President Trump leaves the office, the new Mavic 3 is unlikely to be released before the summer of 2021. Why? Well, keep reading.

Haye KestelooOct 12

DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom

DJI Mavic 2 drone shows up during North Korea military parade

On Saturday, during the 75th anniversary of the ruling party of North Korea, at least one DJI Mavic 2 drone made an appearance.

Haye KestelooOct 12

Drones for Good

Lucid Drone Technologies uses UAS to fight coronavirus in N.C.

Lucid Drone Technologies is ready to clean and spray disinfectants with drones to fight the ever-spreading coronavirus in North Carolina.

Haye KestelooOct 10

Industry

Daily Drone News – Friday October 9, 2020

Here are today’s most important drone news articles. We publish this post every weekday at 5:30 p.m. Some of these stories are from DroneXL.co and some of them will be from other sources. If you’d like to receive this in an email going forward, be sure to subscribe using the form below.

Haye KestelooOct 9

DJI Mini 2

Mavic Mini 2 specs and release date that we anticipate

Here are the DJI Mavic Mini 2 specs and the release date we anticipate, based on the latest rumors and whispers we have received today.

Haye KestelooOct 9

Search & Rescue

Teen helps older drone pilot who fell down Mississippi River bluff

Teen helps older drone pilot who fell down Mississippi River bluff in Minneapolis. He was just out trying to fly the drone, and things went...

Haye KestelooOct 9

North Dakota

The Bakken is a natural test ground for drones in North Dakota

The Bakken is a natural test ground for drones in North Dakota, says Matt Dunlevy, president and CEO of SkySkope in a guest column.

Haye KestelooOct 9

Industry

Former drone show operator indicted for fraud and identity theft

Former drone show operator David J. Oneal indicted by grand jury in Western District of Texas for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Haye KestelooOct 9

On Thursday, the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced the issuance of new guidance that bans the use of agency grants to purchase drones and other unmanned aerial systems from foreign groups deemed threats. Certain foreign-made drones cannot be bought with DOJ grant funds No funds awarded or made available by OJP, through a contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or otherwise, to a state, local, tribal, or territorial government (including via subcontract or subaward, at any tier) may be used to purchase, use, or operate any unmanned aircraft system that is manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity. And the DOJ defines a covered foreign entity as follows: “Covered foreign entity" means any entity that is determined or designated, within the Department of Justice, to be subject to or vulnerable to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government. While issued on Monday, the guidance was only made public on Thursday. The new DOJ policy aims to increase the security of drones by requiring that OJP loan applicants can mitigate any ‘cybersecurity and privacy risks posed by these systems and that the applicant has a plan to address any civil liberties-related complaints that could arise’, according to The Hill. The new DOJ policy does not single out any specific country, but it is not hard to imagine that the guidance applies to Chinese-made drones. The policy refers to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that are “manufactured or assembled by a covered foreign entity.” It does not specifically mention drones that are made in the United States, but that still contain Chinese-made parts as do all the so-called ‘Blue sUAS’ do. The House-passed 2021 National Defense Authorization Act contains a provision that would ban the federal government from purchasing certain foreign-made drones, including UAS from China, because of national security concerns. Over the last few years, the world’s largest and also Chinese drone maker, DJI has come under increased scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and federal government agencies. DJI has always maintained that they do not share any information with the Chinese government, and that drone users can decide if they want to share any information from their UAS with DJI. The company went as far as to create a Local Data Mode on some of its drones to prevent any information from being shared online. DJI developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior a special ‘Government Edition’ for select DJI drones that provides even more data security. “We take seriously concerns about the use of foreign-made UAS and the potential for related data compromise,” Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement Thursday, according to The Hill. “It is paramount that funding recipients take effective measures to safeguard sensitive information and the public’s privacy and civil liberties while operating these systems in a safe and secure manner.” The new policy from the Justice Department was released the same week Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt issued separate guidance allowing the department to buy ‘American-made, but still containing Chinese-made parts’ drones, or so-called Blue sUAS, as defined by an initiative of the Department of Defense. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of the Interior temporarily grounded its entire fleet of 810 3DR Solo and DJI drones from use in non-emergency operations because of cybersecurity concerns. “While drones are important to critical Interior missions, the Department needed to ensure the technology used for these operations is such that it would not compromise our national security interests,” Interior Department press secretary Ben Goldey wrote in an email to reporters this week. The data security concerns related to Chinese-made drones are part of a larger effort by the current administration against China and Chinese companies. Previously, Huawei and TikTok have come under intense scrutiny. DJI has pushed back against the allegations and also responded to the new guidance from the Department of the Interior and pointed out that the Blue sUAS are three to five times more expensive than comparable DJI UAS. “The new DOI guidance finally acknowledges that the grounding of its drone fleet was never about national security, but rather thinly-veiled economic protectionism. Five manufacturers were just handed an unfair advantage in the marketplace, as they can build their drones with Chinese parts while other companies cannot. The Blue Drone companies also charge three to five times more than a comparable DJI platform, meaning U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for expensive military-grade drone technology from defense contractors for non-military activity such as prescribed burns, wildlife conservation and geological surveying.” In September, the Alliance for Drone Innovation, which also represents DJI sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees pointing out that banning federal use of drones from certain companies could be “detrimental to the U.S. drone industry.” “Manufacturing a drone simply cannot be done today without parts and knowledge from all over the world, and a country-based ban would hurt the Americans who build drones as well as the Americans who use them for recreation, business, conservation, and even saving lives,” the alliance wrote. - Only approved drones, so-called Blue sUAS are exempt from the PMB approval and reporting procedures, opening the door for the Department of the Interior to rebuild its drone fleet and start using it again for non-emergency missions.

DJI

Certain foreign-made drones cannot be bought with DOJ grant funds

Certain foreign-made drones cannot be bought with DOJ grant funds, the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced.

Haye KestelooOct 9

Drones for Good

Drone group photo of EMS workers outside Robeson County Emergency Operations Center

A drone group photo is not yet a regular occurrence, but it something that we see happening more often since unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)

Haye KestelooOct 9

Industry

Daily Drone News – Thursday October 8, 2020

Here are today’s most important drone news articles. We publish this post every weekday at 5:30 p.m. Some of these stories are from DroneXL.co and some of them will be from other sources. If you’d like to receive this in an email going forward, be sure to subscribe using the form below.

Haye KestelooOct 8

Legal

EPA warns against drones to spray disinfectants and fight COVID-19

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns against use of drones, and electrostatic spraying to apply disinfectants to fight COVID-19,

Haye KestelooOct 8

Technology

Solar-powered drone provides first LTE connection from stratosphere

The solar-powered drone from Google's parent company Alphabet and SoftBank provided the first LTE connection from the stratosphere to enable

Haye KestelooOct 8

Education

Students excited to fly drones in West Virginia High School Program

Flying drones is something the students can get very excited about. On Wednesday, the Parkersburg High School Robotics Program held a drone

Haye KestelooOct 8

Wildfire

DroneSeed first in U.S. to get FAA approval for post-wildfire reforestation

DroneSeed is the first drone company in U.S to receive approval from FAA for post-wildfire reforestation in California and five other states.

Haye KestelooOct 8

Blue sUAS

Blue sUAS are only drones to be used by the U.S. Department of the Interior

Only approved drones, so-called Blue sUAS are exempt from the PMB approval and reporting procedures, opening the door for the DOI...

Haye KestelooOct 7

Industry

Daily Drone News – Wednesday October 7, 2020

Here are today’s most important drone news articles. We publish this post every weekday at 5:30 p.m. Some of these stories are from DroneXL.co and some of them will be from other sources. If you’d like to receive this in an email going forward, be sure to subscribe using the form below.

Haye KestelooOct 7

Modern farmer tracks crop progress with a drone

DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom

Modern farmer tracks crop progress with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone

In Valley Springs, South Dakota a modern farmer uses a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to track crop progress. The beans are done according to Jordan...

Haye KestelooOct 7

Drones for Good

Drone with loudspeaker warns surfer of nearby white shark

On Wednesday, in New South Wales, Australia, a drone with a loudspeaker saved a former surfing champion from a potential shark attack.

Haye KestelooOct 7

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.