California
Drones Take on Mosquitoes in California’s Coachella Valley
The Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District has begun using drones to locate mosquito breeding sites and stop outbreaks before
All Coverage
The full firehose — every story on DroneXL, newest first. Breaking news, deep dives, reviews, and the deals ticker archive.
8,805
Articles
287
Beats covered
14
Reporters on beat
Sep 15
Last updated
Zipline
Drones vs Spoiled Vaccines: Rwanda Finds a Fix
In many rural parts of Africa, vaccines face an enemy more dangerous than misinformation or logistics, heat. Nearly one in four doses are thrown away simply because they fall outside the narrow temperature range they need to stay effective, a quiet tragedy when every vial represents protection that never reached an arm. Now Rwanda is…
EVTOL
Hong Kong may get passenger drones by 2027, keep arms inside the aircraft
Hong Kong has been easing into the drone era politely. First medical deliveries. Then a few food runs. Very civilized. No airborne chaos. No dystopian sky traffic jams yet but the city is clearly done with baby steps. At the Airspace Asia Pacific 2025 event at AsiaWorld Expo, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Transport and Logistics,…
Skydio
FCC Foreign Drone Ban Could Hit US Farmers Where It Hurts Most
When the FCC quietly added foreign made drones and components to its Covered List last week, the move was framed as a clean national
Ukraine
Ukraine’s Drone Architect Named Defense Minister in Major Strategy Shift
Mykhailo Fedorov, the man who built Ukraine’s “Army of Drones” from scratch, is taking over as Defense Minister. This isn’t just a cabinet shuffle – it’s Ukraine officially declaring that drone warfare is now the foundation of national defense strategy. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the nomination on January 2, 2026, explicitly stating that Fedorov’s task…
Drones for Good
Drone Rescue, XPrize Wildfire Competition, 4-Hour Flight Record, and FAA Waiver Changes
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. I have four stories for you this week that show just how much is happening in this industry right now, from a life-saving rescue in Kentucky to regulatory changes you need to know about if you’re planning to submit a waiver. This week’s stories: Let’s get to it.…
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Prisons Step Up Drone Defenses After 6,000 Phones Smuggled In
Drones have become a serious and persistent security threat inside Oklahoma state prisons, fundamentally changing how contraband enters correctional facilities, as Koko 5 ABC reports. According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, drones have been used to deliver illegal items into prisons for at least the past four to five years, steadily replacing older smuggling…
Search & Rescue
Drone Helps Rescue Lost Hiker in Oregon Woods
A lost hiker was safely rescued in the McKenzie Bridge area of Oregon on December 26 thanks to a coordinated search effort that included drone technology, infrared imaging, and ground crews navigating difficult terrain. The operation highlights how unmanned aircraft systems are becoming a standard tool in modern search and rescue missions, especially in rugged…
DJI
DJI Avata 360 Price Leak: Cheap in China, Emotional Damage in the US
The Avata 360 is FCC approved, under 250 grams, and brings true spherical 360 capture into an FPV platform. That alone puts it
Drone Light Show
Stranger Things Drone Show Turns Vegas Upside Down
Las Vegas officially slipped into the Upside Down this week, at least according to Netflix, after a massive drone show brought the world of Stranger Things to life above the Strip, as USA Today reports. The Hawkins inspired spectacle took place on Sunday, December 28, using an eye watering 5,000 drones to recreate iconic moments…
Police
FEMA’s $500M Counter-Drone Program Launches With World Cup Funding
I’ve been tracking the expansion of police counter-drone capabilities for months, and what just happened is bigger than the headlines suggest. Missouri received $14.24 million in federal funding for World Cup drone security, but that’s not the real story. The real story is that FEMA just deployed the first phase of a $500 million program…
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works Shows Off AI That Can Replan a Drone Mission Mid-Flight
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works just ran a live AI demonstration that hits on one of the hardest problems in autonomy – the unknown of what happens when an unmanned mission goes sideways. In the demonstration, Lockheed’s AI-driven contingency management software detected simulated fuel issues on a Stalker XE drone, generated updated mission options in seconds,…
DJI
DJI Neo 2 Is My All-Time Favorite Drone – Here’s Why I’ll Fly It More Than My Mavic 4 Pro
2025 is coming to an end, and I’ve been reflecting on what an incredible lineup DJI has when it comes to drones. No matter what your needs, no matter your budget, there’s a perfect drone for you. I get asked all the time about my favorite drone or which one I recommend. I usually give…
Police
UK Drone Owners Get a New Year’s Test Before Takeoff
If you unwrapped a shiny new drone in the UK this Christmas, congratulations. Now put the batteries down and grab a laptop, because from January 1st, the Civil Aviation Authority wants you to pass a theory test before you so much as scare a pigeon outdoors, as the BBC reports. Starting this week, anyone flying…
DJI
Police Drone Programs Hit 6,000 Nationwide As Legal Challenges Mount
I’ve been tracking police drone expansion all year, and the Wall Street Journal just confirmed what we’ve been reporting: this technology is spreading faster than anyone anticipated. But buried in their coverage is a detail most outlets are missing. The same aggressive enforcement model that generated nearly $1 million in California fines is already facing…
Skydio
US Army’s 10th Mountain Division Goes All In on Attack Drones
The US Army’s 10th Mountain Division has quietly crossed an important line, moving from simply using drones as flying eyes to treating them as frontline weapons, with the formal activation of a brand new unit dedicated entirely to offensive drone operations, as the Army press release states. On December 16, the division stood up Fox…
Bell
Police Drone Finds Missing Hiker in Ohio Night Search
A late night search in southern Ohio ended safely thanks to a police drone and a program that has been in place longer than many people realize. As the Scioto Post reports, on December 28, just before 11 p.m., Chillicothe Police were dispatched to assist the Ross County Sheriff’s Office near Belleview Avenue and Plyleys…
Bell
Not So Fast, Not So Furious Train Heist Ends by Drone
It is like The Fast and the Furious, only not so fast and just a little less furious. Add a freight train, a drone quietly minding its own business in the morning sky, and three men who seemed unaware that railroads no longer rely on luck and binoculars. Chicago’s South Side delivered a modern crime…
Counter-Drone
FBI launches national counter drone training center
The FBI has quietly flipped the switch on a new national hub designed to deal with one of aviation’s fastest growing gray zones, illegal and hostile drone activity over US airspace. Called the National Counter UAS Training Center, or NCUTC, the program is meant to train state and local law enforcement to detect, identify, track,…
Poland
Poland’s Invisible Shield Can Fry Drones in Seconds
Instead of bullets, nets, missiles, or expensive interceptor drones chasing other drones in an awkward aerial ballet, STRATUS fires short
DJI
Caltech’s X1 Robotic Duo Has a “Hybrid Drone” That Can Crawl, Drive, and Fly
Caltech has teamed up with the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) to create a robotic symbiosis between a Unitree G1 humanoid robot, and their own hybrid drone prototype – the Morphobot M4. This autonomous duo is able to carry out safety-sensitive operations without any human interaction. The G1 carries M4 to a good launch point, deploys…
Dedrone
Trump’s ‘Drone-Free Roof’ Reveals How Butler Changed Everything
President Donald Trump announced Monday that his controversial $400 million White House ballroom will feature bulletproof glass and a “drone-free roof” – vague marketing speak that nonetheless reveals how profoundly the Butler assassination attempt has reshaped his thinking about aerial threats. “It’s got all bulletproof glass, it’s got all drone, they call it drone-free roof,…
China
China Flies 6-Ton Tiltrotor Cargo Drone R6000
China has quietly crossed another unmanned aviation threshold, this time with something that looks less like a drone and more like a small aircraft that forgot to hire a pilot. On December 28, 2025, the Lanying R6000 completed its maiden flight at the Deyang Shifang test site in Sichuan Province, becoming the first known six…
Amazon
Amazon Prime Air Drone Delivery Operations Slashed in Italy – What Now?
Amazon has halted its plans to run its commercial Prime Air drone delivery operations in Italy, effectively shelving the project after what sounded, on paper, like a very promising start. According to an article from Reuters, Amazon made the layoff call after a “strategic review,” saying the broader business and regulatory environment in Italy does…
— The DroneXL Briefing · Free
The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.
One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.
Free forever. Unsubscribe in one click.
8,400+
Articles published
340+
Beats & desks
2020
Covering drones since
100%
Independent