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Oct 13

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Kyle Nordfors in a red Weber County Search and Rescue shirt holds a DJI Matrice 30T overhead with one arm against a blue sky, propellers spinning, as a second man watches from behind

Public Safety · Police

DJI Curbs Hit Police Budgets: $10,500 Matrice vs. $21,000 US Rival

One Ocean County, NJ sheriff's drone kit costs $29,428. NPR priced a US-made rival at twice DJI's Matrice 400, and sheriffs want an FCC exemption.

Haye KestelooOct 135 min read

Man pointing at a redacted DHS report ranking the DJI Matrice 4T above competing drones, with the Matrice 4T on the table

Blue sUAS

DHS Tested DJI Against Blue UAS and Hid the Scores. Why Weren't We Told?

A DHS addendum obtained by DroneXL scores the DJI Matrice 4T at 4.6 and the Matrice 30T at 4.3 at Hudson Yards, above the Skydio X10D at 3.7. The public report left those numbers out. I think we're allowed to ask why.

Russ 51 DronesOct 2

Kyle Nordfors in a red Weber County Search and Rescue shirt and sunglasses holds a DJI Matrice 30T overhead with one arm against a blue sky, propellers spinning, with a second man in a dark jacket watching from behind.

DOCKET 26-189

Utah Rescue Captain Tells DC the FCC Drone Ban Will Cost Lives

Kyle Nordfors takes the FCC drone ban fight to The Hill: 25 to 30 lives saved, searches cut from 4.5 hours to under one, no US drone that matches.

Haye KestelooOct 2

A gray DJI Matrice 4 series drone with a multi-sensor camera payload hovers in front of a glass office facade.

DHS addendum

DHS Left DJI's Scores Out of Its Blue UAS Report. Here They Are

A DHS addendum marked For Official Use Only scores DJI's Matrice 4T at 4.6 and Matrice 30T at 4.3 at Hudson Yards, against 3.7 for the Skydio X10D.

Haye KestelooOct 1

A Weber County Search and Rescue member in a red jacket with white crosses leans over a folding table beside a white van, fitting batteries into a DJI Matrice 30T drone sitting on a stack of black hard cases.

DSPA

DSPA Breaks Charter to Take DHS Blue UAS Report to Congress

DSPA's Vic Moss asks pilots to call Congress over DHS's Blue UAS test: name an agency to test every drone's security, stop banning by country of origin.

Haye KestelooSep 28

A gray Skydio X10D quadcopter hovers in front of the copper Vessel structure and high-rises at Hudson Yards in Manhattan during the DHS complex urban assessment.

DHS report

DHS Lab Grounds 3 of 5 Blue UAS in NYC, Withholds Chinese Drone Scores

DHS lab put Blue UAS before 26 public safety pilots: three of five could not fly Manhattan, links dropped at 50 feet, Chinese drone scores stay private.

Haye KestelooSep 25

Pilot Institute host speaking at a desk with a drone displayed on a stand in the studio background

DOCKET 26-189

I Scored Every FCC Drone Ban Comment. On the Money Question It Was 1,701 to One.

Pilot Institute coded all 3,824 readable filings in FCC docket 26-189 against the 11 questions the Commission actually asked. Here is what the record says.

Greg ReverdiauSep 9

A commercial drone pilot in a lime high-visibility vest holds a controller with both hands while a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual hovers directly above him against a deep blue sky.

DOCKET 26-189

FCC Drone Ban Comments Counted: 3,770 Against, 16 For

Pilot Institute read and coded all 3,824 filings in FCC docket 26-189. 98.6% oppose the military-grade drone ban as written. Sixteen support it.

Haye KestelooSep 3

Public Safety

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