Sensors, batteries, LiDAR, obstacle avoidance, and the engineering that moves the industry forward.
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.
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.
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.
Duke's SonicFly follower quadcopter chases a leader drone with a 10-gram microphone array, no GPS sharing, no radio link, and no camera.
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.
The FCC's proposal to pull previously approved foreign drones covers seven capability categories, not four, and comments close September 2, not September 3.
Idaho Quadcopter says tariffs and FCC rules are pushing hobbyists out. The FCC's own notice answers his biggest fear about the drones he already owns.
Avidrone Inc. won the DARPA Lift Challenge at a 3.84:1 payload-to-weight ratio with the Katana, a conventional single-rotor helicopter, and because nobody reached 4:1, the half-prize clause DroneXL reported last week cut every podium payout in two. The result says as much about energy density and American drone policy as it does about lift.
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