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NASA's Dragonfly Enters Full Assembly Phase as $3.35B Budget and Schedule Risks Loom Over 2028 Launch
NASA

NASA’s Dragonfly Enters Full Assembly Phase as $3.35B Budget and Schedule Risks Loom Over 2028 Launch

Full rotorcraft integration on NASA’s Dragonfly octocopter began in early 2026 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland — the same facility where engineers spent the past three years validating rotor performance in simulated Titan conditions. The timing matters because this is the phase where problems get expensive fast. And according…

Overhead black-and-white view of a DJI Phantom quadcopter surrounded by folding DJI Mavic drones and other multirotors arranged on a white surface
Florida

Drones Will Hunt Toxic Algae Across Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

Every summer, a thick green menace takes over Florida’s largest lake. Embry-Riddle researchers are about to send drones after it. Florida’s Biggest Lake Has a Toxic Summer Tenant Lake Okeechobee is 730 square miles of freshwater sitting at the heart of South Florida’s ecosystem. It supplies water for agriculture, feeds the Everglades, and supports some…

Lasers Could Keep Military Drones Flying Forever
NASA

Laser-Powered Drone Achieves “Infinite Flight.” Are The Claims True?

A company by the name of PowerLight Technologies, out of Kent, Washington, may have found the secret to the age-old war between UAS and batteries: laser-powered drones. No, I’m not kidding. PowerLight claims to have created a way to power long-endurance fixed-wing drones by using ground-based lasers that can charge them up to (nearly) one…

Portuguese Drone Unicorn Expands in Ukraine
NASA

Portuguese Drone Unicorn Expands in Ukraine

Portuguese drone unicorn Tekever is deepening its footprint in Ukraine, betting on local engineers, local partnerships, and battlefield hardened AI systems to anchor its long term presence in the country’s defense tech ecosystem, as Kyiv Post reported. The move signals more than symbolic support. It reflects a strategic shift toward embedding Western drone companies directly…

DJI Avata 360 FCC Approval, NASA Drone Testing, Texas Drone Fishing
DJI

DJI Avata 360 FCC Approval, NASA Drone Testing, Texas Drone Fishing

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week. DJI gets FCC approval for a new Avata 360. NASA is testing new drone navigation software in Death Valley for future Mars missions. And Texas clarifies that using drones for fishing is illegal under federal law. Let’s get to it.…

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