The defense bill that decides which drones American agencies may fly — Section 1709, the Covered List, and the compliance fight.
DJI issued its first official statement to DroneXL following the FCC’s unanimous vote earlier this week, warning that the company faces automatic addition to the agency’s Covered List in 55 days—potentially triggering retroactive bans that could affect recently released drones, such as the DJI Mini 5 Pro. The statement from Adam Welsh, Head of Global…
The US Department of Defense has included Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s K1000ULE uncrewed aerial system (UAS) on its Blue UAS Cleared List and Blue UAS Select List, designating it as a secure, NDAA-compliant drone for immediate procurement. This move follows a $20 million contract awarded in October 2024 to deploy the system with the US Army…
Welcome to your weekly UAS news update! We have four big stories this week, and as you can tell, we’re live from Las Vegas on the drone floor. There are actually drones flying in the cage behind us right now. This week’s stories: Let’s get started. Angel Aerial Systems Releases New NDAA-Compliant Tricopter First up,…
Its tough, unusual-looking drone, the SPIRIT, has become the first aircraft to achieve a "dual clearance" on the Pentagon's exclusive "Blue UAS" list.
Angel Aerial Systems has released the Trio Scout, a lightweight, compact, and ultra‑quiet tricopter manufactured in Ohio, designed to deliver 100 minutes of hover, a 40× EO zoom paired with a 640×480 thermal camera, and NDAA‑compliant component sourcing for agency and enterprise procurement; list price is $34,999 with a current lead time of 10 weeks,…
ACSL, Japan’s top drone manufacturer, has announced the release of the TAITEN Smart Controller—an NDAA-compliant remote with a 7-inch integrated display—alongside major enhancements to its SAMO thermal payload and a new collaboration with Teledyne FLIR’s Thermal by FLIR® Program. The advances put ACSL’s secure, versatile drones in sharper focus for U.S. public safety teams, infrastructure…
Unusual Machines has secured a $1.6 million order for Fat Shark Aura FPV cameras and HDO+ goggles from a domestic defense drone manufacturer, with deliveries flowing through the U.S. defense supply chain to support NDAA-compliant programs, according to a press release. NDAA-compliant FPV stack positioned for defense use Unusual Machines says the Fat Shark Aura…
Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 last December, setting a December 23, 2025, deadline for a national security agency to assess risks posed by Chinese-manufactured drones. With less than six months remaining, DJI has intensified its push for a transparent and thorough evaluation, arguing that a rushed or incomplete process…
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