Washington and the drone industry: legislation, procurement, security reviews, and agency policy beyond the FAA.
Mexican drug cartels are no longer just trafficking narcotics across borders. They are building a low cost air force, as Small Wars Journal reports. A new report from the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center, based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, documents 221 weaponized drone incidents in Mexico between 2021 and 2025.…
SpaceX is reportedly competing in a secret Pentagon challenge to build voice controlled, autonomous drone swarming technology, as Reuters reports. On paper, it reads like the next chapter in military innovation. In context, it also reads like a sharp philosophical U turn. According to Bloomberg News, SpaceX and its AI subsidiary xAI are among a…
More than $100 million in federal funding is headed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, reinforcing the region’s growing role as a national hub for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), space, and defense technology, as the Grand Forks Herald reports. Speaking at the HIVE innovation center, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) detailed a sweeping investment package that…
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…
Kansas City may soon get something it has never had before, local police with the legal authority to knock a drone out of the sky, as KCTV5 reports. A new bill introduced by Eric Burlison would temporarily give state and local law enforcement the power to intercept and disable unmanned aircraft during the 2026 FIFA…
Michigan is no longer just talking about drones. It just secured the airspace to prove it. The U.S. Department of Defense has officially designated Michigan’s National All Domain Warfighting Center as a National Range for Deep Uncrewed Aerial Systems training, as reported by FREEP. That is a long title, but the meaning is simple. Michigan…
A drone pilot in Maryland is now facing federal charges after allegedly flying over one of the most sensitive military sites in the United States and posting the footage to his YouTube channel, as FOX Baltimore reports. According to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for Maryland, Stuart Dale Bennett was identified by the…
A small college in Harrison, Arkansas just stepped onto a national stage. The Federal Aviation Administration has selected North Arkansas College’s Uncrewed Aerial Systems program for its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Collegiate Training Initiative, known as UAS CTI. The information was released by the North Arkansas College on their website. That puts Northark inside an elite…
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