Washington and the drone industry: legislation, procurement, security reviews, and agency policy beyond the FAA.
DoorDash earned FAA Part 135 certification and launched DoorDash Air. The company says aircraft details come later, but its own video already shows the airframe and the propulsion testing.
Zelenskyy told Laura Loomer that U.S.-Ukraine drone cooperation will include a factory on American soil, days before he meets Trump. F-Drones already broke ground in Ohio, and the export deal behind the announcement still rests on anonymous sources.
Saronic says it will spend $3 billion to build Port Alpha in Brownsville, a Texas shipyard for autonomous and crewed vessels that could reshape the industrial scale of maritime drone production.
Russ from 51 Drones says he got this one wrong. After arguing that DJI-style drones would keep reaching American buyers through shell companies, he now says the FCC’s latest proposal targeting nine covered UAS brands shows just how far regulators are willing to go, with the Sky Rover X1 and Xtra camera line directly in the crosshairs.
This week’s Pilot Institute update covers a Colorado drone pilot facing federal charges after grounding wildfire aircraft, a new FCC request for comment that could restrict some military-grade foreign-made drone imports, and the National Press Photographers Association’s warning that the FAA’s Section 2209 rule could create permanent restrictions with no clear way to challenge them.
Skydio's X10, Dock for X10, and R10 join the X10D on the Blue UAS Cleared List, unlocking federal grant eligibility and cementing its DFR lead while rivals stay locked out.
The FCC extended Covered List exemptions for trusted drones through January 1, 2028, but in the same move proposed cutting off imports and sales of foreign-made thermal, LiDAR, docking, spraying, swarming, defense-integrated, and 55-pound-plus drones. That combination gives approved U.S.-aligned manufacturers more runway while putting public safety, agriculture, and survey fleets on notice.
Russ from 51 Drones breaks down the FAA's DETER enforcement program, why first-time violators may face faster penalties, and why every drone pilot now needs to check airspace before every flight.
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