News, deep dives, and analysis — every Tennessee story, newest first.
Steffanie Rivers, who runs TCB Drones Academy in Dallas, announced a national program on July 4 to steer students at historically Black colleges and universities toward careers in drones and aviation. She is calling it the National HBCU Aviation and Drone Leadership Initiative. Rivers, a Tennessee State University graduate who describes herself as the first…
A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted twelve people for running drones over the walls of ten federal prisons in eight states, dropping drugs, cell phones, and saw blades at least 38 times. Prosecutors call it the largest federal case to date built around coordinated drone smuggling into prisons. The 17-count indictment, unsealed June 24…
Amazon parked an MK-30 delivery drone inside the Renasant Convention Center on Tuesday and invited Memphis residents to meet it. The company calls the service Prime Air, and the pitch was familiar: packages up to five pounds, delivered in two hours or less, for $4.99 if you hold a Prime membership. What Amazon did not…
Vanderbilt University Public Safety has launched a drone first-responder program for its Nashville campus, with installation and personnel training completed in April 2026 and initial operations conducted during Commencement week. The fleet is built on Skydio X10 platforms, equipped with high-resolution cameras, thermal imaging, and a parachute recovery system. According to the university, a drone
The City of Bloomington, Minnesota, will spend the next two weeks running a Drone as First Responder pilot using Skydio X10 aircraft and the Skydio Dock, the city announced on May 15. The testing period begins the week of May 18 and is intended to give city staff a working view of what DFR technology…
The Tennessee Army National Guard is procuring three types of small unmanned aircraft for training and operational support, according Defence Blog and solicitation documents published March 7, 2026. The request covers six total systems across three platforms, all required to carry Blue UAS certification, the U.S. military’s security clearance program for small drones. The procurement…
Thermal drone footage has added fuel to a growing controversy in Southaven, Mississippi, where Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is accused of operating unpermitted gas turbines to power its expanding datacenter footprint, as reported by The Guardian. An investigation by Floodlight newsroom used aerial thermal imaging (yep, the same that we write a lot…
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada told state lawmakers on Tuesday that drone-delivered contraband is no longer an occasional annoyance. It is one of the most significant security threats his facilities face. His department is requesting $1.7 million in funding for drone detection technology to address what he called a necessary response to an…
One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.
