DroneDJ

If your Fourth of July plans include gazing up at the night sky, you have more options than ever this year. While fireworks remain the centerpiece of many Independence Day celebrations, drone light shows are becoming a bigger part of the festivities in communities across the United States. In some places, they’re paired with fireworks to create a bigger finale. In others, they’re the main event, using hundreds of synchronized drones to paint animated American flags, eagles, stars, hometown landmarks, and other patriotic images overhead.

Authorities say they have detected 1,139 drones operating near World Cup stadiums and tournament-related sites across the United States, with more than 300 of those aircraft already mitigated without the use of force. Meanwhile, the FBI says it has seized more than 500 drones as part of ongoing investigations into unauthorized flights near tournament venues.

DJI has announced an important certification update for its Matrice 4D drone series in Europe. The company’s enterprise drones are now covered by C6 certification even when operated directly with the DJI RC Plus 2 Enterprise controller, rather than exclusively through the DJI Dock 3.

DJI is expanding its precision agriculture lineup with the global debut of two new farming drones: the Agras T55 and the Agras T100 Dual Battery Spraying System. Designed for everything from orchards and small farms to large-scale field operations, the new aircraft build on more than a decade of DJI Agriculture’s research and aim to make aerial spraying, spreading, and lifting more efficient while improving safety.

Autonomous cargo drone maker Elroy Air is preparing for its next big chapter. The California-based company has announced plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), giving it the funding needed to ramp up production of its heavy-lift Chaparral drone for both military and commercial customers.

DJI is keeping the momentum going for its newest pocket-sized cameras. Just days after introducing the Osmo Pocket 4P in China and rolling it out to additional Asian markets including Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the company has released a fresh update for the DJI Mimo app — the companion app that’s essential for activating, managing, and editing footage from the Pocket camera lineup.

DJI is gradually widening the launch of its new Osmo Pocket 4P. After introducing the dual-lens pocket camera in China last month, the company has now brought it to Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The US, however, is still nowhere to be found on the launch map.

Just weeks after delivering a feature-packed firmware update for the Osmo Pocket 4, DJI is back with another software release. This latest update, firmware version 01.02.07.06, is much smaller in scope, focusing solely on fixing “some known issues.” But while there are no headline-grabbing additions this time around, it’s still worth installing if you own DJI’s latest pocket-sized camera.

As Europe prepares for its largest-ever coordinated wildfire response, drones are becoming indispensable tools for spotting fires, tracking their spread, and keeping emergency crews informed. The problem? Once those drones leave cellular coverage, getting live video back to responders typically means carrying heavy satellite terminals. That’s exactly the challenge OQ Technology says it has solved with a new satellite demonstration.

Texas has become one of the biggest proving grounds for drone delivery in America, and it’s about to add another high-profile name to the list. Food technology company Wonder has announced a partnership with Zipline that will bring on-demand drone meal deliveries to Texas beginning in January 2027.

For years, getting a drone into the air during an emergency usually meant waiting for a pilot to arrive, unpack equipment, and launch. That approach proved drones could be valuable for public safety, but it also exposed one major limitation: speed. Now, as more agencies shift toward permanently installed “drone-in-a-box” systems that can launch automatically, DJI Enterprise wants to help them avoid the growing pains that come with scaling those operations.

Sometimes, a wider view can make a bigger difference than a better camera. That’s the thinking behind DJI’s latest addition to its FPV lineup. The company has introduced the DJI O4 Wide Air Unit, an ultra-wide version of the O4 Air Unit that swaps the standard camera lens for a much broader 159-degree field of view. Everything else that made the original appealing, including its lightweight design, 4K recording, and low-latency digital video transmission, largely stays the same.

One of the biggest questions hanging over the future of drone delivery has always been surprisingly simple: What happens when multiple companies want to use the same airspace at the same time? Flytrex says it now has a real-world answer, and the results could be a glimpse of how drone deliveries will scale across American suburbs.

93 minutes of flight time sounds like a typo. For less than $300, you’d expect to be choosing between a decent drone and enough batteries to actually enjoy flying it. Not this time.

There’s a reason DJI Neo keeps showing up on “best beginner drone” lists. It’s not because it has the biggest camera, the longest flight time, or the most advanced obstacle avoidance. It’s because Neo solves the biggest problem most people have with drones: getting started. And right now, that entry point just got a lot cheaper.

Earlier this year, Zing Drone Solutions introduced a handheld drone detection device that promised to give law enforcement officers a clearer picture of what was happening overhead. Now, that product is officially shipping, and the company is revealing more details about what sets it apart from the growing number of Remote ID tools already on the market.

When a critical incident unfolds, every minute counts. In Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo, authorities are now turning to autonomous drones to shave precious minutes off emergency response times, and potentially give police a clearer picture of what they’re walking into before they even arrive.

If you’ve been telling yourself you’ll buy a DJI drone “later,” Prime Day may be making that argument a lot harder. The Air 3S, DJI’s sweet spot between beginner-friendly Minis and the far pricier Mavic lineup, is currently selling for under $1,000. And while that price tag is certainly appealing, many buyers are paying attention for a different reason: the growing belief that waiting indefinitely for a better deal on DJI hardware may not be the safest bet.

Most people shopping for their first drone fall into one of two camps. They either buy something ultra-cheap and quickly outgrow it, or they spend big on a premium drone and spend every flight terrified of hitting a tree. This DJI drone feels like it was designed specifically for everyone stuck in the middle.

Most people who think about buying a drone spend months talking themselves out of it. The drone they actually want feels too expensive. The cheap alternatives look questionable. And somewhere in the middle sits a long wish list of trips, sunsets, hikes, beaches, and family vacations they keep telling themselves they’ll capture “someday.” This Prime Day, DJI may have just removed the biggest excuse.

Every spring across Germany, an invisible race begins between wildlife rescuers and mowing machines. Young fawns often hide motionless in tall grass as farmers prepare to cut their fields. It’s a natural survival instinct that helps them avoid predators, but it also makes them nearly impossible to spot from the ground. For decades, rescuers relied on teams of volunteers walking shoulder-to-shoulder through meadows, searching for hidden animals before mowing began. Now, drones are dramatically changing that equation.

ABZ Innovation is looking to make drone-powered building cleaning a lot more practical for professional operators. The Hungary-based drone manufacturer, which operates in more than 40 countries, has unveiled what it calls the world’s first dedicated ground station designed specifically for industrial drone cleaning.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has expanded the list of aircraft exempt from its sweeping foreign-drone import restrictions, marking another sign that federal regulators are willing to make targeted exceptions even as the broader crackdown remains in place.

The all-new Potensic Atom 3 is here, and after putting it through a real-world flight test, I’ve got a lot to unpack. Bigger sensor, longer battery life, a sturdier body, and a brand-new controller — this is a meaningful step up from the Atom 2. It’s not perfect, but the upgrades here are real.