DroneDJ

Heavy-lift drone developer Elroy Air has secured a major vote of confidence from the US Army. The California-based company announced it has been awarded a $46 million multi-year contract to further develop its autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) cargo drone, with the goal of making it more capable of supporting troops in some of the military’s toughest operating environments.

Could DJI actually escape the Pentagon’s blacklist? A new court ruling suggests it’s no longer out of the question.

Buying an imported drone in the US could soon become much more expensive. The Trump administration has announced sweeping new tariffs on imported drones and drone components, with duties reaching as high as 100% for certain products. While the move is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and reducing US dependence on foreign suppliers, it could also have ripple effects for businesses, public safety agencies, and even recreational drone pilots.

Uber Eats users could soon have another delivery option alongside human drivers. Uber and drone delivery leader Zipline have announced a long-term partnership that aims to bring autonomous drone deliveries to millions of Americans, with an ambitious goal of reaching one million deliveries per day by the end of 2029.

DJI’s Mavic 4 Pro is one of the few consumer drones that can shoot stunning 6K HDR video, switch between three cameras mid-flight, and even rotate its camera a full 360 degrees. Now, DJI is making that flagship experience a little smoother with a fresh firmware update for the drone, DJI RC Pro 2, DJI RC 2, and the DJI Fly app.

As commercial drone operations expand beyond small pilot programs, many organizations are discovering that flying the aircraft is only part of the challenge. Managing pilots, equipment, approvals, compliance, risks, and thousands of flight records can quickly become overwhelming, especially as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations become more common. That’s the problem Finland-based FlybyOps says it’s solving with its newly launched enterprise drone operations platform.

If your travel bag already feels overloaded with an action camera, a gimbal, spare batteries, and accessories, Insta360 thinks it has the solution. The company has unveiled its new flagship Insta360 X6, a camera designed to do the job of three devices at once. It combines an 8K 360 camera, a traditional action camera, and an AI-powered tracking camera into a single pocket-sized package, making it one of the biggest upgrades the X series has seen in years.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro isn’t a military drone. And the Air 3S certainly isn’t something most people would associate with the battlefield. Yet these, and several other popular DJI drone models, could potentially get caught in the Federal Communications Commission’s latest drone crackdown.

DJI has added another microphone to its increasingly crowded audio lineup, and this one brings a feature many creators have been asking for: built-in recording. The new DJI Mic Mini 2S comes with 32-bit float internal recording, up to 28 hours of onboard audio storage, upgraded AI noise canceling, and support for up to four transmitters. But for US customers, there is a familiar problem. DJI has not announced official availability or US pricing for the new microphone.

Canadian police and defense agencies have a new option for running one of their key situational-awareness tools without sending sensitive operational data to a foreign cloud provider.

Wildfire response can get complicated fast. There are drones in the air, crews on the ground, dispatch information coming in, and, increasingly, huge areas of smoke making it harder to see what is happening. BRINC is now trying to put at least one more piece of that puzzle in the same place.

Ondas has secured another major win with the US Army, announcing that its defense subsidiary, Mistral, has received a new order worth more than $50 million for tactical Lethal Unmanned Systems (LUS), also known as loitering munitions or “kamikaze drones.”

When millions of soccer fans packed stadiums across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, one of the biggest security challenges wasn’t on the ground — it was in the air.

For millions of soccer fans, the 2026 FIFA World Cup was all about packed stadiums, dramatic matches, and unforgettable moments. Behind the scenes, however, another battle was unfolding in the skies.

DJI is continuing to polish the software experience behind its growing handheld camera and gimbal lineup. The company has released DJI Mimo v2.11.2, introducing a handful of quality-of-life improvements that should make everyday shooting and editing noticeably smoother for creators.

Drone deliveries are becoming increasingly ordinary in America. You can already have groceries, burritos, and household essentials flown to your doorstep in parts of the country. Now, one of the nation’s most respected healthcare providers is adding prescription medications to that list. Cleveland Clinic has officially launched the first long-term medical drone delivery program by a US health system, partnering with Zipline to serve patients around Cleveland.

For years, creators have had to choose between carrying a pocket camera with a gimbal or packing a separate drone for aerial shots. Follow-me drone specialist HoverAir thinks they shouldn’t have to. Its newly unveiled Versa is designed to do both, transforming from a handheld, pocket-sized camera into a self-flying AI camera with snap-on propeller modules.

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4P is finally rolling out globally after debuting in China and other Asian markets, but the camera’s biggest talking point may not be its dual-lens setup or cinema-grade image quality. Instead, it’s a tiny new wireless accessory called FrameTap that could make filming yourself dramatically easier.

If you’ve been waiting for drone delivery to move beyond flashy demos and limited pilot programs, this could be one of the biggest signs yet that the technology is entering the mainstream.

The Osmo Pocket 3 was a hard act to follow. For a stretch it was reportedly the best-selling camera in the world, which is remarkable for something you can palm. So the Osmo Pocket 4P arrives with real expectations, and DJI has answered them with the two specs everyone is already repeating: a dual-lens system and 17 stops of dynamic range.

After a day with the camera at a DJI event in Toronto, here’s the honest surprise. The 17 stops are impressive, but they’re not what won me over. The feature I’d actually reach for is the one barely making the headlines.

DJI has rolled out a new firmware update for the Mini 5 Pro, and while it isn’t packed with flashy new features, it’s still one you’ll want to install before your next flight.

When community leaders first proposed using drones to help protect residents, not everyone was convinced. Some questioned the cost. Others worried about privacy. But then the drones started finding missing people, guiding first responders, and responding to emergencies in seconds instead of nearly an hour.

Imagine a cargo aircraft that can take off like a helicopter, fly long distances like an airplane, and do it all without a pilot onboard. That’s the idea behind Halo, Archer Aviation’s new autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft built to transport heavy payloads to places where traditional aircraft often can’t operate.

When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced last December that virtually all foreign-produced drones and critical drone components would be added to its national security “Covered List,” many assumed the door had effectively closed on new foreign drone approvals in the US. Seven months later, the picture looks much more nuanced.