Bruce Crumley

The Denver Police Department has long been drone-averse, having shelved the only UAV it occasionally operated way back in 2018. Now most underlying hesitations behind that decision have gone by the boards, with force reintroducing the craft in law enforcement activity amid significant budget cuts.

The Canadian UAV sector is undergoing what could be the start of wider consolidation as diversified hardware and services provider Volatus Aerospace merges with specialized cargo transport company Drone Delivery Canada (DDC)

Against the company’s wishes, DJI remains by far the preferred drone maker among Ukraine’s defense forces, which have now procured an additional 4,200 Mavic UAVs beyond the 4,000 bought in April.

Long distance connectivity tech specialist Elsight has established its first foothold in Japan’s developing UAV market through a partnership it announced with the country’s leading drone manufacturer, ACSL.

With Memorial Day marking the start of summer in many places, New York City Police officials got to work over the holiday weekend introducing drones that will keep watch over the beaches of coastal boroughs for the next four months.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has indicated considerable progress has been made accelerating large-scale drone production necessary for its Replicator program, which seeks to overpower the brute strength of adversaries’ military systems with huge numbers of UAV impossible to fend off. Officials said deliveries of the first of those craft have been made.

Innovative Swedish drone delivery company Aerit is no more, having filed for bankruptcy after struggling to secure additional investment needed to continue operating.

Members of the House of Representative tabled legislation this month that included a proposal to create a new branch of the US Army dedicated to the rapidly expanding deployment of drones in conflict situations. This week, the country’s top military brass made it very clear they don’t support the idea.

The most recent in a long series of US government agency and legislative initiatives to squeeze DJI drones from the domestic market targets a critical user category in particular: lifesaving first responder organizations. Given the literally existential stakes that the bill poses, DJI has responded with a detailed arguments against its eventual passage into law.

The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has unveiled a new direct-energy system it says can neutralize individual and swarms of drones using high-powered radio waves.

Australian livestock rancher Luke Chaplain is innovating to make the work of rounding up animals and herding them into or back from grazing lands faster, more efficient, and less costly – and using drones carry the job out from on high.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has taken full advantage the city’s announcement last summer to permit increased used of drones by official and enterprise operators, and is now planning to expand that UAV activity even more.

German air electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Lilium has taken another step toward securing funding it needs to push its battery-fueled jet toward commercialization, with the announcement that German officials have resumed work toward freeing up €100 million ($108 million) in loans to the company.

US politicians behind legislation seeking to effectively ban operation of DJI and other leading China-made drones are biding the time to its possible passage by trotting out an additional protectionist bill – this one designed to force the prices consumers pay for those UAVs to spike.

Specialized public safety and emergency responder consultancy Skyfire has announced its SF2 drone has been selected by Thales USA for its operations in North Dakota’s advanced UAV network.

Ukraine is once again influencing the way militaries around the world prepare for conflict, this time in providing an example the US looks ready to follow by establishing a drone corps as a distinct branch of the Army.

The latest twist in the push by US politicians to undermine DJI not only underscores the unacknowledged protectionist motivations of their campaign, but also lays bare both their lack of understanding of drone activities, and willingness to surrender Ukraine’s defensive efforts in their zeal to subsidize American manufacturers.

Japanese telecommunications company KDDI Corp. says it is partnering with Skydio to create a network of drone stations across the archipelago to provide critical aerial emergency response within minutes of disasters striking.

Police, fire, emergency response units, and other official agencies in Connecticut will be able to continue operating their DJI drones in the line of duty, after a proposal to ban their use failed to pass a legislative deadline Thursday.

Efforts to launch air taxi activities are really heating up for Volocopter, but not in a way Europe’s leading electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer would like: a struggle to secure additional funding to complete certification and manufacturing of its craft.

Legislators in Connecticut have taken a significant step toward banning the purchase and use of DJI drones by state and municipal agencies, after a Democrat-led majority of Senate members passed a draft law phasing out use of the company’s UAVs over the weekend.