Bruce Crumley

In spite of the rash of largely protectionist blacklisting initiatives in the US justified by nominal data piracy motives, a new survey commissioned by drone and onboard tech specialist Teledyne FLIR indicates information leak risks remain a middling UAV purchasing criterion for US enterprise and public administrations operators.

H2FLY, the German affiliate of air taxi developer Joby, has passed a major technological and aviation milestone in clear power transportation, with the successful test flights of what it hailed as the world’s first piloted electric aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen.

Though still not officially acknowledged by maker DJI, it’s become apparent through a series of rich leaks by online tech sleuths that the company’s Mini 4 Pro is en route to stores – an anticipated arrival further backed up by rumored prices for the drone that were shared today.

Saskatoon, Canada’s most celebrated (and possibly only) drone manufacturer, Draganfly, is taking another step in its increasingly tight relationship and operational cooperation with police, fire, and other emergency aid services by hosting the Draganflyer Xperience: First Responder User Conference in Texas next week.

Recurring drone disruptions – and the political and business fallout produced by them – that plagued Dublin Airport earlier this year may now be drawing to a close, thanks to clearance from Irish regulators for the platform to begin using counter-UAV assets to deal with the invasive craft.

Drone giant DJI has released a series of product firmware updates, including the run-don’t-walk additional features available in new software for the Mavic 3 series of drones, as well as upgrades for the Osmo Action 4 camera and Osmo Mobile 6 handheld stabilizer.

Global air services company Bristow Group is looking to diversify from its historic passenger transport activities by securing preferred delivery of medium-haul Elroy Air Chaparral drones to facilitate its expansion into cargo operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a trio of significant decisions late Wednesday, including issuance of type certification to Ondas Holding unit Airobotics’ Optimus-1EX automated drone platform, in what’s being touted as the “first non-air carrier drone designed for autonomous security and data capture.” 

Canadian drone hardware and systems company Draganfly is extending the operational capacities of its Commander 3 XL UAV with the introduction of a hybrid-powered version that prolongs the craft’s flight time up to three hours.

Electronics giant Sony has introduced another of its top-shelf professional cameras with the new LX-LR1, a device whose image-capturing power is packed into tech small enough to mount on the drones its creators kept in mind during the design process.

Online leakers have alerted DJI fans to a looming firmware update to the Mavic 3 series that will add many powerful new features and capabilities to onboard cameras, image capturing applications, and automated flight and operating functions to the top-drawer drone.

New cases of attempted aerial drops of contraband into prison grounds have been thwarted on both sides of the Atlantic, with police in the UK and Canada moving fast to confound illicit drone activity within restricted jail airspaces.

Though police departments across the world have been making the most of UAV performance in public safety and law enforcement work, officials of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Saskatchewan are going further by making drones a standard issue asset for of the province’s 82 divisions.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has presented its proposal for air taxi and other next-generation aircraft regulation in a text now awaiting approval or amendment into law by the bloc’s executive body.

Extending a recent series of media stories about close-call aircraft-UAV incidents that’ve been heavy on fear-generating speculation and lighter on supporting facts, a UK daily has raised alarms with its account of a Royal Air Force (RAF) jet used by VIP passengers that “came within 30ft of smashing into an illegally flown drone” – reasons for seriously questioning the threatening object identified by crew notwithstanding.

New York has recently taken considerable steps toward facilitating and increasing the use of long-banished drones within the city – and also overcoming lively resident opposition to those rooted in personal privacy concerns. But it’s precisely the enduring strength of that resistance that now risks making a decision by NY police to deploy UAVs for outdoor and backyard party surveillance this long holiday weekend a “too much, too soon” decision officials may wind up regretting.

UK air taxi developer Vertical Aerospace has revealed the cause of the August 9 crash of its VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype aircraft, and said it has already begun moving toward resumed test flights and planned certification in 2026.

Though additional evidence wasn’t needed as confirmation, the nocturnal barrage of strikes on multiple areas inside Russia overnight Wednesday was another clear reminder of the extent to which Ukraine relies on military and adapted enterprise and consumer drones to successfully battle against Moscow’s invasion.

In a case of disruptive technology promising transformative disruption of disrupting business practices, Florida drone company Sustainable Skylines says it will transform what many beachgoers consider the annoying activity of aerial banner advertising – and, somehow, make it better.

In a development that can’t be independently confirmed – yet nevertheless offers an ephemeral blast of schadenfreude for those so inclined – close observers of Ukraine’s military actions against Russia and its assets have said four highly valued fighter jets that were destroyed or seriously damaged at a base in Western Russia late Saturday were the victims of Australian drones made of cardboard.

Top US aviation and aerospace educator Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is adding a new facet to its range of pedagogical and training activities with an assignment from the US Department of State to conceive a multi-modal curriculum and learning program for future drone pilots from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (BINLEA).