Bruce Crumley

Boeing-backed air taxi developer Wisk Aero says it has entered an agreement with Japan Airlines (JAL) to facilitate certification and eventual introduction of its autonomous passenger aircraft across the archipelago.

Leading drone delivery company and longtime Walmart aerial transportation partner DroneUp is partnering with Israeli startup Wonder Robotics in an effort to increase the autonomy and efficiency of its UAV operations.

Hyundai’s advanced air mobility (AAM) unit Supernal has announced it has formed a strategic partnership and taken an equity stake in transportation and defense radar specialist Echodyne to assist the aircraft developer’s future navigation systems.

As the current Russian aerial battering of Kyiv and other cities indicates, military officials in Moscow are seeking to stave off a Ukraine counter-offense expected to be unleashed any day now – and for which the nation’s defense forces have trained 10,000 drone pilots.

Drone public safety and emergency program consultancy Skyfire is taking a major step beyond its habitual advisory activities to police and fire departments by offering its own drone first responder (DFR) services as an outsourced solution to assembling in-house UAV units.

An astonishing video of a gigantic avalanche in British Columbia was captured by a drone pilot who managed to be at just the right place and right time – and extremely quick in reacting – to record the breathtaking scene.

As expected, this weekend’s coronation of King Charles II provided all the pomp and star-studded entertainment organizers had promised, and wrapped up with the crescendo Sunday evening of drone shows over Windsor Castle and in cities across the UK.

Fans of UAV tourism and event videography will find their aerial ambitions confounded in London this weekend with flight restrictions related to the coronation of King Charles III grounding all drone and small plane flights below 2,500 feet in the British capital.

In another sign that the advent of urban air mobility (UAM) services like air taxis is near, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued its latest blueprint on how those new, largely battery-powered aircraft will be phased in during early operation.

French industrial monitoring, inspection, and security company Azur Drones is moving to enrich service to existing clients and expand its business to new customers through the launch of its second-generation SKEYETECH E2 automated UAV – a platform whose adaptability the firm says will meet the diverse demands of differing mission objectives.

Leading instant logistics specialist Zipline isn’t just turning heads with its increasingly innovative drone delivery activity around the globe, but it is now also causing jaws to drop with fundraising effectiveness that has reportedly almost doubled its valuation to $4.2 billion.

Just a month after reports circulated about its increasingly tight financial situation, German air taxi developer Lilium says it has secured $100 million in what it expects will be $250 million in new funding.

Finland’s Nokia has released what it calls the first-ever turnkey nested drone solution for public safety and enterprise users boasting CE certification by fulfilling the European Union’s safety requirements.

Legislators in Arkansas have joined a still small but powerful and gradually expanding cohort of officials in the US moving to formally ban use of drones made in China for official purposes – a blacklisting movement that first became popular among politicians in Washington targeting sector powerhouse DJI.

Airspace monitoring and security tech company Dedrone is expanding its work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in testing its drone detection and identification systems at an increasing number of airports, where it will also demonstrate its mitigation solutions for invasive craft.

Though Autel announced the nearing release of its new enterprise and prosumer Evo Max 4T drone back in January, new images and spec leaks of that craft and other new company UAVs on social media offer an idea of just how big a challenge to DJI’s powerful Matrice 30 series those are intended to pose.

A trial program overseen by the UK’s Skyports Drone Services in Scotland is in the running for a national award for its efforts in pioneering UAV transport of meals to remote Highland schools.

Leading developer of battery-powered air taxis, Joby, is finishing April with a pair of major business accords, including a deal worth $55 million to provide its electric vertical takeoff and landing planes (eVTOL) and flight training to the US Air Force.

Leading drone delivery company Wing is pushing ahead with plans to considerably scale its aerial activity through intensified testing of its craft in the kinds of challenging weather conditions the entire sector will have to overcome if it’s to become a true challenger to legacy road transportation.

As their revered political hero famously phrased it, “there you go again.” A pair of Republican legislators has joined the conga line of officials in Washington striking tough positions against China with another bill seeking to broaden US bans on DJI drones – this one with potentially far-reaching consequences.

US developer of next-generation seaglider aircraft, REGENT, is building momentum toward the eventual launch of its water-hovering passenger plane with two new business announcements led by the unveiling of the full-scale version of its prototype craft.