Bruce Crumley

Terra Drone, one of Japan’s leading UAV service providers and advanced air mobility (AAM) tech developers, is entering the US market by taking the largest ownership stake in fleet management and airspace data company Aloft.

Air taxis, drones, and other electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are expected to begin regular operation across UK skies in 2026 and ascend from there, according to a government roadmap published this week.

At this point it’s pretty clear the US has an invasive drone problem – and a large one at that – though it’s still anyone’s guess who’s piloting the craft, or what authorities are going to do about controlling them.

So much for dissuasion. An unlicensed pilot whose legally prohibited flight of an unregistered drone during a December National Football League (NFL) playoff game has been sentenced to a fine and placed on probation for his smorgasbord of offenses.

The drive to ban DJI drones in the US has now crossed into the darkly comical – and ludicrously informed – with an effort reportedly afoot in Connecticut by state legislators to halt municipalities from operating the craft.

Legislators in Vermont are considering passage of draft privacy law that would ban most drone flights over private property below 100 feet, or to capture images of someone even at higher altitudes.

Ukraine has launched drone attacks of oil refineries deep inside Russia as part of an effort to undermine the nation’s energy sector – and thereby undercut the finances of its ongoing invasion – in a strategy initially revealed to DroneDJ late last year.

Scarcely a week goes by anymore without new efforts being announced to tighten bans on DJI drone operation in the US and this is one no exception, amid national and state activities to effectively and legally ground UAVs produced by the market leader.

Global drone leader DJI has come under increasingly intense pressure in the US, as successive federal and state measures banning its craft for official use have proliferated amid worsening relations with China – and accompanying security concerns. Though accusations by politicians that DJI UAVs leak data to Chinese authorities have never been substantiated – and flatly denied by the company – the blacklisting has reportedly undermined the firm’s former 70%-plus US market share down to what some estimates say is closer to half now. 

Drone navigation and situational awareness tech startup Kongsberg Geospatial is partnering with advanced radar specialist Echodyne to provide what they describe as enhanced, uncluttered piloting interfaces to facilitate the scaling of beyond visual line of sight operations (BVLOS).

A couple of fairly clear elements have arisen about the Pentagon’s otherwise secretive future UAV plans. The first is it intends to initially invest $1 billion in its expendable swarm program known as Replicator, with the second being participating drone makers had better be in permanent revision mode to be to produce continuously upgraded craft. 

In another example of isolated obnoxious drone operation producing regressive rules for all users, St. Louis is finalizing an ordinance requiring anyone flying UAVs for commercial purposes to obtain a specific city authorization, in addition to having a Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 license. 

California heavy-lift drone specialist Parallel Flight Technologies (PFT) has secured another buyer for its brawny FireFly UAVs, through a new sales agreement with industrial hardware supplier Alpha Drones USA.

The UK has announced it will be increasing its previously announced military aid package to Ukraine to include 10,000 additional drones at a total cost of £325 million ($416 million) – support coming at a critical time as Kyiv’s munitions run low amid blocked US assistance.

Specialized defense and security UAV company Red Cat Holdings is moving to further enhance the onboard assets of its tactical Teal Drones craft by adding voice-control capacities developed by startup Primordial Labs.

San Francisco has pivoted from its habitual leftist civil liberties positioning to approve increased police powers for fighting crime, including uses of drone and formerly banned facial recognition tech.

UK drone services and air taxi infrastructure specialist Skyports says it has been commissioned to create “the UK’s first vertiport testbed” at a specialized facility about 65 miles northwest of London.

The UK military has always been gung-ho on the potentials of drone technologies, but their performance in Ukraine has solidified British convictions that UAVs have become essential to future conflict strategies – a view it is backing up with a 4.5 billion pound ($5.7 billion) investment.

Seemingly ever vying for the title as the antipodean Texas, Australia does everything big – really big – a penchant once again reflected in its forecast of becoming home to over 60 million drone flights by 2043.

Confirming suspicions reported by DroneDJ last week citing video captures of Manna Drone Delivery UAVs transporting orders to people in Dublin’s Blanchardstown neighborhood, the startup has officially announced the launch of services in the 100,000-household area, as well as its first big restaurant client in the operation.

Ukraine appears to be ahead of its stated 2024 objective of producing a million drones for battling Russia’s invasion, with government officials saying 200,000 of those first-person view (FPV) UAVs have already been manufactured by the nation’s proliferating aerial tech companies.