Bruce Crumley

Creator of drone and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft vertiports, Urban-Air Port, has initiated construction of what is intended to be its first fully-operational next-generation air transport facility in the UK.

Silicon Valley hydrogen fuel cell innovator Hypoint has inaugurated a new UK unit intended to speed development of its air-cooled aviation power technology, and ready it to supply zero-carbon power to next-generation aircraft like electric takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) as they prepare to launch services.

Australian UAV delivery company Swoop Aero has added another impressive item to its “drones for good” list, thanks to its life-saving work delivering vaccinations and medical supplies to distant, often difficult-to-access destinations in central Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Two influential US aerial public safety organizations are teaming up to adopt and promote standardized methods in their drone testing programs – their effort to enhance safety and improve development of remote of UAV use in emergencies by police, fire fighters, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders.

Natilus, developer of long-distance, cost-cutting cargo drones, says it has secured an eye-opening $6 billion worth of advance purchase commitments for hundreds of its craft from an array of aviation clients. 

Researchers supported by France’s Defense Ministry are working to develop a more effective surveillance drone that’s also less prone to detection by its imitation of birds or insects.

The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR) has announced a link-up with US aerospace company Sagetech Avionics to test platforms providing enhanced situational awareness to pilots flying craft in New York’s 50-mile drone corridor.

Drone manufacturer and automated flight specialist Skydio says it has won a contract to supply its X2D UAVs to the US Army’s Short-Range Reconnaissance Program (SRR). Valued at $20.2 million annually, the fixed-price provisionment agreement is expected to be worth $99.8 million over its five-year duration.

Several police forces in England are participating in beyond visible line of sight (BVLOS) drone tests in what may be the first, careful steps toward long-distance use of the craft for routine surveillance and searches for suspects.

South Korea’s SK Telecom and electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft specialist Joby Aviation have announced an agreement to develop advanced air mobility (AAM) ride-sharing services between cities across one of southeast Asia’s most promising next-generation transportation markets.

A project in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is pairing sensor-equipped drones with machine-learning applications in an effort to automate the identification and mapping of marine waste and create effective methods for its collection and disposal. 

The speed and efficiency of its automated Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) authorization system has permitted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue its millionth permit to drone pilots in record time.

In another example of what a large and growing a problem the use of drones to smuggle contraband into prisons has become, authorities in South Carolina have arrested 20 people – in two different groups – running aerial contraband operations into the Lee Correctional Institution.

Flytrex co-founder and CEO Yariv Bash may not be out to change the entire world, but he is intent on revolutionizing the way goods are delivered on the planet with a tightly focused, carefully defined plan of making drones the primary force of that progress.

February is proving to be an unpleasant month in the US for the world’s leading manufacturer of UAVs and other consumer tech. Just hours after a news report claimed the privately held DJI has received investments from state entities in China, a quartet of US legislators introduced bills aiming to have the company and its drones added to more federal blacklists.

Legislators in West Virginia are moving to ease laws restricting the use of drones, with the aim of attracting what is currently limited UAV business creation and investment in the state.

South Korean UAV services company PABLO AIR is partnering with operators of New York’s drone corridor, Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR), to develop new kinds of aerial enterprise applications that adhere to US regulatory requirements.

Czech startup Dronetag has developed the small, flat Dronetag Mini transmitter that can be affixed to drones in order to ensure compliance with direct remote ID and network ID regulations being introduced around the globe.

In a potentially pivotal development in the legal battle between electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) airplane manufacturers Wisk and Archer, federal authorities investigating the underlying accusations of intellectual property theft have decided to end their inquiry into the case. That exit appears to signal vulnerability in Wisk’s charges that its rival misappropriated industrial secrets as the litigation heads to civil trial later this year.

A trio of US Senators has launched a bipartisan effort to create comprehensive federal law that will specifically criminalize most forms of dangerous drone use, from terror and trafficking activity to interfering with public responders to emergencies.

Instant logistics specialist Zipline has announced a new agreement to make on-demand drone deliveries of medical supplies in Africa – this time providing 24/7 service in the Nigerian state of Bayelsa.