About the Author
David MacQuarrie is a 35 year+ veteran of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He worked in St. John’s, Ottawa, Toronto, and Beijing where he worked as a news writer, reporter, producer for the national and local television and radio networks. His stories on science and technology won ACTRA and Columbus awards.
March 2
Kelley Aerospace of Singapore says it’s already received 100 pre-orders for its new supersonic unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The world’s first supersonic drone will sell for some super prices – between $9 and $16 million. And it looks way cool.
March 1
A terrifying sound and sight from the Second World War returned to Exeter, England, over the weekend. A drone was there to record a Royal Navy team’s detonation of an old Nazi bomb.
February 26
The sky crane system that delivered the Perseverance rover to Mars last week looks straightforward enough. But drone pilot Nicholas Rehm shows just how difficult it is when he tries to simulate a Martian landing with a drone and a rock.
February 21
The Syrian civil war is one of the century’s greatest catastrophes. As many as half a million people have been killed and millions more displaced. The war is also erasing Syria’s history. New drone video shows damage to Syria’s heritage with Byzantine churches, monasteries and even whole villages ruined by ten years of war.
February 19
You and I may not be able to stay in Cancun. And certain Texas senators may not be able to stay in Cancun. But there’s no reason you can’t visit Mexico by drone instead.
February 16
Maybe it’s the lack of tourists. Maybe it’s the cooler weather. It’s not clear what brought them all together. But last week, a photographer in St. Petersburg, Florida, captured the unusual sight of hundreds of manatees chilling with dolphins.
February 12
New drone video reveals the world’s largest nude female sculpture at least partially adorned this month. As seen from the air, snow gave the Lady of the North a dusting.
February 10
If you’re confused by the question posed in the photograph, you’re in good company. When Armenian defense forces took aim at an Azerbaijani missile last fall, they may have thought they’d targeted a modern weapon. It tuned out to be an old Soviet crop duster converted into a military drone.
February 8
If there were a Ten Commandments for drones, thou shalt not fly in winds and thou shalt not fly in rains would be near the top. But unless someone transgressed, we’d never have these pictures of a nor’easter smashing the Atlantic coast. Storm chasers captured the terrifying storm with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro.
February 4
Scottish thrill seeker Danny MacAskill released a new hair-raising cycling video. And almost as impressive as his nearly vertical ride down a mountain is the FPV drone photography that documents the mountain biker’s descent.
February 2
When the wreckers blew up the Wood River Power Plant in Illinois this month, we thought, “Cool, they photographed it with a drone.” But it turns out demolitionists have used drones to document their end-of-life endeavors for some time. Their results are often spectacular. So we thought we should package a drone demolition roundup to showcase a few “creations.”
February 1
Stunning drone video taken in the east of England shows an immense starling flock from an unusual position: the same height as the birds. And there may be a good reason it’s so unusual; the murmuration nearly smashes the drone.
A pilot in Swaffham, England, got spectacular pictures of the giant flock and could have lost his drone in the process.
January 28
A Dutch sailor took a frenetic flight through the interior of a Royal Netherlands Navy submarine, and now you can come along for the ride. It’s an amazing FPV drone submarine video that gets intense as the pilot skillfully avoids the boat’s narrow corridors.
January 23
A drone pilot who works as a crocodile feeder at a Western Australia park nearly fed his aircraft to the animals when a crocodile lunged at his drone.
Johani Mamid took the incredible video at the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park in Broome last month.
January 22
Is Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reckless, foolhardy, or courageous? After releasing a slick denunciation featuring drone video of what he says is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s secret palace, he may be a measure of all three.
January 18
If you’re sick of drones that share virtually the same silhouette as the DJI quadcopters, here’s something to enjoy: a flying dragon transformer drone. Technically it’s capable of forming an almost infinite number of shapes, but mostly, it’s a Big Flying Snake. And we’ve got video.
January 17
A video of a whale trapping prey in the Gulf of Thailand is by far the best drone whale video of the year. And maybe of any year.
The whale is open-mouthed – and you will be too once you see this thing.
January 13
Drowsy night security guards had better keep a look over their shoulders. A new indoor security drone may have its sights on replacing them on the midnight shift.
The Israeli startup Indoor Robotics has designed a quadcopter drone it calls Tando to keep an eye on companies once the employees have gone home for the day.
January 11
Intel hopes its new, cutting-edge 21st technology will make drones at least as smart as bugs, maybe even birds.
Intel envisions biological drones.
The company is installing its new Loihi chips into drones, hoping to give them capabilities approaching animals.
January 6
The Ontario Provincial Police released drone video of a dramatic rescue after two fishermen fell through the ice on a lake near Ottawa, Ontario, last week.
The two-minute video appears to show one man pulled from the icy water just in time.
