Ishveena Singh

Booz Allen Hamilton, a global consulting firm and digital integrator for the US Department of Defense (DoD), has made a strategic investment in Hidden Level, a New York-based drone monitoring startup. The investment comes through the company’s corporate venture capital arm Booz Allen Ventures.

Utah-based counter-drone specialist Fortem Technologies has landed $17.8 million in new funding to scale and meet the growing demands across multiple regions and market sectors in airspace safety and security. Key industry investors in the round include Lockheed Martin Ventures, Hanwha Aerospace, and AIM13|Crumpton Venture Partners. Existing investors DCVC and Signia Venture Partners have also contributed funds.

After an investigation revealed that an in-flight software failure had led to an Astro commercial drone crashing, UAS manufacturer Freefly is urging all operators to ground their fleet until they have updated the aircraft firmware to v1.1.18.

UAS4STEM is an annual educational youth drone competition organized by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), the largest association of model aircraft and drone hobbyists in the US.

Drone components manufacturer Lumenier says it’s ready to release the “most illuminated drone” the light show market has ever seen. The new ARORA drone from the company comes with highly-impressive endurance and 12 super-bright LEDs, which we are told, are six times brighter than what competitors offer.

DJI has released a new firmware update for its modular action camera, Action 2. With this update, the Action 2 has become DJI’s first action camera to offer compatibility with Gyroflow, an open-source post-processing video stabilization software.

Logistics and transportation company Aramex says it has successfully tested drone and roadside bot deliveries in Dubai. These tests were conducted as part of the company’s “Future Delivery Program,” aimed at enhancing last-mile logistics using smart shipping solutions to enable quicker, more sustainable, and cost-effective deliveries.

Drone company Volatus Aerospace has been issued a drone cargo license by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

California-based Fullerton College has launched a new internship initiative called Hornet Drone Piloting Apprenticeship Program. It’s a first-of-its-kind federal- and state-registered apprenticeship program for drone operators focused on providing opportunities for underrepresented communities.

AirModo, a new drone insurance app that allows operators to instantly purchase either hourly or annual policies depending on their needs, has launched a reward program in collaboration with Unmanned Safety Institute (USI).

California-based aerial data collection and analytics company Aerial Imaging Technology has released a new, free drone image overlap estimator tool. As the name suggests, the tool can help operators using DJI drones or Micasense payloads to confirm a project’s orthographic image coverage while still on site.

All new enterprise-level drones that DJI manufactures come with the promise of supporting the open developer ecosystem, which means creating third-party flight automation apps and solutions for these products is easy. But what about the company’s latest consumer drones such as the Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro, Mavic 3, or the Avata FPV aircraft? Is DJI planning to release a Mobile SDK (MSDK) for them?

The latest addition to the DJI Mini drone series is here! DJI has unveiled the new Mini 2 SE camera drone, bringing several enhancements to flight performance, image transmission, and intelligent features of previous-generation Mini SE aircraft. The photo and video quality, however, have been kept the same, indicating that the new DJI drone aims to woo beginners rather than those looking to upgrade from the sub-$300 Mini SE.

The DJI Fly app has received a fresh update today, and it comes with support for a new beginner drone – the Mini 2 SE.

Airobotics has announced a $3.5 million purchase order and joint venture with SkyGo, a UAE-based company that has a commercial license to provide uncrewed aerial transport of goods and services across the city of Abu Dhabi. This news follows the recent acquisition of Airobotics by Ondas Holdings.

Love is in the air, and so are discounts and free gifts on DJI products. The drone maker has unveiled its Valentine’s Day deals to make it easier for you and your special someone to capture your adventures together in a creative manner. The list includes free travel bags and ND Filters set for drones and price cuts on handheld devices.

Popular drone platform AirData is now providing its fleet data management and real-time flight streaming services in Japan.

Oil and gas services company Flogistix says its drone methane detection technology has been approved by the State of New Mexico as part of its Advanced Leak and Repair Monitoring (ALARM) program. Flogistix’s aerial solution utilizes a DJI Matrice 300 RTK drone to carry a payload that can sniff out methane, sewer gas, volatile organic compounds, and hydrocarbons.

AgEagle Aerial Systems has introduced a trade-up program for its regulatory-compliant eBee X mapping drone. All professional fixed-wing, VTOL, and multirotor drones are eligible for exchange, and there are thousands of dollars up for grabs in savings.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denied autonomous drone solutions provider Percepto’s latest exemption request. And that regulatory ruling is something that not only Percepto but the entire drone industry needs to celebrate. Confused? Read on…

Israeli Police have successfully conducted a trial where drones served as first responders to incidents in two suburbs of Tel Aviv with a combined population of around 154,000 residents.