Seth Kurkowski

Welcome to The Buzz, a weekly roundup of news about consumer, enterprise, and defense uses for drones. For now, it’s in a written format, but soon there will be a return to our weekly podcast format. This week was a big week for controversies; between the investigation of the LA fire’s drone crash, Red Cat’s potential fraud, and DJI dropping No-Fly Zones, there was a lot.

While many experienced drone pilots and photographers probably know the answer to this question, many new pilots might not. So what is the difference between optical and digital zoom? When should you use either?

Even with the F-22 still considered the most dominant fighter the US Air Force has developed, the department is already looking towards its replacement, or lack thereof. The outgoing Air Force Secretary stated that the next-generation fighter program could rely on a “F-35 follow-on” that would simply manage unmanned combat air vehicles.

It’s the age old problem, you’re out flying your drone and think to yourself, “I really wish this thing could drive.” Well engineering YouTuber Michael Rechtin did, and now we have tank drone… or a drone tank? A drone that can drive and a tank that can fly.

Insta360 announced today its second-generation Flow smartphone gimbal. Bringing Apple DockKit support, the new gimbal expands on its predecessor, with more AI-driven features to produce professional-level videos with just your phone.

Leave it to humanity to do something so stupid that it ends up viral on social media, twice. A recent video resurfaced and has gained recent hype for obvious reasons; the video showed an alligator snatching a drone in the air before exploding.

The drone maker turned adventure company has upgraded the DJI Power lineup with new “super-fast chargers” for van lifers or RV owners. The expansion continues to make DJI Power more competitive in the portable battery space.

The consumer drone producer announced today its newest camera drone to its lineup, the DJI Flip. Taking the best features of the DJI Mini and Neo drones, it might just be the perfect drone to give to anyone, no matter how experienced they are with flying a camera drone.

Flying Lion announced it recently hit over 55,000 Drone As A First Responder flights. After pioneering the idea of using drones as first responders, the company has now rolled out a wide range of services that other communities can use.

A drone collided with a firefighting aircraft Thursday while fighting the Los Angeles wildfires. Even though flight restrictions have been in place to ensure safe operations, a drone was still flown in the area that was not authorized by local officials.

Anduril, a defense drone technology company, is reportedly teaming up with other Silicon Valley tech companies to compete against defense primes for future Department of Defense contracts. The likes include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, OpenAI, Palantir, and more.

DJI is here with its first new release of 2025, the Matrice 4. This drone will serve as the successor to the Mavic 3 Enterprise drone, now with a formal new name that fits the enterprise line of DJI offerings.

The drone tech company announced Monday that it has excised 750,000 outstanding warrants on its stock, which will bring in nearly $5 million in new funding.

It’s once again Black Friday deal season, and the savings are already starting to come in a week before Black Friday is even here! If you’re in need of an upgrade to any of your storage solutions, now is the time to do it. Below is a guide to the best portable SSD Black Friday deals on Amazon!

Last week, Americans across the country went to the polls to vote for their local and national representatives. The result was concise: the Democratic Party was out and the Republicans in. Anti-China regulation has been widely bipartisan for the last few years; however, DJI’s ban here in the States has been championed mostly by the right. With them now in nearly full power, what does this mean?

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its country, Ukraine has been innovating on how drone technology can give it an upper hand. Before, it was modified DJI drones donated to it by the worldwide community, but now the country has moved to purpose-built drones, foreign and domestic, to better keep Russia on its toes.

In a note to customers made public through the company’s blog, Skydio CEO Adam Bry announced the need to ration batteries in the wake of Chinese sanctions he says are focused on “eliminating the leading American drone company and deepening the world’s dependence on Chinese drone suppliers.”

DJI has shared that Customs and Border Protection has been holding its drones from entering the US due to believed forced labor by Chinese Uyghurs. This may mean customers who purchased the recently released Air 3S could likely see delayed deliveries in the US.

DJI has announced its next product launch event for next Tuesday, October 15, called Chase the View. This is believed to be the announcement of the new DJI Air 3S, a major refresh of one of DJI’s most popular and powerful drones.

DJI released its newest drone offering, Neo, an ultra-light, hands-free, and budget drone that still packs everything you need to capture the moment without compromises. A first-of-its-kind drone for the company, it will compete directly with Hover Air’s X1 Pro and X1 Pro Max.

With the DJI Avata, the company has brought FPV flight to a much larger audience than ever before. However, with that larger audience comes accommodating for a larger set of eyes, including those with not so perfect eyesight. If this is you, then listed below are several options for custom prescription lenses for most of DJI’s FPV goggles.