Seth Kurkowski

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.

We’ve been patiently waiting for the announcement of DJI‘s new product line, Neo. With the rumored date coming up tomorrow and a ground breaking leak by Jasper Ellens, here’s a round up of everything we know thus far about the DJI Neo drone.

The US Army held an anti-drone shoot out at Fort Drum, New York earlier this month to test out various systems for taking down drone attacks. This comes as every nation seems to be increasing its drone war plans as continued use of them in battle aren’t slowing down.

Ukraine’s defense department released its first video of a home built FPV drone making an attack on the much larger and way more expensive attack helicopters on the battlefield. This gives Ukraine new targets to attack as drones continue to change the way we look at war.

An Event38 employee shared on LinkedIn a tease of an upcoming addition to its E455 drones, SpaceX’s Starlink internet. This use would be linked to its BVLOS variant and would allow higher data rates over long distances with low latency and high reliability.

Stefan Ceciu, a new drone owner, took part in a rescue using his DJI Avata 2 to spot a sinking boat on Utah Lake on August 3. Using his FPV drone, he was able to pin point the boat and help direct rescuers to the location, saving the family’s lives.

With the House passing the ban on new DJI drones here in the US and the possibility of a similar bill passing the Senate, is it time US companies try to enter the market? Are there even any companies left that could make it work?

This week Yifei and Seth discussing DJI’s possible loophole for getting around the possible ban, another drone is shot down, and more news from the week.

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It seems likely that if a ban on DJI drones is made law, that DJI would do everything in its power to get around or fight it. A loophole might have already been found by the drone giant, introducing the SEPCTA and SPECTA Mini by Cogito. Drones that just seem a little too close to ignore them not being DJI clones.

Yifei and Seth discuss updates to the DJI drone ban (it was passed by the house shortly after this recording), a possible leak of the Mavic 4, and more news.

Enjoy the podcast? Shop DJI, Autel, or other drones at Amazon to support The Buzz!

In a vote along party lines, the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass bill that funds the Department of Defense for the next fiscal year, was passed by the House of Representatives. Within that bill is a small section that bans DJI from using the FCC frequencies.

Today Insta360 announced the GO 3S, an upgrade to the existing GO 3 action camera that offers improvements in usability and video specs (now shooting 4K). Here’s what comes inside the box and our first impressions of using the camera for the last week.

Jasper Ellens might just be the first to leak information on the Mavic 4 drone that will hopefully be released soon. It looks like beta testers are out in China getting the product ready for launch.

In a late night vote, the House Rules Committee voted 9-4 for the National Defense Authorization Act to be voted on by the full House of Representatives tomorrow, June 12. Attached to this bill is the “Countering CCP Drone Act,” which will ban the use of FCC communication infrastructure by DJI drones.