News

Autel Robotics has a fresh firmware update for its EVO Lite Enterprise series, giving professionals another reason to check in on a compact drone lineup designed for work that goes well beyond aerial photography.

A drone that captures everything around it just got better at deciding where to fly next. DJI’s Avata 360 has picked up waypoint flight, zoom controls for subject tracking, and support for the RC Pro 2 controller in a new firmware update, giving aerial filmmakers more ways to get the shot without relying entirely on manual flying.

The DJI Avata is built for pilots who’d rather swoop through a tight gap than capture another routine aerial shot. Now, DJI has rolled out a fresh firmware update for its FPV drone, although the release notes are light on excitement.

Got a pair of DJI FPV goggles sitting in your gear bag? You might want to check for a firmware update, as DJI has released new software for four models.

DJI’s latest drone firmware rollout isn’t just about the aircraft themselves. The company has also released updates for three of its screen-equipped remote controllers, bringing routine bug fixes and, in one case, new aircraft compatibility.

DJI has rolled out new firmware updates for its Neo and Neo 2 camera drones, giving owners of both palm-sized flyers another reason to check their DJI Fly app.

DJI is rolling out new firmware for some of its most capable consumer camera drones, giving Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S, and Mavic 4 Pro owners another reason to check their DJI Fly apps.

DJI’s Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S may be several years old, but the company hasn’t forgotten about them. Both camera drones have received new firmware updates, marking a return to software maintenance after the Mavic Air 2’s last update in 2023 and the Air 2S’s in 2024.

Remember the DJI Mini 2? The little drone that made 4K aerial footage accessible to just about everyone has suddenly received some attention from DJI again, and if you’ve owned one, this is a pretty good excuse to feel nostalgic.

DJI appears to have a small surprise for Mini 3 Pro owners. The company has released a new firmware update for the compact drone, marking its first firmware refresh in more than two years.

London traffic can be more than a daily frustration when doctors are waiting on urgent test results. For children receiving care at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), getting medical samples to a laboratory faster could help clinicians make critical decisions sooner. That’s where drones are stepping in.

Drone mapping teams can now compare 10 site surveys, calculate cut-and-fill volumes, check accuracy against ground control points, and plan security camera placement directly in SkyeBrowse.

DJI is giving its popular Osmo Pocket 4 camera another round of refinements just as the holiday filming season approaches. The latest firmware update, v01.04.12.16, adds a more convenient tracking shortcut, improves color-conversion tools, and brings automatic media transfers to compatible devices.

Fortem Technologies and MBDA are expanding their partnership to bring autonomous counter-drone systems into air defense networks used by military and government customers across Europe and allied markets worldwide. The expanded agreement builds on a technical collaboration launched in 2024, when the companies integrated Fortem’s DroneHunter autonomous interceptor into MBDA’s Sky Warden counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) architecture.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has added previously submitted Department of War letters to the official records of its proceedings involving drone makers DJI and Autel Robotics. But there is an important catch: the agency says it did not rely on these letters when making the related additions to its Covered List.

Defense autonomy startup Rownd has secured a $10 million contract with the Department of War as it develops low-cost, autonomous drones designed for military operations. The company is also expanding its operations in Wisconsin and North Carolina, adding jobs and investing in drone research and development.

DroneShield has released a new software update designed to help counter-drone operators identify emerging threats earlier, reduce false alarms, and coordinate responses more precisely, without replacing equipment already in the field.

The global race to stop hostile drones is turning into big business for defense contractors. Raytheon, an RTX company, has secured $729 million in contracts to supply components of its counter-drone system to the US Army, Qatar, and Jordan, marking the first international sales of two key technologies used in the system.

Powerus is taking another step toward autonomous counter-drone defense with the introduction of its Guardian-3 interceptor, a new system designed to operate fully autonomously.

Before compact camera drones took over, the DJI Phantom was the aircraft that helped put serious aerial photography within reach of more people. And the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 was one of the lineup’s standout models, pairing a 1-inch sensor with a mechanical shutter and 4K/60fps video.

GPS has become such a routine part of flying a drone that it’s easy to forget how vulnerable it can be. Jam a satellite signal, feed a receiver fake coordinates, and an autonomous aircraft or ground vehicle could suddenly struggle to figure out where it is. Elsight wants to change that with a new positioning technology designed to help uncrewed systems determine their location even when GPS is unavailable, jammed, or spoofed.

When police need to launch a drone during an emergency, every minute counts. But when that mission involves controlled airspace near an airport, getting the necessary FAA authorization can add another step before the drone takes off. Versaterm wants to make that process simpler.

Why settle for less when DJI’s most capable Mini drone bundle is now under $1,000? The Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo with RC 2 has hit $979, bringing flagship-level imaging, smart tracking, and three batteries into one tempting package. If you’ve been waiting for a proper price drop, this is the kind of deal that makes putting off an upgrade a little harder to justify.

Beam Global is making a bigger bet on the drone industry, signing a definitive agreement to acquire Norwegian drone technology company ScoutDI in a deal valued at approximately $24 million. The move could give Beam a stronger foothold in the US industrial and defense drone markets, with domestic manufacturing at the center of its plans.