Australia

Skyports Drone Services is again expanding its global business footprint, this time in Australia through a new partnership developing the long-range beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations of Sydney-based UAV data collection specialist Carbonix.

In what may rank as one of the most “no kidding” cases of creativity, determination, and inspiration being given its rightful due, Australian UAV company SYPAQ Systems has been awarded the country’s 2023 tech innovation award, based in large part to the major benefits its cardboard-made drones have afforded Ukraine’s defensive efforts.

Even as international drone delivery company Wing continued to expand its activities around the globe over the summer, it appears to have paused aerial services in the Canberra capital of its booming Australian market amid an update of its operating model.

German air taxi developer Volocopter has inked a deal with international aviation services company Bristow Group, covering 80 of the startup’s VoloCity aircraft for services planned in both the US and UK.

Given the growing use of UAVs in the country mirroring similar rises worldwide, it’s not surprising Australia has also recorded an uptick in illegal drone flights in restricted airspaces – with recent air traffic oversight figures reflecting the extent of increased banned activity around major Aussie airports.

Surf Life Saving NSW, a water safety and emergency rescue organization in Australia, is trialing new drone technology to look for missing bushwalkers or people swept into rough seas.

The unparalleled flexibility that comes with drones being able to carry a multitude of sensors, high-resolution cameras, and survey-grade mapping payloads has seen them being used for monitoring sensitive ecological areas and endangered species in several parts of the world. But a rather interesting case is now emerging from Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) where the conservation organization has teamed up with Wildlife Drones to deploy a drone specially equipped with an advanced radio-telemetry system to track and monitor vulnerable wildlife species.

A pair of drone shows experienced starkly contrasting fortunes over the weekend, with a spectacular event above Disneyland Paris setting a European record for the most UAVs performing at once, while another in Melbourne ended with most of the 500 craft plunging into the city’s Yarra River.

If certain politicians in Australia are as intent as they appear to obtain permanent bans on all DJI drones used by government and police agencies, a new audit indicates they’ll be aided by a considerably smaller fleet of targeted UAVs involved than their anti-China peers in the US.

Pressure is beginning to build on government agencies and state-linked organizations in Australia to halt using DJI drones, with proponents of grounding craft produced by the China-based global leader pointing to blacklisting in the US in making their demands.

Unleash live, an Australia-based provider of visual analytics and drone management software, has joined forces with AstraUTM, an uncrewed traffic management (UTM) solutions provider, to enhance the safety and efficiency of drone operations.

Leading UAV developers DraganFly, Quantum-Systems, AeroVironment, and Teledyne Flir are among the companies that have provided cutting-edge aerial craft to Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion, but Australian firm SYPAQ Systems is distinguishing itself in that supportive effort by providing Kyiv with drones made of cardboard.

Score one for Oz. Sydney-based developer of the Vertiia electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, AMSL Aero, says it has become the first Australian company to test-fly a next-generation plane entirely designed and produced in the country.

A new drone flight advisory service is now available for pilots in Australia, and it’s free for all users.

Police are investigating a DJI Mavic Pro drone that was found attempting to fly drugs worth $167,000 (AUD 250,000) into a prison in Australia.

Melbourne-based international drone delivery company Swoop Aero is ending 2022 on a high note in its domestic market, receiving an Australian government grant to extend its operation in Southern Queensland into what the firm says will be the world’s largest aerial logistics network of its kind.

A Christmas-themed drone light show organized Sunday night to “wow the people” of Perth, Australia, left onlookers suitably stunned as drones kept tumbling out of the sky and into the river below throughout the performance. “I did cry a little bit last night. I am trying not to think about it… but it was an expensive show for us,” the boss of the company behind the show said after the unprecedented fail.

Drone delivery company Wing is moving to increase in a single swoop the potential number of food orders it transports by striking a new partnership with DoorDash in Australia.

Wing continues to build on its drone delivery momentum in its Australia – its most vibrant market thus far – with the launch of what it calls the first store-to-home service in the Gold Coast area in partnership with supermarket chain Coles.

Drone delivery company Wing is moving to bolster activity in what’s already its most vibrant Australian market by taking a new approach to flight and logistics center location, beginning with trial services in the Queensland city of Ipswich.

International logistics and drone delivery company Swoop Aero is launching a new service in its home market with aerial transport of lab samples from the Moreton Bay islands off Australia’s east coast city Brisbane.