drones

In a new form of aerial application repurposing, legislators in the state of Washington have passed a law permitting the use of drones to similar to those in agricultural crop treatment to spray paint the growing number of graffiti tags.

Militaries in the UK, US, France, and elsewhere have long maintained specialized units within their armies, navies, and air forces to accomplish specific kinds of tasks. In the very middle of its defensive war against Russia, Ukraine is now taking that structuring a step farther by creating an entirely separate branch for drone operations.

Chinese auto maker BYD is taking to the skies with DJI drones in its continued effort to best Tesla for the title of the world’s biggest electric car manufacturer.

In UAV terms, in may rank up there with standing “in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot(ing) somebody” with quasi-impunity. Yesterday, a California man was sentenced for buzzing three different piloted aircraft with his drone, yet suffered nothing worse than community service and a hefty fine for acts the law defines as criminal offenses.

As every year, Black Friday offers the exceptional deals that shoppers love to hate for leading them into elbow-throwing sessions with frenzied crowds in search of incomparable bargains. DJI is allowing its fans to avoid that torment by opening up its drone and camera products at considerable discounts through its online store.

Aerial tech startup RapidFlight says it has demonstrated a system that can transform the process – and, above all, speed – with which drones are produced and deployed, with the successful performance of its Mobile Production System for manufacturing UAVs in remote, even austere non-industrial settings.

In their overlapping efforts to defeat Russia’s invading army while increasingly relying on domestic production of materials to obtain that objective, officials from Ukraine have said they’ll rapidly augment the number of drones the nation manufactures to tens of thousands per month.

Its reputation resplendent in large part due to the critical performance of its tech in service of Ukraine’s defense against invading Russian forces, German drone and robotics company Quantum-Systems has completed an eye-opening €63.6 million ($66.8 million) Series B funding round, pushing its total financing beyond the €100 million ($106 million) threshold.

The US Senate has confirmed aviation veteran Michael G. Whitaker to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the time when the nation’s system for managing traditional aircraft shows signs of serious strain, and the agency struggles to integrate nearing advanced air mobility (AAM) services like air taxis into the national airspace.

Like most successful startups that preceded them, many drone companies – and above all, the advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft developers first inspired by UAVs – factored in stock flotations as an essential source of their financing (and possibly self-perceptions as leading sector forces). Now, however, some are finding being traded on Wall Street can generate as much distraction and drag as it has capital to soar from.

Militias battling Myanmar’s military junta have been applying the lessons learned from Ukraine about deftly using small drones against a larger and far-better-equipped army and have now also increased their odds of completing aerial strikes by cracking the army’s UAV jamming tech.

Though additional evidence wasn’t needed as confirmation, the nocturnal barrage of strikes on multiple areas inside Russia overnight Wednesday was another clear reminder of the extent to which Ukraine relies on military and adapted enterprise and consumer drones to successfully battle against Moscow’s invasion.

The world’s largest drone camera and enterprise applications manufacturer DJI says it will attend the 2023 IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin that starts Friday, the first time the company has participated in the event since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, and timed as the giant weathers turbulence from protectionist blacklisting in the US.

The world’s leading drone company is set to launch its first dedicated DJI-Hasselblad Concept Store outside of Asia later this month, with tomorrow’s opening of a two-story retail showcase in the UK.

As Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against invading Russian troops attempts to increase momentum, the country is again turning to the same drones that have allowed it to defy Moscow’s far bigger and better-equipped army for nearly 18 months.

Researchers at a Russian technology organization supporting the nation’s war against Ukraine say they’ve developed an application allowing first-person view (FPV) drones to be hidden in ideal attack locations, then reactivated out of “sleeping” mode for strikes on nearby targets at appointed times.

As DroneDJ has noted in the past, the swiftness, agility, and powerful imaging tech drones provide have revolutionized the way surfing is photographed, affording spectators nearly first-person perspectives of what riders see. Now, a UAV has allowed one of the sport’s pros to film some arresting footage of his own – this time of fellow competitors being closely looked over by a very large shark.

In an effort to fly two major event kites from the same string – and encourage comingling of aerial activities at their heart – the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) are pairing up to host twinned drone and advanced air mobility (AAM) conferences next month at the same time and venue.

Rising global temperatures are forcing authorities in France to limber up the habitual straight-jacket restrictions on operating drones in Paris, and allow designated craft to hover on high to hunt out spots in and around the capital where people can cool off.

Canadian drone and systems company Draganfly is continuing its energetic business development and scaling activities with the creation of a new production facility that will allow the firm to keep pace with rising demand – the second manufacturing expansion it has undertaken in less than five months.

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.