DroneDJ

Ukraine forces have astonished observers with, among many other actions defending their homeland, their innovative and deft deployment of UAVs as reconnaissance and combat craft. But those aerial assets don’t always complete their missions as planned, as witnessed by a new video capturing a Russian soldier pitching drone-dropped grenades away before they can explode.

Typically priced at $2,500, the EVO II Pro 6K rugged drone bundle from Autel Robotics is available at a discount of 28% in a 24-hour flash sale. A special deal price of $1,799 gets you the ultra HD aircraft, a 3.3-inch OLED screen remote controller, hard case with precision-cut foam interior, two batteries, three pairs of propellers, and a ton of useful accessories.

Drones can be incredibly effective at finding missing persons since they can scan a large area quickly. But did you know there are several variables that can impact a drone’s ability during a search and rescue (SAR) mission?

On Wednesday, DJI announced its newest drone to its lineup, the Mavic 3 Classic. As we expected, this was a slightly stripped and priced-down version of the original, so does that make it better? Read our review below to find out if the Mavic 3 Classic is the drone for you.

Last month, DJI found itself on the US Department of Defense’s official blacklist for seemingly having close ties to China’s military. The tech giant has since denounced those allegations, stressing it would formally challenge its inclusion on the list. And now, the world’s largest consumer drone maker has released another, detailed statement on the matter, explaining how it cannot influence how its products are used once they leave the company’s compounds.

American Robotics’ autonomous Scout System drone will soon be equipped with technology that can identify methane leaks, thus automating the inspection of oil and gas fields.

Spright, the drone division of helicopter emergency medical services provider Air Methods, has entered into a partnership with Dufour Aerospace to expand its fleet of delivery drones with the addition of up to 140 Aero2 eVTOL aircraft.

Trailblazing instant logistics company Zipline — along with its government partners in Rwanda and Ghana – is being honored later this month by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) for its contributions to global aviation innovation by its medical drone delivery work in Africa. Zipline’s go-to-market director Daniel Blay talks to DroneDJ about being chosen to receive the David Morrison Innovation Award and the company’s broadening, diversifying UAV activities around the world.

It may not be the tastiest meal ever flown, but researchers in Switzerland have developed an edible drone designed to serve as life-sustaining nutrition for people stranded in emergency situations.

DJI drones have several automated shooting modes that enable even new pilots to capture creative videos. However, an extremely useful feature that has typically remained restricted to FPV offerings or hidden under Free Hyperlapse is Cruise Control. That changes with the new Mavic 3 Classic unleashing the function across Normal, Cine, and Sport mode in addition to APAS, Free Hyperlapse, and Spotlight.

Joby, a leading developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for air taxis and other services, has said it is pushing plans to launch commercial transportation services back a year to 2025, citing internal considerations and shifts in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification criteria.

The Candy Crush craze continues to reach new heights. This time, quite literally.

Candy Crush Saga – one of the longest-lasting, hugely successful mobile games to date – is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a drone show in New York City. As many as 500 drones are expected to take over the NYC skyline on the evening of November 3.

Just a month after its mighty Rhaegal-A “Alpha” transportation UAV hauled a world-record-setting 829-pound payload, California start-up Sabrewing this week landed a multimillion-dollar contract to provide its craft to the Arabian Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMC) to support Saudi Arabia’s stated goal of becoming a global center of heavy-lift drone activity.

DJI’s latest flagship drone, Mavic 3 Classic, is available to buy now. Just like the original Mavic 3, the new aircraft features a specially-made 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad sensor, up to 46 minutes of flight time, and an advanced video transmission system. To become more affordable, it ditches the telephoto lens of the OG drone. But how does this Mavic 3 Classic stack up against other popular consumer drones from DJI: Air 2S and Mavic 2 Pro? Let’s find out…

In the wake of today’s launch of the new, more affordable Mavic 3 Classic compact version of its top-of-the-line camera drone, DJI has issued firmware upgrades for a few products to bring them up to speed with the new craft and its features – including the original Mavic 3.

Despite the now habitual deluge of leaked specs, photos, and videos that precede the arrival of all DJI drones under development anymore, their actual launches are always red-letter occasions – and that’s definitely the case with today’s rollout of the new Mavic 3 Classic. Indeed, ambient excitation may be even greater this time around with the release making most of the tech in DJI’s top-of-the-line photography Mavic 3 UAV more affordable to budget-conscious enthusiasts who’d thus far had to go without it. 

German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi developer Volocopter has raised over $180 million in new funding that it says will help power the company through certification and into its launch of aerial services by mid-decade.

Skydio drones come with incredible cinema autonomy features that both first-time pilots and seasoned professionals can leverage to capture creative shots. But now, even more cool new features are on the way to take the guesswork out of composing an aerial shot.

Radiation is one of the most dangerous threats to humans. You can’t smell it or hear it. But now there’s a new drone sensor payload in the market that can be used to quickly detect and identify radiation sources and radiological hazards from a safe distance.

Swiss drone manufacturer and services company RigiTech has continued pushing the boundaries of its activities by staging a long-distance beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) aerial delivery over Lake Geneva, linking two medical labs.

Leading airspace protection company Dedrone is broadening the range of activity of its drone detection and identification tech into everyday circumstances by teaming up with Johnson Controls, a specialist in building and venue safety services.

They’re back… The Michigan couple that has been battling Long Lake Township officials over drone photography of their yard to substantiate allegations it was being illegally used as a dump are going back to court again – this time to have the evidence invalidated with arguments the UAV flights violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

In an apparent bid to reduce dependence on Chinese drones, Russia’s state-owned defense contractor Almaz-Antey Concern has begun manufacturing small civilian aircraft at scale. The company says its aim is to assemble 400 drones in November, with another 1,000 units being produced in December when the product goes on sale.

A duo of UK startups working to improve deliveries of materials critical for medical care is pairing up to trial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights in exacting real-world scenarios over a three-month period between Warwickshire hospitals.