DroneDJ

A UK court has handed a total of 31 years in jail time to a seven people who operated drone deliveries of banned items to a Manchester area prison, including drugs that a testifying expert estimated were worth as much as £1.7 million ($2.16 million). 

DJI has released new firmware updates for its popular commercial drone series, Mavic 3 Enterprise. At the same time, a new software package is also available to download for DJI’s compact agricultural and environmental monitoring drone Mavic 3 Multispectral.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is deploying another aerial drone to monitor boat activity in France’s English Channel waters, expanding the number of UAVs the organization has scouring shipping lanes for – among other things – emissions violations.

Insta360, the company that makes highly versatile and portable 360-degree cameras, has released the GO 3. The much-awaited 2.7K tiny action camera measures smaller than a thumb and weighs only 35g. But how does it compare against its predecessor, the extremely popular GO 2? Let’s find out…

Do you fly a DJI Mavic Air 2, Mavic 2 Zoom, or a Mavic 2 Pro drone? Listen up, because DJI has an important update for you regarding compliance with the US FAA Remote ID rules.

Up-and-coming drone delivery company RigiTech has followed breakthrough successes in France and its domestic market of Switzerland with a new achievement in Denmark, developing a specialized payload lowering system that enables fast and precise transportation of parts to offshore wind farms.

As a reflection of just how strong public sentiment in France remains against police use of drones to monitor people, officials waited well into the nation’s six-straight nights of rioting before giving law enforcement agencies the green light to fly UAVs for security purposes in response to the unrest.

China has presented a list of new rules applying to drone flight by civilian users, whose objectives for protecting public safety and national security – particularly, it would appear, the latter – don’t exactly strengthen individual liberties in the skies.

Researchers at the UK’s Imperial College London have created a prototype drone specially designed to withstand intense heat, and which through continued development may be produced as a vital data gathering tool for firefighters to minimize risk factors in various blaze-battling scenarios.

Well, the day has arrived. Product photos of DJI’s upcoming Air 3 drone have been leaked, leaving no room for speculation regarding its appearance. The images of the Fly More Combo showcase everything that will be included with the Air 3, including the new RC 2 and RC-N2 controllers.

A day to commemorate the gadget that brings everything in focus and lets us capture special moments? What’s not to love about that? June 29 is National Camera Day and you can celebrate it with freebies and special deals on some of the best photography drones and action cameras out there.

Defense and security UAV specialist group Red Cat Holdings says its cutting-edge Teal Drones affiliate has obtained a further $1.2 million to develop a new, portable UAV as standard issue equipment for soldiers, under the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program.

Joby Aviation has received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test fly the first air taxi completed on its production line – a development expected to facilitate the advanced air mobility (AAM) company’s delivery of the craft to its US Air Force client for experimental use next year. 

Up-and-coming cargo delivery drone developer MightyFly is preparing what the company calls the first public demonstration of an autonomous, fixed-wing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with planned flights in Michigan of its third-generation UAV hauling 100 lb. of freight.

Yesterday, we came across a few leaked photos that purportedly showcase new DJI drones. While it’s expected to see more photos of the Air 3 as we approach a possible announcement, the photos of a potential Mini 4 came as a surprise. Especially since the release of a new Mini drone would deviate significantly from DJI’s typical product timeline.

DJI has released a new version of its drone flying app just days after introducing an update with more natural-sounding voice prompts. The latest Fly app v1.10.6 comes after DJI users in Europe noticed v1.10.4 had capped the maximum drone height at 120 meters for them.

For people still laboring under the illusion that windsurfing is the staid, plodding option amid diversifying – and, annoyingly, increasingly motorized – aquatic board sports, a new drone video out of Fiji provides some updated perspective to those notions.

Insta360, the Chinese company that has revolutionized 360° video and stills for the masses, has just released its latest camera. It’s called the Go 3 – and it “goes” where no other Insta360 camera has gone before.

XTEND, the developer of XOS human-guided autonomous operating system for drones and robots, says its own range of XTENDER, Wolverine, and Griffon drones have achieved full NDAA compliance. The Israeli company now plans to ramp up production at its Florida facility with an aim to equip the government with more than 1,000 US-made drones over the next two years.

German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturer Lilium announced it has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its proposed basis of air taxi certification, making it what the company says is the first power-lift aircraft developer to obtain that all-clear by both US and European Union regulators.

A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced a new bill in the US House of Representatives to extend existing counter-drone capacities of federal agencies set to expire in September, and partially broaden those to authorities on the state, local, and tribal level.

Autel Robotics has issued a fresh statement explaining that military use is not the “original intention” of its product design. The development comes on the heels of Autel “lookalike” drones being discovered under the brand name Patriot at the recently concluded St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia.

While it is unlikely that DJI will announce the Air 3 this week, leaks regarding the new drone continue to surface, providing some details such as pricing. Igor Bogdanov has shared information about the price of the two Fly More Combos that will come with the drone, along with the new controllers expected to be announced simultaneously.