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New York City has taken the first major step toward softening its reputation as among the world’s most hostile places for drone use with the unveiling of a new permitting process aimed at liberalizing what has until now been a near blanket ban on UAV operation.

The US Army has tested an app that allows smartphones to serve as counter-UAV assets by providing visual information and location data of suspicious drones to central authorities.

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.

The UK developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), Vertical Aerospace, says it has completed the first untethered test flight of its future battery-powered air taxi, propelling it into an elite of sector startups that have managed to both produce prototypes and get them aloft.

Increased supplies of so-called suicide drones will be among the munitions included in the $1.3 billion US aid package to Ukraine announced Wednesday – aerial reinforcements that officials said will include both Switchblade and still enigmatic Phoenix Ghost loitering UAVs.

Even as it prepares for the rollout next Tuesday of what’s expected to be its new Air 3 drone product, DJI appears to be also nearing the launch of an updated Osmo 4 Action Camera – at least according to the same online leaker who has been dishing the company’s inside dirt regularly and reliably in recent months.

If drones are being deployed to keep people safe from sharks at the city’s beaches, the New York Police Department (NYPD) figures they may prove just as useful in broadcasting audio messages to residents of areas facing emergency situations.

New firmware is now available to download for DJI Enterprise flagship drone platforms. Both the Matrice 300 (M300) RTK and Matrice 350 (M350) RTK commercial drones have received firmware upgrades today.

As the world awaits the July 25 unveiling event of what’s expected to be DJI’s new Air 3 drone, an activist leaker has sought to strengthen his claim as the leading purveyor of product spoiler information with the publication of several slides detailing the UAV’s specs, and comparing those with existing craft.

Drone hardware and systems producer Draganfly has continued its recent burst of development and production activity with a veritable change-up pitch, revealing it created a new digital display messaging UAV with partner Promo Drone as it pursued its intense work with North American police and fire services and medical and emergency response organizations in Ukraine.

Through email and social media, DJI has announced its upcoming product event called “Double Up.” The highly anticipated event is scheduled to take place next week on Tuesday at 8 a.m. EST. Here’s what we can expect to be unveiled.

Originally designed as a rogue drone interceptor, the Robotican Goshawk observation aircraft is gearing up for a fresh inning with police, ambulance, and fire services in Israel. A modified version of the drone will soon be seen as a first responder, assessing situations with its camera before the arrival of ground teams.

FPV drone specialist BETAFPV says a fresh stock for Pavo Pico, the company’s smallest 2S whoop quadcopter, could arrive as soon as the end of this month. The ultra-light Cinewhoop has been lapped up by users because it weighs under 100 grams and yet can carry the DJI O3 Air Unit.

Swiss drone delivery company RigiTech has further expanded its zone of international activity with the launch of trial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights of medical supplies in Uruguay.

The defense unit of California tech company Teledyne FLIR has followed up on the $48 million contract it signed last year with Norway by finalizing a new deal to provide the nation’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) with a veritable fleet of Black Hornet nano drones destined for Ukraine’s defense efforts.

ElevateUAV by Drone Nerds will kick off on July 26 in Miami, Florida and will be packed with industry professionals, manufacturers, and developers of your favorite drones and tools. In case you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you can now get 50% until July 25 when using the promo code DJEUAV50.

A new, ubiquitous drone Remote ID network is being rolled out in Singapore. The island nation plans to deploy 50 drone tracking sensors across its entire land area by the end of 2024.

German electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Lilium says it has secured over $190 million in additional financing designed to allow it to advance work on its air taxis into test flight phases.

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.

DJI has released new firmware updates for its latest smartphone gimbals, Osmo Mobile 6 and Osmo Mobile SE. The update is important because it brings all-new ActiveTrack 6.0 subject-tracking technology to phone stabilizers.

If recent leaks and FCC filings are any indication, we may be approaching the release of the DJI Air 3. However, the company has yet to provide an official date. Here’s everything we currently know about DJI’s upcoming enthusiast drone, the Air 3.

There are definite differences between being ignorant of drone rules, occasionally flirting with the limits of restrictions, and being an utter pillock in violating them. A California pilot has just pleaded guilty to what amounts to the latter, and then some.

Last year, DJI became the first drone manufacturer in the world to submit and earn US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for Remote ID protocol compliance. At the time, as many as seven of its popular drone models secured the FAA nod for adequate compliance with the Remote ID rule. Today, that list is much longer. But now, in another first, DJI has also become the only drone maker to have a previously-approved compliance status rescinded by the FAA.

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.