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Drone avionics tech specialist uAvionix has announced its detect and avoid systems have received the second Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights in as many weeks, this time in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO).

German drone manufacturer Quantum-Systems says it will soon be supplying Ukraine defense forces with over 100 more of its specialized data gathering Vector drones in a deal underwritten by Germany’s government as part of its continued support of the nation against Russia’s invasion.

The European Union (EU) has announced the operational launch of the High Accuracy Service (HAS) positioning system from its Galileo global navigation satellite platform – a location-fixing application that becomes available free of charge to myriad users worldwide, including drone operators.

Transport Canada has given its approval to Ontario Power Generation to operate inspection drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), without an onsite visual observer, at McConnell Lake Control Dam. Percepto, whose drone-in-a-box solution will make this feat possible, points out this is the first time regulators are allowing autonomous drone operations in Canada.

San Francisco Bay Area cargo UAV developer MightyFly has unveiled the second generation of its hybrid-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drone, Cento, which it plans to produce and operate for end-to-end freight services on flights of up to 600 miles.

Swedish startup Everdrone has gotten the all-clear to extend its life-saving First on Scene Solutions activity using drones to speed automated external defibrillators (AED) and provide other support to first responders in Sweden’s vast Västra Götaland county.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco has invested $14 million in one of the top drone service providers in the world, Terra Drone Corporation, through its early-stage investment fund Wa’ed Ventures. The Japan-based drone company says it will utilize the funding to set up a new subsidiary for inspection services in Saudi Arabia.

There’s a new tech start-up on the block, and it’s armed with a patented drone solution that can help locate a missing person in just 30 minutes within a 50-meter radius.

Update, January 27, 2023: American Water has clarified that advanced drone flights are being made possible courtesy of its partnership with the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) corporation which holds an FAA Part 91 Certificate of Authorization.

The earlier report from American Water follows…

Airbus has remarkable success in developing its record-shattering Zephyr high-altitude platform system (HAPS), but now the European aviation giant is now looking to bring in outside investors to help take the solar-powered drone to market.

Edgesource, a small company providing contracting services and tech to US government agencies, has revealed that over the course of 2022, it donated $2 million worth of its counter-drone detection system for smaller UAVs to Ukraine for its battle against Russia’s invasion.

It’s not something one often sees from usually secretive, stealthy intelligence services: A specialized section of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has made a public appeal for donations to its project to purchase 1,000 first-person view (FPV) drones for attack missions against Russian forces.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its report on a 2021 collision between a Cessna 172N plane approaching the Toronto area’s Buttonville Municipal Airport and a police drone operating in the restricted airspace without the required waiver – an incident that sparked controversy when it belatedly became public.

Hooligans used to be the biggest risk to people attending professional soccer matches in England, but a growing concern these days is possible frostbite while waiting for games to resume after being suspended by drones flying in the stadium.

Flight planning platform DroneDeploy now supports autonomous mapping missions on the new DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise (Mavic 3E) drone, using the RC Pro Enterprise remote controller.

Drone maker XAG says the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has given operational authorization to its agricultural spraying aircraft P40 and V40. This is the first time drone spraying and spreading has been legalized for use on UK farms.

If only haircuts were as exciting. When bull moose crave a more light-headed feeling each winter, they rid themselves of their weighty antlers with a sudden, mighty shake of the noggin that snaps them right off – an entirely unpredictable gesture performed deep in the wild that a Canadian drone pilot with impeccable timing somehow managed to capture on video.

UK advanced air mobility (AAM) company Vertical Aerospace says it has secured pre-payment for 25 of its VX4 electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) planes from Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation, which also reserved delivery of the craft when expected production begins somewhere toward the middle of the decade.

Enterprise drone automation software specialist FlytBase has announced the second edition of NestGen, a global virtual summit that puts the spotlight on the latest drone-in-a-box tech and solutions enabling drone autonomy.

Dedrone, a leader in smart space air monitoring, safety, and counter-UAV technology, is broadening its international reach through a new partnership with G4S, a unit of global security group Allied Universal that will integrate drone detection, tracking, and identification solutions into its broader offer to clients.

AI-powered reality capture platform OpenSpace has announced support for Insta360’s Sphere camera, which means DJI Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S users can now convert their drone footage into ultra-realistic 3D assets in as little as 15 minutes.

Members of Mexican drug cartels are quite obviously disinclined to fret over breaking laws here and there as they go about their illicit business, but they purportedly engaged in a new sort of illegal activity in not just shooting at a peeking drone, but one flown as it surveyed activity along the US border to boot.

Defense and security drone specialist Flightwave Aerospace has announced its Edge 130 Blue series of UAVs and related tech have been added to the Blue UAS 2.0 list by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), joining a select group of craft approved for use by US military and governmental agencies.

The UK is continuing its drive to broaden the use of drones of all sizes and purposes by its armed forces, most recently with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) contracting Israeli UAV manufacturer Elbit Systems to supply its portable Magni-X reconnaissance craft.