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Six months of conditional approvals reveal a broad range of accepted drone applications, while key details of the review process remain undisclosed The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted conditional approval to two additional drone platforms, continuing a steady expansion of exemptions from the agency’s Covered List restrictions for foreign-produced uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). In… Read more: FCC Drone Exemption List Offers Clues to Trusted Supplier Requirements

Recent Chinese export controls targeting Red Cat may have limited immediate impact, but they underscore why U.S. drone manufacturers are under pressure to understand every layer of their supply chains. China’s decision to place drone manufacturer Red Cat Holdings and their subsidiary, Teal Drones on its export control list may not immediately disrupt production. But… Read more: China’s Export Restrictions on Red Cat Highlight a Bigger Challenge for U.S. Drone Manufacturing

New FAA planning platform aims to improve management of an increasingly complex National Airspace System The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Air Space Intelligence (ASI) to support a major modernization effort designed to improve how the National Airspace System (NAS) handles growing demand from airlines, cargo operators, and emerging aviation sectors. The June 2026 announcement… Read more: FAA Modernizes Airspace Management as Demand Grows Across Aviation Sectors

New training initiative focuses on advanced flight planning skills for surveying, mapping, and inspection work The commercial drone industry continues to face a demand for skilled operators who can manage complex missions. A new partnership between SPH Engineering and Vets to Drones aims to help military veterans fill that need. SPH Engineering announced a strategic… Read more: SPH Engineering and Vets to Drones Partner to Expand Career Paths for Military Veterans

Commercial Drone Alliance says Part 107 and Part 135 operators now have a path to request approval The FAA is updating FIFA World Cup 2026 Temporary Flight Restriction NOTAMs to clarify that some drone operations may be allowed inside restricted airspace with authorization from the Department of Homeland Security, according to an update shared by… Read more: FAA Clarifies World Cup Drone Restrictions, Creates Path for Authorized Flights

SkyElements displays first drone scoreboard at World Cup By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As World Cup fever grips the U.S., fans in Seattle are being treated to a new way to share in the excitement, with the final scores of the matches played there displayed in lights, as part of a drone show held… Read more: Drone Scoreboard Debuts Above Seattle World Cup Match

Federal officials warn that careless drone operators can face fines, charges, and confiscated aircraft More than 50 drones have been seized near FIFA World Cup events in the United States since the tournament began, according to federal officials. The reports suggest that the largest current drone problem around World Cup venues is not sophisticated attacks.… Read more: More Than 50 Drones Seized Near World Cup Events

As the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program moves from competition to procurement, emerging drone companies are taking center stage The Department of War announced this week that its Drone Dominance Program has received its first order and launched Gauntlet II, marking a new phase for an initiative designed to rapidly field low-cost military drones while expanding… Read more: Beyond the Primes: Drone Dominance’s First Order Highlights a New Generation of Defense Drone Manufacturers

Fort Worth PD ‘test drives’ vendors’ DFR systems By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As police departments across the country are increasingly adding drones as first responder programs to their arsenal of law enforcement tools, each agency has to make decisions as to what set of DFR systems will best fit the needs of their… Read more: Fort Worth Takes a Vendor-Neutral Approach to Building Its DFR Program

New assessment partnership could help allied manufacturers access the U.S. market while supporting trusted supply chain goals As the United States works to reduce dependence on Chinese drone manufacturers, a new partnership between Taiwan and AUVSI’s Green UAS program may offer a model for how trusted foreign suppliers could help address near-term gaps in drone… Read more: Taiwan’s Green UAS Milestone Highlights a Potential Path for Trusted Foreign Drone Suppliers

How Titan Protection Is Scaling Drone Operations, on this episode of the Drone Radio Show! Ryan Smith speaks with host Randy Goers about Titan Protection’s approach to security, what makes the company different in a rapidly growing market, and how drones are evolving from specialized tools into native components of modern security operations. We’ll also… Read more: The Future of Security: Titan Protection on the Drone Radio Show!

New presidential memorandum focuses on defense production bottlenecks, underscoring broader questions about America’s ability to scale emerging technologies Much of the conversation around the Trump Administration’s Drone Dominance initiative has focused on aircraft, regulations, and procurement. Since the Administration launched its Drone Dominance initiative in June 2025, discussion has largely centered on regulatory reform, domestic… Read more: Latest DPA Action Highlights Manufacturing Challenge Behind U.S. Drone Expansion

New FCC action removes certain toy drones from the Covered List and outlines the characteristics federal officials consider low risk. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has updated its Covered List to remove a narrowly defined category of foreign-produced “Toy Drones” and “Toy Drones that contain foreign-produced components.” The action follows a June 12, 2026 National… Read more: FCC Creates New Toy Drone Exemption While Defining a Low-Risk UAS Category

The El Dorado Hills company says it now serves more than 120 energy and utility organizations globally and has logged more than 63 million flights as operators prepare for FAA Part 108. AirData UAV has announced that it has surpassed 120 energy and utility customers worldwide, a milestone the El Dorado Hills, California company is positioning… Read more: AirData Marks Energy and Utility Growth Milestone as BVLOS Rule Nears

By Dronelife Features Editor Jim Magill Faced with growing challenges posed by drones flown by malicious actors, Western European nations are working to ramp up their home-grown production of UAVs and counter-UAS technology and to shorten the supply chains needed to produce that technology. Recognizing the need to site UAS manufacturing in the regions where… Read more: First DroneShield Products Roll Off Production Line in Europe

European companies combine detection, command-and-control, and interception technologies in layered air defense approach European counter-drone company Alpine Eagle and Latvian defense technology firm Origin Robotics have signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate their technologies into a unified counter-drone system. The agreement will combine Origin Robotics’ BLAZE interceptor with Alpine Eagle’s Sentinel architecture. The companies… Read more: European Defense Firms Partner on Sensor-to-Interceptor Counter-Drone Network

As the planned attack on the White House highlights, drone threats are evolving faster than response capabilities. The reported disruption of a planned drone attack targeting a UFC event on the White House grounds is the latest event to focus attention on a long-running question in U.S. security circles: how quickly should state, local, tribal,… Read more: From “Predictable Surprise” to Policy Priority: The Push for Faster Counter-Drone Deployment

This article published in collaboration with JUIDA, the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association.   A new report from Tokyo-based Market Research Center sizes Japan’s agriculture drone market at $104.8 million in 2025 and forecasts a 14.62% CAGR through 2034. Tokyo-based Market Research Center, Inc. has published a new report on the Japan agriculture drone market covering 2026 through… Read more: Japan Agriculture Drone Market Projected to Reach $357.8M by 2034

As offshore energy assets move farther from shore, operators face growing challenges in inspection, maintenance, and emergency response. This week, maritime autonomous infrastructure developer WaiV Robotics announced its official entry into the U.S. market, bringing its autonomous drone launch and recovery technology to offshore operators across the country. The London-based company says its platform enables… Read more: WaiV Robotics Brings Autonomous Drone Recovery at Sea to U.S. Offshore Operators

New company reflects broader shift from commercial drone services to defense and counter-drone systems Japan’s Terra Drone Corporation has established a new company in Estonia, creating a European base for its growing defense business. The new subsidiary, Terra Defense Europe, will support sales, maintenance, logistics management, and local partnerships for defense-related unmanned systems across Europe.… Read more: Terra Drone Establishes Estonia-Based Defense Subsidiary to Support European Expansion