News

Section 232 action sets tariffs of 25% to 100%, with lower rates for qualifying allied supply chains and incentives for U.S. manufacturing President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on imported drones and certain drone components following a Commerce Department national security investigation. The August 13 proclamation uses Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act… Read more: White House Imposes New Tariffs on Imported Drones and Components

Fort Indiantown Gap trains soldiers on new military drones while developing hands-on counter-UAS tactics By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill From training on “low-tech” counter-UAS tactics, such as shooting at “hostile” drones with shotguns, to becoming a leading proving ground for testing out the latest one-way attack drones for the U.S. Army, the Pennsylvania National… Read more: Pennsylvania National Guard Becomes Hub for Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program

Recent cases involving misuse of automated license plate readers offer a broader lesson for public safety agencies adopting increasingly capable technology. News and Commentary.  Automated license plate readers help law enforcement find stolen vehicles, locate missing people and develop leads in criminal investigations. Recent controversies involving Flock Safety cameras also demonstrate the need for strong… Read more: Powerful Public Safety Technology Needs Powerful Guardrails: What Flock’s Camera Controversy Means for Drones

For one startup drone manufacturer, additive manufacturing made it possible to preserve an ambitious aerodynamic design while adapting quickly to changing requirements. Every new generation of drones brings new challenges. Customers demand new capabilities. Regulations require different components. Supply chain requirements force manufacturers to redesign new motors, GPS receivers, and electronics. With conventional manufacturing, even… Read more: Engineering Without Compromise: How HP Additive Manufacturing Helped EIVIE Build an NDAA-Compliant Drone

As Insta360 expands across cameras and drones, restrictions on DJI could create an opening for its increasingly direct Chinese competitor. News and Commentary.  DJI and Insta360 are neighbors as well as rivals in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub. Both have built global businesses around cameras and advanced imaging. Increasingly, they are also competing for the same… Read more: Two Shenzhen Rivals, Two Different Paths to the U.S. Market

Geo4D used the photogrammetry platform to process high-resolution aerial imagery covering more than 100,000 hectares in Patagonia. SimActive’s Correlator3D photogrammetry software has supported a large-scale mapping project for a green hydrogen development in southern Chile. Chilean geospatial firm Geo4D used the software to process high-resolution aerial imagery covering more than 100,000 hectares. The work produced… Read more: SimActive Correlator3D Supports Large-Scale Green Hydrogen Mapping in Chile

Michigan man sues sheriff’s department over state’s drone law By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill A Michigan-based freelance journalist has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have local law enforcement officials not target him for flying his drone near their operations, providing that he is following all federal flight safety regulations and maintaining a safe… Read more: Michigan Drone Lawsuit Challenges Restrictions on Flights Near Police Operations

State agencies will test drones and aerial technologies for environmental monitoring, wildfire response, infrastructure, public safety and agriculture. Michigan has selected five companies for advanced air mobility projects designed to solve real-world challenges for state agencies. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) announced the awards on… Read more: Michigan Awards $2 Million for Five Advanced Air Mobility Projects

Odyssey Robot claimed its equipment was made and assembled in the U.S.; an FCC investigation found otherwis The Federal Communications Commission has revoked equipment authorizations for a drone and remote controller from Odyssey Robot LLC. The agency concluded that the company made false statements about the equipment’s production and its status under FCC Covered List… Read more: FCC Revokes Drone Approvals After U.S. Assembler Denies Any Connection

Finland-based platform aims to help operators manage compliance, risk and operational oversight as drone programs grow in size and complexity FlybyOps has launched a new enterprise drone operations platform designed for large-scale Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and autonomous drone programs. The Finland-based company says the platform addresses a growing challenge for commercial drone… Read more: FlybyOps Launches Enterprise Platform for Scaling BVLOS and Autonomous Drone Operations

New airspace-awareness platform brings radar, RF, Remote ID, ADS-B and other operational data into a unified operating pictur Airwise Solutions has launched Airwise Nexus, a new airspace-awareness and sensor-fusion capability within its airwiseOS Operational Intelligence platform. Nexus brings data from multiple airspace sensors and operational systems into one common operating picture. The platform can ingest… Read more: With Nexus, Airwise Solutions Champions “Free and Open” Sensor Integration

New Hampshire expansion will quadruple production capacity as the U.S. works to build a domestic supply chain for critical drone components U.S. drone propulsion manufacturer ePropelled has announced a major expansion of its New Hampshire manufacturing operations. The project is supported by $60 million in U.S. government funding. The company will expand its production footprint… Read more: ePropelled Secures $60 Million in U.S. Government Funding to Expand Drone Propulsion Manufacturing

USDA has conducted more than 1,000 drone surveillance flights in Texas, while the Department of Homeland Security brings border surveillance capabilities and personnel into the federal response. Drones and federal border surveillance resources are taking on a new mission in Texas: helping combat New World screwworm. New World screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae… Read more: From Border Security to Biosecurity: Drones Join the Fight Against New World Screwworm

New LiveOps layers integrate NOAA fire and smoke data to give public safety agencies a more complete operational picture BRINC has added wildfire and smoke tracking to its LiveOps platform, giving public safety agencies another source of information during active fire response. The company announced two new map layers on August 10. The features display… Read more: BRINC Brings Wildfire and Smoke Tracking Into Drone Operations

Hillsborough County program aims to deliver blood to first responders in under three minutes Archer First Response Systems (ArcherFRS) is supporting a drone program designed to deliver whole blood directly to emergency scenes in Hillsborough County, Florida. The initiative brings together Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR), Tampa General Hospital (TGH), OneBlood, the University of South… Read more: Drones Bring Whole Blood Directly to Trauma Scenes

Company says proposed “military-grade” categories could reach aircraft used in public safety, agriculture, inspection and other civilian applications DJI is warning U.S. drone operators that a Federal Communications Commission proposal targeting certain foreign-made “military-grade” drones could reach much further than the terminology suggests. In a new response to the FCC’s July 21 action, DJI argues… Read more: DJI Warns FCC Proposal Could Restrict Widely Used Commercial Drones

India’s largest engineering company expects strong growth from the division that includes its drone business, highlighting a broader shift from innovation to industrial scale. When Reuters reported that India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) expects the division that includes its drone business to triple revenue over the next five years, the announcement sounded like another optimistic… Read more: The Industrialization of Drones: L&T’s Growth Forecast Reflects a Maturing Global Industry

NFL team adopts Sentrycs technology as stadium operators strengthen defenses against unauthorized drones Ondas Inc. announced that its Sentrycs subsidiary has been selected to provide counter-drone protection for Jacksonville Jaguars home games during the upcoming NFL season. According to the company, the Jaguars are the first NFL franchise to deploy a counter-UAS system designed to… Read more: Ondas to Provide Counter-Drone Protection for Jacksonville Jaguars Home Games

Agency says Washington company conducted unauthorized fertilizer application flights without required certification The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a civil penalty of $289,215 against Gorge Drones of Stevenson, Washington, alleging the company conducted unauthorized agricultural drone operations in early 2025. According to the FAA, the proposed enforcement action stems from 15 flights in which… Read more: FAA Proposes Civil Penalty Against Drone Operator for Alleged Agricultural Flight Violations

The pandemic exposed weaknesses in global manufacturing that many companies had never been forced to confront. While the immediate crisis has passed, the pressures facing drone manufacturers today, from component restrictions to supply chain uncertainty, demand many of the same responses. In this guest commentary, ACSL Global CTO Chris Raabe reflects on how the industry’s… Read more: Six Years After the Pandemic, the Hard Lessons Still Matter: An Op-Ed from ACSL Global CTO Chris Raabe