Unauthorized drone flights are rising sharply in 2026, disrupting aerial firefighting operations and increasing enforcement efforts. By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As the unusually severe wildfire season in the western U.S. continues unabated, the number of incidents of drone incursions interrupting aerial firefighting operations continues to rise. According to data … [Read more...] about Drone Incursions at Wildfires Surge as Aircraft Face More Groundings
FAA
Guest Post: Why Drones May Change How We Operate in the Atmosphere
Commercial drones have made their name by observing the world below. Now a new class of missions is moving the aircraft up into the atmosphere itself. The Utah Division of Water Resources is exploring drone-based cloud seeding to replace the crewed aircraft it tested from 2022 to 2025. That puts unmanned aircraft at the meeting point of aviation, meteorology, autonomy and water … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Why Drones May Change How We Operate in the Atmosphere
TSA Seeks Drone Industry Input on Security Requirements for Part 108 BVLOS Operations
Technical roundtables will examine how existing BVLOS security practices could help operators comply with new requirements For years, the drone industry’s central question about beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations has been: How do I get permission to fly? Part 108 changes the question. Once routine BVLOS operations become available, operators will increasingly need … [Read more...] about TSA Seeks Drone Industry Input on Security Requirements for Part 108 BVLOS Operations
Beyond Part 108: FAA and EASA See Collaboration as Key to Scaling BVLOS
Despite different regulatory frameworks, aviation officials at Commercial UAV Expo pointed to common challenges in risk, data and managing increasingly busy low-altitude airspace. The United States and Europe have taken different paths toward enabling advanced drone operations. As both markets move toward more routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight, however, … [Read more...] about Beyond Part 108: FAA and EASA See Collaboration as Key to Scaling BVLOS
Scaling Drone Operations Will Require More Than Part 108
FAA officials at Commercial UAV Expo discussed how regulation, information sharing, airspace modernization and security must work together as advanced aviation scales As the FAA works toward a regulatory framework for routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations, the challenge goes beyond determining who can fly and under what conditions. At Commercial UAV … [Read more...] about Scaling Drone Operations Will Require More Than Part 108
