Drone News Update

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 3 stories for you this week: the FCC is still thinking about a ban on thermal and spray drones, Florida Senator pushes back on DJI and Autel's appeals, and a Massachusetts town shuts the door on Amazon drone deliveries. Let's get to it.
First up, the FCC says a ban on certain foreign drones is still on the table, according to Adam Chan. the FCC's senior national security counsel. The information came out of The Drone Ultimatum podcast, published October 30th. The ban would cover imports and sales of previously approved foreign drones in military-grade categories. That includes thermal, LiDAR, spray, swarming and docking drones. It also includes anything 55 pounds or more.
Chan said a transition period is possible. But the FCC's July 21st notice already proposes one. It is 180 days after the order is published in the Federal Register. Blue UAS exceptions would remain. Of 443 filings on that window, 439 asked for more time. Drones you already own would NOT be affected.Chan also pointed to five to six billion dollars in new investment. The FCC's own fact sheet said over four billion. Spray drone sales fell 59 percent in 2025, according to the American Spray Drone Coalition. Chan obviously did not watch our video analyzing the comments on the FCC's proposal to do this.Next up, Senator Rick Scott is backing the government's case against DJI and Autel. He sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this month. He wants both companies kept on the Covered List. The FCC has placed the letter in the record. It applies to DJI's petition for reconsideration and Autel's application for review. Scott, a known opponent of drones, sponsored the bill behind Section 1709 of the 2025 defense law. He says he read a classified report that finds both companies pose an unacceptable national security risk. Of course, that report is not public. But keep in mind that the risk is high enough that you can't know about it, yet low enough that current models are not a threat. Only banning future models will solve the issue.Meanwhile, DJI argues Congress did not review its technology thoroughly enough. Bottom line: this letter is not a new FCC ruling. It does not change anything for drones you already own. It adds political weight to a fight that is still playing out. The FCC has not decided either challenge.Finally, a Massachusetts town just said no to Amazon drone deliveries. Westborough residents voted 510 to 13 at a special town meeting. That is about 97.5 percent in favor. The new bylaw bars ground-level delivery drone infrastructure. That means launch pads, landing sites, staging hubs and residential drop zones. The fine is 300 dollars per violation.Residents cited noise, privacy concerns over navigation cameras, and the town's character. On November 1st, Amazon withdrew its site plan. It did so without prejudice. A spokesperson said the company plans to re-engage and submit a revised bid later. The bylaw still needs sign-off from the Massachusetts attorney general's office.And if you're wondering if this is legal. Notice how this is land use on the ground, not airspace. That's really the only way towns can prohibit drone activities. And of course, other communities will be watching. Going forward, delivery operators may find local approval is the harder hurdle.And as always, this conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/11/03/fcc-adam-chan-military-grade-drone-ban-transition-period/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/29/rick-scott-dji-drone-fcc/https://www.suasnews.com/2026/11/david-beats-goliath-westborough-decimates-amazon-drone-proposal-in-510-13-landslide-vote/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you this week: Zipline rolls out software to make delivery drones quieter, a federal judge hands Alibaba a win over a Pentagon lobbying law that DJI is watching closely, and Michigan funds drone organ flights. Let's get to it.
First up, Zipline says its delivery drones are now flying quieter. The company calls it sound-optimized dynamic flying. It is now running across the entire fleet.Zipline claims a 68% drop in overall sound exposure per flight. Peak volume is down 24%. Both numbers compare against its 2025 fleet. But they come from Zipline's own modeling, not independent testing.Here's how it works. The drone reads real-time wind data and uses an acoustics model. Then it adjusts speed and altitude to cut noise. It might dip its nose to pick up speed, like a cyclist coasting downhill. The aircraft is fixed wing, so it can shut down all but one motor in cruise.Zipline also says flights are 53 seconds shorter and use 21% less energy.Why care? Noise complaints are growing. Residents in Richardson, Texas have complained about Amazon drones. Community acceptance could decide how fast delivery grows.Next up, a federal judge in San Jose has blocked the Pentagon from enforcing a lobbying law against Alibaba. Judge Eumi Lee found it likely violates the First Amendment.The law took effect June 30. It stops the Pentagon from contracting with any company that hires a lobbying firm that also lobbies for a listed Chinese military company. That list is the Section 1260H list. DJI has been on it since October 2022.Alibaba says it lost all its lobbyists. DJI, meanwhile, still had two outside firms working for it after the law took effect. CLS Strategies reported $170,000 for the quarter. Liberty Government Affairs reported $27,500.Important detail. The ruling only protects Alibaba. Any company that shares a lobbyist with DJI gets no such shield.DroneXL found no DJI challenge to this law as of October 27th. Watch whether that changes. Also remember, the ban on indirect Pentagon purchases through suppliers starts June 30th, 2027.Finally, Michigan is putting real money into drone projects. The state announced 12 grants worth about $1.7 million on October 21st.The biggest one is $245,000 for blueflite. The company will test flying donor organs to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. Testing starts at the Mcity Test Facility. The partners set public targets. That's at least 20 demonstration missions. They want a 30% cut in last-mile transport time. And they want 95% mission reliability. Remember, those are goals, not results.Eight of the 12 projects are in Detroit. They total $990,000. Another grant gives Battle Creek Police a drone as first responder program.Why it matters. Organs are time critical. Minutes lost in traffic can hurt outcomes. Published targets mean we can check the results later. That's a good model for every drone pilot program.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/10/28/delivery-drone-noise-zipline-software/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/27/alibaba-pentagon-lobbying-ban-ruling-dji-lobbyists/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/26/michigan-medicine-drone-organ-flights-aam-grants/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the spray drone industry asks the FCC for a carve-out, the FCC adds Pentagon letters to the DJI and Autel records, DJI ends service for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, and a Massachusetts town votes to ban Amazon drone pads. Let's get to it.
First up, U.S. sales of new agricultural spray drones fell 59 percent between 2024 and 2025. The American Spray Drone Coalition says about 3,711 units sold in 2025, down from roughly 8,950 in 2024. The group blames the Customs and Border Protection's hold on DJI shipments that began in October 2024. These are industry estimates, not customs records. Even so, sprayed acreage rose almost 59 percent, to more than 16 million acres.Now the coalition wants a carve-out from the FCC. The FCC's July proposal would ban foreign "military-grade" drones. That includes any drone that can dispense "economic poison." That's the Part 137 definition of any crop sprayer. So it would cover every foreign spray drone.The coalition wants Part 137 drones excluded. It also wants two years of spare parts imports. As of October 21, the FCC hasn't adopted the proposal to classify spray drones and many others as "military grade". Next up, the FCC has added Department of War letters to its records on DJI and Autel. A public notice on October 14 covers both dockets. But here's the catch. The FCC says it did not rely on these letters when it added the companies to the Covered List.Only the redacted, unclassified cover pages are public. The classified letters were filed under seal. The public pages say the government worries foreign-controlled drone makers could harm Americans. They don't name any specific vulnerability or give any technical evidence.The FCC added foreign-produced drones to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. DJI filed a petition for reconsideration in January. Autel filed an application for review. DJI is also suing the FCC for its inclusion on the covered list, and the Department of Defense after being labeled a Chinese military company. Service support for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is ending this month. The date is October 31st, 2026. After that, DJI says it will no longer offer product inquiries, technical support, or maintenance for the aircraft and its accessories.The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 launched in May 2018. It has a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor, a mechanical shutter, and 4K video at 60 frames per second. That mechanical shutter is why some mapping and survey pilots still fly it.Finally, voters in Westborough, Massachusetts just took on Amazon. On October 19th, a Special Town Meeting passed a bylaw by 510 to 13. It bans any commercial drone launch pad, landing pad, or delivery drop zone in town.It was written in response to Amazon's plan to fly Prime Air MK30 drones from its warehouse at 64 Otis Street. The fine is $300 per offense. It takes effect only after the Massachusetts attorney general approves it, or lets 90 days pass. The motion also says MassDOT Aeronautics must approve it. The bylaw reportedly says it does not regulate flight, altitude, or flight paths. The question is whether a ban on landing sites conflicts with the ground end of a federally authorized operation under Part 135.Amazon faces more hurdles. A zoning appeal is set for November 2nd, and a Planning Board hearing is set for November 10th. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/21/spray-drone-sales-fell-59-percent-asdc-fcc-part-137-carve-out/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/15/fcc-dji-ban-pentagon-letters/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/12/phantom-4-drone-service-repair/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/20/westborough-510-13-drone-bylaw-bans-amazon-prime-air-launch-pads/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you this week: the FCC moves to shut out Chinese test labs, Versaterm brings LAANC into DroneSense, and DJI launches Dock 4 with automatic battery swaps. Let's get to it.
First up, the FCC will vote on October 29th on an order that ends recognition of every test lab in mainland China. The cutoff date is December 1st, 2028. Keep in mind, every phone, camera, router, and other electronic device needs FCC authorization before it can be imported to the US. Interestingly, private labs do that testing, and Chinese labs tested 82% of the devices that applied in 2025. U.S. labs tested less than 4%. That means that out of 46,402 devices that applied, 38,491 were tested in China. It also means that only 1856 were tested in the US. This does not change the Chinese drone ban. Foreign-made drones went on the Covered List on December 22nd, 2025. No new grant is possible no matter who tests it. This hits the products that can still get grants, like DJI's Osmo cameras, plus chargers and accessories, and any other brand of device that performs its testing in China. Next, Versaterm has built LAANC authorization directly into its DroneSense platform. Public safety agencies can now request airspace approval without leaving the app they already use to dispatch and manage drones. The connection runs through Aloft, which Versaterm acquired in February. DroneSense is now an FAA-approved LAANC Secondary Data Service Provider.The goal is speed for Drone as First Responder programs. That matters in search and rescue or a tactical call near an airport. Existing DroneSense customers get this at no extra cost. A reminder, an integrated workflow does not guarantee approval. Agencies still have to meet FAA requirements and get the clearance. Currently there's no roll-out date, so for those of you using DroneSense, On the hardware side, DJI has launched the Dock 4 and the Matrice 5TD. Dock 4 is the first DJI dock that swaps the battery automatically. Earlier docks only charged the pack inside the drone. DJI says the swap takes 25 seconds. Landing to takeoff takes 45 seconds, and the Matrice 5TD flies up to 59 minutes per pack. The 5TD has three 50 megapixel cameras, a thermal camera, LiDAR, and mmWave radar. The dock holds three spare batteries and charges two at once. With the Covered List in place, there is no path to U.S. sale or use, so while this might be a great upgrade for folks who use the Dock 3 or Matrice 4D series, it won't be available in the US. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/10/fcc-vote-chinese-test-labs-82-percent-us-devices/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/10/versaterm-aloft-dronesense-laanc-faa/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/14/dji-dock-4-matrice-5td-battery-swap-launch-no-fcc/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: DJI Neo 3 video leaks, Sky Elements sets Guinness record, the FAA hands out 12 million dollars to drone test sites, and the FBI doubles its counter drone school. Let's get to it.
First up, a 49-second unboxing video of the DJI Neo 3 Fly More Combo has leaked. DroneXL's Jasper Ellens posted it Tuesday. He says it first appeared on TikTok.This time, the drone comes out of the box. As you can see, it has spoked prop cages on all four propellers, a RC Mini controller with a screen, a charging hub, and three batteries. The drone also appears to have a small screen on its nose, but it’s unclear what it does yet. A production listing puts the weight at 192.7 grams. The RC Mini has FCC approval, while the rumored Neo 3 does not. It doesn’t look like we’ll get this one here in the US. Next up, Sky Elements has set two Guinness World Records in Blue Ridge, Texas. Working with Damoda America, they flew 71,207 drones during shows from September 27th through the 29th. The old record was 55,939.Six shows used more than 10,000 drones each, with the finale using 11,000. The company says that's the largest drone show ever flown in the US. Crews had to recharge, reset, and relaunch the fleet between shows, which I’m sure was a ton of work. The CEO says shows this big have mostly happened in Asia and the Middle East. Sky Elements now wants to sell these large shows to sports leagues, cities, and brands. Now to the FAA. On Monday, it announced $12 million for 19 drone research projects. Each project is paired with one of the nine FAA UAS test sites.The projects cover detect and avoid, command and control, traffic management, and drone identification. As always with these grants, the FAA wants real world data it can use in future rulemaking. This isn't new money. Congress ordered $6 million a year in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. Companies awarded must also match the funding at least one to one. Word is that this data should inform is Part 108, the BVLOS rule thas sat at OIRA since July 10th. That's 87 days. An unnamed FAA official said last month it's at the 10-yard line and he hopes it publishes by year end. We’ll have to wait and see. Finally, the FBI is doubling its counter drone school. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward toured the National Counter-UAS Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama on October 1st, and stated capacity will more than double in year two. Woodward said that every host city for the World Cup attended and that over 700 drones were taken down. He also noted that none of the aircraft mitigated carried ordnance. If you’re unfamiliar, since July 1st, it's the only place a state or local officer can earn authority to take a drone down under the Safer Skies Act. When the rule published, only 61 officers nationwide held that certificate. The first class last October had just 12.Woodward didn't say the current capacity, so the doubling has no public baseline. The FBI plans to graduate 250 more officers next fiscal year.According to this information and other publicly available info, those 700 drones weren't threats. They were pilots who flew into restricted airspace without approval. It’s a good reminder to check for TFRs, every time.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!Sourceshttps://dronexl.co/2026/10/06/dji-neo-3-unboxing-video-leak-battery-slots/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/05/drone-show-record-sky-elements/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/faa-12-million-drone-test-sites-part-108-unsigned/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/fbi-counter-drone-school-double-capacity-woodward/