Drone News Update

• Drone News: FCC To Vote on New Rules, DJI Appeals Court Ruling, OPD Rescues Kayakers with Drone

  Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week: the FCC is set to vote on new rules that could impact covered list entities, DJI is appealing the "Chinese Military Company" court ruling, and we have a drones-for-good story out of New York. Let's get to it.First up, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency will vote on October 28th to close two major loopholes that companies on the "Covered List" have been using. The proposed rules would do two things. First, they would prohibit the authorization of any new devices that contain component parts from a Covered List company. And second, they would give the FCC the power to revoke previously issued authorizations in specific cases. This vote is happening just as DJI faces a December 23rd deadline from the National Defense Authorization Act. If a security review isn't completed by then, DJI automatically gets added to the FCC's Covered List. This is a direct shot at the strategy we've been discussing, with companies like Skyany, Skyrover, and Jovistar popping up with what are essentially rebranded DJI drones. According to the press release from the FCC, there may be an NPRM to follow, but the new rules could also prevent the import and sale of devices already approved.Next up, in a related story, DJI is appealing a federal court decision that kept it on the Pentagon’s “Chinese Military Company” list. This is a really interesting case because DJI is in a legal paradox where it seems to have won based on the facts but lost in court. On September 26th, a D.C. District Court judge ruled that DJI would remain on the list, BUT the judge’s decision explicitly rejected most of the Defense Department’s core allegations. The court found no evidence that DJI is owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party or that it's linked to a military-civil fusion enterprise.The court only upheld two of the Pentagon's claims. The first was that DJI holds a "National Enterprise Technology Center" status, which the court acknowledged is widely granted to innovative tech companies, including U.S. ones. The second was that DJI products have "substantial dual-use applications," which is true for tons of off-the-shelf technology. Critically, the court found no evidence of actual misuse by the Chinese military. Despite all this, the judge deferred to the Pentagon’s “broad discretion” on national security, keeping the label in place. This designation restricts federal contracts and spooks the private sector, which is a major problem when DJI still controls about 76% of the U.S. consumer drone market. And finally this week, a drones-for-good story! The Olean Police Department in upstate New York used a thermal drone to rescue three kayakers in distress on the Allegheny River. The distress call came in just before 8 p.m., and in the darkness, a traditional search would have been incredibly difficult. Instead, police and fire personnel quickly deployed their drone, which appears to have been a Mavic 3 Thermal. Within minutes, the drone’s thermal sensor picked up the heat signatures of two of the kayakers in the cool water. This dramatically cut down the search time and likely prevented hypothermia. The search teams then shifted to the surrounding woods and located the third person on land. And this week on Post-flight, the show in the Premium Community where we share our opinions, we’ll talk about these stories and a $500 million counter-drone program for the upcoming World Cup. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday for the live! https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-415068A1.pdfhttps://dronexl.co/2025/10/14/dji-appeals-court-ruling-pentagon-chinese-military-company/https://dronexl.co/2025/10/12/fcc-vote-kill-dji-shell-company-strategy-december-ban-deadline/https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/olean-police-rescue-kayakers-in-distress-with-drone-technology/

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• Drone News: Amazon Drone Crash, Aerodome Drone Launch, New 247MP Camera!

  Welcome to your weekly UAS News update, we have 3 stories for you: Amazon resumes operations after two drones crash into a crane, Flock Safety launches Aerodome Drone as Automated Security, and Phase One releases a 247MP camera! First up, Amazon Prime Air has resumed delivery flights after two of its MK30 aircraft collided with a mobile crane in Tolleson, Arizona. The incident occurred on Wednesday, October 1st when a construction crane was doing roofing work at a business. The two drones impacted the crane a few minutes apart, with one falling to the ground and catching on fire. Both the FAA and NTSB have begun investigations. Amazon resumed operations on Friday, October 3rd, raising questions about whether Amazon is prioritizing conducting operations over safety. According to DroneXL, this incident is the 4th reported crash this year by an Amazon MK30, and the second time the system has been grounded. In January, Amazon halted operations after two MK30s crashed during testing in Oregon due to faulty LiDAR programming. This event hasn’t yet hit the NTSB’s CAROL database, but we’ll likely get more information if or when it does. Next up, Flock Safety has released their Aerodome Drone as Automated Security (DAS). This system is designed to be a turn-key solution for security patrols. This is a separate product and mission profile from Drones as First Responder, and caters to the private entity looking for a similar solution. It appears that Flock is using the DJI Dock 3 and the Matrice 4D, with Flock’s own back-end deployment software. The system also integrates with Flock’s ecosystem through FlockOS, allowing private entities to utilize alarm panels, video management systems, license plate readers, and audio sensors. Way to diversify! Last up this week, Phase One has released a 247MP photogrammetry camera! If you’re unfamiliar with Phase One, they’ve been a well-known name in the mapping space for their high-megapixel cameras. This week they released the iXM-RS250, with a resolution of 19,200×12,800 pixels and a new IIQ-X compression format, which reduces file size by 90% when compared to 16-bit TIFFs. The new camera is also said to reduce mapping times by 30% compared to previous systems. For those operators who fly large missions and deal with terabytes of data, this could be a game-changer. The iXM-RS250 is immediately compatible with the DJI Matrice 400, and features a USB 3.0 and 10G ethernet for other systems. At this time, Phase One has not released any pricing for the iXM-RS250, but it’s safe to say it’ll be pricey! And on Post Flight, our show where we share our opinions, we won’t be talking about part 108… We will be discussing these stories and Sikorsky, who has released an entire family of VTOL drones. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week! https://dronexl.co/2025/10/08/phase-one-247mp-drone-camera-intergeo/https://dronexl.co/2025/10/03/amazon-resumes-drone-deliveries-days-after-tolleson-crane-crash-and-fire/https://dronexl.co/2025/09/30/flock-safety-aerodome-das-drone-security/

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• Drone News: DJI Loses Lawsuit, Freefly's Ember FPV, DJI Unveils Mavic 3TA, Ohio Pushes Drone Bill

  Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week; DJI loses lawsuit against the Pentagon, DJI unveils new Mavic 3 Thermal Advanced, Freely releases the Ember FPV, and an Ohio bill to ban foreign made drones. Let's get to it.First up, DJI has lost its lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's "Chinese Military Company" designation. On September 26th, a U.S. District Judge rejected DJI’s challenge, upholding the national security threat classification. The ruling leaves DJI facing major business restrictions and the very real possibility of an automatic product ban.This is because its technology has "substantial theoretical and actual military application," regardless of DJI's own policies against military use. DJI argued that its founder and early investors control 88% of the stock and over 99% of voting rights, but the judge ruled that the ownership structure was "difficult to discern."This is a massive disruption, considering DJI accounts for over 76% of registered drones in the U.S. For public safety agencies, the costs are staggering. The Department of Interior documented price increases from $2,600 to over $15,000 per unit when switching from DJI to approved domestic drones.The biggest threat, however, is a looming deadline. The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act mandates a security review by December 23, 2025. If no federal agency completes this review, DJI will automatically be added to the FCC's Covered List.In some new product news, DJI has quietly launched the Mavic 3TA, an advanced thermal version of its Mavic 3 Enterprise series. This seems to be an iterative update focused on boosting real-world utility for professionals in search and rescue, public safety, and inspections.The Mavic 3TA features an uncooled VOx microbolometer with an 8-micrometer pixel pitch. This smaller pixel pitch should provide finer detail and more accurate temperature readings. The thermal lens also has a longer 60-millimeter equivalent focal length, compared to the 40-millimeter on the 3T. The temperature measurement range is still robust, from -20 to 500 degrees Celsius.It keeps the same compact, foldable design, weighing 920 grams. It has a 45-minute flight time, omnidirectional obstacle sensing, and an IP54 weather resistance rating. The visual cameras are the same as the 3T, with a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera using a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with a 56x hybrid zoom.Next up, Freefly released the Ember FPV drone, a 500g FPV drone with a high-speed camera on it. By high speed, I mean somewhere between 600 and 3000 fps. While specs aren’t yet public on this guy, it looks to be a huge upgrade from the exiting cinelifters we see carry larger cameras.There’s also a new bill in Ohio this week, which would ban drones made by a foreign adversary. Of course, AUVSI is in support of stripping public safety agencies from using the best possible equipment, as they’ve pushed for in other states. If you haven’t yet written your comment for Part 108, time is running out. You have until Monday at 11:59PM ET to get your comments in. It’s extremely important that you voice your opinions.Like every week, we’ll discuss these stories in depth and share our opinions on Post Flight in the premium community. We’ll see you there and we’ll see you on Monday for the live! https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb180https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/sb180/00_IN/pdf/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7378982847786823682/?originTrackingId=WoVXzy9%2B7TVAhS3oVQkgHA%3D%3Dhttps://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2025-1908-0023/commenthttps://dronexl.co/2025/09/29/dji-unveils-mavic-3ta-enterprise-drone-with-upgraded-thermal-tech/https://dronexl.co/2025/09/26/dji-loses-pentagon-lawsuit/

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• Drone News: Part 108 NPRM Updates, Skydio's New Drones, $130M for Auterion, Drone Collision Update

  Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have four stories for you this week: Part 108 NPRM updates, Skydio unveils two new drones for specialized operations, Auterion secures a massive $130 million in funding, and an update to the story about the Super Scooper mid-air collision. Let's get to it.First, let's talk about some Part 108 NPRM stuff. The deadline is approaching for submitting your comment. Please take the time to write a comment about how this would affect your ability to fly BVLOS. There are currently 800 comments ONLY. There were over 50,000 comments on the Remote ID NPRM.DJI sounded the alarm this week on the NPRM. The company is warning that the rules, as they’re currently written, could effectively ground the vast majority of drones being used today, not just DJIs, and sideline thousands of skilled pilots. While everyone agrees we need a clear path forward for BVLOS, DJI points out some fundamental problems in the draft.If you haven’t yet written your comment for Part 108, time is running out. All comments must be submitted by October 6th, 2025.Next up, American drone manufacturer Skydio is expanding its lineup with two new specialized drones. The Skydio R10 is designed for tactical indoor situations where you wouldn't want to send a person. It’s a compact, 10-by-10-inch quadcopter that weighs 1.7 pounds and has built-in blade guards for navigating tight and/or dangerous spaces. It offers features for first responders, including onboard lighting, a two-way audio system to communicate with suspects or victims, and Skydio’s obstacle avoidance for flying in complete darkness. The R10 is slated for early access this autumn.Then there’s the F10, which is built for speed and endurance. This is a fixed-wing drone that can hit speeds of over 80 miles per hour and stay airborne for more than 90 minutes. This is a good fit for large-scale BVLOS missions like monitoring wildfires or conducting long search and rescue operations. The F10 is scheduled for release in the first half of 2026. Both of these drones also integrate into the X10 ecosystem, using the same software, controllers, and workflows. It’ll be interesting to see if we can get our hands on these to put them to the test. Next up, Auterion has secured a massive $130 million in Series B funding to scale its defense software. The company, which began with open-source drone software, has evolved into a major defense contractor. They're creating an operating system for autonomous systems across air, land, and sea. According to reports, their technology is already being used on the battlefield in Ukraine, where they are delivering tens of thousands of AI "strike kits" under a Pentagon contract. This new funding will help Auterion expand its work on AI-enabled software for large-scale, coordinated drone operations. And finally, an update to last week’s story about the drone that hit the firefighting airplane in LA earlier this year. We found out that Peter Akemann is facing jail time and a staggering $156,000 fine after crashing his DJI Mini 3 Pro into a firefighting airplane. The pilot pleaded guilty to unsafe drone operation and was sentenced to 14 days in prison, 30 days of home detention, 150 hours of community service, and a total fine of $156,000. And in post-flight this week, our show on the premium community where we share our opinions, we’ll cover these stories and we’ll talk about the DJI Mini 5 weight-gate. We’ll see you there! https://dronexl.co/2025/09/19/dji-warns-faa-bvlos-rules-ground-drones/https://dronexl.co/2025/09/23/gamer-crashes-dji-mini-plane-fine-jail/https://dronexl.co/2025/09/19/skydio-unveils-new-drones-for-indoor/https://dronelife.com/2025/09/23/auterion-secures-130-million-series-b-to-scale-defense-software/

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• Drone News: DJI Announces Mini 5 Pro, CA Drone Pilot Sentenced, SAR Drone Shot During Flight

  Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week. DJI has announced the new Mini 5 Pro, a drone pilot has been sentenced for colliding with a firefighting aircraft, and a search-and-rescue drone was shot in Maine. Let's get to it.First, DJI has unveiled the Mini 5 Pro, and the specs are pretty jaw-dropping for a sub-250-gram drone. The headline feature is a 50-megapixel, 1-inch CMOS sensor. This is something pilots have been requesting for years. The camera can shoot 4K video at 60 frames per second in HDR and even does 4K slow-motion at 120 frames per second. For the pros, it supports 10-bit D-Log M and HLG color profiles, with a max ISO of 12,800. The gimbal also got a major upgrade, with a 225-degree roll rotation and true vertical shooting. For safety, DJI is introducing what they call "Nightscape Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing," which uses a forward-facing LiDAR and multiple vision sensors for better performance in low light. Flight time is rated at 36 minutes with the standard battery, and an optional Intelligent Flight Battery Plus can supposedly push that to 52 minutes! Now for the big catch: the Mini 5 Pro will NOT be officially available in the US market through DJI's store. Other retailers may carry it, but it won’t be available through the DJI store. Next up, a drone pilot in California has been sentenced for a mid-air collision with a firefighting airplane. Peter Akemann, a 57-year-old from Culver City, pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor for the unsafe operation of a drone. This incident happened back in January 2025, when he flew his drone into the path of a "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft that was battling the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. The drone struck the aircraft's wing, causing a 3-by-6-inch hole and forcing the plane to be grounded for repairs. The cost of those repairs? A whopping $65,169.As part of his plea agreement, Akemann has been ordered to pay full restitution to the Quebec government, which owned the plane, and to the repair company. He also has to complete 150 hours of community service supporting wildfire relief efforts. This is a stark reminder for everyone: flying in a Temporary Flight Restriction, especially over an emergency scene, is incredibly dangerous and illegal. In our final story, a real-world drones-for-good story took a bad turn in Maine. A commercial drone operated by 2A Tac Air Services was shot while it was being used to search for two missing dogs. The operator, Rob Russell, was flying the drone at an altitude of 366 feet in Corinth, Maine, when he received a warning. Upon inspection, he found a bullet hole straight through the M30’s front sensors. Russell, who uses his fleet of drones for SAR missions across New England, said the damage will cost thousands to repair and takes a critical tool out of service. This incident is now under federal investigation. It’s important for everyone to understand that shooting at a drone is a federal offense, legally equivalent to shooting at a manned aircraft. On this topic, the FAA is proposing in the new Part 108 NPRM to add language that would protect remote pilots and their Visual observers from harassment and distraction. This is a welcome addition.It’s incredibly important to make your voice heard on the issues with the Part 108 NPRM. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out our latest video on our comment for Part 108. Spoiler alert, part 108 as proposed would NOT include current part 107 or recreational pilot. We have a solution to that. Be sure to watch that video next and get your comment submitted before October 6th, 2025! And lastly, if you like our proposal to fix the NPRM, be sure to fill out our form so we can include you and your company as supporters in our joint comment to the FAA.

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