The UAV Digest

Drone Safety Day, shape-changing drone, jump-start your car, Florida bans DJI, sUAS decision-making, avoiding collisions, adding VTOL to fixed-wing, farmers save water, land a drone in Red Square.

Detecting ADS-B spoofing, racing drone munitions, aerial tanking drones, self-flying F-16s, Condor heavy-lift UAV, light tactical UAS, Archer and United air taxi service in Chicago.

A drone delivery network, using drones to intercept aircraft, DJI drops AeroScope, DJI security risks, cardboard drones, plans for 1,000 loyal wingmen drones, new Zipline aircraft, Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercept a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper.

Another personal eVTOL, cops flying BVLOS, military drones with facial recognition, a lethal drone designed in Australia, the Lilium Jet eVTOL, moving air quietly.

Ameriflight cargo drones from Saberwing and Natilus, autonomous wind turbine inspections, American Security Drone Act, hydrogen-powered octocopter, Green and Blue UAS.

Global drone market report, aircraft control with AI, slow start to Amazon drone deliveries, drones disrupt flight operations, testing service for microgravity research.

An autonomous blended-wing cargo drone and a smaller electric cargo drone, Eaglet takes flight, taser drones at public schools, GAO recommendations for FAA strategy, the Dronut, two MQ-9 Reapers for a Dollar, BVLOS inspection solution.

Toroidal propellers reduce multirotor noise, layoffs at Prime Air, Valkyrie drones for the Marines, advanced air mobility in Utah, mapping with a collision-tolerant drone, cargo drone carries 100 pounds 600 miles.

Autonomous drone collects environmental DNA, measuring flapping performance, outlawing flight over prisons, flying drugs into the U.S., ex-drone manager sues Amazon.

Drones for weather prediction, tracking inventory with autonomous drones, NPRM for UAS communications spectrum, Walmart delivery statistics, underwater drones, the electric grid, cargo delivery to ships.

UAV tether, advanced drones, building designs, Martian missions, Army short-range reconnaissance program, Apple patent, birds, Ukraine drones.

European drone strategy 2.0, Ukraine drones, wildlife investigations, three active volcanoes, UAS frequencies, consumer attitudes, hydrogen power, Dover AFB sUAS program.

The latest Amazon Prime Air drone, XQ-58A Valkyrie tactical drones, bringing a drone on a cruise ship, a drone light show fail, and attacking a navy with uncrewed surface vessels.

Operations Over People approval for AgEagle, UAV-dominated air forces, women drone pilots in Ukraine, autonomous Black Hawk, drone facilitates robbery, BVLOS corridor in New York, autonomous firefighting helicopter, drones celebrate a game anniversary, increasing lithium battery lifespan.

Community-based drone organizations, Navy drone swarm, Iranian drone components, FAA reauthorization, Chinese cargo drone, Bell Autonomous Pod Transport, specimen sampling with drones, Wing drone crash, Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

Nano drones in Ukraine, cloud seeding with drones in China, bots that clean beaches and waterways, a STEM program for young girls, new technologies from Draganfly, and patrolling the airport perimeter.

Automated inspection of solar panels, NUAIR Public Safety Summit, supersonic target drones, Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat, Pixy selfie drone, rural law enforcement, UAV that can land on steep roofs.

Women and drones documentary film, Chinese drone submarine, unmanned surface vessels, drone tech to India, portable ATM system, mapping with multiple drones, Ford patent.

Court rules in favor of drone Remote ID rule, drones for Ukraine, drones on Mars, chicken by drone, lifeguard drones, mapping a mountain, NASA Zipline partnership, United sends Archer pre-delivery payment.

Archer Aviation planning full transition flights of their Maker aircraft, drone shuts down Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, protecting sporting events with drones, using lasers for drone communications, RQ-4 Global Hawk end-of-life, alligator attacks drone, a Remote ID device from Aerobits, and the Zephyr UAS flies for 26 days. Archer Aviation Maker eVTOL. UAV News Archer Flight Testing Gains Momentum, On Pace to Achieve Transition Flight By Year End Archer Aviation Inc. announced it is confident it will achieve its goal of flying full transition flights with its Maker aircraft by year-end. Flight tests of the full-scale 12-motor eVTOL demonstrator aircraft with a Tilt Propeller System (TPS) have been successful. Maker successfully completed its first hover test flight in December 2021 and since then the engineering team has focused on the development and testing of the systems needed for a full transition to horizontal flight. Errant drone briefly shuts down D.C. airport Air traffic was shut down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport for 45 minutes. There is no information about who was operating the drone, if it was taken down, or if it was retrieved.  The DHS told Congress that TSA has reported nearly 2,000 drone sightings near U.S. airports since 2021. Pilots had to take “65 evasive actions” after drones came too close or disturbed aircraft. World Cup to use drones to help protect stadiums Utah-based Fortem Technologies has reached an agreement with Qatar's interior ministry to provide the interceptor drones at this winter's Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Fortem's “DroneHunters” that shoot nets will be able to bring down small rogue drones. These are autonomous, radar-guided drones. Laser-Controlled Drones Can Evade Signal-Jamming Countermeasures The counter-drone technology that physically attacks rogue drones with a net or a projectile requires that you track the drone's movement. On the other hand, signal jamming doesn't require such precise tracking. But now British company QinetiQ has a way to remotely operate drones without the communication signals that can be jammed. The new system uses lasers or Free-Space Optical Communications (FSO, or FSOC) signals. Air Force's RQ-4 Global Hawk drones headed for retirement in FY27 The US Air Force plans to phase out all remaining RQ-4 Global Hawk reconnaissance drones by fiscal 2027. Northrop Grumman was informed they should expect that the fleet will reach its end of life by that date. In a statement, an Air Force spokeswoman said, “Our ability to win future high-end conflicts requires accelerating investment in connected, survivable platforms and accepting short-term risks by divesting legacy ISR assets that offer limited capability against peer and near-peer threats.” What a snap! Moment alligator leaps out of Brazilian river and devours nosy fisherman's drone in mid-flight A Brazilian man was testing his new drone and had seen some alligators, so he flew back to the spot. The drone hovered over one of the alligators who eyed the drone for a few seconds. The gator then lept out of the water, grabbed the drone, and swam away. Video: Alligator leaps out of Brazilian river and snatches drone in mid flight https://youtu.be/rXeU7_l-PEo The most advanced Remote ID with WI-FI and BLE technology Aerobits has launched an advanced version of the idME PRO device that can broadcast on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It provides enhanced identification and tracking for UAS and works with MAVLINK devices. The Wi-Fi can connect to the Pixhawk drone controller via a JST connector. The Bluetooth Low Energy (or BLE) provides surveillance and drone operator identification capability via smartphones or tablets.  US Army conducts high-altitude experiments with Zephyr UAS The U.S. Army wants to implement ultra-long endurance stratospheric UAS capabilities. During a June 2022 test flight,

Microsoft announces a new AirSim platform to train drone AI systems, Amazon Prime Air eyes deliveries in Texas, Russia looks at Iranian drones, DJI pushes back against the American Security Drone Act, a UK drone superhighway, and new drones from Alphabet's Wing. UAV News Microsoft launches simulator to train drone AI systems In 2017 Microsoft created the open-source AirSim simulation platform for AI research and experimentation, but a lot of technical machine learning knowledge was needed to use it. Now Microsoft has announced a new Project AirSim platform for teaching autonomous drones to fly. Microsoft is talking with regulators about how AirSim could be used for aircraft certification. Video: Introducing Microsoft Project AirSim for aerial autonomy https://youtu.be/mhEw-fecjQY Microsoft AirSim Amazon's Prime Air drones will soon make deliveries in Texas Amazon says they'll ask College Station residents if they are interested in drone deliveries with plans to start later this year. Mayor Karl Mooney said: "Amazon's new facility presents a tremendous opportunity for College Station to be at the forefront of the development of drone delivery technology. We look forward to partnering with Amazon and Texas A&M and are confident that Amazon will be a productive, conscientious, and accountable participant in our community." The White House says Russian officials visited Iran to view drones for use in Ukraine US intelligence says Russia is interested in obtaining Iranian military drones. Satellite images show Russian officials visiting Iran twice with Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones on display and in flight. DJI reportedly making headway against US drone blacklist legislation The Financial Times reports the DJI has been pushing back at the American Security Drone Act (ASDA). That act would prohibit U.S. federal funding from being used to buy Chinese drones, broaden the bans, and make it difficult for a ban to be rescinded. Notably, the bill was not retained in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House. Nevertheless, several Republican representatives vowed to make the ASDA law in a final version, or on its own. A 165-Mile Drone Superhighway Will Soon Be Built in the UK Project Skyway is the UK plan to build a 165-mile (265 kilometer) “drone superhighway” up to 10 km wide connecting the airspace above Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry, and Rugby. The project consortium is led by Altitude Angel, a UTM (Unified Traffic Management) solution provider. Video: Project Skyway 150722 https://youtu.be/fmxFEM1OdDw New Specialized Delivery Drones Unveiled New delivery drones from Wing are tailored to be efficient for different delivery missions. The largest drone can carry 7 pounds while the smallest can carry up to 0.6 pounds. These use common motors, controllers, batteries, and the materials and processes to build them. Video: The Aircraft Library | Wing https://youtu.be/iqs8lXLCRuY

A coaxial drone patent, locals push back on Amazon, autonomous battery swapping, battlefield medicine, drones in sports, saving elm trees, investigating polluters.

The Dufour Aerospace CCO explains the manned and unmanned eVTOL tilt-wing platforms being developed by the company.

The Navy says they were drones not UFOs, an air assault experiment with a drone swarm, drone deployment planned for Africa, a drone that kills wasps, flying in the wind with deep learning, the unique view from above, and Walmart drone delivery service expansion.

Public meeting scheduled for BVLOS ARC Final Report, MQ-9B STOL, closing Skyward, bombs and commercial drones, DJI indoor drone, Commercial UAV Expo 2022, drone docking systems.

We analyze the C-UAS National Action Plan recently released by the White House.

Vertiport opens in England, military tactical UAS, detect-and-avoid deployment, Army drone swarm, drone legislation, NTSB drones, DJI suspends business in Russia and Ukraine, Drone Safety Day.

U-Space ecosystem for UAV and eVTOL, hypersonic UAV project, Rick roll with 300 drones, Switchblade drone in Ukraine, outlook for agricultural drones, Texas drone delivery service, drones and export laws.

BREEZE drone for Venus, first responder tethered drone, river rescue, Thor's hammer C-UAS, UAS in the Arctic, offshore wind farm deliveries, Ukraine hobby drones.

Autonomous cargo drone, noise research, vehicle inspection drone, high-speed VTOL challenge, beach trash, UAS in unsegregated airspace, Western parts in Russian drone, longest BVLOS waiver, intelligent drone controller.

CycloTech eVTOL propulsion, autonomous Blackhawk, drug running, university 5G study, Wisconsin bill to ban govt use of DJI, Navy unmanned underwater vehicles.

A drone-as-a-service network in Germany, drones as tools, impact of AI on UAV capability, hypersonic drone, apple-picking drone, digital twin of a national treasure, a lethal killer drone.

A $1B counter-UAS contract, Kittyhawk air mobility, sports game halted, drones in UAE, Navajo Nation medical deliveries, locating pets after a disaster, surveying volcanos, unidentified drone spotted, a drone research contract.

Partnerships for hydrogen drones and maritime drone deliveries, Li-Air batteries, U.S. troop attacks, flying over a school, UPS delivery drones, flying in the fog, save a dog with a drone.

What the eVTOL industry can learn from helicopters, a counter-unmanned aircraft missile/drone, a birthday drone light show, saving lives with a drone, fused sensor data across manned and unmanned aircraft, and getting the most from the DJI Mavic 3 drone. UAV News 5 Lessons eVTOL Can Learn from Legacy Helicopter Airlines We see what the emerging eVTOL industry can learn from the history of helicopter airlines: safety first, encouraging public acceptance, keeping a critical eye on operating costs, maintaining tight routes, and including the first and last mile. Dog owner spends nearly $16K on drones to celebrate pooch's birthday A woman in China hired 520 drones to spell out “Happy 10th birthday to Doudou” for her dog. The drone light show featured a birthday cake and a jack-in-a-box-like present. Authorities said they would have shot down the drones if they had seen them. This Footage Of Jet-Powered Coyote Drones Obliterating Other Drones Is Incredible Raytheon Missiles & Defense released a video showing Coyote missiles launched from a truck and taking out different fixed-wing drones. In partnership with the U.S. Army's Integrated Fires and Rapid Capabilities Office, the tests used precision targeting radar and mobile sensing radar to detect and defeat drones of varying size and range. Raytheon says the Coyote 2s have a "dogfight-type of capability" and are capable of engaging highly maneuverable targets. Video: Raytheon Missiles & Defense proves counter-UAS effectiveness against enemy drones https://youtu.be/RrRScxnDfrk Drone helps save cardiac arrest patient in Sweden A 71-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest while shoveling snow in Sweden. Everdrone dispatched an autonomous drone with an Automated External Defibrillator. It arrived within 3 minutes and a doctor on the scene used the defibrillator at the man's house - all this before the ambulance arrived. Video: Everdrone's emergency medical delivery service in action in Sweden https://youtu.be/5P6pzy395ZQ Two GA-ASI Avengers Equipped with Lockheed Martin Legion Pods Autonomously Send Fused Air Threat Data to Command Center General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has demonstrated sending fused sensor data to a command center. The long-range air threat data was captured passively by two Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft Systems and fused by an advanced sensor algorithm. The Avengers were each equipped with a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod®. GA-ASI Senior Director of Advanced Programs Michael Atwood said, “Avenger with Legion Pod demonstrates how collaborative autonomous platforms with advanced sensing can deliver persistent, shared air domain awareness.” Video: Legion Pod Flies on F-16 https://youtu.be/AOzWHNnD4ck 28 MUST KNOW Tips & Settings for DJI Mavic 3 Dan from DansTube.TV recently created a tips and settings video for the DJI Mavic 3, a professional-grade cinematic drone with a 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera and 28x hybrid zoom. Video: 28 MUST KNOW Tips & Settings for DJI Mavic 3 https://youtu.be/F-5DVAlbbEc UAV Video of the Week Drone that can fly and swim unveiled Developed by telecom company KDDI, the drone floats on water and releases a second, underwater drone from its belly cage. The underwater drone can survey fish and shellfish farms or perform infrastructure inspection of facilities such as dams. https://youtu.be/F5VAgvEVzXQ

RaceDayQuads v. FAA and the Remote ID rule, drones for law enforcement and telehealth, Russian attack drones and drones that recharge from power lines, a DARPA program for underwater drones, and finding lost hikers. UAV News D.C. Circuit May Blow Up the Remote Identification Rule for Drones Oral arguments were heard in the RaceDayQuads v. FAA case where the FAA's remote identification (RID) rule is being challenged. In brief, the RID rule applies to small drones (0.55-55 lbs) which would broadcast a “digital license plate” over WiFi and/or Bluetooth with a unique identifier, position, altitude, velocity, control station coordinates, and other “message elements.” The broadcast would be openly accessible by anyone.  This RID capability must be either hardwired into the drone (Standard Remote ID) or attached externally in the form of a module (Broadcast Module RID or BMID). Drones without RID can only fly in FAA-recognized identification areas (FRIAs) under the purview of community-based organizations and educational institutions. Manufacturers have until September 2022 to comply. Drone operators have until September 2023 to comply. RaceDayQuads (RDQ) is a large online retailer that supports first-person view (FPV) drone-racing customers. RDQ's co-founder and CEO, Tyler Brennan said he seeks “to protect the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens to be free from unreasonable searches from the government when they are flying in their own backyards.” RDQ alleges that: The rule is a violation of the Fourth Amendment because it allows warrantless tracking in a backyard.The FAA arbitrarily and capriciously relied on undisclosed ex parte communications during the rulemaking process.The final rule was not a logical outgrowth from the NPRM.The FAA failed to comply with a legal mandate to consult with Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).The FAA failed to address significant public comments as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.  For its part, the Government contends: Merely requiring RID technology onboard a drone does not equate to an unreasonable search. Planes flying in public view do not give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy.Even if the rule did violate the Fourth Amendment, the special needs exception would legally justify it. A ruling is likely to come sometime in early 2022.  Autonomous drones to respond to gunshots in new policing system US company ShotSpotter and Israel-based Airobotics are teaming to provide Israeli law enforcement agencies with a system that detects and locates gunfire, alerts the police, and provides live drone video footage and stills of the scene. ShotSpotter would identify and locate the sound of gunshots with a network of acoustic sensors. Airobotics would deploy its autonomous drones to the ShotSpotter coordinates. Special Delivery: Drones bring the doctor to you: Medicine's next big thing? Manish Kumar, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati says, "We are building a telehealth drone that will have the ability to go inside people's homes.” Engineers are designing and testing a system with sensors that allow the drones to maneuver through a front door and into a patient's living room. Patients would connect with a doctor for a telehealth appointment. A medical kit on the drone would be used to measure and transmit health information. Russian Orion Drone Downs Unmanned Copter In a video, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) shows an Orion reconnaissance and attack drone that fired an air-to-air missile and destroyed a hovering unmanned helicopter. The drone is also to be fitted with an electronic warfare suite “to defend itself against missiles…and to suppress any enemy systems in the interests of other units on the battlefield.”  Video: Первое применение беспилотника «Орион» по воздушной цели https://youtu.

Measuring drone kinetic energy, Dedrone funding, endangered heritage sites, heavy-lift multirotors, MQ-25 tests, the next Reaper, FAA grant for UAS training, drone swarms harass Navy.

Silent Arrow guided cargo delivery drone, best cities for flying a drone, bringing power to those without, sailing the Gulf Stream, airline plans drone delivery, rogue drone, DJI end of support.

A perching drone, connecting communities with drones, photography drones, vaccination deliveries, combat drones, law enforcement, Airmap acquires DroneUp, NOTAMs and drones.

FAA 12 Days of Drones campaign, dangers to aircraft, local drone rule injunctions, Sony video drone, long-endurance electric solar drone, amphibious drone tanker, Navy drone hub.

Personal eVTOL, military delivery and resupply drones, drones on construction sites, UAS support for hypersonic testing, weaponized drones, carrying contraband, and drone video evidence in a criminal case.

Where to get Hydrogen for fuel cells, Boeing loyal wingman milestone, new drone rules for Oregon, Gremlins snatched in mid-air, drone attack on the U.S. power grid, and Black Friday drone deals.

Hunting with drones and the fair chase concept, autonomous agile flight, thermal mapping to reduce building heat loss, Trick or Treat, the delivery drone hold-up, UAS over wildfires, and a LAANC update. UAV News Outdoors in Maine: Drones in the woods, and the ethical debate over whether they belong The law in Maine says hunters cannot use drones to locate game. According to Title 12 Section 11216 Hunting with aid of aircraft, “A person on the ground or airborne may not use an aircraft to aid or assist in hunting bear, deer or moose.” Section 10001(1) defines an aircraft as “a machine or device designed for flight.” In 2014, Colorado became the first state to outlaw the use of drones for scouting, hunting, and taking wildlife. The concept of “fair chase,” a registered trademark of the Boone and Crockett Club, comes into play. Watch these autonomous drones zip through the woods Rapid autonomous flight in complex and changing environments is difficult, but researchers at the University of Zurich in conjunction with Intel Labs are tackling this problem. Using simulations, they are training drones to imitate expert human pilots for autonomous agile flight. Video: Learning High-Speed Flight in the Wild (Science Robotics, 2021) https://youtu.be/m89bNn6RFoQ Project webpage: Learning High-Speed Flight in the Wild  Warren, MN, uses drones, thermal sensors to map its heat-leaking homes The Minnesota town of Warren is using a drone to help residents cut their energy costs. Warren is a Climate Smart Municipalities Partnership member where cities in Minnesota and Germany link up for sustainability and climate initiatives. They used a thermal sensor-equipped drone to produce a municipal map showing structural insulating inefficiencies and losses of heat. Pilots and drones came from Northland Community College. Drones have fun at Halloween 2021 This is a compilation of drone Halloween videos and photos, including a drone light show in Dallas produced by Sky Elements Drone Shows, flying witch drones, trick or treating robots, and an Australian youngster dressed up as a Wing delivery drone. Amazon Drone Delivery Was Supposed to Start By 2018. Here's What Happened Instead In 2013, Amazon announced an experimental drone delivery service. Now it's 2021, almost 2022. Where are the Amazon delivery drones? Amazon Prime Air is still committed to delivering packages by drones, and they say, “We are pioneering new ground and it will continue to take time to create the right technology and infrastructure to safely deliver packages to customers.” In the U.S., drone delivery is paced by the FAA as it develops the regulatory framework. Hybrid rotor/fixed wing drone was used extensively over Schneider Springs Fire In August and September 2021, the Schneider Springs Fire in Washington burned more than 107,000 acres. An L3 Latitude Engineering FVR-90 unmanned aircraft was used to monitor the fire. The eVTOL uses four electrically-powered rotors to take off, and then transitions to horizontal flight driven by a rear-mounted gasoline-powered propeller. It can fly for up to 12 hours and fly at an altitude of 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Visual video cameras and heat-sensing infrared sensors monitor and map fires, with images transmitted to the ground in real-time. Video: UAS Type 1 Drone Used on the Schneider Springs Fire https://youtu.be/zdjZPDxb5OY Unmanned aircraft on wildfires — what have we learned? Incident Management Teams used other drones on the Schneider Springs Fire. A Type 3 UAS was used at night for Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) burning operations. This drone could access areas of the fire that were inaccessible to other aircraft and provided better intel and risk management. A number of challenges remain. LAANC Update: Refined Airspace Grids & Night Drone Authorizations The latest generation of FAA's Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) introduces authoriza...

Airport UAS threats, snooping by drone, AUVSI XCELLENCE awards, construction industry issues, healthcare projects, more cargo drones, Boeing Loyal Wingman production site.

Heavy-lift UAS, NOAA data collection, motorsports coverage, delivery drones and bad weather, DRL sponsorship, VTOL collaboration, smuggling contraband, Volocopter, batteries, Drone Safety Awareness Week.

Commaris VTOL UAV for commercial operations, hazmat responders, QF-16 target drones, endangered porpoises, US Navy repels drones, AT&T COWs, India drone rules.

Tactical beyond visual line of sight waivers, 100,000 Wing deliveries in Australia, Starlink for military maritime drones, Mavic 3 leaked, measuring the wind, a drone services partnership, history of drones in Southeast Asia.

Dr. Wendy A. Okolo explains NASA's System-Wide Safety project that is focused on safe operations of unmanned vehicles in the National Airspace System.

T-Mobile low latency 5G drone, high speed UAVs that crash less often, solar-powered UAV, first responder drone of choice, patrolling the beach with drones, marketing real estate with drone videos.

Interactive UAS incident map, airspace coordinator and archaeologists, drone swarm sniffs out gas leaks, X-56B UAV destroyed, making drones quiet, AI drones that find meteorites.

Google OpenSky app, collecting water samples, cellular command and control, Zipline investment, Skyborg's second autonomous flight, integrating drones with warehouses, an interview with Robotic Skies.