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,