DroneXL: Drone News, DJI Rumors, Reviews, and Drone Laws

The FCC's swarm rule names drone light shows as military-grade. The US industry flies Korean and Chinese hardware. Comments close September 2.

Saildrone and Lockheed Martin fired two JAGM missiles from a Surveyor USV at RIMPAC 2026, the first missile launch from the company's uncrewed ships.

An Amazon bundle pairs the DJI Mini 5 Pro with $100+ in accessories for $899. What's in it, what reviewers say, and the 250-gram registration catch.

An Amazon MK30 dropped a package into a Texas pool. Zipline's tethered droid and parachute designs show why the 83-pound drone keeps missing.

The FCC wants to redefine 'military-grade' drones so broadly it could stop sales of thermal, LiDAR, and dock-equipped models already on the market — including the LiDAR sensor in a 151-gram DJI Neo 2. Pilot Institute's Greg Reverdiau breaks down all seven categories and how to file a comment before September 2.

After an erroneous grant let a Chinese flying camera reach US buyers, the FCC is sending guidance to every certification body it accredits.

Jake Sloan shares the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P accessories he actually uses — protective covers, Freewell ND filters, mics, batteries, LUTs, and car rig gear.

Ray from DC Rainmaker spent six weeks testing the Insta360 X6 underwater, on the water, and on the ground — new 1/1.1-inch sensors, 8K50, 10-bit, InstaFrame 2.0, and the features that don't quite deliver.

DJI's All For Passion Challenge pays up to $10,000 for Avata 360 sports videos through September 30. The drone's US story makes it complicated.

DJI names 15 winners in its Enterprise Drone Onboard AI Challenge 2026, from a Colombian banana farm crop counter to closed-loop traffic inspection in China.

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you. DJI gets a big win. We have a new drone tariff. And then lastly, we have a Chinese drone maker that is somehow getting FCC clearance. So, let's get to it.

A new Part 107 pilot asked Facebook if the DJI ban killed his drone business before launch. 268 comments show what operators face ahead of September 3.

The Navy and Defense Innovation Unit are investing $50 million in Shield AI's X-BAT, a tail-landing fighter drone that has never flown. The Air Force is deliberately sitting this one out, and the hard part is the landing.

The first White House Drone Dominance event packed roughly 40 drone makers into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, two weeks before Section 232 tariffs hit and hours before Beijing demanded their withdrawal.

An FBI-led counter-drone unit built for the FIFA World Cup detected 41 unauthorized drones over the Spokane wildfires in four days and used electronic countermeasures to force them down. No pilots were arrested; the cases went to the FAA with fines of up to $100,000 each.

DSPA calls on AUVSI to reset after Michael Robbins' exit: back drone operators, demand evidence, and judge drones on risk, not country of origin.

The US Army is phasing out the 3rd Battalion, 504th PIR, its only drone assault unit, seven months after creating it to absorb Ukraine's drone war lessons.

Asked if he could defeat a drone swarm launched inside U.S. borders, Northcom's deputy commander said no. Nine days earlier, five autonomous drones hit a tank in Maryland.

Germany opened the DLR Drone Security Technology Center at Cochstedt airport two weeks after an explosives-laden drone struck a Ukrainian An-124 at Leipzig.

The DJI Flip is back at $349 on Amazon, with the RC 2 bundle at $509, two weeks before Trump's 25% drone tariff takes effect on September 3.