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WindShape, a trailblazing Swiss company established in 2016, has been revolutionizing the drone industry through research, development, testing, inspection, certification, and validation. In an ambitious effort to extend its global presence, WindShape is announcing a strategic partnership with the Osage tribal nation, to open a cutting-edge indoor drone testing and validation facility at the Skyway36 Droneport and Technology Innovation Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advanced Aircraft Company (AAC), a developer and manufacturer of distributed electric propulsion tilt-wing and multi-rotor uncrewed aircraft systems for defense applications, today announced it has been selected by AFWERX for an SBIR Phase II contract focused on the further development to investigate its potential to fill capability gaps in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).  This contract will enable AAC to continue the development of its highly versatile Hybrid Advanced Multi-Rotor (HAMR) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) for the United States Air Force. 

Heven Drones, a leader in the development and commercialization of actionable drone platforms with heavy-lift capabilities, will be presenting its Autonomous Container System: a unique system that allows a complete autonomous logistics mission, at the Israeli UVID conference in Tel Aviv.

SKIRON-X is a Group 2 sUAS that combines simple operation with flight endurance and payload flexibility.
Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, has released its latest small UAS product, the Skiron
Expeditionary sUAS, or SKIRON-X. This Group 2 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) combines the simple
operation of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) configuration with the longer range and
endurance of a fixed-wing design. SKIRON-X is a flexible solution for effective deployment across a wide
variety of environments.

Counter drone systems (cUAS) are designed to detect, identify and mitigate unauthorized drones.  Unmanned traffic management   (UTM) solutions are a framework of regulations and technology products that work to provide a system providing stakeholders with a view of airspace traffic that allows commercial operators to avoid collisions and cooperate in shared airspace.

AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today announced the launch of the next-generation VAPOR® Helicopter unmanned aircraft system (UAS), VAPOR 55 MX. Delivering new levels of operational performance with a completely redesigned modular autonomy framework, VAPOR 55 MX enables increased endurance and expanded payload capacity to meet the current and emerging needs of defence, commercial and industrial customers.

The market for drones has been growing rapidly as new use cases emerge, but with their deployment comes the issue of a suitable supporting infrastructure.

Every day, 1800 radiosondes are sent into the atmosphere to collect data for weather forecasts. However, only 20% of these devices are retrieved worldwide, because they return to the ground at an unknown location. That means they are single-use.  

In a blog post, Wing CEO Adam Woodworth wrote that Wing is developing an "aircraft library" – a "variety of different vehicles tailored for specific use cases."  Having proven the viability of commercial drone delivery, Wing is now working to address supply chain issues througout the ecosystem – from the delivery of one small bottle of medicine to the delivery of larger objects.

Today, Flyability launched its Elios 3, the first ever collision-tolerant drone equipped with a LiDAR sensor for indoor 3D mapping.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced $4.4 million in drone research, education and training grants to seven universities. Research will focus on three areas: electromagnetic compatibility, detect and avoid classifications, and cybersecurity oversight.

Today, leading drone camera stabilizer manufacturer Gremsy has announced the formation of a partnership with autonomous mobility platform Auterion. The partners have teamed up for the development of a deeply integrated gimbal solution for Auterion powered and MAVLink compatible drone platforms. Gremsy PE, a new introductory lineup, provides users with the ability to utilize open drone ecosystems with a range of camera payload options.

Advanced Aircraft Company (AAC), a developer of long-endurance hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft systems designed for a wide range of commercial, defense and public safety applications, has been selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) AFWERX program for the development of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) as part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program Open Topics 21.2/B Cohort. 

Ophir Optronics has released an application note that details how high-quality lenses are crucial for developing mission-critical optics for UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).

Dutch aviation technology pioneer Avy has launched the first Drone Response Network to combine docking stations with autonomous aircraft that possess vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities. The network's implementation provides 'drone coverage' within a certain area, allowing for instant deployment to support medical deliveries or emergency services during critical incidents. It's fit for purpose and ready for roll out, with first flights taking place in the first quarter of 2022.

It's been estimated that around 300 different companies are trying to build new "flying car" electric VTOL aircraft for the anticipated revolution, and there are almost as many different design philosophies. Most are opting for hybrid designs that feature rotors for vertical takeoff and landing, but regular fixed wings for horizontal flight. There's a good reason for that — fixed wing flight is much more efficient, and for electric aircraft, battery weight is the key issue, and that makes efficiency really important.

Steadicopter has unveiled the Black Eagle 50 Electric, a new rotary unmanned aerial system (RUAS) powered by electric motors and designed for a wide range of law enforcement, maritime, civilian and tactical missions.

For years now we have been hearing about the promise of a different kind of air transportation, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) or Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), as NASA likes to call it. Most, if not all designs, we have seen so far are purely electric in what has become a well-known acronym eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing). Unfortunately, the crude reality is that a battery-only approach severely limits the endurance and payload of any aerial vehicle. This is very different when we deal with terrestrial vehicles or electric cars, which can function for hundreds of miles without recharging or overheating.

Autonomous drone developer Percepto has snagged a financial bounty just in time for Thanksgiving—$45 million.
Koch Disruptive Technologies led the Series B funding round to launch "a transformative solution for remote, fully autonomous, asset monitoring, inspection and compliance of industrial sites."

Volansi Inc., a leading drone delivery provider, is piloting the delivery of cold chain medicines from Merck's Wilson, N.C. manufacturing site to Vidant Healthplex-Wilson, a Vidant Health clinic.

Researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago, through a partnership with the U.S. Army, are developing a new power supply system that will allow drones to recharge wirelessly from vehicles on the ground.

As if 2020 couldn't get any weirder, Walmart is now flying Covid-19 test kits to people's houses by drone. The company is testing the drone-delivery system to gather data and decide whether to roll the program out to more stores elsewhere.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium has implemented drone technology as part of the stadium's holistic cleaning protocol as it prepares to welcomes fans back for the Falcons home game against the Carolina Panthers on October 11. 

The potential uses for drones or unmanned aircraft systems in agriculture have been discussed extensively in the past 10 years. One of the potential uses that hasn't been fully fleshed out in the U.S. is pesticide applications.

An unmanned aircraft system developed by Textron's Bell subsidiary for cargo delivery has flown beyond visual line of sight in an urban area as part of a NASA project to showcase commercial UAS missions with industry partners.

Manatee County, Florida, may become the first local government entity in the country to use its emergency 9-1-1 system to dispatch the delivery of emergency medical supplies by drone for people suffering from heart attacks or other serious medical emergencies.

Rose State College in Midwest City, Okla., in collaboration with Total Defense Resource Strategies, recently demonstrated the use of a drone to disperse a COVID-19 disinfectant at the newly constructed student union that opened last month.

General Atomics' aeronautical systems business has demonstrated a small unmanned aircraft system during a captive carry test with an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft.

Some of the most exciting potential applications come from the use of drones in the delivery of essential, healthcare and medical deliveries at customers' doorsteps.

Walmart announced recently that it will pilot drone delivery of at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits, which is a new way to provide additional, and contactless, testing options.

Kratos Defense, a manufacturer of military tactical and training drones, has expanded its footprint in Oklahoma City, increasing the size of its operation there by 50 percent.

A new offshore service opportunity for an already proven mini-helicopter UAV, a possible alternative to flying cars, and bulking up UAVs to carry cargo – just a few of this month's new developments in unmanned aircraft.

Volansi (formerly Volans-i), which provides vertical takeoff and landing drone delivery services for commercial and defense customers, recently announced a $50 million round. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its go-to-market efforts as it expands into new territories globally.

Walmart has partnered with Zipline to launch what's being described as a "first-of-its-kind" drone delivery operation in the U.S., making on-demand deliveries of select health and wellness products with the potential to expand to general merchandise.

Walmart Inc. is testing drone delivery of groceries and household essentials, the company announced recently

Drones were a hot topic from analysts in 2014. Predictions included the concept of drones taking over the military, the extinction of helicopters due to obscurity, and small unmanned flying drones replacing food and mail delivery services. With all of the planning and even some government approvals, it makes one wonder, where are all the drones?

The Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery fleet as an official air carrier, marking the next step in the tech and online-retail giant's effort to deliver packages via drones.

If you are lost in a rural area or simply attempting to hide from police, the Moose Jaw Police Service now has new technology to find you either way.

In an interview, the Air Force acquisitions chief explained that Skyborg will bring "intelligent mass" to air battles by integrating artificial intelligence with piloted aircraft to maintain the United States' competitive advantage in the air.

The world's leading passenger drone platform is not introducing an entirely new aircraft, but a new application. EHang is launching a new version of the EHang 216 as a firefighting drone, specially designed for high-rise firefighting.

Drones helicoptering down and with gifts is another sort of sci-fi scenario that's been reified and seems poised to grow into big business over the next few years. Flytrex is a pioneer in the field, having achieved a series of firsts in pursuit of urban package delivery via drone.

The prototype of Airbus Helicopters' VSR700 unmanned aerial system (UAS) has performed its first free flight. The VSR700 performed a ten minute flight at a drone test center near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.

A German-based drone manufacturer purchased several soldering systems recently to help its workers manually assemble electronic modules for the company's quadrocopter, providing a reliable connection for varying individual payloads.

Researchers have recently developed a system that sterilizes male mosquitoes by using unmanned aerial vehiclesto manage and reduce vector-borne-disease-transmitting mosquito populations.

Restaurants seeking an alternative to partnering with third party delivery applications such as UberEats and GrubHub are presented with novel technology that could transform food delivery in the 21st Century while decreasing restaurants' overhead-namely drone delivery.

AiRXOS CEO Ken Stewart, who has more than 25 year of leadership in the tech space, recently sat down virtually with Inside Unmanned Systems to discuss the evolution of next-generation unmanned traffic management and drone certification.

Wayne State University student Matthew Tukel's fascination with drones has led to yet another milestone in his pursuit of designing and implementing a drone-based health care delivery system in urban and rural settings.

For ERAU alumnus Joseph Marshall, no experience in his career thus far has been more memorable than his first internship, at Allegiant Air. Nearly a decade later, he now serves as the director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Operations at Zipline

Nathan Zecks Mazvazva, a 25-year-old farmer in Zimbabwe, owns nearly 500 acres, growing green beans to green peppers. Simply put, technology—more specifically, drones—is making his livelihood more cost efficient.

Following vigorous testing, completed in collaboration with NUAIR, the drone parachute recovery system by Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions (AVSS) for the DJI M200 series has been validated as compliant with industry standards.