Featured
Editor-selected briefings on regulation, operations, and the infrastructure behind commercial drone work.
A firefighting helicopter encountered an unauthorized drone near Moab on June 9. The incident is a reminder that wildfire TFRs are not just a hobbyist problem. They are an operating risk commercial teams need to plan around.
A single commercial drone mission just rewrote what's possible for infrastructure inspection in North America. Here's what the operation actually involved and what it means for operators weighing BVLOS certification.
When Transport Canada opened Level 1 Complex Operations for BVLOS flights last November, it came with a specific Detect and Avoid requirement. Most equipment marketed as having obstacle avoidance doesn't meet it. Here's the distinction and why it matters for your certification.
Hurricane season starts June 1st. For drone operators working in insurance inspection, the window to help property owners build pre-loss documentation libraries is closing fast, and the workflow has gotten significantly more operationally viable.
Latest writing
Operations systems, compliance realities, airspace changes, and the infrastructure behind scalable commercial drone work.
A firefighting helicopter encountered an unauthorized drone near Moab on June 9. The incident is a reminder that wildfire TFRs are not just a hobbyist problem. They are an operating risk commercial teams need to plan around.
Drone Industry Insights' 2026 Drone Market Map catalogues 1,413 companies across 70 countries and adds base stations and charging pads. The signal for operators is not just growth. It is the move from pilots in the field to fleets, docking infrastructure and repeatable operations.
Park Rapids Fire Department is fundraising for a search-and-rescue and wildland-fire drone. The story shows how smaller departments often build drone capability before budget cycles catch up.
Alatau City's UAM project is not yet a proven commercial drone-delivery network, but its test center, partner mix and city-planning approach make it a serious signal for Central Asia.
Offshore wind inspections combine blade-detail requirements, marine weather, vessel logistics and airspace constraints. For drone teams, it is one of the hardest commercial mission profiles.
FAA forecast data now assumes more remote pilots than active Part 107 commercial registrations. That makes certification a baseline credential, not a market differentiator.
Small drones, portable mapping platforms and lighter LiDAR payloads are changing buyer conversations, but operators should not confuse convenience with survey-grade capability.
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season has begun, and drone-enabled storm response is now a practical planning item for insurers and emergency managers, even in a below-normal outlook.
Amazon's Prime Air service is operating in San Antonio, but local reporting points to a narrow service area and real availability constraints. For operators, that is the useful lesson.
