Aerial HQ

Japan Loses RQ-4B Global Hawk in Sea of Japan Crash, Slashing HALE Fleet by a Third

Drone News, Military, Military Drones /

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has confirmed the loss of an RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 30(I) high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle following a crash in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Tottori Prefecture. The incident, which occurred during an active operational flight on September 15, reduces Japan’s strategic high-altitude surveillance inventory […]

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Japan Air Self-Defense Force RQ-4B Global Hawk stationed at Misawa Air Base

Beijing Outlaws Civilian Drone Possession with Mandatory Buyback Program

Drone News, Regulations /

Civilian drone ownership in China’s capital is officially entering liquidation. Under revised municipal airspace regulations finalized this week, Beijing has enacted an outright prohibition on the possession, storage, and operation of uncrewed aircraft systems across the entire administrative area of the municipality. The mandate takes effect November 15, 2026, eliminating the previous three-aircraft household allowance

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General Atomics Unveils Wildfire UAS: Low-Cost Mass for Contested Airspace

Drone News, Military Drones /

For nearly three decades, medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) uncrewed aviation followed a predictable trajectory: higher unit costs, longer development cycles, and increasingly exquisite sensor payloads. The MQ-9A Reaper and MQ-9B SkyGuardian proved indispensable in permissive environments, but modern contested air defense networks turned high-cost, single-digit production airframes into operational liabilities. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has

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General Atomics Wildfire Unmanned Aerial System concept render

Robinson Unmanned Proves Heavy-Lift Utility with R44 AIRTRUCK Offshore Trials

Aviation News, Drone News /

Most autonomous cargo startups operate under a persistent delusion: that designing a clean-sheet airframe from scratch is a sensible way to deliver heavy payloads. It is not. Aviation certification is a bureaucratic meat grinder, and building a global supply chain for custom composite components usually ends in insolvency before the first commercial freight run. Robinson

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Robinson Unmanned R44 AIRTRUCK heavy-lift unmanned cargo helicopter during landing trials in New Iberia Louisiana

Taiwan Signs $847M Deal for 2,000 Anduril Altius Loitering Munitions

Military Drones /

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence has formalized an NT$26.9 billion (approximately $847 million) contract with the United States to procure over 2,000 tube-launched loitering munitions and reconnaissance drones from Anduril Industries. The procurement covers 1,554 Altius-700M strike platforms and 478 Altius-600 ISR surveillance airframes, anchoring Taipei’s transition toward low-cost, high-density asymmetric denial in the Taiwan

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Anduril Altius-700M tube-launched loitering munition system

Border Task Force Downs Cartel Drones with AeroVironment High-Energy Laser

Military Drones /

Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) confirmed this week that it successfully engaged and defeated three hostile unmanned aerial systems operating along the U.S.-Mexico border. The engagements were executed using the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL), a directed-energy platform developed by AeroVironment. The shootdowns mark one of the first confirmed domestic operational deployments of high-energy

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SiFly Lands $20M Series A to Tackle the Multirotor Endurance Problem

Drone News /

Multirotors are aerodynamic compromises. They sacrifice horizontal aerodynamic efficiency in exchange for mechanical simplicity, precision hover, and omnidirectional agility. For over a decade, enterprise drone operations have accepted the operational tax: 35 to 45 minutes of nominal flight time, plummeting to under 25 minutes once operators bolt on a dual optical and radiometric thermal payload.

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SiFly Q12 long endurance commercial multirotor drone

Uber Bets Big on Zipline to Scale Autonomous Last-Mile Drone Logistics

Drone News /

Using a 4,000-pound internal combustion vehicle to haul a two-pound burrito through suburban gridlock has always been an energetic and economic absurdity. Uber Technologies and autonomous logistics operator Zipline are finally moving to eliminate the inefficiency at scale, announcing a multi-year commercial partnership backed by a strategic equity investment from Uber. The alliance aims to

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