Drone News: DJI's Products in Limbo, Autonomous Airplane Flights, Drone Show Makes History

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the spray drone industry asks the FCC for a carve-out, the FCC adds Pentagon letters to the DJI and Autel records, DJI ends service for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, and a Massachusetts town votes to ban Amazon drone pads. Let's get to it. First up, U.S. sales of new agricultural spray drones fell 59 percent between 2024 and 2025. The American Spray Drone Coalition says about 3,711 units sold in 2025, down from roughly 8,950 in 2024. The group blames the Customs and Border Protection's hold on DJI shipments that began in October 2024. These are industry estimates, not customs records. Even so, sprayed acreage rose almost 59 percent, to more than 16 million acres.Now the coalition wants a carve-out from the FCC. The FCC's July proposal would ban foreign "military-grade" drones. That includes any drone that can dispense "economic poison." That's the Part 137 definition of any crop sprayer. So it would cover every foreign spray drone.The coalition wants Part 137 drones excluded. It also wants two years of spare parts imports. As of October 21, the FCC hasn't adopted the proposal to classify spray drones and many others as "military grade". Next up, the FCC has added Department of War letters to its records on DJI and Autel. A public notice on October 14 covers both dockets. But here's the catch. The FCC says it did not rely on these letters when it added the companies to the Covered List.Only the redacted, unclassified cover pages are public. The classified letters were filed under seal. The public pages say the government worries foreign-controlled drone makers could harm Americans. They don't name any specific vulnerability or give any technical evidence.The FCC added foreign-produced drones to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. DJI filed a petition for reconsideration in January. Autel filed an application for review. DJI is also suing the FCC for its inclusion on the covered list, and the Department of Defense after being labeled a Chinese military company. Service support for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is ending this month. The date is October 31st, 2026. After that, DJI says it will no longer offer product inquiries, technical support, or maintenance for the aircraft and its accessories.The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 launched in May 2018. It has a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor, a mechanical shutter, and 4K video at 60 frames per second. That mechanical shutter is why some mapping and survey pilots still fly it.Finally, voters in Westborough, Massachusetts just took on Amazon. On October 19th, a Special Town Meeting passed a bylaw by 510 to 13. It bans any commercial drone launch pad, landing pad, or delivery drop zone in town.It was written in response to Amazon's plan to fly Prime Air MK30 drones from its warehouse at 64 Otis Street. The fine is $300 per offense. It takes effect only after the Massachusetts attorney general approves it, or lets 90 days pass. The motion also says MassDOT Aeronautics must approve it. The bylaw reportedly says it does not regulate flight, altitude, or flight paths. The question is whether a ban on landing sites conflicts with the ground end of a federally authorized operation under Part 135.Amazon faces more hurdles. A zoning appeal is set for November 2nd, and a Planning Board hearing is set for November 10th. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/21/spray-drone-sales-fell-59-percent-asdc-fcc-part-137-carve-out/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/15/fcc-dji-ban-pentagon-letters/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/12/phantom-4-drone-service-repair/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/20/westborough-510-13-drone-bylaw-bans-amazon-prime-air-launch-pads/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you this week: the FCC moves to shut out Chinese test labs, Versaterm brings LAANC into DroneSense, and DJI launches Dock 4 with automatic battery swaps. Let's get to it. First up, the FCC will vote on October 29th on an order that ends recognition of every test lab in mainland China. The cutoff date is December 1st, 2028. Keep in mind, every phone, camera, router, and other electronic device needs FCC authorization before it can be imported to the US. Interestingly, private labs do that testing, and Chinese labs tested 82% of the devices that applied in 2025. U.S. labs tested less than 4%. That means that out of 46,402 devices that applied, 38,491 were tested in China. It also means that only 1856 were tested in the US. This does not change the Chinese drone ban. Foreign-made drones went on the Covered List on December 22nd, 2025. No new grant is possible no matter who tests it. This hits the products that can still get grants, like DJI's Osmo cameras, plus chargers and accessories, and any other brand of device that performs its testing in China. Next, Versaterm has built LAANC authorization directly into its DroneSense platform. Public safety agencies can now request airspace approval without leaving the app they already use to dispatch and manage drones. The connection runs through Aloft, which Versaterm acquired in February. DroneSense is now an FAA-approved LAANC Secondary Data Service Provider.The goal is speed for Drone as First Responder programs. That matters in search and rescue or a tactical call near an airport. Existing DroneSense customers get this at no extra cost. A reminder, an integrated workflow does not guarantee approval. Agencies still have to meet FAA requirements and get the clearance. Currently there's no roll-out date, so for those of you using DroneSense, On the hardware side, DJI has launched the Dock 4 and the Matrice 5TD. Dock 4 is the first DJI dock that swaps the battery automatically. Earlier docks only charged the pack inside the drone. DJI says the swap takes 25 seconds. Landing to takeoff takes 45 seconds, and the Matrice 5TD flies up to 59 minutes per pack. The 5TD has three 50 megapixel cameras, a thermal camera, LiDAR, and mmWave radar. The dock holds three spare batteries and charges two at once. With the Covered List in place, there is no path to U.S. sale or use, so while this might be a great upgrade for folks who use the Dock 3 or Matrice 4D series, it won't be available in the US. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/10/fcc-vote-chinese-test-labs-82-percent-us-devices/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/10/versaterm-aloft-dronesense-laanc-faa/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/14/dji-dock-4-matrice-5td-battery-swap-launch-no-fcc/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: DJI Neo 3 video leaks, Sky Elements sets Guinness record, the FAA hands out 12 million dollars to drone test sites, and the FBI doubles its counter drone school. Let's get to it. First up, a 49-second unboxing video of the DJI Neo 3 Fly More Combo has leaked. DroneXL's Jasper Ellens posted it Tuesday. He says it first appeared on TikTok.This time, the drone comes out of the box. As you can see, it has spoked prop cages on all four propellers, a RC Mini controller with a screen, a charging hub, and three batteries. The drone also appears to have a small screen on its nose, but it’s unclear what it does yet. A production listing puts the weight at 192.7 grams. The RC Mini has FCC approval, while the rumored Neo 3 does not. It doesn’t look like we’ll get this one here in the US. Next up, Sky Elements has set two Guinness World Records in Blue Ridge, Texas. Working with Damoda America, they flew 71,207 drones during shows from September 27th through the 29th. The old record was 55,939.Six shows used more than 10,000 drones each, with the finale using 11,000. The company says that's the largest drone show ever flown in the US. Crews had to recharge, reset, and relaunch the fleet between shows, which I’m sure was a ton of work. The CEO says shows this big have mostly happened in Asia and the Middle East. Sky Elements now wants to sell these large shows to sports leagues, cities, and brands. Now to the FAA. On Monday, it announced $12 million for 19 drone research projects. Each project is paired with one of the nine FAA UAS test sites.The projects cover detect and avoid, command and control, traffic management, and drone identification. As always with these grants, the FAA wants real world data it can use in future rulemaking. This isn't new money. Congress ordered $6 million a year in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. Companies awarded must also match the funding at least one to one. Word is that this data should inform is Part 108, the BVLOS rule thas sat at OIRA since July 10th. That's 87 days. An unnamed FAA official said last month it's at the 10-yard line and he hopes it publishes by year end. We’ll have to wait and see. Finally, the FBI is doubling its counter drone school. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward toured the National Counter-UAS Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama on October 1st, and stated capacity will more than double in year two. Woodward said that every host city for the World Cup attended and that over 700 drones were taken down. He also noted that none of the aircraft mitigated carried ordnance. If you’re unfamiliar, since July 1st, it's the only place a state or local officer can earn authority to take a drone down under the Safer Skies Act. When the rule published, only 61 officers nationwide held that certificate. The first class last October had just 12.Woodward didn't say the current capacity, so the doubling has no public baseline. The FBI plans to graduate 250 more officers next fiscal year.According to this information and other publicly available info, those 700 drones weren't threats. They were pilots who flew into restricted airspace without approval. It’s a good reminder to check for TFRs, every time.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!Sourceshttps://dronexl.co/2026/10/06/dji-neo-3-unboxing-video-leak-battery-slots/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/05/drone-show-record-sky-elements/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/faa-12-million-drone-test-sites-part-108-unsigned/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/05/fbi-counter-drone-school-double-capacity-woodward/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: DSPA asks Congress to look at Blue UAS Report, Fifteen states sue the FAA over drone delivery, DJI's next enterprise drone leaks in China, And Skydio unveils a fixed wing drone and a robotic dock. Let's get to it. The Drone Service Providers Alliance is asking every drone pilot and first responder in the country to call Congress. This is a group that normally lobbies for commercial drone operators. Its CEO, Vic Moss, says this issue is big enough to step outside that lane.If you haven’t seen the report, DHS tested six Blue UAS listed drones and two Chinese drones in New York City. From the Blue drones, three of them could not hold position, one had a flyaway, and another failed to pair with its controller for up to 15 minutes. The results for the Chinese drones were not released. Of the six tested, the Skydio X10 came out with the best overall score with a 3.7 out of 5 total. The only other aircraft that was able to be tested in the complex urban environment was the Parrot Anafi USA Gov, which got a 2.4 out of 5. Problems with these aircraft included latency, connection issues, and slow boot up and connection times. Based on the results from this report, DSPA wants Congress to name an agency and test every manufacturer’s security the same way as the usability was tested, regardless of country of origin.Fifteen states and Harris County, Texas are suing the FAA. New York's Attorney General filed the case on September 28th. The target is a nationwide environmental clearance the FAA issued in July. That clearance lets the FAA approve new drone delivery markets without an environmental review for each one. The states say the FAA barely addressed lithium battery fire risk, even after an Amazon drone battery burned near a home in Arizona last October. No stay has been requested yet, so deliveries keep flying for now. The DJI Matrice 5D has leaked in China. It's listed at just over three kilograms, about 750 grams heavier than the current Matrice 4TD. These specs come from a leaker, not DJI, so treat it as unconfirmed for now. But the leaker has a good track record with DJI specs. The extra weight likely means built in LiDAR and a built in RTK antenna. This is unfortunately not one we’ll see in the US, as DJI aircraft can’t get approval from the FCC, but it goes to show that DJI is going to continue to innovate.Skydio show off the F10 Lightrunner again, with quite a bit more detail and refinement than the initial announcement. Skydio says it can hit 100 miles per hour, cover a 30 mile radius, and stay on mission for up to two hours. It launches and lands from something called the MegaDock, using a robotic arm that grabs the aircraft out of the air. No runway. No person standing there to catch it. Skydio also announced new software called Asset Command for utility inspections, and Security Command for autonomous property patrols. The pitch is fewer pilots watching individual drones, and more autonomous systems covering entire counties or utility corridors. Skydio says the F10 won't actually reach customers until 2027, and pricing wasn’t released. Based on the infrastructure required for the MegaDock, It’s likely in the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/09/28/dspa-vic-moss-dhs-blue-uas-report-congress-ask/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/29/15-states-sue-faa-drone-delivery-environmental-review/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/27/dji-matrice-5td-china-registration-leak-750g-heavier-matrice-4td/https://dronedj.com/2026/09/25/skydio-new-drone-f10-megadock/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/01/dhs-addendum-dji-matrice-scores-blue-uas-hudson-yards/

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 3 stories for you this week: SkyeBrowse rolls out new pricing tiers, The FCC moves to block DJI and Autel chips, and Amazon's delivery drones are overwhelming a Texas suburb. SkyeBrowse just overhauled its pricing for drone 3D mapping. If you're not familiar, SkyeBrowse turns drone video into 3D models and maps. It's used for construction, inspections, insurance claims, and even crime scene documentation. The commercial teir starts at about 20 dollars a model, for basic capture and sharing. Pro adds exports and AI tools, like automatic floor plans and site plans. And a Public Safety and Enterprise tier costs 199 dollars a model per year, and adds things like CJIS compliance and Axon Evidence integration for law enforcement. Existing subscribers keep their old plans. And of course, the “Freemium” option is still available for those who want to try before you buy. Next, Starting October 13th, the FCC will block a brand new type of application. If a drone contains a circuit board made by DJI or Autel, it can't get a new FCC authorization. And here's the twist. It doesn't matter where the drone was built. Even a drone assembled entirely in the US, one that qualifies as Buy America or Blue UAS approved, can still get rejected if just one internal chip traces back to DJI. Pending applications filed before October 13th are grandfathered in. But if you change even one part on that application, the grandfathering goes away. If you're a US manufacturer with an application in the pipeline, now is the time to file, and to ask your suppliers exactly who made every board inside your aircraft. Last up, one resident in Richardson, Texas tracked 52 Prime Air drones flying overhead in a single day. Some flew as low as 150 feet. Amazon's permit allows up to a thousand flights a day from that hub. A local homeowners association leader told the Times the FAA has failed the city. Part of the frustration comes from the FAA's own ruling. Back on July 28th, the agency decided drone delivery noise does not count as a significant environmental impact nationwide. That decision also ended local comment periods for new hubs. There's also a mixed message on cameras. Richardson's city website tells residents the drones don't record video. Amazon told the Times its drones do record footage near delivery points. Speaking of Amazon…They’re now asking the FAA for up to a thousand drone flights a day out of a new hub in North Haven, Connecticut. That’s up to 365,000 flights a year, covering a 7.5 mile radius that reaches into New Haven, Hamden, and Wallingford. This is the first Prime Air hub in the Northeast to get a public comment window. Connecticut's environmental agency opened that window on September 16th. It closes October 1st. That thousand-flight number is nothing special. It's the same ceiling Amazon files in almost every city. What's unresolved is how much scrutiny this specific hub will get, since the FAA's new national noise ruling may let it skip a full local review altogether. If you live near New Haven, this is your window to speak up before it closes.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/09/22/skyebrowse-price-drone-3d-model/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/21/fcc-logic-bearing-components-drones-october-13/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/21/amazon-drones-richardson-nyt-faa-signed-off/https://dronexl.co/2026/09/20/amazon-prime-air-north-haven-connecticut-1000-flights/