• HoverAir launched its new Versa drone on Indiegogo, saying it had FCC approval
• FCC has since stated that certification was granted 'erroneously'
• The Versa is the world's first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone

HoverAir launched the Versa drone on Indiegogo last week, and a few words in the promotional material suggested that the world's first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone had a distinct advantage over DJI: "FCC (Federal Communications Commission) certification."

The claim of FFC approval implied that the Versa would be permitted to be sold in the US, a market which new DJI drones have been fully locked out of since 2025. World-first features, plus US availability — those were two big leg-ups for the Versa.

However, HoverAir's hopes of having that key advantage in terms of market access have quickly been dashed. The FCC contacted TechRadar to tell us that "certification for this device was granted erroneously and has been set aside by the FCC and removed from our public database".

Furthermore, it said the "FCC is considering further action against HoverAir for apparently willfully violating the FCC’s Covered List rules."

It's quite the turnaround for HoverAir. The company must have been licking its lips at the prospect of its innovative innovative 4K drone and pocket gimbal camera having unchallenged access to the US market. Turns out, it's in the same position as DJI after all.

Here's the FCC statement in full:

“Importing, marketing, or selling this [HoverAir Versa] device in the United States is a violation of U.S. law, and the FCC has directed HoverAir to cease any such activity immediately.

"The device in question is on the FCC’s Covered List: the Versa camera alone is a prohibited UAS critical component produced in a foreign country and, when the Flight Kit is included, the device falls under the ban on UAS produced in a foreign country.

"The certification for this device was granted erroneously and has been set aside by the FCC and removed from our public database. The FCC is considering further action against HoverAir for apparently willfully violating the FCC’s Covered List rules.

"Finally, the FCC is sending guidance to all Telecommunications Certification Bodies to strengthen their due diligence of applications to ensure they comply with their legal obligation not to certify equipment on the FCC’s Covered List."

More bad news for drone fans in the US

Following the self-flying X1 and the waterproof Aqua, HoverAir notched up a trio of world-first drones with the Versa, a 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone.

According to its Indiegogo page, the Versa is tipped for a worldwide launch and for October 2026 delivery to backers. However, despite US pricing (starting at $499) remaining on the crowdfunding page, it looks like the Versa won't be taking to the skies in the US any time soon.

That's a shame for drone fans in the US. Versa's modular design means that its wings (guard-protected propellors) can be removed in a simple motion, switching the device from a 230g self-flying 4K camera to a 163g pocket gimbal camera.

Its key features include 4K video up to 60fps, 4K HDR video up to 30fps with 10-bit color depth, 12MP photos (there's no mention of RAW format) and a 1/1.3-inch sensor.

Controller-free aerial selfies are a breeze, thanks to palm take-off and landing, AI subject tracking, auto framing, plus voice and gesture commands.

Furthermore, the Versa is compatible with HoverAir's Beacon device, which debuted with the Aqua, meaning it can pair with a phone for clear audio. It's said to reach speeds up to 36km/h with a Level 5 wind resistance, and have 14-minute flight times, though realistically battery life will be less than that.

As a gimbal camera, the Versa features a rotating OLED haptic screen, which measures 1.64 inches on the diagonal and hits 800 nits of brightness.

We haven't tested the Versa yet, but we'll share our in-depth review soon. The innovative drone will make its public debut at the IFA consumer electronics show, which takes place in Berlin, Germany, from September 4-8, and you can learn more about it in the YouTube video below.

• The US Army is phasing out its relatively new drone and robot assault battalion
• The change is part of a "back-to-basics" push from acting chief of staff of the Army Gen. Christopher LaNeve
• The battalion will "refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion" rather than continuing the development of drone capabilities

The sudden transformation of drone tactics demonstrated in the Ukraine war since 2022 has prompted the militaries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other world powers to shift their focus to a new asymmetric battlefield where drones play a major role.

Former chief of staff for the US Army Gen. Randy George set up a futuristic drones and robot assault battalion specifically to meet the needs of new forms of warfare. The Defence Innovation Unit previously said it would draw on Ukrainian expertise to become “the world champions” of drone production.

But now, under the orders of Gen. Christopher LaNeve, acting chief of staff, the US Army has decided to phase out the futuristic drone and robot assault battalion in a “back-to-basics” approach, drawing criticism from military experts.

US Army to go “back-to-basics”

The Army has not said how the service’s drone abilities would adapt following the phase-out of the drone battalion.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson for the Army said it “is committed to accelerating U.S. military drone dominance to meet the demands of large-scale combat operations”.

The drone battalion, issued with the moniker of ‘3rd battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment’, is composed of around 600 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Once the battalion is phased out, it will “refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion,” the spokesperson said.

A memo written by LaNeve, also obtained by WSJ, said, “U.S. Army forces must be prepared to overcome the most complex challenges our adversaries can impose and master an operational environment that looks fundamentally different from the battlefields of yesterday.”

“Ukraine has essentially revolutionized the close fight. Gen. George was starting to get that, and any setback in what he was doing would be deeply regretful and dangerous," said Michael O’Hanlon, a defense expert at the Brookings Institution speaking to WSJ.

Before being phased out, the battalion will participate in the annual Saber Junction exercise in Germany through August and September, before reporting on its findings to the Army to help guide future experimentation.

The direction of drone warfare in the US Army

The decision to phase-out the drone battalion may be a move by the US Military to unify its doctrine. As has been demonstrated in recent wars, the US military tends to prefer quick, decisive action, such as the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, and long-range engagement, as demonstrated during the war with Iran.

These forms of warfare avoid the boots-on-ground tactics that can quickly turn into the protracted warfare seen in Afghanistan and Iraq that lead to far higher casualty rates and a quick erosion in public support.

This isn’t to say that the US military isn’t preparing for the battlefields where drones can give a smaller, less well equipped adversary the upper hand - as Ukrainian troops demonstrated during exercise Combined Resolve. The US Marine core has been experimenting with tactics to counter consumer-sized drones using the automatic rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers troops already carry with them.

But electronic warfare systems still remain a key part of the military’s doctrine for countering drones. The Army is working with private firms to test and deploy countermeasures such as radio-frequency jamming to cut communications between drone and operator, GPS spoofing to confuse operators as to the location of their drone, and high-powered microwave (HPM) systems to disable drones entirely.

LaNeve’s predecessor George introduced the drone battalion as part of a wider push for “transformation in contact”, allowing troops on the ground to have a say in how new technologies and tactics are adopted rather than relying on decision makers behind the frontlines to develop new battle plans.

• Flock's CEO says its drone business is doing well
• The drones are deployed in first responder situations
• Privacy groups say the devices are open to misuse

While the public backlash against Flock's camera technology continues, it seems it's not damaging the company's bottom line too much: Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley says that drones are "probably our fastest growing business right now", accounting for just under half of forward-looking revenue at the last count.

The comments were made on The All-In Podcast (via Business Insider), in a wide-ranging interview that covered AI, facial recognition, the criticism that Flock is facing, and how the company is improving on safety and misuse. Default data retention for Flock's license plate readers has now been reduced from 30 days to 7 days, for example.

On the drones, these flying machines are being sold to law enforcement agencies and local authorities as DFRs — Drones as First Responders. The idea is that a drone can take off and weigh up a potentially volatile situation before police officers can get there, leading to valuable intel being gathered as quickly as possible.

Langley actually gives an example in his interview: an emergency report in the Dallas-Fort Worth area about a man brandishing a gun. A drone was dispatched, found that the 'gun' was actually a large lighter, and the incident was de-escalated before any face-to-face confrontation had happened.

Privacy concerns continue

Despite Flock's insistence that its drones and license plate readers are more helpful than harmful, privacy groups continue to question the guidelines in place around the technology, and the potential for misuse. The company says it's working hard to stop its cameras being used for unauthorized spying, as has happened in the past.

Without proper oversight, the worry is that drones will be used for an increasing number of surveillance tasks — and not always with the right oversight. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has said that the adoption of drones like the ones Flock sells "jeopardizes privacy in communities across the country".

That's particularly true when automated AI is involved, or vulnerable people are targeted, the EFF suggests. Meanwhile, American Civil Liberties Union analyst Jay Stanley has written about multiple concerns with drones: their use for intimidation and surveillance, a lack of proper oversight, and a squeezing out of consumer drone operations.

Judging by the reactions to The All-In Podcast interview, the general public — or at least those on X — aren't happy about the increased use of drones as first responders,. even if Flock's CEO is. "Do not normalize mass surveillance," comments one user, summing up the overall feeling on the thread.

• Versa is the world's first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone
• It launched on Indiegogo on August 18, with pricing starting at $499
• HoverAir said Versa has FCC approval, however FCC granted it 'erroneously'

Editor's note: HoverAir's promotional material stated that the Versa had received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification — meaning it's cleared for import, sale and use in the US.

However, the FCC since wrote to TechRadar, stating that the certification was granted 'erroneously' and that it's 'considering further action against HoverAir for apparently willfully violating the FCC’s Covered List rules'.

DJI dominates the drone space, leaving precious little room for others. However, HoverAir has repeatedly had a go at cracking the market, innovating in gaps left by the leading drone maker.

First we had the X1, the first self-flying drone that took off from the palm of your hand for easy aerial 4K selfies, which was followed up by HoverAir's X1 Pro with beefier 8K video. DJI reacted swiftly, answering with the Neo (and consequently Neo 2), which cost much less than HoverAir's.

Then there was HoverAir's Aqua, the world's first waterproof drone, which remains unique today. Now, we have the new Versa — the first 2-in-1 pocket gimbal camera and drone — making a trio of firsts.

The Versa looks like HoverAir's previous X1-series efforts, only its wings can be removed in a simple motion, leaving the drone body as a DJI Pocket-like pocket gimbal camera. Drones and gimbal cameras are two increasingly popular camera categories — and the Versa can be both.

It seems like an obvious move when you think about it. After all, both camera types feature a camera unit supported with a 3-axis gimbal. But can the Versa genuinely serve in both capacities? We'll find out very soon, once our Versa review sample lands.

HoverAir has, it seems, another advantage over DJI, saying the Versa has US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification. This means the Versa can be sold in the US, while DJI is still banned from selling its new products there.

There could be light at the end of the US ban tunnel for DJI, mind you, with recent news that a judge is set to review evidence that has categorized DJI as a Chinese military company. It's a decision that DJI described as "a significant step toward correcting an unjustified designation".

For now, though, the DJI ban remains in place, and it's a huge headache for the leading drone maker — and one that was just compounded by an impressive-looking rival product that will be sold in the US.

The lowdown on the Versa

We learnt more about the Versa when HoverAir launched the product on Indiegogo on August 18, and it will make its public debut at the IFA consumer electronics show, which takes place in Berlin, Germany, from September 4-8.

The self-flying camera shoots 4K video up to 60fps onto a 1/1.3-inch sensor, 4K HDR video up to 30fps with 10-bit color depth and up to 17.5EV dynamic range, plus 12MP photos (there's no mention of RAW format).

It features a host of flight modes that simplify aerial selfies, including palm take-off and landing, AI subject tracking, auto framing, bird's-eye flight mode, plus voice and gesture commands.

It can pair with your phone or HoverAir's Beacon device (debuted with the Aqua) for clear audio, and has a maximum 14-minute flight time (realistically it will be less than that), with flight speeds up to 36km/h and a solid Level 5 wind resistance.

The drone / pocket camera weighs 230g, placing it in the restriction-free category of beginner drones, or just 163g with its propellor guards removed when in use as a pocket gimbal camera.

In the hand, the Versa features a DJI Pocket-like rotating OLED haptic screen, which measures 1.64 inches on the diagonal and can hit 800 nits of brightness.

Overall, those look like a solid set of features for what could be a game-changing 2-in-1 camera. Where HoverAir struggles to compete with DJI, however, is on price.

According to the Versa's Indiegogo page, it will cost $499 for the Versa only, $887 for the Fly More Combo, which presumably will include additional batteries and a charging dock, or $1,270 for the Creator Combo. For the next 24 hours, those prices are slashed for early backers, who do so at their own risk (HoverAir is a reputable drone maker, though if you're in the US it could still be worth proceeding with caution).

HoverAir has shared a product promotional video on its YouTube, below. What are your first impressions of the HoverAir Versa? Let me know in the comments below.

• US Marines have been training to handle drone attacks, using rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers
• The simulated threats used small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), consumer drones typically equipped with explosives, or used for recon
• The exercise aimed to build confidence in US Marines with their standard-issue weapons

When troops are in the field and facing drones without electronic countermeasures, there is only one response possible. To ensure confidence and decisiveness in combat with sUAS attacks (small Unmanned Aerial Systems), US Marines have been training in the skill of taking out a consumer-sized drone with small arms and light weapons.

A three-day event held in Twentynine Palms, California, featured operatives from the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions training in C-sUAS (counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems) tactics, with drones from the US Marine Corps’ Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group, 7th Marine Regiment, and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

Kinetic weapons used in dealing with the simulated drone threat included automatic rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers.

Realistic threat

While electronic countermeasures were available to the assembled Marines, the use of small arms and light weapons has drawn attention. The soldiers were targeted by well-trained drone pilots, presenting a real challenge, rather than a duck shoot.

“The pilots that we had were really good,” said US Marine Corps Capt. Faith Richardson, a platoon commander with TTECG. “Those Marines were a huge contributor. We tried giving the training audience a realistic look at the threat, and having proficient, well-trained pilots was really important.”

Weapons used by the Marines included M27 automatic rifles firing 5.56mm rounds, M1014 combat shotguns using 12-gauge shells, and M32A1 and M320 grenade launchers equipped with 40mm antipersonnel rounds. The sUAS craft were flying at over 90 miles per hour, with attack runs coming as close as 20 meters from the Marines.

Drone threats have increased in prominence over the past decade thanks to the proliferation of off-the-shelf components and consumer drones.

As Richardson adds, “Small unmanned aerial systems have been around for a while, it’s just more prevalent in the battlespace today because it’s more cost-effective.”

Combating a prolific threat

Aiming to build confidence in combating sUAS attacks, the training took place alongside other exercises, including urban combat, with personnel evaluated on how they detected and defeated sUAS.

“Everywhere in the modern world, in all conflicts, the sUAS threat is becoming more prolific on the battlefield," added US Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Jares is an instructor with Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group. "We’re figuring out ways, with the squad’s organic weapons, to combat that threat and how to survive in today’s modern battlefield.”

The event seems to have been a success, and the results were deemed good enough for classroom and practical sessions on tactical responses to sUAS and C-sUAS to be included in future Service Level Training Exercises.

• MGI Engineering unveils cruise missile-like drone system, capable of speeds of 466 MPH and designed to operate autonomously in GPS blocked environments
• The TigerShark can carry a 300 kg payload, with a range of 900 km
• Parent company MGI Engineering has worked with Formula 1 teams, Formula E cars, and developed a car that won at the Dakar Rally

A British engineering company usually associated with Formula 1 and other motorsports has built an affordable “one-way effector” (meaning single-use) strike drone, essentially an intermediate-range cruise missile. MGI Engineering’s TigerShark is deployed from a ground-based vehicle with a rocket-assisted launch, whereby its onboard propulsion takes over and the rocket is detached.

Capable of delivering a 300-kilogram payload, the TigerShark uses GPS for navigation but is also designed to reach its target in terrain where GPS is unavailable or jammed.

The TigerShark is intended to be launched in multiples, with a swarm of the drones intended to attack targets, aiming to overwhelm air defense systems.

Complementary technologies

Based in Witney in Oxfordshire, MGI Defence — part of MGI Engineering — first unveiled the TigerShark at the DSEI exhibition in 2025. It now aims to bring the TigerShark to market within months, aiming to sell it to Britain’s strategic allies as a drone-based alternative to traditional cruise missiles.

Designed for faster assembly and delivery, the TigerShark can solve the problem of shrinking defense budgets, too, costing far less than Storm Shadow or Tomahawk cruise missiles.

As a one-way effector, the single-use drone is designed with a rocket-assisted propulsion for launch while twin turbojet engines drive the 661-pound payload to its target up to 900 kilometers (559 miles) away. Reaching speeds of up to 750 km/h (466 mph), the TigerShark can operate despite GPS jamming, thanks to inertial navigation.

This is one aspect of a pair of technologies used in conjunction to assure GPS-free targeting. While inertial navigation tracks position based on motion and speed from the launch point, a terrain-mapping system ensures what the TigerShark sees below matches its intended route, and makes adjustments. So, even if GPS is jammed, the TigerShark should reach its target.

Land-based salvo

MGI has announced that the drone is available from October 2026, and will be manufactured in the UK with export licenses to friendly countries.

The company states that “TigerShark enables defence forces to engage defended or distant targets with speed, precision, and autonomy, without relying on satellite navigation or real-time control. Its guidance suite combines inertial navigation with GPS-free terrain mapping for reliable operation in GPS-denied and spoofed environments.”

“Built for coordinated launch and rapid deployment, TigerShark can be fired as a salvo from a land-based vehicle launcher to overwhelm or degrade enemy defences. Its modular payload bay supports a wide range of mission types, from warhead delivery to electronic disruption.”

The TigerShark will enter increased production in late 2026, with MGI Defence aiming to sell to allies needing a more affordable and faster acquisition alternative to traditional intermediate-range cruise missiles.

• A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia took out a TU-95 bomber while the craft was parked on the tarmac
• The drone technology used in the attack is based on the Chinese ZTK-150 UAV
• Ukraine’s MICH 2000s were built when China stopped selling its UAVs, adapted for use in the war with Russia

Ukrainian drones recently made a successful attack on a fleet of Russian military aircraft at an airstrip in western Russia, but while the TU-95 bomber and others were put out of action, the origins of the drones have raised eyebrows. The attack drones might have appeared to be Chinese ZTK-150s, but China has refused to sell the UAVs since 2023.

In fact, while they might look alike, the ZTK-150s have been effectively cloned by Ukraine, with customizations and improvements made to suit both the needs of the remote pilots and the demands of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Inspired by the performance and the unavailability of the ZTK-150s, Ukraine has instead developed the similar MICH 2000s, based on information gathered during trips to China.

Critical damage

Attack drones were launched at the Engels-2 air base in western Russia on July 16, 2026, in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle strike that targeted a Tupolev Tu-95 and four Tupolev Tu-22Ms. Aerial footage of the strike’s aftermath, assessed by the Ukrainian state security body the SBU, revealed considerable damage to the Tu-95.

“According to preliminary data, the plane suffered critical damage. It completely tore off the tail part,” says the SBU report.

How the Ukrainians achieved this has just been revealed, along with the story of how their forces managed to get their hands on drone hardware that seems extremely similar to the ZTK-150 — a drone that China has banned sales of.

The MICH 2000 is the response to a floated deal to buy some ZTK-150s from China in 2023, despite an existing restriction on exports of the hardware. So that deal switched to selling the technology itself, something the visiting Ukrainian military bosses were interested in, but was also eventually refused by the factory management. So, the intermediaries dealing with the Ukrainians took a different approach, enabling the export of eight drones to an assembly point with no export restrictions and facilitating training.

Just an outline

While a ZTK-150 costs $50,000, the Ukrainian MICH 2000 is $48,000 for the basic craft, and its resemblance to the Chinese drone is purely skin-deep.

EuromaidenPress reports that the intermediaries assisted with a certain degree of espionage at the ZTK-150 assembly line, with a source quoted: “We came there to teach pilots to fly Chinese drones. And in parallel with the training, we photographed everything that was there. Everything from the production process to the arrangement of the shelves and cabinets. They flew home with trained pilots and eight Chinese drones.”

Reports indicate an anonymous builder is assembling around 6,000 MICH 2000s a year with a possible increase to 10,000, with customizations to suit particular missions. These include warhead types, fuel tanks, electronic countermeasure protection, and even a choice of analog, digital, and Starlink communication.

MICH 2000 drones look set to lead UAV strikes against Russian targets, perhaps even breaking the conflict’s deadlock.

• Trump levies huge tariffs on 'sensitive' drones, such as those heavier than 25kg
• Tariffs have also been applied to a range of other countries, such as the EU, UK, Japan, and Taiwan
• Trump says the tariffs will help strengthen national security while also bolstering the domestic drone market

President Trump has levied a new set of tariffs against imported drones and their components for national security reasons.

For ‘particularly sensitive’ drones, such as those over 25kg, those with docking stations, or those with thermal imaging capabilities, the tariffs are 100%.

“President Trump’s drone tariff program will protect the national security of the United States and its defense and defense-adjacent industrial base, supporting and creating American jobs,” the White House fact sheet said.

Strengthening US industry through national security

Drones below the 25kg threshold will still be subject to a 25% tariff, with drones imported from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan subject to a 15% tariff. The United Kingdom has a lesser tariff of only 10%.

The intended consequence of these tariffs is to strengthen the US domestic drone construction industry and the wider domestic drone market.

Outside of outright upping the cost of drones in the US as vendors pass on the costs of drones to consumers, the tariffs will also likely increase the costs of an already constrained supply of specialized drones in the US market.

Many drones imported from abroad, particularly those from China, are used for specialized purposes such as search and rescue and power line inspection. As the US does not have the dedicated industries and resources to quickly begin manufacturing these drones, there will likely be a huge increase of demand for a very limited supply.

The new tariffs also close a loophole allowing Chinese parts to be assembled into a drone in the US. The fact sheet states that drones for commercial and US military purposes “rely on foreign sources for critical Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) components, which poses significant risks to U.S. national security and creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”

The tariffs are due to kick in on September 3 2026, giving the US drone market just 21 days to adjust or pay massively inflated import costs.

• The FCC wants to take 'military-grade' DJI drones off sale
• Numerous DJI models would be affected
• You can comment on the proposals until September 2

There's been a ban on new DJI drones and cameras in the US since last December, but now the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is making moves to retroactively take some models off shelves that were approved before the ban came into effect.

Specifically, the FCC wants to pull "military-grade" drones from stores (via PCMag), which apparently includes every model with LiDAR obstacle avoidance or thermal cameras. That would affect drones such as the DJI Air 3S, the DJI Avata 360, the DJI Mini 5 Pro, and the DJI Mavic 3T, for example.

Drones that weigh over 55 pounds (nearly 25 kilograms) will be included in the retroactive ban, as well models that use docking stations. The criteria laid out by the FCC is broad enough to cover a substantial number of drones in DJI's current range.

Now, if you've already bought one of these drones in the US, the FCC isn't going to come and take it off you. However, unless the regulator changes course, these models won't be available to buy in the US from September 2.

You can take action

DJI has already complained long and hard about the original ban, pointing out that its drones were blacklisted for security reasons without any actual security audit taking place. It's also taking a very dim view of the new proposals by the FCC.

"People could continue using DJI products they already own, but the same models in use today might no longer be available to purchase in the future," says DJI in a blog post. "This is a total reversal from the FCC's previous position, and it is U.S. operators that would bear the cost."

DJI argues that safety agencies, small businesses, and farmers in the US who rely on DJI equipment will be faced with more expensive and difficult upgrades in the future, and it's asking for the public's support while the FCC proposal is considered.

You can have your say during the public comment period up until September 2: head to the Drone Advocacy Alliance website to make your feelings known, and to explain to the FCC how you use drones and their capabilities for non-military purposes.

• Ukrainian drone destroys Russian flag moments after dramatic aerial deployment attempt
• Competing battlefield videos continue fueling disputed territorial claims across eastern Ukraine
• Analysts continue examining disputed battlefield footage for signs of digital manipulation

Ukrainian forces released footage showing a Russian flag destroyed roughly 30 seconds after a drone placed it on a damaged building in the Sumy region.

According to Ukraine's 105th Territorial Defense Brigade, Russian operators dropped the flag from a drone before Ukrainian personnel responded with an FPV drone strike.

The video shows a Russian drone placing a flag associated with Russia's Airborne Forces onto the roof of a damaged residential building in Velyka Pysarivka.

Drone operation quickly ends symbolic battlefield display

Footage later captures a Ukrainian FPV drone approaching the location before striking the flag shortly after it landed, ending the display within approximately 30 seconds.

The 105th Territorial Defense Brigade said drone operators located the position before Russian forces could use the footage to reinforce claims of battlefield progress.

"Enemy rags do not remain on Ukrainian soil for long," the 105th Territorial Defense Brigade said about the operation.

Velyka Pysarivka lies close to the Ukrainian border with Russia and has experienced repeated attacks while remaining an active area of military operations.

Fighting around the settlement continues as Russian forces conduct cross-border activities while attempting to expand operations across parts of the Sumy region.

The released footage focuses on the sequence involving the flag placement and the subsequent strike instead of showing any broader military engagement nearby.

Symbolic footage continues shaping competing battlefield narratives

Throughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both sides have repeatedly made competing claims about capturing territory, often supported by battlefield footage.

The latest video follows another disputed incident involving territorial gains that was circulated through Russian military communication channels.

Russian sources previously circulated a video claiming forces had captured Bilyi Kolodyaz in Ukraine's Kharkiv region after raising a Russian flag inside the settlement.

Analysts later questioned that recording after identifying what they described as signs suggesting digital manipulation within several parts of the footage.

Among those observations were an unusually oversized soldier together with a flag that reportedly disappeared from the frame during the recording sequence.

Neither side's battlefield footage can always be independently verified immediately because active combat conditions often limit direct access to the reported locations.

Military analysts therefore continue examining released videos alongside satellite imagery, geolocation evidence, and additional sources before confirming claims involving territorial advances or battlefield events.

The flag incident in Velyka Pysarivka adds another example showing how symbolic actions increasingly accompany frontline operations.

As of now, independent verification of the footage remains unavailable, making its authenticity difficult to establish.

Via United24media

• Zelensky says Ukraine's drones will soon fly far enough to hit anywhere in Russia
• Kyiv and Washington quietly push forward a plan to build drones on US soil
• Ukraine's drone range could jump to 10,000 km, but engineers still face big hurdles

In a recent interview with American conservative commentator Laura Loomer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian drones should exceed 4,000 km in range in 2026.

The Ukrainian leader added that long-range drones could achieve distances between 5,000 km and 10,000 km, or about 6,000 miles, by 2027.

Such a capability would theoretically allow a drone to cover Russia’s entire territory and reach distances comparable to the route between Kyiv and San Francisco.

Ukraine plans expanded drone cooperation with the United States

The projected increase in range forms part of Kyiv’s efforts to expand drone production through cooperation with Washington and possible manufacturing facilities inside America.

The discussions include joint production, technology exchanges, testing arrangements, and the development of production lines for advanced unmanned systems.

Ukraine has gained extensive experience with aerial drones, naval drones, and deep-strike platforms in its ongoing war with Russia.

Those battlefield developments have become central to discussions about future cooperation, as Kyiv seeks wider access to industrial capacity and advanced manufacturing resources.

The first stage of agreements between Ukraine and the United States has already been completed, while further documents remain under preparation.

"We're going to build a great factory," Zelensky said, describing plans for production lines that could support future drone manufacturing.

Both parties have already signed documents allowing various Ukrainian drone systems to undergo testing in the United States.

Those arrangements involve aerial drones, sea-based systems, and other high-technology products before any broader production agreement receives final approval.

Ukraine has also pursued similar defence partnerships with European countries as it attempts to expand its role in defence technology development.

Long-range drone ambitions face technical challenges

The planned range increase would require significant advances in propulsion, communications, navigation systems, and endurance capabilities before becoming operationally realistic.

Flying thousands of kilometres would create new challenges involving reliability, electronic warfare threats, satellite connectivity, and the ability to maintain accurate targeting.

Military analysts have often noted that extending drone range involves more than increasing flight distance because other systems must operate effectively.

A drone capable of travelling up to 10,000 km would require dependable control systems and protection against attempts to disrupt communications.

The development timeline could also depend on access to funding, manufacturing capacity, and successful testing under demanding operational conditions.

While Ukraine has rapidly expanded its unmanned capabilities during the war, achieving the announced range goals would require continued technological progress.

The proposed timeline shows Kyiv’s ambition to develop longer-range strike capabilities, although the final performance of such systems remains dependent on future development outcomes.

Via NV

• US Army commits $447 million to surveillance balloons despite drone vulnerabilities
• Cheap drones continue challenging expensive military surveillance systems across modern battlefields
• Hezbollah attacks exposed growing risks facing large airborne surveillance platforms during conflicts

The US Army has awarded TCOM LP a contract worth as much as $447 million to continue producing, deploying, and supporting its Persistent Surveillance Systems-Tethered aerostat fleet.

The award signals continued confidence in large surveillance balloons despite increasing reliance across modern militaries on budget drones, satellites, and autonomous platforms.

Analysts have questioned whether these highly visible systems can remain effective against increasingly sophisticated adversaries capable of detecting and destroying fixed aerial assets.

A costly bet against a cheap threat

The Persistent Surveillance Systems-Tethered program traces back to 2016, when the Army merged two earlier aerostat efforts into one unified initiative.

Those tethered balloons proved valuable in identifying roadside bombs and tracking insurgent movement across Iraq and Afghanistan for over a decade.

TCOM has remained the Army's core partner throughout, having previously won a nearly $979 million contract back in September 2019.

That earlier deal covered engineering, logistics and operations support across facilities in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Each aerostat can reportedly fly at altitudes up to 16,000 ft (4,880 m) and watch an area continuously for over 30 days straight.

Yet recent battlefield lessons from Lebanon suggest that the same altitude offers little protection against a determined, low-cost adversary.

Hezbollah fighters used a swarm of cheap drones to kill four Israeli soldiers and wound 61 others near Binyamina in October 2024.

Israeli officials later said Hezbollah was launching more than 10 drones daily against troops, alongside rockets and anti-tank fire.

One Israeli commander described the wider campaign bluntly, saying "this is full-scale war," after drones struck an Iron Dome battery on camera.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel's costly defense systems were rendered ineffective by drones costing only a fraction of what they threatened.

Betting on persistence over cheaper alternatives

American defense planners have pushed hard toward cheaper, expendable drone and satellite platforms as a modernization priority in recent years.

A large tethered aerostat is neither cheap nor easily replaced once it comes under serious attack.

It remains fixed in place and clearly visible, making it a plausible objective for any adversary armed with modern strike weapons.

That vulnerability has fueled quiet debate within defense circles about how long aerostat surveillance stays viable against a well-equipped adversary.

Still, the Army solicited bids from ten companies for this contract and received responses from only two, suggesting limited industrial appetite for this niche.

The agreement will run through July 20, 2031, suggesting that the service still values an aerostat's unmatched ability to loiter continuously over one location for weeks.

However, the Army is simultaneously investing in smaller, more distributed drone and satellite alternatives across its wider surveillance architecture.

Via Defence Blog

• Ukraine converts long-range kamikaze drones into reusable missile-launching platforms
• Liutyi now carries four missiles instead of sacrificing itself during attacks
• Germany funds 500 additional Liutyi drones through a $100 million defense package

Ukraine's state defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom has unveiled a reusable version of its An-196 Liutyi drone at the Farnborough International Airshow.

According to a report from Ukrainian outlet Oboronka the new configuration carries four compact air-to-surface missiles beneath its wings.

Until now, the Liutyi has flown only as a single-use weapon, striking a location once before being destroyed on impact.

A Kamikaze airframe rebuilt to fly home

The standard Liutyi is a propeller-driven, satellite-guided drone with a claimed operational range of nearly 2,000 km per mission today. It carries a 50-to-75 kg warhead and relies on inertial navigation corrected by satellite signals for improved overall strike precision.

Ukraine has used the standard version to strike oil refineries as far as 1,700 km inside Russia, near the Urals region.

Liutyi drones have also struck the Izhevsk military plant deep inside Russia's Udmurtia region, roughly 1,400 km from the border.

Germany is financing 500 additional Liutyi drones at a cost of roughly $100 million, signaling continued Western interest in the program.

Each Liutyi airframe reportedly costs around $200,000 to build, a comparatively low price for a long-range strike platform of its kind.

The reusable variant carries four small missiles reported to have a maximum range of 200 km and speeds above 500 km/h, which is apparently achieved through a small jet engine mounted inside the missile's own fuselage.

No further technical details about either the airframe or the missiles have been disclosed so far.

A commercial statement for foreign buyers

Displaying an armed, reusable Liutyi there functions as a clear commercial statement almost as much as a purely military signal.

Ukraine has displayed naval drones, interceptor drones and strike systems at major international defense exhibitions throughout 2026

A drone combat-tested through hundreds of deep strikes on Russian territory offers foreign buyers a rare, already-proven track record overall.

The reusable Liutyi may also compete with Ukraine's own FP-1 drone, which reportedly offers comparable performance at a lower cost, and in design, the new missiles resemble Anduril's Barracuda-250, an American cruise missile with an 18 kg warhead and 370-plus km range.

Ukraine relied heavily on the Bayraktar TB2 for years before Russian air defenses eventually pushed the drone from contested skies.

The shift could allow the Liutyi to fill the niche once occupied by the Bayraktar TB2, a symbol of Ukraine's early resistance.

Whether the new missiles and airframe hold up under real combat conditions remains to be seen.

Via Defense Express

Fancy taking to the skies? DJI is the brand you're probably looking at — it's the name behind almost all the best drones around right now. If you're new to the world of drones, figuring out your options is tricky. This article is here to guide you through your options. I'll run through the main DJI ranges and who they're aimed at, and then once you've narrowed things down you can hop to the relevant section to read our reviews for each model. Let's get started...

Note: You'll only be able to see product cards for the models currently available to buy in your region. Due to FCC issues, not all DJI drones are available in the US. Hit the More details button to read our main takeaways for each model, and for a link to the full review.

DJI range guide

DJI Mini
DJI's flagship compact drones, and the best-selling range for beginner pilots. These are all sub-250g models, which means they come with little-to-no flight restrictions, depending on where you fly.
• Check out the Mini lineup

DJI Air
A step up from the Mini series, aimed at enthusiasts. These drones fall into the next weight category up, which means they're sturdier and you'll be able to fly for longer, but you'll need your region's equivalent of a certificate of competency before you fly.
• Check out the DJI Air lineup

DJI Mavic
Top-tier consumer drones with industry-leading camera performance. These are another step up from the DJI Air range, and again you'll need a certificate of competency before you fly.
• Check out the DJI Mavic lineup

DJI Neo
The cheapest, smallest, lightest and simplest DJI drone. It comes with single-push take-off from your hand, designed for aerial selfies (this kind of drone is sometimes referred to as a selfie drone).
• Check out the DJI Neo lineup

DJI Avata
FPV (first person view) drones, designed to be used with goggles for immersive high-speed and responsive flight — legally you need a 'spotter' with you when flying drones through goggles.
• Check out the DJI Avata lineup

There are a few standalone options to be aware of. The Lito is a straightforward beginner drone at an extremely wallet-friendly price — it's a step down from the Mini range in both price and capabilities. The DJI Flip is another beginner drone with vlogger-friendly features. At the other end of the scale is the DJI Inspire range, aimed at professionals — the kind of thing that might be hired for productions.

DJI Mini drones

DJI Mavic drones

DJI Air drones

DJI Neo drones

DJI Avata drones

Outliers

• Pentagon eyes swarms of cheap drones over a handful of expensive fighter jets
• Carrier decks may soon be crowded with robots doing eight different combat jobs
• US Navy next fighter wing could fly itself from takeoff to target and back

The US Navy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking a new family of carrier-based drones which would operate alongside manned aircraft while supporting missions across the full range of naval combat operations.

The service wants these systems to fly from Ford-class and Nimitz-class nuclear carriers, while some designs could operate from smaller vessels.

Its requirements seeking industry proposals for platforms capable of eight missions, including attacks against ships and land targets, anti-submarine warfare, air combat, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Navy seeks autonomous aircraft for eight missions

The aircraft would also support aerial refuelling and resupply missions for naval task forces, creating a broad set of requirements for a single aircraft or connected family of systems.

Strike variants must have a minimum range of 1,000 nautical miles, equivalent to roughly 1,150 miles.

The service also wants advanced autonomy for carrier operations, mission changes and threat avoidance during flight.

Proposed systems must support automated aerial refuelling and remain compatible with existing unmanned aircraft control systems.

The Navy is seeking “affordable mass, risk-tolerant platforms” capable of addressing current and emerging threats, which points toward affordable aircraft designed to be produced in larger numbers than traditional high-cost combat jets.

Future carrier wings could rely on scalable drone fleets

The RFI asks companies to explain how their production methods could expand rapidly during a surge while keeping recurring flight and sustainment costs within sustainable limits.

Manufacturers must also describe ways to reduce maintenance demands and use existing naval supply networks.

The Navy is also open to aircraft that can operate from platforms beyond its largest carriers - vertical-takeoff and landing UAVs could fly from destroyers, expeditionary sea bases and other vessels with suitable aviation facilities.

“The Navy is interested in novel concepts that can operate from any air-capable platform,” the RFI states, including destroyers and mobile sea bases.

This could give naval commanders more options for deploying autonomous aircraft across different maritime environments.

The Air Wing of the Future Family of Systems forms part of the Trump administration’s Golden Fleet expansion plan.

Existing related programmes include the MQ-25A Stingray tanker and Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative.

The RFI also asks companies to explain planned capital investments and internal research commitments needed to mature their designs.

The Navy’s requirements suggest that future carrier aviation could combine advanced manned aircraft with larger fleets of autonomous systems designed for scale and operational risk tolerance.

Via Defense News

• Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter in flight over the Belgorod region with a SkyFall Shrike 10 FPV drone, hitting the helicopter from above
• The attack, which saw a $400 drone strike and 'kill' a $19 million attack helicopter as per Skyfall, represents an impressive 47,500x exchange ratio
• The attack isn't isolated: Russia has lost over 20+ Mi-28s in similar attacks since the conflict began in 2022

The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to expand as the latter continues to leverage asymmetric warfare to hold its own against a rival with superior technology and manpower, even as the conflict heads into its fifth year.

Much of this is due to Ukraine's pivot to home-grown drone and bot manufacturing, which helps to counter heavy Russian weaponry such as tanks, helicopters, and APCs using cheap but effective drones and bots to hold the line.

It has also allowed several startups to join the fray, offering low-cost options, often funded by external partners and allies to bolster Ukraine's war effort, and SkyFall's Shrike 10 FPV drone is one of them.

An impressive achievement, albeit with disputed claims

The Shrike 10 FPV drone, which costs less than a mid-range smartphone, flew up alongside a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter, climbed above it, and dove into its tail boom on the morning of the July 17, 2026, in Russia's Belgorod region.

The strike was carried out by operators of the 427th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade "Rarog," and confirmed by Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), who published the drone's own final-approach footage on Telegram with the terse caption that the "Night Hunter" had gone "into the ground."

Ukrainian firm SkyFall, whose FPY drone, the Shrike 10, was involved in the attack, stated that it was priced at under $400 per unit. The Mi-28, per the same company, costs $19 million.

While the headline is impressive, the math might not completely check out: other sources put the cost of the Mi-28 at approximately $15 million, while a recent deal with Germany (50,000 SkyFall-built FPV drones for Ukraine, fitted with autonomous targeting software from US firm Auterion in a €90 million (~$103 million) deal) could mean that some liberties may have been taken to get to the $400 figure, though the Shrike 10 that attacked the Mi-28 might be differently configured or on the lower end of the spectrum.

The instance, which sees Ukraine claiming a kill on what is a pricey part of the Russian arsenal, is partially unconfirmed, with independent observers pointing out that there is no aftermath video and that attack helicopters often survive and successfully land after such hits. To Ukraine's credit, a similar kill, however, was reported in 2025 by the Ukrainian armed forces with footage to confirm the crash that followed.

Irrespective of the sum, the fact that a drone that costs a ten-thousandth of an attack helicopter that has been retrofitted to hunt it can be a credible predator of the same is potentially alarming, not only for the Russians but for military planners across the world, even if the damage in question might be open to dispute.

This is further corroborated by unverified sources claiming that the damage was 'minor' and did not affect either of the helicopter's two occupants at the time, thereby disputing much of SkyFall's claims beyond the drone's impact.

Russia's defense ministry, however, has not commented directly on the matter, and no open-source tracker such as Oryx has confirmed imagery of any wreckage either.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said the natiopn is producing 10 million drones a year while vying for a production target of 20 million drones in the future, much of it backed by foreign aid, indicating that the Russian Mi-28, which has 20+ confirmed visual losses since the conflict began, continues to be both, an attacker and defender against drones of all shapes and sizes

• Prototype drone spins its entire body up to 25 times per second to blur itself into near-invisibility
• Phantom Twist's single motor spins the whole airframe in one direction and its propeller in the other
• AI design pipeline tested 20,000 possible layouts to find the optimal configuration

Drones have a visibility problem. Whether they're filming guests at a wedding or hunting for candid shots of nesting birds, the moment a drone is noticed, it can change the behavior of whatever it's observing — wildlife scatters, people act differently, and you end up with iffy results.

A team of engineers at Illinois' Northwestern University may have found a way around that, and it has nothing to do with camouflage. Their prototype drone, dubbed "Phantom Twist," doesn't try to look like its surroundings. Instead, it spins itself into a blur so fast that the human eye simply can't keep up.

The drone rotates up to 25 times per second — well beyond what the eye can resolve into a distinct shape. The drone doesn't disappear outright, but becomes what the researchers describe as a faint, semi-transparent smudge that blends into the sky or landscape behind it. It's not invisibility in the sci-fi sense, but according to the team it's about ten times harder to spot than a conventional quadcopter.

You spin me right round

The trick lies in the design itself. A typical quadcopter has four rotors spinning while its main body stays completely still, which is exactly why you can still pick it out against the sky — the frame doesn't move, so your eye locks onto it. Phantom Twist ditches that setup entirely. It runs on a single motor and single propeller, with the propeller spinning one way and the rest of the drone's body spinning the opposite way. There's no stationary part left for your eye to latch onto.

Building something that flies stably while spinning that fast isn't a simple engineering job, though, so the team leaned on AI to do the heavy lifting. The process started with around 20,000 computer-generated drone layouts, each one checked for steady flight. From there, optimization algorithms repeatedly shuffled the position of the drone's key components — motor, propeller, circuit board, battery and counterweights — so they'd never overlap visually as the whole thing spun.

Every candidate design was then simulated spinning against 100 real-world photo backgrounds and scored using a model built to approximate human vision, with the 500 lowest-scoring designs pushed through further rounds of optimization before the final version was built.

The result spreads its components out at different heights and angles, so when it's in motion, everything blurs into a soft haze. It's clever stuff, and a reminder of how much of what we "see" comes down to how our eyes process motion over time rather than snapping a perfect still image.

It's worth being clear about what Phantom Twist is and isn't, though. This is a university research prototype, not a product with a release date or price tag, and it's still some way from ready for real-world deployment.

The propeller is audible even if the body isn't very visible. There's also no camera or imaging payload on the current build, which raises an obvious question for its stated wildlife-monitoring and infrastructure-inspection ambitions. It feels like a drone spinning 25 times a second would need some serious image stabilization or de-rotation trickery before it could shoot anything usable. The team hasn't detailed how (or whether) they plan to solve that yet.

There's an inevitable privacy angle to any drone that's harder to see, too, and it's not hard to imagine less charitable uses for the same principle down the line. For now, though, this remains a lab experiment funded by the National Science Foundation, aimed squarely at reducing wildlife disturbance rather than sneaking up on anyone — and there's no indication the spinning-body approach is heading toward consumer hardware anytime soon.

• Tornyol's drone tracks mosquitoes by their wingbeat and takes them down mid-flight
• Can autonomously patrol areas of up to 5 acres
• Preorders are open with a refundable $100 deposit, ahead of a targeted 2027 US launch

Tornyol, a San Francisco-based startup backed by Y Combinator, has built an autonomous micro-drone whose sole purpose is finding mosquitoes and flying straight into them. Forget spray, swatters and stinky citronella candles that go out halfway through your al fresco dinner — this propellered assassin can keep your yard bug-free all on its own.

Or at least, that's what its makers claim. Tornyol's drones use ultrasonic phased-array sonar — the same basic principle behind a car's parking sensors — paired with smartphone-grade microphones and custom signal-processing software. The system listens for the specific wingbeat frequency of a mosquito, distinguishes it from harmless insects like bees, and then closes in for a mid-air kill, using its whirring propellers as the business end. In other words, the mosquito is chopped to bits.

The company says its base station carries a 380-microphone array capable of tracking targets in real time to a distance of around 8m, with future planned drone versions likely to bring that sensing ability onto the aircraft itself.

Each drone flies for around five minutes at a time before heading back to its base station to recharge, a process Tornyol says takes about 30 minutes. The idea is a relay of short, targeted flights rather than a drone loitering in the air all evening. A single unit is pitched as capable of covering up to five acres (over 20,000 square meters).

As for safety, Tornyol cites the drone's tiny size and shrouded propellers as proof that it's safe to have buzzing around family and pets.

You can reserve one right now for a refundable $100 deposit. Once the drone is ready to ship, you'll be given a choice between an ongoing $50-a-month subscription or a one-off payment of $1,100 to own the hardware outright. A US launch is pegged for 2027, but availability everywhere else is TBC, pending local drone and pest-control regulatory approval — which, given what this thing actually does, may take a while.

It's pitched as being about more than backyard convenience, too. Tornyol frames its tech as a public health boon: mosquitoes are linked to roughly 700,000 deaths a year worldwide through diseases like malaria and dengue, and the company claims its approach could eventually slash the cost of mosquito control.

Right now, though, the achievements are more modest: on July 14, Tornyol co-founder Alex Toussaint posted a video of the drone's first confirmed "air-to-air kill": a moth, in a curtained-off test area, rather than a mosquito in the wild.

Here's the buzzkill

So: a small, autonomous, AI-guided drone that identifies living targets and kills them on sight, patrolling your garden 24/7. What could possibly go wrong?

I'll admit that my sympathy for the mosquito is limited. Few people are going to find issue with a device that quietly thins out a blood-sucking insect responsible for ruining many a summer evening. If Tornyol's drones work as advertised and stay in their lane, this is about as palatable a "killer robot" as killer robots get.

But that's the thing about a system built to autonomously identify a target by sound and eliminate it: the target list is a software decision rather than a hardware one. Tornyol's own marketing boasts of distinguishing mosquitoes from "beneficial" insects like bees — which suggests the drone's kill criteria are, by design, adjustable. Currently it's tuned to a mosquito's wingbeat, but what's stopping a future firmware update — or a different customer altogether — from retuning it for something else?

And once you're comfortable with an autonomous hunter-killer aircraft policing the back garden, the scope creep writes itself. Mosquitoes today. Flies tomorrow, probably without much complaint either. But mice? Rats? Pigeons? Those are bigger, warmer-blooded and considerably more sympathetic targets, and if we're talking about robots that hunt and kill creatures on your property, where does the line get drawn — and by whom?

Tornyol's engineers appear to be solving a real problem, and it's a no-brainer to root for a tool that could put a dent in a global killer like malaria. But there's something dystopian about killer domestic robots too, and this is a solid first step to putting them in our homes.

• Apex Recordhunter drone unofficially set a new air speed record of 434 mph
• High-speed demonstrator will help develop next-gen military drones
• Company targets further records with interceptor drones soon

Germany’s Quantum Systems Group has broken the world airspeed record for an electric drone, hitting speeds of 699km/h (434mph) during internal testing on June 26, 2026.

Though the company is yet to carry out a formal, independently verified attempt at setting a record under the official measurement rules to be recognized by both Guinness World Records and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the speed far exceeds that of the current record holder – 657.59km/h (409mph).

The latest, unverified record was set in straight and level flight, and would represent a 6.3% increase over the current record. Official testing is expected within the coming weeks, the company said in a press release.

Record-breaker is merely a technology demonstrator

Quantum Systems explained that the Apex Recordhunter drone was developed over the past year, but “serves as a technology demonstrator for next-generation high-speed systems” rather than being a commercially viable product. “Several innovations from the project are expected to support future interceptor drone programs,” the company added.

It is a battery-electric, fixed-wing aircraft developed by the firm’s N3XT advanced development team, benefiting from Porsche-subsidiary-supplied V4Smart battery cells.

Of course, the drone and its successors would not target consumer photographer and hobby markets, instead focusing on high-speed interceptors for modern warfare. Quantum Systems says lessons learned from Apex will directly influence future interceptor platforms for real-world defense scenarios.

“Super proud of the Quantum Systems team, showing our engineering ambition across our Group and reinforcing our commitment to developing world leading technologies,” co-CEO Florian Seibel wrote.

Engineers from Quantum’s Ukrainian WIY Drones division also contributed to the program – a noteworthy inclusion because Russia has increasingly deployed high-speed, jet-powered one-way attack drones. Deploying high-speed drones like the one Quantum Systems has developed could be much cheaper and more accessible than sending off expensive air-defense missiles.

Records continue to be broken as rapid development continues

By mid-July, the company also hopes to have set two other records. The first – the highest speed achieved by an FPV interceptor drone carrying a 500g payload – by its STRILA Interceptor. Second, its SPYS drone, gunning for the highest speed achieved by an anti-aircraft class FPV interceptor drone.

These achievements and potential records reflect an ongoing global race to develop faster military drones, but they also underscore the growing relevance of airborne, remote and autonomous weapons in modern warfare.

That said, other electric drones have technically achieved even higher speeds. Tom’s Hardware recently reported of a New Zealand duo who recorded high speeds of 730km/h (453mph) – that Blackbird drone uses sawtooth carbon fiber prop blades.

Despite lacking official recognition, the duo had previously set a record of 626km/h (388mph) in December 2025 with a separate drone, before quickly being overtaken by another record-holder which achieved a higher 659km/h (408mph). Regardless, an 11.7% increase from December’s first record to today’s unofficial record confirms there’s plenty of scope to continue pushing the boundary.

• DJI announces completion of three drone missions on Everest
• FlyCart 100 transports supplies one way and garbage the other
• DJI Matrice 4E and DJI EV50 involved in other tasks on the mountain

Mount Everest has a trash problem. Decades of expeditions have left the world's highest mountain strewn with discarded oxygen canisters, abandoned tents, food packaging and worse — so much of it that the peak has earned the unflattering nickname of the "world's highest garbage dump." But DJI thinks its drones can help clean up the mess.

The drone giant has announced the successful completion of three missions on Everest, the headline act being the DJI FlyCart 100. DJI's heavy-lift delivery drone has spent the 2026 spring climbing season shuttling supplies and garbage between Base Camp and Camp 1 on the mountain's Nepalese south side.

Working with local drone company Airlift, DJI says the FlyCart 100 has hauled a total of 10,073kg between the two camps: 7,215kg of climbing supplies (think oxygen tanks, ropes and ladders) on the way up; 2,858kg of waste on the way back down. Going forward, the drone will assist in removing approximately 10,000kg of waste per season from higher camps that previously couldn't be cleaned up at all.

That's a serious amount of junk being shifted, but it's sorely needed. According to National Geographic, the average Everest climber generates around 8kg of trash during their expedition, most of which is left behind on the mountain. And with over 600 people attempting the summit every season — each supported by at least one local guide or porter — the rubbish is piling up quickly.

Eight minutes vs eight hours

The FlyCart 100's advantages aren't limited to its payload — the time (and risk) it saves is also a major boon. Traditionally, ferrying supplies from Base Camp to Camp 1 means Sherpas trekking for six to eight hours on foot through the Khumbu Icefall, a treacherous maze of shifting ice towers and crevasses that ranks among the most dangerous sections of the entire climb. The FlyCart 100 can cover the same route in just eight minutes.

That's not to say the drone has an easy ride. The FlyCart 100 can carry up to 100kg at sea level, but Everest is as far from sea level as our planet's surface gets. In DJI's tests, the drone lifted up to 47kg while operating at altitudes of over 6,300m, in temperatures ranging from -15°C to 5°C — conditions that would ground most consumer drones (and most helicopters, for that matter).

"Our team remains dedicated to making the world's highest mountain safer and cleaner for Sherpas and mountaineers worldwide," said DJI spokesperson Christina Zhang. "The success of our latest operations marks a proud milestone, and we hope our ongoing collaboration with the scientific community will further advance drone technology — saving lives and supporting conservation efforts across the globe."

The cleanup effort closely aligns with Nepal's wider push to restore the mountain, including the Nepal Mountain Association's "Zero Waste Initiative 2027." The FlyCart 100 will also support the Nepalese climbing community's goal of transporting around 5,000 oxygen cylinders between Base Camp and Camp 1 each season.

Mavic 3 vs the mountain

DJI has some history on Everest. In 2022, a DJI Mavic 3 became the first drone to capture footage from the mountain's 8,848.86m summit, while in 2024 the FlyCart 30 completed the world's first drone delivery tests on the mountain.

This year's missions went further still: alongside the FlyCart 100's headline-grabbing delivery runs, a DJI Matrice 4E mapped over 3km² of the Khumbu Icefall in centimeter-level detail in just 3.5 hours, giving climbing teams real-time hazard data for planning safer routes. Meanwhile, on the mountain's north side, DJI's first eVTOL delivery drone, the EV50, carried ozone-measuring equipment for atmospheric research, reaching a maximum altitude of 8,861m — higher than the summit itself.

None of this will solve Everest's overcrowding problem, and there are still literal tons of historic garbage buried in its glaciers, with climate change exposing more of it every year. But if a drone can achieve in eight minutes what once took a Sherpa a full day of life-threatening work, it does seem like progress is truly being made.

Eric Schmidt has enjoyed a long career in the technology industry, including a decade at the helm of Google. Since then, he's been heavily involved in the realm of defense – and has had a thing or two to say about the new reality of conflicts around the globe.

Modern warfare

Schmidt was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia about the rise of drone-based warfare, contrasting this with the historic prevalence of tanks and armored vehicles.

The cost-to-damage ratio is incredibly favorable, as he urged the US and Western allies to transition away from legacy tech in favor of drones and other related technologies at the heart of a new kind of warfare.

His expertise in this realm comes primarily from his role advising the US government and military on technology, with the former Google CEO chairing the Defense Innovation Board from March 2016. This organization primarily connects the tech sector with the Pentagon.

Between 2019 and 2021, Schmidt also co-chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which had a mission to make recommendations to the US president and Congress on the role of AI in the future of defense.

Look to the skies

Schmidt's comments came two-and-a-half years following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a war that's been defined by next-generation technologies including robotics and drones.

Ukraine has, for example, used AI drones to strike vital Russian supply lines, while in recent weeks, news emerged that Russia has also stepped up use of jet-powered drones that can hit speeds of up to 500 km/h against its adversary.

Drones are incredibly cheap compared with technologies used in the past – and they're also incredibly effective. We also see examples of the way drones have been used in the conflict between the US-Israeli forces and Iran.

• Wild Hornets expanding use of 3D printing to meet demand
• In-house manufacturing reduces reliance on third-party suppliers
• The company is focusing on software as drone swarm threats evolve

Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets believes 3D printing could be the answer to modern warfare, helping companies like it to reduce costs and boost production.

DOU reports the company is now growing its 3D printing footprint using large numbers of FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) desktop printers, like Bambu Lab and Elegoo devices, rather than using expensive industrial systems.

This allows the company to churn out plastic drone components at high volume, but it also improves the speed of manufacturing allowing the company to iterate design more quickly as enemy tactics evolve.

3D printing’s role in modern warfare

Recent reporting on the company by industry experts at 3D Printing Industry, highlights how desktop 3D printers offer several advantages for quickly evolving digital and aerial warfare, like lower capital costs for manufacturing, quick prototyping support and easier scaling via new printers, rather than having to build new tools and moulds.

This comes as Ukraine continues to face enemy threats – the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) continues to report rising attacks from Russia as the country doubles down on Iranian Shahed-type drones.

In-house, affordable manufacturing also covers battery packs, flight controllers and other electronics and components, all helping to reduce costs and support Ukraine’s efforts. It also reduces reliance on third parties and external supply chains.

Since its inception, Wild Hornets has grown from a volunteer initiative into a manufacturer capable of producing around 100 drones per day – deepening its 3D printing strategy will only help.

Speaking about artificial intelligence, an anonymous spokesperson from Wild Hornets told DOU AI’s use in drone-based warfare is limited but is starting to expand, primarily spanning recognition and navigation. However, Wild Hornets estimates that adding AI functionality currently raises costs by $150 to $500 per drone, making it a costly consideration.

Drones are becoming much more than hardware

Looking ahead, Wild Hornets is seeing defense partner interest moving beyond the drone itself to the entire Hornet Vision package, which includes digital video transmission, remote control, AI and more.

The system itself was originally designed because Chinese digital control systems became unavailable amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts, but with the company recently demonstrating successful remote operation of its Sting interceptor from 2,000km away, from a country outside of Ukraine, partners are increasingly interested in the full hardware and software package.

However, even while aerial, autonomous threats continue to rise, the company’s unnamed speaker told DOU that drone swarms don’t exist in the way they’re made out to exist, describing them as ‘a cool legend and a mechanism for a scam to get money from naive investors.’

The company promises to add drone swarm technology as and when it emerges and evolves, but for now it’s neither an option nor a realistic threat.

“We would like the war to end,” they added. “Then, instead of increasing production volumes, we would focus on technologies, R&D, design solutions and cooperation with foreign partners.”

• International Aerial Photographer of the Year 2026 winners announced
• Azim Khan Ronnie and Vitaly Golovatyuk scoop the top 'Photographer' and 'Photograph' prizes
• Both winners shoot aerial images with a DJI Mavic 4 Pro

If you love jaw-dropping aerial images, the International Aerial Photographer of the Year contest is well worth checking out — and the contest's 2026 winners have just been announced.

A total of 101 images were shortlisted by the contest's three judges, and Azim Khan Ronnie scooped the top prize with his portfolio of scenes from around the world, including vibrant images of chili pepper harvesters in his home country of Bangladesh.

Ronnie said: “From above, everyday scenes reveal patterns, geometry, textures and relationships that are often invisible from the ground. Aerial photography allows me to tell stories about people, nature and the environment from a perspective that inspires curiosity and offers a deeper understanding of the world."

A minimum of four images are required to be considered for the top 'Photographer' prize won by Ronnie. Vitaly Golovatyuk of the Russian Federation took 1st place for the International Aerial Photograph of the Year, with their individual image of a bird standing in a perfectly still lake in Elk Park, outside Dongtai City in the Zhejiang Province of China.

You can take a look at Azim Khan Ronnie's portfolio below, with the variety of scenes including migratory seagulls in Yamuna Ghat, Delhi, India and a perfectly synchronized rowing team gliding over the mist-covered surface of Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

'Unique and extraordinary'

I reached out to Azim Khan Ronnie, who described his images as "unique and extraordinary", and the result of much hard work, repeat visits and early starts.

I was particularly drawn to his series of chili pepper harvesters in Bogura, Bangladesh, where more than 2,000 people work on approximately 100 chili farms — you can see more of his images from this particular series at his Instagram page, linked below.

The vibrant colors grabbed my attention first, then the abstract patterns and astute composition kept me engaged.

I also enjoyed his use of manual exposure and a slow shutter speed to blur the motion of the migratory seagulls, in contrast to the still (and sharp) boat they're surrounding, in his image from Yamuna Ghat, Delhi, India.

In the International Aerial Photographer of the Year press release, learn that Ronnie takes his aerial images with the DJI Mavic 4 Pro drone — a professional triple-camera drone which scored a maximum 5-star rating in our in-depth review.

Ronnie says, “For aerial photography, I use the DJI Mavic 4 Pro and DJI Mavic 3 Classic, allowing me to create images that reveal scale, patterns and perspectives impossible to capture from the ground. I always shoot exclusively in raw to capture the maximum amount of image data, giving me greater flexibility during post-processing while preserving image quality."

Vitaly Golovatyuk also used a Mavic 4 Pro for his winning individual image (above), taken in China, where the still lake appears like an eye, with the bird framed in the center among the reflected clouds and the surrounding rich red landscape.

The winners from the 101 shortlisted entries can be found at The International Aerial Photographer of the Year website, whose founders are on a mission 'to encourage and share the wonders of aerial photography'.

If you scroll to the bottom of the page linked above, there's a flip book containing all of the shortlisted entries — trust me, it's well worth a look.

• The FBI says it's now seized over 600 drones near World Cup venues
• Seizures have been recorded in every one of the tournament's US host cities
• This could have implications for all drone fans during national events

Back in mid-June the FBI made a big show of announcing that it had seized around 15 drones near World Cup venues, in what felt like a pointed and clear warning to would-be aerial photographers that the agency meant business.

Apparently, a lot of people weren't listening. Three weeks on, the FBI now claims it has seized over 600 drones across all 11 US host cities since the tournament began, with operators facing fines of up to $100,000 and potential federal criminal charges for violating temporary flight restrictions.

The enforcement operation dwarfs what we reported on just weeks ago. According to the FBI, seizures have been recorded in every one of the tournament's US host cities.

Miami leads the count at 99 confiscated drones, followed by Los Angeles at 91, Dallas at 78, and Atlanta at 77. Kansas City recorded 61 seizures, with Seattle (52), San Francisco (48), Boston (44), New York/New Jersey (38), Philadelphia (29), and Houston (24) rounding out the full picture. The flight violations have reached epic proportions.

The FBI's enforcement has relied on a combination of RF detection systems, radar monitoring and dedicated Counter Drone Enforcement Teams stationed around stadiums and fan festival sites on match days. Under authority granted by the Department of Justice, agents have been empowered not just to detect and track unauthorized drones, but to actively seize them and pursue charges against their operators.

The FAA's no-fly zones extend three nautical miles and up to 3,000 feet around host stadiums on match days — a restriction that has been widely publicized since before the tournament kicked off — with tighter one-nautical-mile, 1,000-foot zones around fan festival venues.

"The FBI and our partners will continue to identify drone operators who violate Temporary Flight Restrictions. Our collective goal remains that FIFA World Cup 2026 events are safe for all participants and attendees," one FBI agent stated, making clear that the seizures are set to continue all the way through to the final on Sunday June 19.

Analysis: What comes next could be worse than a $100,000 fine

600 seizures across 11 cities is a remarkable number — and not in a good way. These rules were well publicized by the FAA before the tournament, apps like B4UFLY (on iOS and Android) make checking airspace status a 30-second task, and multiple law enforcement agencies held press conferences specifically to warn operators about the consequences of non-compliance. And yet, in city after city, pilots still took to the skies.

The concern now isn't just for the individuals facing fines and confiscations, but for what this level of disregard signals to the regulators and lawmakers who will be deciding the future of civilian drone use in the US.

The FAA's existing framework for hobbyist and recreational drone operation is already more permissive than many countries — but that framework depends in part on the implicit argument that most operators are responsible and self-regulating.

600 violations in a single tournament, at one of the most high-profile enforcement operations in the FAA's history, makes that argument difficult to sustain.

The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are less than two years away. If the World Cup enforcement figures are used as a benchmark, the case for tightening permanent restrictions around major events, expanding no-fly zones, or pushing for mandatory remote ID enforcement at a broader scale becomes significantly stronger.

Remote ID, which requires drones to broadcast identification and location data in real time, is already a legal requirement for most operators under FAA rules introduced in 2023, but enforcement has been patchy. The World Cup violations and seizures give regulators plenty of ammunition to push for something far more robust.

There's a wider reputational cost too. Drone manufacturers, industry advocates and responsible hobbyist pilots have spent years making the case that civilian drone use is a legitimate, low-risk activity that warrants a light-touch regulatory environment.

Every drone user who has ignored a well-publicized no-fly zone during this tournament has handed opponents of that argument exactly the evidence they needed, and if the regulatory response over the next few years turns out to be harsher than most drone enthusiasts would like, it will be difficult to claim that it wasn't, at least in part, earned.

As the World Cup moves into the quarter final stage, we'll be keeping an eye out to see if the flight restriction violations continue.

Ruko U11Mini 4K: One-minute review

DJI's dominance of the consumer drone market is so total that you have to wonder whether any rival can land a meaningful blow. The Ruko U11Mini 4K is the latest contender to step into the ring, and on paper it looks like a credible one: a sub-250g folding quadcopter with a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, 4K video, and an optional touchscreen controller that's clearly modeled on DJI's own RC series.

Unfortunately, the closer I looked, the more the U11Mini 4K's limitations revealed themselves, and the gulf between Ruko and DJI's similarly-priced beginner drones remains huge.

In the air, the U11Mini 4K is a mixed bag. Flight is reasonably stable in calm conditions, but it's easily pushed around by wind, and during one flight I experienced an alarming voltage drop that triggered an unscheduled emergency landing. The touchscreen RC3 controller is a solid piece of hardware, and a smart way to sidestep the usual phone-pairing headaches, but its joysticks lack the precision of DJI's equivalents, making smooth, cinematic camera moves a struggle.

There's no obstacle avoidance whatsoever, and the automated flight modes feel half-baked: Point of Interest mode, for instance, simply circles wherever the drone happens to be, rather than the subject you actually want to showcase.

The camera quality is similarly inconsistent. 4K video in good light is detailed and perfectly watchable, if a little flat and lacking in dynamic range, but stills are a different story; the U11Mini 4K's exposure metering routinely blows out highlights, and there's no way to fix this reliably even when dialing back the EV.

Storage is another sore point: the drone does have a small but usable amount of internal storage, but with no USB port on the aircraft itself, getting your footage off it is a major chore, and I'd recommend sticking exclusively to a microSD card instead. One that you'll have to supply yourself, as none are included in the box.

All of this would be more forgivable if the U11Mini 4K were a budget bargain, but at around £300 (rising to £499 for the bundle I tested, with its two batteries, hard case and that RC3 controller), it's pitched at almost exactly the same price as the DJI Lito 1 — a drone that beats it comprehensively on image quality, obstacle sensing and battery life. The U11Mini 4K isn't a complete disaster, but nobody should pick one over DJI's equivalent.

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Price and availability

• Priced from around $339.99 / £300 / AU$549.99
• Touchscreen RC3 controller bundle costs $424.99 / £499
• Available now direct from Ruko and via Amazon

The Ruko U11Mini 4K is available now, sold directly through Ruko's website and via Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.

Pricing varies considerably depending on region and bundle. In the UK, the base package costs around £300, rising to £499 for the bundle I tested, which includes two batteries, a hard case, and the touchscreen RC3 controller in place of the standard smartphone-based remote.

US pricing follows a similar pattern, though at the time of writing Ruko's online store had both bundles discounted. The two-battery, hard case, RC3 controller bundle was priced at $424.99 (down from $599.99), while a separate three-battery bundle with a hard case and smartphone controller (rather than the RC3) was available for just $339.99 (down from $509.99) — making it the cheaper option overall despite the extra battery.

In Australia, Amazon lists a single-battery, smartphone controller bundle for AU$549.99, with a three-battery, hard case and smartphone controller bundle priced at AU$699.99.

In the UK and Australia, its direct rival is the recently launched DJI Lito 1. This costs £299 in the UK, while in Australia it's priced at AU$539 for the basic bundle (one battery and the RC-N3 smartphone controller) or AU$779 for the Fly More Combo (three batteries, RC-N3 controller, charging hub and shoulder bag). I'd say it's a much better value prospect than the Ruko, and shoppers should definitely consider it if they're hunting for a good entry-level model.

US buyers don't have that option, however, since due to the current DJI ban the Lito 1 isn't sold in America. That leaves older models like the DJI Mini 4K as the more relevant comparison stateside — and despite its age, it's still a better drone than the U11Mini 4K.

• Price score: 2.5/5

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Specs

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Design and build quality

• Folding design, weighing under 249g
• Optional touchscreen RC3 controller
• microSD slot supports cards up to 256GB

The U11Mini 4K follows the same folding quadcopter template as most sub-250g drones on the market right now, including DJI's own Mini and Lito series.

It's made from hard plastic, and folds down to a genuinely pocketable size (if we're talking coat rather than trousers, mind you). At under 249g, it sits just inside a weight threshold that exempts it from the strictest drone registration requirements in the UK, US and elsewhere.

Round the back, you'll find a microSD card slot, supporting cards up to 256GB. There's also internal storage built into the drone itself, but accessing it is far more trouble than it's worth.

That's because, bafflingly, there's no USB port anywhere on the drone. The only way to get photos and video off the internal storage is via the controller, transferring wirelessly to an app like Google Photos — a process that, in my testing, also downgraded my 4K footage to 720p in the process. So I'd strongly recommend buying a microSD card (none is included in the box) and ignoring the internal storage altogether.

A clip-on cover is supplied to protect the camera and gimbal during transport, which is a sensible inclusion — if a little fiddly to fit and remove. Depending on the bundle you buy, you may also get a nicely sturdy hard-sided storage case, which comes with internal spaces for the controller, drone and up to two additional flight batteries.

The RC3 controller from the bundle I reviewed is pretty impressive, at least at first glance. Its built-in touchscreen is clearly inspired by DJI's RC series, and it's a decent effort: solid in the hand, with a bright, crisp display. But it came with its own set of connectivity issues, refusing to play nicely with my home Wi-Fi network and preventing me from downloading the latest firmware updates. I was able to connect it to my iPhone's hotspot, so the Wi-Fi antennas evidently do work in some circumstances, but the fact they wouldn't hook up to a network that works fine with every other drone I've reviewed recently suggests there's a deeper issue here.

• Design score: 3/5

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Features and flight performance

• 32-minute quoted battery life; around 20 minutes in real-world testing
• No obstacle avoidance
• Automated flight modes feel underbaked

Ruko quotes a battery life of 32 minutes for the U11Mini 4K. In my testing, which happened mostly in fairly breezy coastal conditions, I got closer to 20 minutes before the low battery warnings kicked in.

That discrepancy might be partly down to the wind, which the U11Mini 4K isn't great at handling. Despite Ruko's claimed Level 5 wind resistance (a tolerance of 19-24mph), I watched the drone get visibly knocked around by some standard coastal gusts. You can see the resulting unevenness in the horizon line on some of my footage.

One flight also threw up a worrying issue. A few seconds after take-off, with the battery indicator initially showing around 75%, a low voltage warning flashed up, the battery indicator dropped instantly to around 10%, and I immediately effected a panicked return to home (not wanting the drone to drop straight into the sea). When I checked the battery afterwards, it was still showing roughly 75% charge. Whatever caused that mid-air voltage drop, it's not a reassuring thing to experience while flying.

Flight itself is reasonably stable and responsive in calm conditions, but the RC3 controller's joysticks let the side down. There's a wide dead zone before inputs register, which makes smooth, considered camera moves all but impossible, and as far as I can tell there's no way to adjust stick sensitivity to compensate. With a DJI drone, the slightest stick pressure produces an immediate and proportional response; here, you're fighting the controller as much as the wind.

Obstacle avoidance is non-existent, so pilots will need to take a lot of care when flying. There's no forward, downward or omnidirectional sensing of any kind, which is a significant omission next to the DJI Lito 1's full suite of vision sensors.

The automated flight modes are similarly disappointing. Point of Interest mode, for instance, should really let you tap a subject on the touchscreen and have the drone circle it automatically; instead, it just flies in a circle around wherever it happens to be at the time, regardless of whether there's anything interesting in front of it. There's also a tracking mode that follows your phone, though I wasn't able to test this myself, since I was flying with the RC3 controller rather than a paired smartphone.

• Flight performance score: 3/5

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Image and video quality

• 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, 4K video at 30fps
• Stills are overexposed and oversharpened
• No flat/log color profile available

The U11Mini 4K's camera is built around a 1/2-inch CMOS sensor and f/1.8 lens, which on paper is perfectly respectable for a drone at this price. There's no fundamental reason a sensor of this size can't produce good aerial photos and video, but in practice, the U11Mini 4K struggles to get the most out of it.

Stills are the weaker of the two. Exposure metering is unreliable, and the camera has a strong tendency to massively overexpose, particularly in bright conditions. Even dialing back the EV compensation for photos didn't fix this consistently; I was left with whites that were blown out and stripped of any detail far too often. Zoom into the shots even slightly and they're aggressively oversharpened and algorithmically upscaled in a jarring way, too.

Video fares slightly better, for reasons I couldn't quite pin down. At its top quality setting — 4K at 30fps — footage is detailed and rich in good lighting, even if it lacks dynamic range and punch compared to the best in this class. Bright areas can still blow out, while shadows tend to lack detail and look slightly underexposed, but overall it's a far more usable result than the stills.

One thing that might have helped close that gap is a log color profile, but sadly there's nothing of the kind available. A log format may have given me more room to fix the exposure issues in post-production grading, but here what you capture in-camera is largely what you're stuck with, unfortunately.

• Image and video quality score: 3/5

Ruko U11Mini 4K: Testing scorecard

Should I buy the Ruko U11Mini 4K

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Ruko U11Mini 4K: also consider

How I tested the Ruko U11Mini 4K

• I tested all available flight modes and control methods
• I captured stills and video in a range of lighting and weather conditions
• I assessed battery life, wind resistance and file transfer in real-world use

I flew the U11Mini 4K over several sessions, in a mix of calm and breezy UK coastal conditions, to get a feel for how it handled real-world flying rather than just ideal, sheltered conditions. I tested manual flight extensively, paying close attention to stick precision and responsiveness, and also tried out the drone's automated modes to assess how well they lived up to their billing.

On the camera side, I shot both stills and 4K video in a variety of lighting conditions, later reviewing the footage and photos on a larger screen to properly judge exposure, detail and dynamic range. The footage you see embedded above was edited in DaVinci Resolve, but not color corrected. Photos were tweaked slightly in Adobe Lightroom.

I also tested battery life under real-world conditions rather than relying on Ruko's quoted 32-minute figure, and ran through the process of transferring footage off the drone via both the microSD card and the internal storage, to evaluate how easy (or otherwise) that process is for a typical buyer.

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read more about how we test

My first DJI drone was the flagship DJI Mavic Pro that launched in 2016. At the time, it was the brand's smallest consumer market drone ever made, replacing the bulky DJI Phantom, and that meant it wasn't cheap at $999 / £999.

It didn't take long after unboxing it for me to crash it into a wall. I was excited; the controls were inverted. Back then, there was no way I could simply fork out for a replacement drone — but luckily it just needed a new arm rather than a whole new drone (phew).

Since then, DJI has expanded its consumer drone range considerably, from the ultra-lightweight Mini Series to the more accessible Neo Series for casual flyers. The most beginner-friendly of the lot is the DJI Neo, which you can find at Amazon for as low as $139 (was $199) in the US and £113 (was £169) in the UK for the drone itself.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

I've rounded up the best DJI drone deals, like the DJI Neo, below. Hopefully, you're shopping to upgrade rather than replace, though. Happy flying!

Today's best DJI drone deals in the US

Today's best DJI drone deals in the UK

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Earlier this week, I recommended a knock-out deal for the DJI Neo — the lowest price for a DJI drone I've ever seen. But if you want a better value drone, especially if you're keen to take control of it yourself and learn to fly, then the DJI Mini 4K is my top pick.

I bought a DJI Mini 4K myself a couple of years ago, and its record-low price right now for Prime Day is less than half of what I paid — the Mini 4K costs $209 at Amazon US / £169 at Amazon UK. And unlike the Neo, a controller is included in the base package.

There are various deals for other bundles too, with additional batteries and so on — I've included links to those deals below. I've also rounded up the best DJI deals for other beginner drones, so you're completely covered for your first drone.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

If you're in the US and not sure about DJI given the current ban, read on for my advice.

Your ideal first drone to learn flight

The DJI Neo is the quickest drone to get started with, with its one-push take-off and automated subject tracking, but if you actually want to learn to fly, then the DJI Mini 4K is a better bet. I've reviewed the Mini 4K, and you can see my YouTube review below.

The base package costs a little more than the Neo, but a controller is included. If you want a controller with the Neo, the price shoots up.

For your money, you get decent aerial photography quality, thanks to a 3-axis gimbal camera, 4K video, and 12MP stills. Flight time is rated up to 31 minutes on a full charge, and there are a host of automated flight moves to quickly level up your aerial videos.

Of course, like all DJI Mini drones, the Mini 4K weighs less than 250g, making it officially a beginner drone that's not hit with the regulations that heavier, pro drones are.

If your budget stretches a little further, I recommend the recent DJI Lito X1, which gives an image quality step up and object sensing, meaning you're less likely to crash it. I've included the best deals for other beginner DJI drones below, but for me, the Mini 4K is the best value.

Today's best DJI Mini 4K deals (US)

Today's best DJI Mini 4K deals (UK)

More of the best beginner DJI Mini drone deals today

More DJI Mini deals (US)

More DJI Mini deals (UK)

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

• 500k+ hours of Ukraine war drone footage to be used for AI training
• Real-world data provides deeper context and higher quality than synthetic data
• Ukraine officials believe in a "war of operating systems" where training data matters

Virginia-based AI firm Enabled Intelligence says it's added more than 500,000 hours of Ukraine war drone footage to its EView platform to help train models.

The real-world data is hoped to provide better-quality training to the computer vision and video analysis models, instead of having to rely on synthetic data, in a bid to improve the efficacy of AI-powered drones in modern warfare.

"It’s footage from one of the most complex and dynamic conflicts in modern history," CEO Peter Kant explained (via DefenseScoop), noting that the training data hasn't come from a simulated or controlled environment.

Ukraine war drone footage used to train AI drones

Kant explained that footage will help train models across "aerial object detection, vehicle classification and ground activity," and that it's pre-labeled, validated and ready for training use. It gives the models more experience handling changing conditions like weather, smoke, dust, damaged infrastructure and other dynamic environments.

Artificial intelligence has broadly changed how militaries benchmark weapons, because it's no longer about who has the best drone. Dataset quality is an even bigger differentiator when it comes to autonomous warfare.

As for the Ukraine war's role in the training dataset, it marks one of the most drone-intensive wars to date with thousands of drones operating daily and generating huge amounts of real-world data.

The evolution also highlights an emerging competitive advantage for certain countries – those involved in conflict early on in AI's timeline can generate enormous amounts of real operational data before enemies, putting them one pace ahead.

"The system ⁠that possesses more data and better understands that data, proposes solutions — that system will gain the advantage over the other," head of Ukraine's defense ministry's AI center Danylo Tsvok told Reuters, referring to a future where we could see a "war of operating systems."

No other 4K drone is easier to get started with than the DJI Neo. Anyone can be airborne with it in minutes, capturing 4K selfies with smart subject tracking. And the good news is that you really don't need all the costly extras that I usually recommend to first-time pilots — the drone-only package for £113.05 at Amazon UK is a great option to take your first flight.

Yes, the beauty of the Neo is its versatile flight options; it works with or without a controller, and with goggles for FPV flight. However, you really can enjoy its best feature — automated subject tracking — in its simplest controller-free form.

If you're feeling flash, the Fly More Combo is available for below £200 for the first time, now just £198.55 at Amazon UK (was £299), with which you'll get the drone, a controller, three batteries and charging hub, while the price of the Motion Fly Combo, which includes the goggles and motion controller for FPV flight, now costs just £309 at Amazon (was £449).

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

These are excellent prices over Amazon Prime Day for one of the most compelling beginner drones that I've had the pleasure of testing.

A DJI drone at this price?

We gave the DJI Neo 4 stars in our review when it was launched in September 2024 as the cheapest DJI drone that shoots 4K video. It has since been upgraded to the Neo 2 in November 2025 — I've highlighted five key differences in my DJI Neo 2 vs DJI Neo explainer so you can be sure what you may or may not be missing out on should you opt for the older model.

Yes, the Neo 2 is a decent upgrade and worth the extra outlay for some people, but there are many similarities between the two selfie drones. For first-timers, I think the original model offers the best value, especially at the new low prices.

If aerial photography is your chief concern, however, you might be better off looking at other DJI quadcopters; the Neo has a small 1/2-inch sensor and is limited to 12MP JPEG-only photos and 4K video with standard color profile (no D-Log). The Neo 2 has much the same image quality, but drones such as the recent DJI Lito X1 give an image quality step up. I've included the best deals for other beginner DJI drones below, though none come close to the extraordinarily low price of the Neo.

Today's best DJI Neo deals

More of the best beginner DJI drone deals today

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Father's Day: up to 50% off gifts & drinks
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

The simplest beginner drone I've ever used is DJI's tiny Neo. It works with or without a controller, with goggles as an FPV drone, and can take off from the palm of your hand, track your movement for aerial 4K selfies, and return to your hand. It's also DJI's cheapest drone that just got even cheaper ahead of the Prime Day sales.

The Fly More Bundle now costs $295 at Amazon US or it's just £198.55 at Amazon UK, and includes the drone, a controller, three batteries and charging hub. You can get the drone-only package for much less, just $169 at Amazon US / £113.05 at Amazon UK.

These excellent value deals, for a drone we gave 4 stars in our review on its September 2024 release, would have been a straightforward recommendation but for one thing — the Neo 2 upgrade.

You can see five key differences in my DJI Neo 2 vs DJI Neo explainer, but I can tell you here that the Neo 2, which came a year later in November 2025 (just six months ago or thereabouts), came with some very welcome improvements and gained 4.5 stars in our Neo 2 in-depth review.

Of course, the Neo 2 costs more, and with the original Neo early Prime Day deal that price gap further grew. The DJI ban is also in the picture for US consumers. So which model, if either at all, do I recommend you buy?

A 'big upgrade', but is the Neo 2 worth the extra money?

Having tested many of the best DJI drones over the last few years, I can tell you that Neos are small, simple and excellent starter drones, especially if aerial selfies top your shot list. Anyone can get started with a Neo in minutes, with no prior experience needed.

It's no exaggeration that the Neo 2 was a big upgrade over the Neo, delivering important improvements in key areas. Chief among those upgrades is that the Neo 2 has obstacle avoidance, so it's much less likely to crash into things than its predecessor.

The Neo 2 camera is supported by a 2-axis gimbal, max flight speeds are improved by up to 50%, there's more internal storage, a built-in screen and better wind resistance, thanks in part to its slightly larger and heavier build. Gesture control has also been added. All solid improvements for an all-round sturdier-in-flight drone.

However, there is also much that's familiar between Neo drones, and autonomous tracking flight is where they both shine. Battery life is still modest, and image quality from the same 1/2-inch sensor is largely similar too, with JPEG-only 12MP photos. The max 4K video frame rates are upped to 60fps (or 100fps when using the controller), but again there's only the standard color profile (no D-Log), nor any way of fitting an ND filter.

In short, both Neos are simple and fun selfie drones, that can be flown multiple ways with or without a controller (and goggles), but not ideal for serious aerial photography. If image quality is a chief concern you might want to look at alternative drones such as the Lito X1, and you won't need to pay extra for the Neo 2 instead of the Neo.

And if you can live without the Neo 2's obstacle avoidance, which for this kind of casual drone is entirely possible, then the original Neo at this low price is arguably the more compelling of the two.

Today's best DJI Neo deal (US)

Today's best DJI Neo deal (UK)

More of the best beginner drone deals today

If you’ve recently picked up a new drone (or you’re thinking about flying one near a World Cup host city this summer), you’ll want to read this before you head out.

The FBI has spent the past week confiscating drones and citing pilots near stadiums hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches — and the agency has made it clear it isn’t messing around.

Around 15 drones were seized near SoFi Stadium and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum over a single weekend, with multiple operators cited for violating temporary flight restrictions, according to the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

Down in South Florida, the FBI’s Miami division separately confiscated nine drones and fined seven operators near Hard Rock Stadium and the Bayfront Park Fan Festival, with the FBI’s Atlanta office also reporting seizures from three operators.

It’s a pattern that’s likely to repeat itself across the tournament’s 11 US host cities. The FAA has designated World Cup stadiums as strict “No Drone Zones” on match days, and law enforcement has been blunt about its approach.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drones violating the temporary flight restrictions,” said Amir Ehsaei, special agent in charge of counterterrorism and crisis response at the FBI’s LA Field Office.

Over in Florida, Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of FBI Miami, struck a similarly firm tone: “Public safety is our top priority. Our agents and law enforcement partners are authorized by the Department of Justice to use specialized mitigation tools to intercept and seize drones that breach these restrictions.”

So if you’re packing a drone for a trip to a host city (or you simply live in or near one), here’s what you actually need to know.

What the no-fly zones cover

The restricted areas are larger than many casual fliers might assume. The FAA prohibits all aircraft operations, including drones, within a 3-nautical-mile radius and up to 3,000 feet above ground level around stadiums hosting World Cup matches. That’s roughly a 5.5km bubble stretching nearly a kilometer into the sky, centered on the venue.

At SoFi Stadium specifically, that 3-nautical-mile, 3,000-foot restriction applies on match days, while fan festival venues like the L.A. Memorial Coliseum carry their own ban, covering a 1-nautical-mile radius up to 1,000 feet above ground level.

Similar temporary flight restrictions (TFRs for short) apply at other venues hosting games this summer, including Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Lumen Field in Seattle, Gillette Stadium in Boston and New Jersey's MetLife Stadium (which will host the tournament's final).

If you’re traveling to a host city for any stretch of the tournament, it’s worth assuming the airspace around the stadium could be locked down on any given day, not just during the match itself.

The penalties for getting it wrong are steep. Violators could face fines of up to $100,000 and federal criminal charges, and that’s on top of losing the drone itself. The FBI isn’t shy about confiscating hardware on the spot, and it has been actively monitoring airspace around match events using a dedicated Counter Drone Enforcement Team.

The good news is that checking whether you’re in a restricted zone takes about 30 seconds. The TFR section of the FAA website lists all active temporary flight restrictions by location and date, and apps like B4UFLY pull this data into an easy map view; both are worth checking if you’re heading anywhere near a host city this summer. The FAA pushes out updates as restrictions are added, so it’s worth double checking on the day itself, not just the week before.

If your World Cup trip plans included grabbing some striking footage of the festivities, it might be time to turn to other gear instead. A good action camera or gimbal-stabilized handheld like the new Insta360 Luna Ultra will get you sweeping, cinematic shots of the fan zones and surrounding areas without any risk of a federal agent walking over to confiscate your kit and levy a hefty fine.

Happy shooting!

Protecting critical infrastructure has long been a question of securing access from the ground – the assumption was that if you could control who entered a site, you could control most of the threats it faced.

But recent conflicts have proven that highly sensitive sites now face threats from three dimensions spanning both physical and digital.

One of the biggest threats is the rapid rise of commercially available drones – cheap and accessible devices that can easily bypass the traditional checkpoints historically employed at these secure sites.

Newer drones are playing an increasing role in warfare, now that they’re able to fly farther, stay airborne longer and carry sophisticated payloads.

World governments are getting ready to tackle these changing risks and the rules are becoming ever more stringent. China, for example, recently tightened controls on drone ownership. Other governments have imposed more identification requirements, geofencing measures and new operational categories.

Futureproofing infrastructure against drone strikes

But I worry that regulation alone might not solve the problem, and many of the same questions we’ve been asking about telecoms equipment now apply to the drone industry. Who built the technology, where does the data go, who can access it…?

As we move from basic camera-equipped consumer drones to fully autonomous commercial fleets spanning critical infrastructure, logistics, emergency response and more, I think more needs to be done to secure both sensitive physical locations and the data that these drones now possess.

To better understand how governments, operators and infrastructure owners should prepare for this shifting landscape, I turned to MyDefence UK Director Liam Hutcheson, who shares his thoughts on regulation, security and infrastructure protection.

• China has recently moved towards more restrictions on drone usage and ownership. Given the dual use of the technology, does the move surprise you and do you think others will follow the example of China and roll out more strict drone control?

Not entirely. China's move reflects a tension every drone-mature nation is grappling with: the same technology enabling precision agriculture and emergency response can equally be used for surveillance, smuggling or targeted disruption. Longer endurance, better cameras and swarm coordination only intensify that challenge.

What it signals is that governments are becoming less comfortable leaving drone activity largely unregulated. We are already seeing the same direction in Europe and the US with Remote ID mandates, geofencing requirements, granular operational categories. The UK reinforced its class-marking regime for 2026.

Whether others match China's specific restrictions will depend on their security posture, economic reliance on the sector and enforcement appetite. But the broader trend is consistent: tighter oversight, stronger identity requirements, more defined exclusion zones.

From our perspective, regulation is necessary but only half the answer. Rules work when operators comply. COTS drones can easily be, and are being, modified to circumvent restrictions on usage and ownership, undermining even well-designed frameworks. Remote ID is a good example: meaningful, but only if receiver infrastructure exists to read it. Without detection capability running alongside the regulatory framework, you get rules that look credible on paper but cannot be enforced in practice.

• The US rolled out a blanket ban on Chinese drones (and non-US routers). Before that they targeted ZTE, Huawei and a slew of Chinese tech manufacturers citing security reasons. Can (and should) drones and by extension unmanned vehicles and in the near future robots be vetted to ensure that systems meant to protect the nation are not double-agents?

Yes and the pattern with ZTE, Huawei and now DJI tells us something important. The concern goes beyond the device itself to what it is connected to and who can reach it. A drone is not just a flying camera. It records location, footage, flight history and operator identity. All of that data has to go somewhere, and knowing where is not always straightforward.

That risk does not stop at drones. Autonomous ground vehicles, logistics robots, inspection platforms - anything networked in a sensitive environment poses the same question.

The supply chain adds further complexity. A system assembled in one country may still depend on software, components or cloud infrastructure originating elsewhere.

Vetting at the point of purchase is not enough. These systems can be updated after deployment, which means their behaviour can change. What is needed is persistent visibility into what is actually happening around a facility; detecting unexpected signals, unauthorised transmissions or activity that does not match what a system is supposed to be doing. That is exactly the kind of awareness that RF-based detection provides, and it applies equally to hostile third-party drones and to your own fleet.

• How far are we from the day one human operator will be able to safely manage fleets of autonomous drones for civilian or defense purposes? What are the bottlenecks that need to be removed in order for this to materialise?

A single operator can already manage small fleets for infrastructure inspection and logistics, and that capability is maturing quickly. The gap is widest in urban or contested airspace where conditions change fast and the cost of error is high.

From our perspective, the missing foundation is airspace awareness. The same detection infrastructure that protects a site from hostile drones is what gives a fleet operator the picture they need to operate safely. Those two requirements are not separate problems. Sites that build airspace awareness in from the start will be the ones where one-to-many operation becomes viable first, for security and for operations alike.

• Data centres are rapidly becoming a target of choice, as we've seen in the Iran conflict a few months ago. From your vantage point, what does a fully secured airport or power station or data centre look like in 2030? Is that even possible given the near endless vectors enemies can use?

A fully secured critical site in 2030 does not look like a single technology. It looks like a layered system with a clear chain of detection, assessment and response. For drone threats that means persistent airspace monitoring through radio frequency detection, radar, acoustic and optical sensors working together, feeding a common operating picture that security teams can act on in real time.

At an airport or power station you would expect geofenced enforcement zones, direct alert integration into control room systems and pre-authorised response protocols. Equally important is what happens after an incident. Evidence collection, chain of custody and the ability to reconstruct exactly what occurred when a drone appeared. This information must include what the drone did and how the site responded. Regulators and prosecutors need a clear evidential record, and that has to be built into the system architecture, not added as an afterthought.

What the recent Iran conflict and incidents like Gatwick show is that the gap between a capable adversary and an unprepared defender is still dangerously wide. The sites investing in detection infrastructure now are the ones that will be credibly protected by 2030.

• What are the main concerns when you port military anti-drone capabilities to a civilian setup? What are the challenges of deploying 'active mitigation' (like jamming or intercepting) in densely populated or commercially active environments?

Military counter-drone systems are built for environments where neutralising the threat is the primary objective. Civilian environments have a different set of constraints entirely: spectrum co-existence and the risk of disrupting legitimate activity nearby.

A further challenge is the lack of a clear line of responsibility and the absence of a common, centralised overview of airspace activity. Questions of jurisdiction become particularly complex in a non-military context. That said, detection in a civilian setting can actually be more reliable and effective: denser infrastructure, fixed sensor placement and the ability to correlate multiple data sources mean that understanding what is happening in your airspace is often more achievable than in a battlefield environment.

Take jamming as an example. In a civilian context, jamming will disrupt emergency services communications, aviation systems or medical equipment within range. A jammer does not distinguish between the drone it is targeting and everything else sharing that spectrum.

The answer is not to rule out active mitigation, it is to build the framework that makes it usable responsibly. High-risk sites should have access to proportionate responses, but only within a clear and accountable structure. That starts with operators being able to show they understood what was happening in their airspace before they acted; what they saw, how they read the situation and why they responded the way they did. Without that foundation, the argument for stronger powers will not land with regulators or in court. You have to be able to see and evidence what is happening before you can justify doing anything about it.

• Stockton has approved a $3.15 investment in Flock drones
• The drones will act as airborne first responders
• Residents have raised privacy and surveillance concerns

Surveillance and privacy are huge concerns for individuals across the world right now, and municipal leaders in the California city of Stockton are the latest to attract criticism for a controversial drone expansion program that's ostensibly being undertaken in the interests of public safety.

As reported by Stocktonia, the city council recently gave the thumbs up to a $3.15 million investment in drones manufactured by Flock, on top of the automatic license readers the company already supplies. These drones can act as airborne first responders, giving police eyes on a 911 call situation in as little as 30 seconds.

The sales pitch is that officers will be better informed when they arrive, and that some incidents could be handled remotely. "It'll really enhance what we already have, in that we get quick deployments, real time updates for officers on scene," said Police Lt. David Padula when the deal was approved.

However, while city leaders all liked the drone program, there has been massive public opposition against it. Issues around privacy, immigration enforcement, and mass surveillance have been raised by residents — not just in regards to how the drones are used, but how the data they collect is stored and shared.

These drones aren't widely used in the US, but there are active programs in some cities in states, including Texas, Indiana, and Connecticut. The license plate readers are far more widespread, with more than 100,000 now in use.

Data collection and privacy

"It sends the wrong message," said local activist group The Stockton Community Check-In Booth in a statement after the council decision. "While our residents continue to struggle under the financial impacts of this administration and economy, Stockton continues to invest in militarization and surveillance."

"Private organizations can control your data from those Flock cameras, and because they're privately owned, you can't even use freedom of information to find out what they have about you," said Stockton Republican congressional candidate John McBride, calling the use of the drones "a total invasion of privacy".

According to Flock, local agencies remain in control of the data. It states that it doesn't work with ICE, and that federal agencies are blocked from discovering or requesting data held by Stockton. Drone flights are logged on a public-facing dashboard, and Stockton police will own 100% of the data they collect.

However, Flock has run into trouble elsewhere: It has previously been found to be sharing access with US Customs and Border Protection in Colorado and Illinois, though it says these practices have now been stopped. In Texas, police used a Flock camera network to track the movements of a woman who had an abortion.

In other areas, authorities haven't been so welcoming to Flock and its systems. In Mountain View, California, a Flock network of cameras was recently scrapped over concerns about unauthorized access.

• Potensic's new Atom 3 replaces the Atom 2 beginner drone
• It adds a bigger sensor, higher 4K frame rates, better battery life, and more
• The Fly More Bundle includes an upgraded controller with a 5.5-inch display

You don't need me to tell you that DJI dominates the consumer drone space, despite its current difficulties entering the US market with a current ban on all foreign-made drones. But there's a viable beginner drone alternative, and that's Potensic.

Sadly for US consumers, Potensic also faces the same barriers to entry as DJI, given that the drone manufacturer is also Chinese. But for the rest of us, the shiny new Atom 3 looks like an excellent value option.

It upgrades the already excellent Atom 2 in several key ways, with a larger 1/1.3-inch sensor, 4K video recording at up to 60 fps with a Log color profile, 50 MP photos in JPEG and RAW, 7x slow motion in Full HD, plus a host of improved flight features.

Battery life has seen a boost, now up to 40 minutes on a single charge, as has transmission range, which now extends to 16km, not that I'd ever expect to fly that far away!

And the usual Fly More Combo, which includes three batteries and a charging hub, also comes with an upgraded controller that has a brighter 5.5-inch Full HD display than Potensic's previous offering, rated at 900 nits.

Potensic has upped its drone's tracking capabilities with AI Tracking 2.0, which can now operate down to a low altitude of 4 meters and recognize and follow hiking and vehicles.

Naturally, there are a range of flight moves too, one of which includes Waypoint (that's a pre-planned flight path that the drone follows).

All of these features point to the Atom 3 being a solid alternative to the new DJI Lito X1 — even if that drone also includes omnidirectional object avoidance — especially with its competitive pricing. The Atom 3 standard kit (with no controller) costs $429.99 / £319.99, while the bundle with the new 'RC PTD 2' controller costs $549.99 / £429.99 at Amazon and the Potensic store with pre-orders now live — I'll update this page with Australia pricing when that info is available.

In the US? No dice

US pricing for the Atom 3 is positive news for US consumers, but we don't actually know if or when the Atom 3 will land in the US. After all, the drone ban in the US doesn't just apply to DJI, but to all foreign-made drones, including those by Potensic.

Potensic is another drone manufacturer based in China, and so it faces the same barrier to entry as DJI. So for now, the Atom 3 looks like another feature-packed and affordable drone for aerial photography that drone fans in the US could miss out on.

For the rest of us, the Atom 3 is easily the best drone by Potensic yet, with a feature set that rivals the Mini 4 Pro / Lito X1, minus object avoidance. I will share my in-depth Atom 3 review once I've had more time with it.

Are you a drone user based in the US? What do you make of the drone ban currently? Make sure you vote in our poll, above.

• Ukraine wants to flood future battlefields with millions of combat drones annually
• Kyiv says its drone factories could dwarf Russian and Chinese military production
• Ukrainian drones are now reaching military and energy targets deep inside Russia

Ukraine’s defense ministry has laid out a startling industrial vision which could reshape global military manufacturing.

Deputy Defense Minister Mstislav Banik recently told NATO lawmakers that his country could produce 20 million military drones each year if allied nations commit sufficient resources to Ukrainian production lines.

This figure already exceeds the current combined output from China and Russia, yet Kyiv’s ambitions stretch even further.

Kyiv seeks massive expansion of military drone production

Some Ukrainian officials have hinted that annual manufacturing could surpass 30 million units within just a few years, a scale that would outpace every other nation on earth.

Independent military analysts estimate that Ukraine built roughly 4 million unmanned aircraft and naval drones during 2025.

The industry appears on track to expand that number to 5 or 6 million units in 2026, representing a 50% year-over-year growth rate.

For comparison, Chinese drone output is typically estimated at around 2 million annually, though the vast majority of those are civilian beginner drones rather than military systems.

Russian industry, now locked into a war that has lasted 12 years, likely produces between 1.2 and 1.8 million drones per year according to Ukrainian intelligence assessments.

Banik argued before the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that Ukraine’s drone fleet has proven decisive to battlefield success against Russian forces.

He called on international partners to strengthen support for Ukrainian manufacturing and to assist with acquiring other weapons listed on the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List.

According to the deputy minister, Ukraine has already achieved a technological advantage over Russia in drone systems and several other critical sectors.

To maintain this edge, Kyiv is requesting military support and direct investment totalling $60 billion in 2026.

Practical returns for partner nations

Ukraine claims to offer a tangible return for allied investment rather than simply requesting charitable assistance.

The country pledges to test new weapons in real combat conditions and share all technological advances and operational data with partner states.

More than 50 nations currently support Ukraine bilaterally, with Germany leading contributions at an estimated $5.8 billion in 2026, followed by Norway at roughly $2.8 billion and the UK at about $1.9 billion.

The European Union has also approved a support scheme providing up to $104 billion in loans to Ukraine.

Since early 2026, Ukraine has stepped up a strike campaign using long-range drones primarily targeting Russian energy infrastructure.

These attacks also aim at advanced weapons supply chain nodes and logistic routes connecting occupied Crimea to Russian territory.

Ukrainian drones have struck targets more than 2,000 km inside Russia, including an oil terminal fire in St. Petersburg and a guided missile frigate in drydock at the nearby Kronshtadt naval base.

Additional strike packages reportedly hit an arms manufacturing facility in the central city of Tambov and a Russian-operated military air base in occupied Crimea.

Despite these strikes, the gap between Ukraine’s stated ambitions and current verified production remains substantial.

No country has ever sustained drone manufacturing at the scale Kyiv now proposes, and supply chains for components like guidance chips and optical sensors could become severe bottlenecks.

Whether allied nations will be willing to supply $60 billion in 2026 is far from certain, and the strike successes against Russia may not be enough to convince allied nations.

Via Kyiv Post

The HoverAir Aqua, the world's first fully waterproof self-flying drone, officially went on sale last week. Shortly after the launch, I got the opportunity to pick the brains of MQ Wang, CEO of Zero Zero Robotics, the company responsible for the Aqua, as well as previous drones like the V-Copter Falcon Mini, HoverAir X1 and HoverAir X1 Pro. With a PhD from the Bay Area's renowned Stanford University and a distinguished background in AI research, Wang co-founded the Hangzhou-based Zero Zero Robotics in 2014.

You can read TechRadar's in-depth review of the HoverAir Aqua for my considered thoughts on how it performs, but one thing is beyond doubt: this is a true world-first, and a gamechanger in a category where innovation has generally been slow and steady rather than transformative. As Wang explained to me, water and drones have not been comfortable bedfellows until now.

Sea soaring

"Conventional drones use GPS to stabilize over water, but crashes can happen when they fly too close to the surface. With our HoverAir X1, which had no GPS sensors, users could not fly over the water at all and that was an obvious pain point. We added OmniTerrain on HoverAir X1 Pro and ProMax and with our self-tracking abilities, many users started experimenting with SUP, foiling and kayaking. But it was still a risky endeavor, with retrieval in particular being challenging on the water."

He tells me that Zero Zero Robotics has been developing the Aqua itself for over two years, not including the work previously completed in conceptualization and early R&D. Because it wasn't enough just to make a drone that was waterproof: "It's about the whole user experience, including take-off and landing, retrieval, control over the water, truly going phone-free, and follow stability, as the target is very often out of view during water sports."

In order to solve the problem of following a subject over water without a constant view, Zero Zero Robotics created the Lighthouse, a trackable wearable device that works alongside vision-based tracking to ensure the drone knows where the wearer is at all times.

"Lighthouse Tracking is critical for moments when the user isn't visible, including directly after take-off if your Aqua is facing away from you, or if you're hidden by spray. However, we'll continue to invest heavily in visual tracking, and our 'secret sauce' is in the interaction of the two. This is why we've added multiple water sport modes including Kayak, SUP, and Foil Mode. In these modes, we'll tailor basic settings like distance, height and vertical composition, but we also update our visual tracking algorithm — for example, for a seated user in Kayak mode, where only half their body is visible."

He tells me the drone uses RTK, aka real-Time kinematic positioning, to improve its tracking performance, plus a miniaturized millimeter-wave radar system to determine its vertical distance from the water's surface. The latter has never been used on a consumer-level drone before.

Competing with DJI

It's perhaps becoming clearer as to why the HoverAir Aqua is quite an expensive drone compared with DJI's similarly sized drones: there's a lot of advanced technology at work inside that won't be found elsewhere. I asked Wang if finding spaces where DJI (far and away the global market leader in consumer drones) won't go is part of Zero Zero's long-term strategy.

"Our product strategy is not defined by avoiding or embracing competition with DJI, but about reimagining what is possible in ways that provide value and delight for our customers. I'm an engineering guy at heart, and product remains one of my key areas of focus. What energizes the team and me is finding these "aha" moments — the combination of cutting-edge technology and a fresh way of looking at a problem that unlocks something nobody else has done before."

He gives me the example of the Hover Camera Passport, a drone launched by Zero Zero in 2016, and the first consumer drone designed to take off from the palm of the user's hand. "Today, this feels like a standard feature, but the combination of that experience and our fully enclosed propeller design allowed for entirely new use cases and new users to enjoy aerial photography. It's the same with Aqua: our team was at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in Australia recently and probably a third of the visitors to our booth said they'd lost a drone to the water before. This is clearly a pain point that people have, and nobody had dared to try to solve it... until us!"

The HoverAir Aqua was initially announced almost a year ago, when Zero Zero Robotics launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform. Wang tells me one of the advantages of this approach is the wider community can provide pre-release feedback and suggestions well ahead of the actual retail launch. For the Aqua, this resulted in the development of the Foil flight mode, as well as testing of the drone in white water situations where, Wang tells me, it works very well.

As the community gets more familiar with the Aqua, we can expect more new features to be added via firmware updates. But one set of users are unfortunately locked out of the process, at least for now, because the drone has not yet launched in the USA.

This seems to be a late decision, as right up until launch it was our understanding that the Aqua would be launching globally. A day before the launch date, I was told by Zero Zero Robotics' PR rep that the US launch date was being postponed due to "current US administrative and regulatory complexities." Anyone familiar with the situation DJI finds itself in will likely know what that means, given that Zero Zero Robotics is, like DJI, a company headquartered in China.

As my final question, I ask Wang if he can give me an update on when the HoverAir Aqua might launch in the States. "Due to confidentiality reasons, including the current competitive landscape," he replies, "I can only share that we are looking to comply with the current FCC regulations as quickly as we can. We're excited for US customers to be able to enjoy Aqua as soon as possible."

For now, at least, US-based water sports enthusiasts will be left enviously eyeing the aquatic adventures being filmed by the Aqua elsewhere on the planet. That's a shame, because it's a drone that really stands out as delivering something a bit different from the standard flying camera template.

• Volcanic minerals may allow ordinary drones to evade advanced radar detection systems
• Spray-on stealth coatings could eliminate expensive composite panels from military drone manufacturing
• Radar networks become less effective when drones return with dramatically weaker electronic signatures

A small Turkish defense research company claims it developed a spray-applied radar-absorbing coating capable of reducing drone visibility against modern detection systems.

The project, led by Turkish researcher Yunus İnce, centers around a material called Kürşat 3.0, developed during a seven-year engineering effort.

According to technical details, the coating applies directly onto aircraft surfaces instead of relying upon expensive composite stealth panels or complex structural modifications.

Volcanic materials may change how low-cost drones avoid radar detection

Kürşat 3.0 uses basalt and pumice, both volcanic rocks, as its core ingredients rather than exotic synthetic compounds.

Recent testing reportedly produced an attenuation of 43.2 decibels (dB), a dramatic reduction in the strength of a radar signal reflected to the receiver.

In practical terms, this means the radar echo from the coated drone is approximately 20,000 to 40,000 times weaker than that from an uncoated object of the same size and shape.

An attenuation figure of 43.2 decibels would place this material in genuinely competitive territory if confirmed independently.

Academic literature typically reports effective broadband radar absorption in the range of 20 to 30 decibels under standardized conditions.

Pushing substantially beyond that threshold while maintaining the simplicity of a spray application would represent a meaningful advance over commercially available products.

With 43.2dB, a drone that should be visible at several kilometers with a strong, trackable return signature would either disappear entirely from the radar screen or appear only at such close range that the defending system has virtually no time to react.

In military terms, this shrinks the detection and engagement envelope from a comfortable buffer zone down to a frantic last-second warning.

Radar stealth conventionally requires either carefully shaped airframes or expensive composite panels bonded by specialists.

This material works differently by exploiting the microscopic pore structures found in basalt and pumice.

Those natural cavities trap incoming electromagnetic waves and convert them into heat instead of reflecting energy toward the radar receiver.

The underlying scientific principle has attracted academic attention for over a decade, making the approach plausible rather than fanciful.

A sprayable formula eliminates the seams and coverage gaps that plague traditional composite panel installations on complex curved surfaces.

Why do we need drones with very low detection?

The war in Ukraine has shown that drones costing a few thousand dollars can destroy armored vehicles and disrupt supply lines at scale.

Defenders have responded by expanding radar networks and electronic warfare systems specifically designed to find and kill those drones.

Reducing a drone's radar signature complicates every stage of that detection chain, and doing so with a coating that adds negligible weight would make stealth accessible to operators using commercial hardware.

Turkey's defense industry has already proved with the Bayraktar TB2 that affordable unmanned systems can reshape battlefields before Western analysts fully appreciate the shift.

However, at the time of writing, no independent testing verified this technology, and the relevant radar frequency bands for operational use remain unspecified.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and a single attenuation figure from unpublished testing does not yet meet that standard.

The volcanic materials themselves are inexpensive and abundant, which is scientifically reasonable.

But laboratory measurements rarely survive translation to field conditions with vibration, weather, and real-world radar frequency variations.

Until independent verification appears across operationally relevant bands, Kürşat 3.0 remains an intriguing research outcome rather than a military breakthrough.

Via Defence Blog

HoverAir Aqua: One-minute review

The HoverAir Aqua is a drone unlike anything else on the market right now, and for once that's not marketing hyperbole. Manufacturer Zero Zero Robotics has built the world's first truly waterproof self-flying camera — one that can take off from and land on the surface of the water, and follow you through waves and spray that would destroy most consumer drones. If you're a solo watersports enthusiast who's ever wished you could capture good-quality aerial footage of yourself without hiring a drone operator, the Aqua is literally the only game in town.

That monopoly on novelty is both the Aqua's greatest strength, but also the lens through which you need to evaluate it. Because while the concept itself is undeniably thrilling, my real-world testing revealed a product that feels very much like a v1.0: innovative and impressive in the right conditions, but rough around the edges in ways that its steep asking price make harder to forgive.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand before buying is how the Aqua's tracking works. Unlike DJI drones that use computer vision to lock onto and frame a subject, the Aqua tracks the Lighthouse, a wearable device you strap to your arm. While this is an eminently sensible solution for an environment where reflections, spray and constantly moving surfaces would confound visual tracking, it has real consequences for your footage: in Orbit mode, for instance, I found my head was consistently cropped out of frame, because the drone is circling the Lighthouse, not me.

There are other niggles too. My review sample suffered from persistent Lighthouse connection drops — reconnecting almost immediately each time, but loudly announcing every single event via an intrusive, irritating voice alert. And one of my best video clips was ruined by a water droplet on the supposedly hydrophobic lens, which feels like a major concern for a drone built around water compatibility.

It's also worth noting that the Aqua's maintenance demands are higher than any non-aquatic drone I've tested: after saltwater sessions, you'll be rinsing, patting dry and checking battery compartments as soon as you get home.

That being said, take it out on a calm sea on a bright morning with your paddleboard, and it does something no other drone can do. For the right user — the solo surfer, kayaker or SUP rider who wants hands-free aerial footage without risking a wrecked drone — the Aqua is really the only viable option on the market.

HoverAir Aqua: Price and release date

• Launched globally on May 28 2026 — except in US
• Priced from $1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999
• Fly More Combo available online only

The HoverAir Aqua has had a long road to market, being initially teased in August 2025 ahead of a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Nearly a year on, it's now available globally — except in the United States, where it's apparently falling foul of the same regulatory issues that have kept DJI's recent launches off the shelves. So while I've been given US pricing, it's not yet available in buy in the States.

Three bundles are available at launch. The Standard Combo ($1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999) covers the basics: the Aqua itself with one battery, a USB-C cable, the Lighthouse wearable with armband, a repair kit, and a single waterproof battery bag. The Basic Combo ($1,399 / £1,219 / AU$2,199) adds a second waterproof bag, an extra smart battery, and a charging hub. Step up to the Fly More Combo ($1,499 / £1,299 / AU$2,986, online only) and you get two additional smart batteries, three waterproof battery bags, a maintenance kit, and the charging hub — the most complete package for anyone planning longer sessions on the water.

Given that the Aqua's 23-minute battery life is on the shorter side for a drone at this price point, those extra batteries in the higher-tier bundles are well worth considering. A single charge isn't going to last a through even a modest paddle session, so building a battery collection from day one makes sense.

At $1,299 / £1,129 / AU$1,999 for the entry-level bundle, the Aqua is a significant investment. It's substantially more expensive than the HoverAir X1 Pro and well above most entry-level drones from DJI. Zero Zero Robotics is clearly pitching this as a premium, specialized product for water sports enthusiasts rather than a mass-market flyer, and the pricing reflects that.

• Price score: 3.5/5

HoverAir Aqua: Specs

HoverAir Aqua: Design and build quality

• Non-foldable quadcopter body weighing 249g
• Striking hot orange finish
• No carrying case included in any bundle

The Aqua cuts a distinctive figure on the beach. Where most consumer drones play it safe with black, grey or white, HoverAir has gone for a vivid hot orange color finish. The color makes the drone easy to spot both in the air and on the water, as well as conjuring up images of life jackets and buoys. It feels entirely appropriate for a water-focused drone.

While folding drones dominate the market, the Aqua is a rigid, non-foldable quadcopter — a deliberate decision by HoverAir to preserve structural integrity and waterproofing. At 202 x 206 x 64mm and 249g, it's lightweight and compact but certainly not pocketable; the non-folding body means it takes up noticeably more bag space than a DJI Lito or Mini would.

Which brings me to the Aqua's most glaring accessory omission: there's no carrying case or pouch included with any of the three bundles. The higher-tier combos include waterproof bags for the batteries, but nothing to protect the drone itself. That leaves the lens and propellers exposed to whatever else is rattling around in your backpack. For a drone pitched at outdoor adventurers, I felt this was a pretty major oversight.

With minimal clearance between the propellers and the underside of the body, the Aqua needs either a flat, hard surface or a dedicated landing pad for land-based launches — I'd strongly recommend picking one up if you ever plan to use it away from the water. You can hand-launch and catch it in the air instead, which is what I did throughout testing, but that's not something I would necessarily recommend to anyone new to drones.

On the front of the drone sits a 1.6-inch AMOLED screen, which lets you switch flight modes and review settings without reaching for your phone. In bright sunlight it's big and bright enough to be legible, and when you're balanced on a paddleboard in the middle of the sea, not having to fumble with a smartphone is a welcome convenience. The Lighthouse wearable is similarly straightforward: a chunky, rubberized device designed to be worn and forgotten while you focus on whatever you're riding.

As mentioned above, the Aqua's maintenance demands are quite extensive. After flying in salt water, the drone needs a thorough rinse in fresh water and a careful pat-down with a clean cloth before its next flight. The battery compartment features a color-coded indicator strip that flags the presence of any moisture before you insert a battery, which is a clever touch, but you'll also need to remember to fully dry your hands before swapping cells on the water. So, owning the Aqua comes with an ongoing upkeep commitment that goes well beyond what you'd expect from a conventional drone.

• Design score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Features and flight performance

• Up to 23 minutes of battery life
• Tracks using Lighthouse unit rather than camera
• No object avoidance tech

The most important thing to understand about how the Aqua flies is also the thing that most sets it apart from conventional follow-me drones. Rather than using computer vision to identify and frame a human subject — the approach DJI takes with its excellent ActiveTrack tech — the Aqua locks onto the Lighthouse wearable.

In a watery environment, where reflective surfaces, spray and constant movement would make visual tracking unreliable, this makes sound engineering sense. In practice, however, it produces some frustrating results. During an Orbit flight — where the drone circles you at a set distance — my head was consistently cropped out of frame, because the drone is orbiting the Lighthouse on my arm rather than centering me as a subject. Anyone who cares about precise, well-composed shots should know that the Aqua will keep you in the frame most of the time, but it won't always frame you the way a human operator would.

So planning your shots is key – and because you can adjust tracking distance and height, you should be able to get the angles and framing you're looking for. It might just take a couple of attempts.

That said, the SUP mode I tested (designed specifically for stand-up paddleboarding) performed very well. With a calm sea, minimal wind and good visibility during a rare UK May heatwave, the Aqua tracked my position reliably and kept pace with me comfortably. The drone can theoretically fly as close as 50cm above the waves, and in calm water it did so confidently.

I'd be keen to test it in choppier conditions, where the claimed Level 7 wind resistance and wave-skimming abilities might face a stiffer challenge, but those aren't the conditions I had available. For now, consider the flight performance assessment here a fair-weather one.

One highlight that absolutely does deliver as promised is the turtle flip: should the Aqua end up upside down on the water, it can right itself and take off again without any intervention. I tested this, and it works exactly as advertised. A small thing perhaps, but a reassuring one.

Less reassuring was the persistent connection instability between the drone and the Lighthouse. On every single flight I conducted, the two devices repeatedly lost and immediately re-established their link. Each dropout triggers an audible robotic voice announcement — both for the disconnect and the reconnect — which quickly becomes maddening. Whether this is a hardware defect specific to my review sample or a wider software issue remains to be seen, but it's something HoverAir will need to address urgently. A drone that narrates its own technical difficulties every few minutes is not a relaxing filming companion.

The Aqua offers three control methods beyond the automated flight modes. The Lighthouse itself handles single-button launches and returns; the HoverAir app provides touchscreen manual control, though with a short effective range and imprecise joystick inputs that make smooth maneuvers difficult; and HOVERAir's Beacon twin-stick controller offers what could well be the most satisfying manual flying experience of the three — but without one, I wasn't able to test it during this review.

Battery life came in slightly under the claimed 23 minutes during real-world use, which is par for the course with drone manufacturers' quoted figures. The more meaningful battery consideration is simply having enough of them: 23 minutes goes quickly when you're mid-session, and the Fly More Combo's three-battery setup feels sensible.

It's also worth noting that, like all HoverAir drones, the Aqua uses ShadowTrack positioning rather than active obstacle avoidance — meaning it won't autonomously fly around objects in its path. On open water that's rarely going to be an issue, but it's worth bearing in mind if you plan to fly it on narrower waterways or on land. Thankfully, the sturdiness of the design and the protected propellers means that minor, lowish speed collisions with trees or fences shouldn't result in a wrecked drone.

• Flight performance score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Image and video quality

• 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor offering 4K up to 100fps
• H-Log (10-bit) support for post-production grading
• Hydrophobic lens

Let's start with the elephant (or should that be whale?) in the room. The Aqua's lens is treated with a hydrophobic coating designed to repel water droplets, which seems to me a vital feature for a drone that launches directly off the surface of the sea. During my testing, a single water droplet on said lens ruined several minutes of otherwise usable footage. For a drone whose entire identity is built around being in and around water, a wet lens is inevitable. This issue alone has the potential to leave users seriously frustrated — even if, as with me, it only happens the one time.

When the lens is clear, the results are encouraging. With a maximum bitrate of 160Mbps (double that of the DJI Neo 2) the Aqua produces clean, detailed 4K footage in good lighting conditions. There are two main shooting options to choose between: the default color profile delivers vibrant, punchy footage at up to 60fps, and is perfectly usable straight out of the drone; the flat H-Log profile, which tops out at 30fps, gives you more latitude in post-production. I graded some H-Log footage and was able to dial back the slightly over-saturated tendencies of the default color science to arrive at something more true-to-life and cinematic. For anyone planning to edit their water sports footage seriously, shooting H-Log is probably the way to go.

The hardware has its limits, though. The 1/1.28-inch sensor, f/2.55 aperture and single-axis mechanical gimbal mean the Aqua can't compete with the best camera drones on pure image quality — the DJI Air 3S, for instance, produces far superior footage, and costs less.

But that comparison only tells part of the story: the Air 3S would not survive the conditions the Aqua was built for. Judged purely as a water-capable camera, the Aqua has no rivals. Judged as a camera drone in general, it sits firmly in the average tier for its price bracket. The 2x digital zoom is soft, as it tends to be on small sensors, and low-light performance isn't a strong suit given the narrow aperture.

Stills come in at 12MPwith HDR support, plus the ability to shoot in RAW DNG, and are competent if unspectacular — serviceable for social media use, but not the Aqua's primary selling point.

• Image and video quality score: 4/5

HoverAir Aqua: Testing scorecard

Should I buy the HoverAir Aqua?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

HoverAir Aqua: also consider

How I tested the HoverAir Aqua

• Tested during SUP session and from dry land
• I tested various control methods and flight modes
• I captured both videos and photos

I was provided with a review sample of the Aqua well ahead of its global launch, which gave me time to test it over several sessions on the UK coast, mainly in hot, sunny conditions that were ideal for getting out on the water, if not entirely representative of the rougher seas and stronger winds that the Aqua may face in the hands of real-world buyers.

My primary test was a SUP session at the beach, during which I flew the Aqua using the SUP automated flight mode and assessed its tracking performance, framing and reliability in a real watersports context. I also flew it over dry land to evaluate its capabilities as a general-purpose drone. I tested the app-based manual controls, though I wasn't able to assess the Beacon twin-stick controller during the review period.

On the camera side, I captured footage using both the default color profile and the flat H-Log setting, grading the latter in post-production using DaVinci Resolve. I also ran through the Aqua's post-flight maintenance routine — including a fresh water rinse and dry-down after saltwater use — to evaluate the ownership demands of an aquatic drone.

• First reviewed: May 2026
• Read more about how we test

• Though unofficial due to no pro observer, a new world speed record for drones has been hit
• The first run was a disaster – the drone lost contact and crashed
• Record is almost twice the speed of a Formula 1 car (730 km/h compared to 397 km/h

The battle for the title of the fastest drone in existence has become unexpectedly thrilling over the past year. The current officially recognized Guinness World Record was set by Luke Maximo Bell in December 2025, with his custom-built Peregreen V4 hitting 658 km/h. However, this was unofficially broken by Australian duo Ben Biggs and Aidan Kelly of Drone Pro Hub in February 2026 when they hit 690 km/h, and now has been broken again with a staggering top flight speed of 730 km/h.

The reason this record is unofficial is because the pair didn't have a professional observer present to ratify the attempt. However, you can see in the video below the attempts made to break the record, the last of which is successful. The record-smashing drone is called the 'Blackbird', a scratch-built device made by Biggs, an engineer – it's quite a different beast to the consumer camera drones we usually review.

Watch the video below. It's worth reiterating that the pair are Australian, and there is an amount of colorful language.

The first attempt to re-break the record is an unmitigated disaster – the pair reach 630 km/h, but lose video contact with the drone. Their theory is that this is caused by some combination of a blind spot in the drone's antennae, a Doppler shift compromising the video link, and an overloaded signal as the drone passed the pilot at close range (though there's a spirited debate currently going on in the video comments). But whatever the cause, the result was the same: a wrecked Blackbird.

Fortunately, the pair had another prototype ready to go, and the next round of testing smashed the record. The Blackbird achieved a verified average speed of 685 km/h (426 mph), with a peak downwind speed of 730 km/h (453 mph). This was confirmed by GPS and by on-camera telemetry.

How the Blackbird was pushed even faster

According to Biggs, the key to making the Blackbird faster than ever before came from a set of updated custom carbon fiber propeller blades. These blades were hand-made by friends of the channel, and were built with a sawtooth leading edge, which generates vortices that keep the air moving towards the back of the blade rather than sliding off the side, increasing efficiency. The blades are also angled more towards the direction of flight, again improving efficiency by minimally disrupting airflow – as Tom's Hardware explains.

The trade-off is that this design provides a lot less power at low speeds, meaning that functions like take-off and landing can be extremely power-intensive. Well, to be fair, the entire operation is extremely power-intensive – at its peak, the Blackbird produced a power draw of 400 amps for 10 seconds. When it came down following its successful flight, its batteries were smoking and its wires melted.

Fortunately, the drone was not permanently damaged, and we have a feeling it won't be long before Biggs and Kelly are back with an official observer in tow to officially reclaim their Guinness World Record. And beyond that – who knows? We now officially have a drone capable of travelling at more than 700 km/h. Could 800 km/h be on the horizon?

While the Blackbird is not commercially available, Pro Drone Hub are planning to distribute the blueprints in order to allow people to 3D print the components for themselves – you can sign up at their website to be notified when the release is made official.

If you're buying your first drone, you'll want a beginner-friendly model that includes everything you need to get flying straight away. One drone that ticks all those boxes is this DJI Mini 4K at Amazon for £189 (was £242). That discount drops the four-and-a-half-star-rated drone back to its lowest price ever.

This particular bundle includes the drone, an RC-N1C controller, and one battery. That means you'll be up and flying in no time at all, capturing breathtaking 4K video.

One of the best things about the DJI Mini 4K is how portable it is. At less than 249g, you can throw it into a camera bag or rucksack and take it anywhere you want. The fact that it's now discounted by so much only sweetens the deal more.

Today's best DJI drone deal

Take a read of our in-depth DJI Mini 4K review, where our cameras editor, Timothy Coleman, took the popular drone out for a test spin. It didn't take long for him to be impressed by the high-resolution 4K video, the set of features that are perfect for beginners, and its excellent value. And don't forget, that was at full price.

Beyond this, the drone offers level 5 wind resistance, dynamic movement presets, and a battery that will last for a maximum of 31 minutes. This will be enough for most flights, but if that's going to be an issue, then we recommend investing in additional batteries.

To give you a complete picture, the Mini 4K lacks object-collision sensors and subject tracking, which will make it difficult to fly through tight spaces. If you require this feature, then the DJI Mini 4 Pro would be a viable alternative. But this Mini 4K has all the essential features you would need for your first drone at a much more reasonable price.

The Mini 4K is ideal for beginners, but if you're looking for something more advanced, then our guide to the best drones is a great place to start. And if you're set on DJI, then we have a dedicated best DJI drones buying guide just for you.

The Iran war has driven up fuel and freight costs, exposed vulnerabilities in critical supply chains, and forced investors to rethink which technologies matter most in a more volatile world.

Two themes stand out: low-cost autonomous defense systems and energy technologies that reduce exposure to fossil-fuel shocks.

Evolution of drones

The war in Ukraine has already shown what that first trend looks like in practice. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, one of Ukraine’s main defenses against the larger and better-resourced Russian army were Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones, which reportedly cost several million dollars.

Now, a few years later, Ukraine increasingly relies on domestically produced and locally assembled drones. For example, Vyriy, a Ukrainian drone manufacturer, says that it has localized production of frames, controllers, and radio control systems, while other components, like cameras, are provided by local companies.

Some of the company’s first-person-view drones reportedly cost as little as $500.

Another Ukrainian company, Wild Hornets, recently said a Ukrainian operator used its Sting interceptor system to shoot down two Russian drones located 500 km away, highlighting the increasing capabilities of low-cost defense systems.

Beyond the ability to test and improve drones in real-world conditions, the main reason companies can make drones cheaper and more effective is the ability to produce them at scale.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence announced plans to manufacture around 7 million drones this year alone, after producing more than 4 million in 2025. According to the ministry, currently, there are more than 200 Ukrainian companies involved in producing AI-powered drones.

Technological capabilities also play a significant role in making them widespread and effective. AI systems are being used on the front lines for target detection, obstacle avoidance, and battlefield data analysis.

Benefits beyond military

The Iran war was another reminder that warfare is changing, showing how cheap systems can make a difference. Iranian drones and missiles have targeted or threatened regional energy infrastructure, while the US, for the first time, used low-cost one-way attack drones modeled after Iranian designs.

Even before the war, investors had already ramped up investments in defense. Last year, venture capital investments in defense startups, including those that include dual-use technologies used by civilians, grew to $49.1 billion from $27.2 billion a year earlier, according to PitchBook calculations.

PitchBook also claims that autonomous systems were among the most funded startups, while counter-unmanned aerial systems and autonomous manufacturing are rapidly emerging as priorities.

I expect the Iran war also to drive even more investments in defense, particularly in drones and anti-drone systems. Oil-rich Middle Eastern countries are already looking for ways to defend themselves against Iranian threats, which will likely spur further investment.

Advances in military technology, together with falling production costs, could accelerate the development of civilian drone applications in package delivery, agriculture, aerial surveying and public-safety operations.

This can mean medicine arriving faster in remote areas, small household items delivered in minutes, and lower delivery costs. Recently, Barclays estimated that autonomous delivery costs could fall from $5–$7 per order to $1 in the long term, Reuters reported.

Energy security

Another area where the war is going to have a significant footprint is energy security. Rising oil prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, prompted the International Energy Agency (IEA) to call it the biggest energy crisis in history.

The head of IEA has warned that some European airlines have only six weeks of fuel left.

Even if the Iran war ends soon, it would be naive to expect such oil shocks to never happen again. This is another major energy shock within four years. The last one, which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, accelerated the push into renewables, grid infrastructure, storage, and electrification, especially in Europe.

We are likely to see a similar pattern now, and the more negatively the war affects the economy, the stronger the incentive to reduce oil exposure becomes. This should accelerate the adoption of transport powered by alternative fuels, as well as the expansion of the infrastructure needed to support it.

Advances in technology can also help reduce dependency on oil. AI tools can help forecast electricity demand, making grids more efficient and reducing unnecessary fossil-fuel backup. It can improve the integration of solar and wind by predicting generation patterns more accurately.

AI can also optimize battery storage, deciding when to store power and when to release it to the grid. And in buildings, AI can help manage heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation in real time, cutting energy waste.

For investors, that makes the takeaway from Iran much broader than a short-term spike in oil. It is a reminder that resilience is becoming a core investment theme.

In a world of cheap drones and expensive energy insecurity, the winners are likely to be the companies that can make protection cheaper and energy systems less exposed to geopolitical shocks.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

Light and compact drones don't get much better than the DJI Mini 3, which has recently had its price slashed at Amazon down to $499 (was $719). I'll do the math for you: that's a huge $220 off the retail price.

This is actually for the combo package, so you get even more for your money. The bundle includes a DJI Remote Controller for advanced flying maneuvers and three batteries for 114 minutes of flight time. You'll look like the consummate professional even though you've paid no more than $500 for the privilege.

We're also big fans of the true vertical shooting for social media optimized shots. That means no more faffing around with crops in post. The Mini 3 will handle everything for you in-camera. This really is a fantastic drone package for any hobbyist or beginner professional – now back to its record-low price.

Today's best DJI drone deal

In our DJI Mini 3 review, we rated this drone four out of five stars and praised its affordability, great image quality, and small form factor. In terms of image output, the Mini 3 can capture 12 MP photos (RAW and JPEG) and 4K video at 30fps. That's enough resolution to cover most purposes, especially considering the more budget nature of this drone.

It's a great all-rounder that does all the basics well. It's not as fully featured as some drones, though, as evidenced by the lack of collision avoidance. But if you plan on flying in open spaces most of the time, you won't miss it at all, especially if you take advantage of QuickShot's automated flight patterns.

Check out our extensive guide to the best DJI drones if your heart is set on this popular brand. If, on the other hand, you're open to other options, then our best drones guide is worth checking out instead.

• The FCC has extended its waiver on software updates for DJI drones
• The latest extension ends on January 1, 2029
• You can also have your say on the DJI ban

The US Federal Communications Commission’s ban on new DJI drones and its other technology has been a frustrating one for camera enthusiasts and professionals alike — as they’re set to miss out on 25 launches this year alone — but we finally have a silver lining, even if it is a small one.

Your older DJI drones should stay reliable for a little while longer.

That’s because the FCC has announced that it’s extending the waiver for certain drones to receive software updates in the US. Previously, it was set to expire on January 1, 2027, but now it will last until at least January 1, 2029 — foreign internet routers have also had their software access extended until this date (via Tom’s Hardware).

In terms of hardware access, nothing has changed, but it means that manufacturers shouldn't get blocked from releasing essential security or bug fix patches to already sold tech (at least not until 2029). Previously, this was a fear once the waiver ran out, and could have left some tech unable to function if it encountered a glitch, or turn your drone into the sort of security risk that the FCC’s ban is meant to avoid.

Meanwhile, DJI is attempting to appeal the FCC’s ruling in US courts. The ban came about when DJI was put on the 'Covered List' — a list of entities thought to be a threat to national security — though neither the FCC nor the US government has explained exactly what DJI has done to deserve this designation.

At the same time, these entities refused to perform a security audit of DJI, despite the company submitting to one.

The whole process has been a frustrating one to watch play out — especially given the excellent quality of DJI’s camera and drone tech. Hopefully, this waiver extension will help alleviate some issues, but we’ll have to wait and see how the DJI appeal goes for a more definitive verdict on the drone brand’s US fate.

Have your say

If you’re frustrated with the DJI ban, the FCC is currently giving the public a chance to submit comments on its measures — though the form closes today (May 11), so you don’t have much time left.

As highlighted on the r/drones subreddit, you just need to go to the FCC’s Submit an Express Comment page and fill in the short form; in the first box, type "26-22" to find the DJI ruling where you'll want to comment.

You will need to provide some personal information (such as your name and address), and then provide your comment on the ban. You can highlight how DJI drones have positively impacted your life, and/or you could question the confusing implementation of the ban — how it affects all of DJI’s tech rather than just its drones, or how the ban doesn’t seem to be applied fairly to other similar drone makers.

Equally, if you think the ban has had a positive impact (though we here at TechRadar wouldn’t agree), you can also leave a comment explaining why you hope the ban stays in place.

Just remember to keep your comments civil, the FCC likely won’t appreciate being bombarded with rude or hateful comments — and harsher words wouldn’t help either side’s arguments in this technology debate.

Your 360 camera — or 360 drone — has a new hidden talent: the ability to build eerily accurate 3D models of real places and objects, with almost zero effort from you.

It's all down to a process known as 3D Gaussian Splatting, made more accessible than ever by a cloud platform called Splatica. And I've tried it, using both my Antigravity A1 360 drone and Insta360 X5 360 camera to recreate rooms in my house and landmarks in my hometown. Here's how it works, how easy it is to use, how much it costs – and what I think of it.

How 3D Gaussian Splatting works

At its core, 3D Gaussian Splatting is a method for reconstructing a real-world environment as a fully navigable 3D scene, using nothing more than video footage as its raw material. When you feed footage into the system, it first analyses the frames to work out where the camera was positioned at each moment – a process called structure-from-motion. From that, it builds a rough point cloud: a sparse, skeletal map of the space.

The clever part comes next. Rather than trying to construct traditional polygon meshes and textures the way a game artist would, the algorithm instead populates that point cloud with millions of tiny mathematical shapes called Gaussian ellipsoids. You can think of them as small, semi-transparent blobs, each precisely sized, oriented, and colored to represent a fragment of the scene's geometry and lighting. Stacked together in their millions, these ellipsoids collectively "paint" a photorealistic picture of the environment.

What makes 3DGS stand out from earlier techniques is how efficiently it handles the rendering side. A previous approach called Neural Radiance Fields, or NeRF, could produce stunning results but was notoriously slow to process and render. Gaussian Splatting sidesteps many of NeRF's bottlenecks by using a highly parallelizable architecture, meaning modern GPUs can tear through the calculations at speed.

The result is real-time rendering of scenes that look almost indistinguishable from the original footage – complete with accurate lighting, reflections, and fine surface detail. And crucially for Splatica's workflow, 360-degree cameras are an ideal capture tool for this process: their full-sphere field of view means the algorithm has data from every angle of a space simultaneously, leaving far fewer gaps or blind spots in the final model than a standard camera pass could ever achieve.

What do you need to create your own scenes?

Which brings me neatly to a discussion of the gear you can use to create your own Splatica scenes. Currently, it supports Insta360 cameras and the Antigravity A1 (which uses Insta360 tech). I used the Insta360 X5 camera as well as the A1 to create scenes, but the Insta360 X2, X3, X4 and One RS will also do the job.

Splatica's website gives detailed information on the camera settings you should use for the best results, and on the camera moves you should attempt while capturing the scene. Slow, even movements are recommended for the best results, with the camera recording multiple passes of the same subject at different heights. The idea is to capture your chosen subject from several angles to cover any potential blind spots.

Crucially, each scene must be created from a single, continuous clip – ideally two to four minutes long when using an Insta360 camera, or three to five minutes long while using the Antigravity A1. Longer clips are supported, but aren't described as optimal – perhaps because they'll take longer to process?

For my first Splatica scene, I decided to keep things simple. I grabbed my Insta360 X5, mounted it on its selfie stick, tweaked the camera settings to the tutorial's suggestions and proceeded to record a single 8K 30fps video of my living room, skirting it in an anti-clockwise direction three times at three different heights (chest level, hip level and overhead), as well as walking diagonally across the center of the room, then capturing one final skirt of the room at chest height in a clockwise direction.

The resulting clip was three minutes long, and a chunky 4.29GB in size. I uploaded it to the Splatica website, which took about an hour on my rather sluggish copper wire broadband, then waited. Splatica takes a few hours to create scenes, but it's possible to get a rough idea of how the process is going by viewing your gallery page on the site, which shows a progress bar over the scene. Being that it was late afternoon when I uploaded the video, I decided to return the next morning to check.

The next day, when I clicked on my living room scene, my first feeling was one of disappointment: the Splatica site threw up an error message. But thankfully it seems to be a Chrome browser issue (as no other scenes would load on Chrome, either); when I cut and pasted the link into Safari everything loaded up just fine – and the result was far more impressive than I'd been expecting.

Splatica had rendered a crisp and detailed 3D replica of my room, with accurate colors, where text on bookends and magazine covers was easily legible. All trace of me, meanwhile, was removed – the software appears trained to recognise moving people and erase them from the creation process.

You can view the scene here.

Visually, there's certainly an element of patchiness to things rather than true-to-life detail across the whole scene – it's quite painterly, in my eyes – but given how fast and painless the creation process is, I think that's totally acceptable. I can see now why Splatica is such a hit in the real estate community.

In a web browser, Scenes can be "flown" through with your mouse or keyboard, to be viewed from different angles. You can save up to 10 of your favorite angles, or "poses" as Splatica calls them, then fly through these as an animated sequence. It's also possible to download the scenes in PLY file format, for viewing in 3D model software on your computer, where they'll appear as a ghostly apparition displaying every single point of reference captured by the camera.

Up, up and away

My second test was a little more ambitious – I decided to strap on the FPV goggles and take the Antigravity A1 for a flight around a local landmark: the small lighthouse at the mouth of Ramsgate's Royal Harbour (UK). Because of the goggles (annoyingly, there's no other way to fly the A1 than using them), UK drone laws meant I had to bring along a spotter. So that's one aspect of this process that I don't particularly like – hopefully Splatica adds support for the DJI Avata 360 soon, so that I can create more aerial scenes without the need to bring a companion along.

The recording process is a little more challenging here, due to the increased verticality of the scene and the A1's idiosyncratic motion-based flight controls, which even as a highly experienced drone pilot, I've always found awkward and unintuitive. Now, having to pilot the drone at a steady speed along a relatively narrow flight path, I found them even more of a challenge.

Feeling that the A1's waypoint-based flight mode might come to my rescue, I built my ideal flight path first, dropping key waypoints, then had the drone autopilot along it – the idea being that this would keep things smooth and even while recording the video.

Sadly, this didn't work out: the drone's close proximity to the lighthouse – Splatica advises you to fly as close as safety allows to your subject, in order to capture the most detail – caused the autonomous flight to immediately cancel itself. So in the end I had to fly it manually, spiralling around the lighthouse several times in FPV mode before completing a wider loop of the scene and landing. You can see the results below, or view the scene in your browser here.

So, is Splatica worth it?

Splatica isn't cheap, and unless you really need it for some commercial purpose or have oodles of disposable income to play with, it's going to be hard to justify the cost. Otherwise, it feels like yet another expensive monthly subscription that'll part you from cash which is probably best spent on essentials like food and bills.

Still, I can't deny that the process of creating these scenes has been a lot of fun, as well as opening my eyes to just how powerful our modern day cameras can be. If your 360 camera is gathering dust right now, Splatica is probably the best excuse to pull it off the shelf and get back outside with it.

Want a glimpse of the world's best aerial photography? DJI and SkyPixel's annual photo and video contest is the place to go, and this year's winners have just been announced after the early contenders were teased a couple of months ago.

The stunning winning photos and videos of the 11th edition of the contest were selected from over 95,000 entries and 96 countries and regions — and drone pilot Filip Hrebenda scooped the grand prize in the contest's $200,000 pot with his aerial image The Gate (see below).

Contest judge Zhu Jiong described the scene as "straight out of a fairyland — layered mountains wrapped in mist.

"The image feels calm on the outside, yet somehow breathtaking."

Four judges praised the grand prize winner, saying: "The location and conditions feel rare, especially with the fog and elevation, making the scene stand out."

Judge Daniel Kordan goes on to say: "I must admit I haven't seen such a composition before, so it is a unique and fresh shot."

The remote aerial scene was taken in Buskerud, Norway, with the DJI Mavic 3 Pro — a pro triple camera drone which we gave a five-star rating, and which has since been updated with the Mavic 4 Pro. We rank the Pro series as the best camera drones for consumers.

Details on the SkyPixel contest's site suggest Hrebenda used the main 24mm camera with variable aperture, which utilizes a micro four thirds sensor – that's bigger than those used in DJI's sub-250g drones.

Hrebenda had this to say about his winning image:

"Captured in the far north of Norway during the autumn of 2025, this photograph was taken in a remote and extremely difficult-to-reach location. At sunrise, the landscape was covered by dense fog that filled the valleys and concealed the dramatic terrain.

"After a demanding ascent, we finally rose above the cloud layer, revealing this surreal and almost otherworldly view. The natural stone arch, resembling a monumental gate carved by time, stands suspended above a deep valley, surrounded by rugged cliffs and distant mountain silhouettes emerging from the sea of mist. The lone figure on the rock emphasizes the scale and raw beauty of the landscape.

"To capture this composition, finding the perfect perspective was essential. This was made possible with the help of a DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone, which allowed me to position the camera precisely and reveal the full geometry of this extraordinary natural formation."

All the winning images can be seen at the SkyPixel site and also include the early front-runner Carpet Fields, which ended up being a finalist and was captured with the older Mavic 2 Pro.

It's truly amazing the standard of photography that camera drone pilots are creating with what is relatively affordable gear.

• Drone deliveries are becoming more ambitious
• A new South Korean trial delivered fried chicken to a remote island
• It's one of 80 test runs over the past month

Delivery drone programs are getting smarter and more ambitious: a trial scheme in South Korea has successfully delivered an order of fried chicken to a customer on the remote Biyang Island, via both a drone and an autonomous four-wheel robot.

The delivery drone traveled over three kilometers (1.86 miles) of ocean to reach its destination and transfer its delicious cargo, The Korea Times reports. There's no indication of how the takeaway meal actually tasted, but the "local resident" involved didn't lodge any complaints.

This is part of an extensive test by the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), backed by the government in South Korea. Around 80 such deliveries have been completed in the past month.

And Biyang Island is a particularly suitable challenge for this autonomous delivery technology. Not only is the location remote, it also features narrow alleys winding through the volcanic island, which traditional delivery vehicles would struggle with.

Ready to replace existing logistics

While commercial drones typically carry payloads of around three kilograms in weight, the flying machines tested here can hold up to 40 kilograms, which means a lot of items can be packed together in a single delivery and sent off.

"It is rare to repeatedly test high-payload deliveries under such varied conditions," said KASA, as per the report in The Korea Times. "This technology is reaching a level where it can replace everyday logistics operations."

There's still plenty of work to do, however: commercial services won't be ready for another five years, as the technology is developed further, and concerns over privacy and safety are worked out with regulators.

Even if it's not ready for the masses yet, it's an exciting glimpse into the future of drone-robot deliveries, with the tech advancing rapidly — and it's those in the most remote, difficult-to-reach locations that are set to benefit the most.

The DJI Mini 4k and new DJI Lito are fantastic options if you're looking for your first drone, but I've had my eye on an alternative from a no-name brand that seems to be generating a fair share of hype at the moment.

Right now, you can get the Skyrover S1 Mini with three batteries and a case for just $359 (was $499) at Amazon, which seems like an absolute bargain to me.

The S1 Mini isn't a model that we've reviewed here personally at TechRadar, but it's been favorably compared to the DJI Mini 4k, which has been a solid favorite of ours ever since we reviewed it.

On paper, the models are certainly similar, but the S1 has the edge. Like the Mini 4K, the S1 is under 249g (no registration required), but it features a larger 1/2-inch sensor with support for 60fps at 4K, as well as forward obstacle detection. The DJI, in comparison, has more basic obstacle detection — and it caps out at 30fps at 4K.

Of course, the DJI Mini 4K is also on sale for just $209 (was $299) at Amazon right now, so it's still a fantastic all-around choice. If you're looking for a compelling alternative with slightly more advanced flight modes and a bigger sensor, however, then I think the Skyrover S1 Mini could be worth a shot.

Skyrover S1 Mini drone deal at Amazon

Also consider...

How does the S1 compare to the DJI Lito?