Defense Innovations, Drone Safety & EVTOL Tech | January 7, 2025

Weekly Wings: DroneLife.com

In the first episode of Weekly Wings Season 2, hosts Paul Rossi and Terry Neff explore key developments in the drone industry as the new year begins. They kick off with discussions on U.S. Army training operations in Romania using Skydio and Anduril drones for reconnaissance and the evolving role of American-made drones in defense operations - https://dronexl.co/2025/01/03/us-army-tests-drones-romania-anduril-skydio/

The conversation shifts to the unveiling of the Pivotal Helix EVTOL, a personal electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft priced at $190,000 and up. They examine its features, certifications, and implications for the future of personal air mobility - https://pivotal.aero/

Paul and Terry then review the capabilities of XCraft’s latest drone models, highlighting their American manufacturing focus and compliance with NDAA standards. They also cover a new proposed rulemaking by the Department of Commerce aiming to limit the use of Chinese-made drone components in the U.S. market for national security reasons - https://shopxcraft.net/ and https://dronelife.com/2025/01/03/commerce-department-issues-nprm-to-limit-use-of-chinese-made-drones-and-components/

The episode also explores real-world drone applications, including how Santa Fe Police recently used a drone to catch a fleeing suspect and how Severn Trent Water is leveraging DJI thermal drones to detect pipeline leaks remotely - https://www.police1.com/drones/video-n-m-police-nab-suspected-car-thief-within-minutes-after-deploying-drone

Closing the episode, the hosts reflect on a New Year’s Eve drone light show failure and compare the safety risks between drone displays and traditional fireworks - https://www.live5news.com/2025/01/01/falling-drones-injure-man-during-folly-beach-new-years-display/

Join Paul and Terry each episode as they dive into the latest trends and challenges in the drone and EVTOL industries.