Drones

• [New] The North Carolina drone trials will be used by the FAA to create final guidelines for safely integrating drones into the national airspace.
• [New] Stand Assessment is currently in use across Corteva's global fleet of more than 600 drones and will soon be offered to all of DroneDeploy's agriculture customers in the U.S.
• [New] Satellites orbiting Earth might be more vulnerable to attack by technologically advanced adversaries than HALE-UAVs operating close to the United States.
• [New] A new research and innovation project supporting sustainable air mobility in urban contexts via emergency and medical services will test both manned and unmanned drones in real-life conditions in 2023.
• [New] Saudi Arabia faces missile attacks, UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] strikes and other threats from Iranian supplied forces in multiple countries.
• American Tower, a global leader in wireless communications infrastructure, will utilize the autonomous drone and AI technology to inspect its more than 41,000 wireless communications tower facilities in the United States, with potential to expand to its more than 183,000 sites worldwide.
• Australia's first ever healthcare delivery drone trail for regional Australia will be undertaken in the Northern Territory, one of the most sparsely settled jurisdictions in the developed world with a significant Indigenous population living in remote communities.
• Custom-made, state-of-the-art medical drones with a flying range of up to 250 km will be developed and trialled for delivery of potentially life-saving medicines in the Northern Territory - Australia's first ever healthcare drone trail for regional Australia.
• People living in remote Aboriginal communities could begin to receive critical health supplies by drone before the end of the year as part of a new research project in the Northern Territory.
• Using drones to increase the number of inspections in a year could potentially reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 649 metric tons a year.
• Emerging technologies including AI and drones will play a vital role in helping the world recover from COVID-19.
• The U.S. would continue to support its ally's defense of its sovereign territory and population from missile attacks, drone strikes, and other threats posed by Iranian-supplied forces in multiple countries.
• Nigeria's Kaduna state has signed a deal with medical delivery firm Zipline that will allow drone shipment of COVID-19 vaccines without significant state investment in cold-chain storage.
• Depending on the different regulatory environments in various countries, industry leaders are anticipating the use of drones to deliver goods particularly in the rural areas of bigger countries such as Indonesia and Australia.
• The Air One hub will be the world's first pop up urban airport and charging hub for future electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, which include cargo drones and air taxis, and is set to be launched in Coventry later in 2021.
• Whatever the goals and state of China's drone swarms developments are, its capability and potential threats are definitely real and rapidly evolving at a fast rate.
• In 2021, we expect the Autonomous Vehicle (AV) industry to become increasingly part of daily life in North America through public transit pilots, driverless taxis, truck platooning and drone delivery.
• Since the FAA will soon allow drones to operate above vehicles and at night, states also can use their existing airspace leasing laws to generate revenue and keep operations away from quiet neighborhoods.

Last updated: 21 February 2021