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Drone News Roundup: Senate Version of DJI Ban Law Will Be Introduced This Week, Leaked Video of DJI Air 3S, and More!

BY Zacc Dukowitz
27 June 2024

This week we’re covering an announcement that a senate version of the DJI ban law, the Countering CCP Drones Act, will be introduced this week.

We’re also covering a leaked video of the DJI Air 3S, a drone inspection of the world’s tallest tree, Skydio’s partnership with Axon to offer a DFR solution, and a new drone that carries a magnetometer from Skyfront.

Now let’s get to those links!

Senate Version of DJI Ban Will Be Introduced to Congress This Week

dji-ban-senate-version
Credit: DJI

Last week, we reported that the DJI ban law—formally called the Countering CCP Drones Act—had passed in the House and was awaiting a vote in the Senate. To help it pass, the law has been rolled into the 2025 NDAA, a large defense funding bill. In order to be made law, the Act must now pass in the Senate and then be signed by the president. When the House passed the law, we expected it would take some time before there would be any action in the Senate. But Senator Jon Tester of Montana has announced plans to introduce a Senate version of the DJI ban this week, signaling an appetite for pushing it forward more quickly than anticipated.

If the DJI ban becomes law, DJI will not be able to sell new DJI drones in the U.S. (Existing drones will be allowed—so if you already own one or buy a new one, you’ll still be able to use it.) Follow the link below to read our in-depth guide to the DJI ban, including how you can get involved in stopping it.

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Leaked Video Claims to Show DJI Air 3S

First there were claims of a DJI Air 3S leak, which turned out to be bogus. Then last week there was a DJI Mavic 4 leak, which seemed on the level. Now, we have what seems to be a legitimate Air 3S leak. But it’s unclear if DJI is working on both an Air 3S and a Mavic 4, or if we’re seeing leaked images of the same drone and we just don’t know what it is yet. Either way, it seems clear that DJI is working on a new drone—and it may be released as soon as August. Watch the video above to see what all the buzz is about, and stay tuned for more leaks on this front.

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World’s Tallest Tree by Drone

At over 2,200 years old and 275 feet tall, the General Sherman is the world’s largest known living tree. The tree is a giant sequoia, and it’s located in Sequoia National Park. Recently, the US National Park Service used a drone for the first time ever to check up on the tree’s health. The drone they used was Freefly Alta’s Astro Prime, a commercial platform that is, according to the Park Service, both NDAA-compliant and Blue-UAS approved. During the drone inspection the Park Service was looking for signs of damage from a native bark beetle, as well as any other damage they could address due to factors like drought. The Astro Prime used both a LiDAR scanner and its native HD video camera to collect data on the sequoia. In addition to collecting drone data, the Park Service also had volunteers scale the tree with ropes and incorporated satellite imagery into its inspection.

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Skydio Partners with Axon on DFR Solution

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Credit: Skydio

Skydio and Axon have partnered to launch a solution for public safety agencies that includes a Drone as First Responder (DFR) offering. Axon first made a name for itself with the taser. But it’s been very active in the drone industry over the last several years, creating software to support public safety drone operations and integrating that software with its other software solutions, which are purpose-built for first responders.

Here’s everything the two companies are offering in their public safety drone solution:

  • U.S.-made autonomous drones
  • Onsite docking stations
  • Integrated flight control software from Skydio
  • Real-time operations, real-time crime center (RTCC) capabilities and evidence management from Axon
  • Fleet and program management through Axon Air Powered by DroneSense
  • Airspace awareness and deconfliction from Dedrone’s innovative technology, enabling DFR BVLOS ops without the need for visual observers

DFR programs have become a hot topic recently, with more and more police and fire departments turning to drones to get immediate intel at the scene of unfolding emergencies. And software is a critical piece of any successful DFR program. BRINC recently put out its own software-and-hardware DFR solution, and we’re sure to see more players enter this emerging space before too long.

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Skyfront Launches New Drone Magnetometry Solution

skyfront-drone-magnetometry
Credit: Skyfront

Sensors and software are the future of commercial drone ops. Sensors collect new and more sophisticated data, and software helps interpret that data. Magnetometry is one area where new sensors are looking promising for drones, and Skyfront is leading the charge. A few years ago, we heard about inspection companies retrofitting drones with magnetometers so they could do things like fly over land owned by oil companies and identify the location of old, forgotten pipes. Now, companies like Skyfront are pioneering drones made specifically for this kind of data collection.

The Skyfront MagniPhy is the latest drone magnetometer solution from the company. It’s designed for a range of applications, including surveying, mineral prospecting, detecting orphaned wellheads, and finding landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). The MagniPhy is compatible with third-party magnetometer sensors and a wide range of platforms including those made by DJI, ArduPilot, and PX4-based drones. It was developed in collaboration with Geometrics, the maker of the MagArrow II UAS-enabled magnetometer.

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