Search and rescue is a valued application for drones, but mountain rescues at high altitude have been difficult due to the technology barriers created by the use of lithium batteries. Commercial drone manufacturer MMC addresses that issue with the hydrogen-powered HyDrone 1550.

Industrial Skyworks has announced the official launch of Blue VU advanced software for the accurate and efficient inspection of buildings, and oil and gas infrastructure. Industrial Skyworks’ new Blue VU software will relieve inspectors, engineers and technicians from sifting through thousands of images while providing safe visual access to hard to reach locations, such as the roofs of buildings,  flare stacks, and storage tanks.

On April 5, Verizon conducted the latest engineering flight tests to determine how large an area of wireless coverage can be created aerially using a “flying cell site” aboard a long endurance drone piloted by American Aerospace Technologies, Inc. (AATI).

CybAero has received a recall of a previously issued export license from the ISP – The Inspectorate of Strategic Products. The export authorization referred to a helicopter system for demonstration flights in China with the end customer AVIC.

Italian drone company Soleon has been using 3D printing to reduce the weight of drone components, improving the efficiency of its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). One of its latest products, SoleonAgro, is an agricultural pest control drone with a laser sintered polyamide body.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using its existing authority under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 99.7 – “Special Security Instructions” – to address national security concerns about unauthorized drone operations over 133 military facilities.

The Netherlands Aerospace Centre, NLR,  recently started working on the European TRAWA project, intended to develop standards for so-called ‘detect and avoid’ (DAA) systems on board drones.

China is the largest exporter of military drones today, and it is ready to place a new model on the international market. The TYW-1, developed by Beihang University in Beijing, one of China’s top institutes for science and technology, is an unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance and combat based on the BZK-005 high-altitude, long-range reconnaissance drone, which the university also developed.

French start-up company Airvada presented its range of innovative DIODON inflatable unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) at SOFINS, near Bordeaux.

FLIR’s Prox Dynamics unit is in the process of developing a new version of its PD-100 Black Hornet nano rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Jane’s has learned.