Drone News: DJI Matrice 400, Altitude Angels Detect & Avoid System, & Fire Academy Trainer Courses

Post Flight in Community 👉 https://bit.ly/premium-drone-communityWelcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have three stories for you this week. First, DJI unveils the new Matrice 400, Altitude Angel secures a U.S. patent for its ARROW ground-based detect-and-avoid system, and the National Fire Academy is hosting train the trainer courses for local fire officials! Let's get to it.

National Fire Academy Program:https://forms.gle/AzEAmvRzydypPdS48

First up this week, DJI has pulled the wraps off its latest enterprise drone, the Matrice 400. They're claiming up to 59 minutes of forward flight time and 53 minutes of hovering with an H30T. The M400 can carry a hefty 13.2-pound payload, and and comes with an IP55 rating. It can handle -4 degrees Fahrenheit all the way up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning you should be able to fly it even in Phoenix during the summer! Inside, the Matrice 400 is equipped with LiDAR, mmWave radar, and full-color low-light fisheye sensors. DJI says this setup allows it to navigate challenging environments and detect small obstacles like high-voltage power lines in low-light conditions. The video transmission is also getting a boost with the O4 Enterprise Enhanced system, supporting image transmission up to 24.9 miles. It uses a ten-antenna aircraft design, and there's even a built-in relay module so one M400 can extend the range of another. For payloads, it has four E-Port V2 ports and can support up to seven simultaneous payloads. This includes compatibility with the Zenmuse H30 series, the L2 for LiDAR mapping, and the P1 for photogrammetry. Next up this week, Altitude Angel, a company known for its Unmanned Traffic Management, or UTM, technology, has just secured a U.S. patent for its ARROW system. ARROW is a ground-based detect-and-avoid solution. What that means is it uses a network of ground sensors, like radio frequency detectors and high-resolution cameras, to monitor the airspace. The software then fuses this data to create a real-time picture of what’s flying around. The big advantage here is that it could allow drones to operate safely BVLOS without needing expensive onboard sensors, which could reduce costs by 50%.This isn't just a concept; ARROW powered Project Skyway in the UK, which was a 165-mile drone superhighway. They demonstrated what they call "Separation-as-a-Service," allowing multiple drone operators to share airspace safely. Now, access to this technology isn’t free, and specific costs aren’t public. Based on Altitude Angel’s website FAQs, costs depend on the area and the amount of traffic in that area. Here in the US, I think this would primarily be used by drone delivery companies, rather than others. It’s important that the airspace remains free to access, so we’ll have to keep an eye on this to ensure that local government or land owners don’t attempt to charge for access to public airspace. Last up, the National Fire Academy is hosting a 2 week train the trainer program designed for state, local, and tribal fire service professionals. Now this might not seem like big news to most, but traditionally the train the trainer program is restricted to federal personnel only. This allows program mangers, state fire, and program leads, to learn about teaching wildfire operations, mission planning NIST, Law Enforcement Responses, search and rescue, and more. So if you’re in public safety, be sure to check out the link below to apply for the program! This week on Post Flight we’ll be discussing the White House Executive Orders and Walmart expanding their drone delivery. We’ll see you on Monday for the Live, and Post flight in the Premium community! https://dronexl.co/2025/06/10/dji-matrice-400-enterprise-drone/https://dronexl.co/2025/06/10/altitude-angel-arrow-patent-drone-ops/