Drone News: Avata 360 is Out, DJI Sues Insta360, BRINC Launches New Drone, Micro-Drones in Fukushima

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update. We have four stories for you this week. The Avata 360 is out, Second, DJI sues Insta360 just days before a major product launch, BRINC launches their new Guardian drone with Starlink integration, And micro-drones finally reach the bottom of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Let's get to it.
First up, the Avata 360 is out! It comes with 8K, 360° imaging, a 1 inch equivalent sensor, and 8K/60FPS in HDR! The Avata 360 also comes with the ability to fly the drone as a normal Avata, capturing 4K60FPS in single lens mode. Other features include obstacle avoidance in 360 mode, 23 minutes of flight time, integrated propeller guards, 42GB of internal storage, and replaceable front lenses! And the question that everyone will ask in the live on Monday: Compatible goggles include the Goggles 3 or Goggles N3 when using the Motion controller 3 or the FPV controller. In addition, the Avata 360 is compatible with the RC 2, RC-N2 and RC-N3.Speaking of, DJI has filed a patent ownership lawsuit against Insta360's parent company in China. They are targeting six patents that cover core drone technologies like flight control systems, structural design, and image processing.DJI is using a specific Chinese intellectual property law for this case, claiming these are "service inventions" created by former DJI engineers who went to work for Insta360. But Insta360's founder is pushing back hard. He stated that the main flight control patent in question is just a one-button "building dive" feature that isn't even used in their products. He also pointed out that Insta360 actually holds 28 patents that DJI products allegedly infringe upon.New up, BRINC has unveiled the Guardian, their next-generation Drone as First Responder, or DFR, platform. They also announced a new Seattle manufacturing facility to scale up production. The Guardian is the world's first Starlink-connected drone built for 911 response.BRINC claims the Guardian has an operational range of 8 mile and a flight time of 62 minutes! The drone features IP55 weather resistance, making it great for flying in the rain. The camera features 4K video with a 640x total zoom and dual HD thermal zoom cameras. In addition, BRINC has released the Guardian Station, a robotic charging nest that automatically swaps batteries and reloads payloads like Narcan or flotation devices without any human intervention.Last up, we have a real-world drones-for-good story! Fifteen years after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, palm-sized micro-drones have successfully flown inside the Unit 3 reactor at Fukushima and finally reached the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel.These tiny drones measure just 5.1 by 4.7 by 1.6 inches and weigh only 3.3 ounces, including the battery. Despite their small size, they carry a 2.7K camera shooting at 60 frames per second, two LED lights producing 380 lumens, and built-in radiation sensors. The airframes are IP52 rated and built to withstand up to 200 Gray of cumulative radiation exposure. During 13-minute flights, the drones mapped the pedestal floor and captured images of displaced control rod guide tubes and melted fuel debris. To keep the area completely airtight, crews used a custom seal box system to deploy and recover the drones without breaking containment. This is an absolutely incredible engineering achievement. A drone the size of a paperback book just mapped one of the most dangerous environments on earth, serving as a perfect reminder of why this technology is so important.Join us later in the community for Post Flight, where we’ll discuss these stories and share our opinions that might not be suitable for YouTube. And we’ll see you on Monday for the live.https://dronexl.co/2026/03/24/brinc-guardian-drone-starlink-911-response/https://dronexl.co/2026/03/23/dji-sues-insta360-patent-lawsuit-avata-360/https://dronexl.co/2026/03/23/drones-fly-fukushima-reactor/