Drone News: Drone Ban CCP Update, 1st Cat 2 Drone, New DJI Model, & FAA Authorizes Commercial BVLOS

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update we have 4 stories for you, Countering CCP Drones Act Update, First Category 2 Drone, a brand new DJI drone model and the FAA authorizes commercial BVLOS flights without a visual observer.

First up, a new senate amendment to the 2025 NDAA hopes to add the Countering CCP Drones Act. If enacted, the countering CCP language would revoke all FCC approvals for DJI and Autel products, effectively banning new mo dels and grounding current fleets. The NDAA still has to be voted on by the Senate, but the addition of the Countering CCP language would align the House of Representatives NDAA bill and the Senate bill on the issue. Now is a great time to reach out to your representatives and senators as we near the election to let them know this language would devastate our industry and reduce Public Safety's ability to effectively save lives. We’ll update you as this progresses. Next up, the first Category 2 Drone has hit the DOC List! The DJI Matrice 3D and 3DT are now approved for operations over people under categories 2 and 3 using the AVSS parachute system! If you’re unfamiliar with the Matrice 3D, it’s DJI’s Dock 2 aircraft. Both of the Matrice 3D and 3DT are variable categories between cat 2 and cat 3 depending on the winds. More approvals should begin to hit the DOC list as AVSS tests more parachutes! Next, there are some DJI leaks for a new drone! The DJI Neo hit the FCC database this week, showing a 2S, 1435mAh battery. According to DroneXL, DJI follows a “30% Rule” in battery to drone weight, suggesting the drone will weigh about 170g. Leaked pictures also show a possible prototype similar to a DJI Mini-series drone. Currently, there are no leaked specs for the drone and we can't verify the leaked images are indeed of this model. We'll keep you updated when we see more! Last up, the FAA has finally authorized the first commercial drone operation beyond visual line of sight without using a visual observer. The approval goes to Zipline and Wing Aviation. I'm guessing this is an approval without a waiver under part 135 since other operators have been able to do this under part 107 waivers. The FAA stated that companies are sharing planned flight routes with other authorized airspace users by using Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) systems. We are still expecting to see a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) later this year that would normalize BVLOS operations for drones. Finally, a quick Community update. We have our July Drone photo contest winner! This month's winner is Derek Paulsen, with his photo of a "Beautiful Mountain Lake Outside Glacier National Park". Congratulations to Derek, who will receive a custom made pilot institute trophy and a $250 gift card. We'll have another contest in August, so stay tuned for those details. That's it for now, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you on Monday for the Live! https://dronexl.co/2024/07/26/senate-amendment-countering-ccp-drones-act-ndaa/ https://droneadvocacyalliance.com/ https://dronexl.co/2024/07/26/dji-neo-drone/ https://dronexl.co/2024/07/26/faa-avss-first-category-2-drone-flight-over-people/ https://www.avss.co/drone-parachutes/drone-parachute-recovery-system-for-dji-m3td-or-m3d-for-dji-dock-2/ https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/faa-authorizes-first-commercial-use-of-bvlos-drone-operations/