PODCAST · leisure
The UAV Digest
by The UAV Digest
The UAV Digest is an audio podcast devoted to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Systems. We cover new developments in the industry, regulatory issues, unmanned technology, and a lot more. We consider both commercial and military applications, from all perspectives.
Episodes
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11,000-Drone Spectacular, DoorDash Delivery Drones & Skydio's New Fixed-Wing Aircraft
This week on UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof open with an astonishing drone show featuring more than 11,000 aircraft. A spectacular dragon formed by 10,183 drones sets a Guinness World Record, demonstrating just how far coordinated drone entertainment has advanced. DoorDash…
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Army’s $7 Billion Counter-Drone Push, DJI Chip Ban & Lowe’s Drone Delivery
The U.S. Army is opening the door to as much as $7 billion in counter-drone spending through a massive IDIQ contract covering a wide range of detection and defeat technologies. We look at why the Pentagon is spreading the work among numerous companies and how the program could support both…
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Amazon Drone Delivery Backlash, AI Drone Swarms & Prison Drone Fails
Amazon’s expanding drone delivery operations are beginning to collide with an increasingly important issue: the people who have to live underneath them. In UAV News Talk #453, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof examine Amazon’s proposal for as many as 1,000 daily drone deliveries in Connecticut…
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Thermal Drone Pet Rescue, Drone Business & Orlando Drone Show Crash
Can you build a real business around drones? Michael Parziale has done it in more ways than one. Michael, founder and team leader of the U.S.A.R. Drone Team, explains how thermal imaging has helped him locate more than 150 missing pets. We talk about how he conducts a nighttime search, identifies...
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U.S. Laser Downs Cartel Drones, 737 Drone Near-Miss & Amazon Expands
The U.S. military has used a high-energy laser to shoot down three drones allegedly operated by drug cartels along the southern border. Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof discuss what the drones may have been doing, the growing use of counter-UAS technology, and the risk of identifying the wrong...
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Drone Delivery Explodes: Amazon Targets 500 Locations as New Drone Fees Spread
Drone delivery may finally be moving from an interesting experiment to a mainstream business. Amazon is preparing a major expansion into 500 new locations, while Alphabet’s Wing plans hundreds of delivery locations of its own and Walmart is already delivering by drone from dozens of stores. Max...
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Uber & Zipline Target 1 Million Drone Deliveries a Day + DARPA’s Extreme-Lift Drone Challenge
Uber is making its biggest drone-delivery bet yet, partnering with Zipline as it works toward an extraordinary goal: one million drone deliveries per day. Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof trace Uber Eats' long and sometimes surprising history with drones and discuss why Uber's latest strategy…
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Archer Aviation Goes Beyond eVTOL: Boeing, Wisk, Insitu & SkyGrid Deep Dive
Archer Aviation has agreed to acquire Boeing’s Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid businesses in a transaction that could transform Archer from primarily an eVTOL startup into a diversified drone, defense, autonomy and aviation-AI company. In this special single-topic episode, Max Trescott and David...
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DoorDash Air Takes Flight as Motorola Enters Police Drone Market
Max reports from EAA AirVenture’s new Vertical Lift Center, where he gets an up-close look at Joby’s surprisingly large air taxi, the hybrid-electric DTA JP1, SkyFly’s winged personal eVTOL, and Zipline’s steerable delivery pod. His biggest takeaway: advanced air mobility is no longer merely...
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AirVenture 2026 Vertical Lift Center: Joby, Beta, Wing, Zipline and More
EAA AirVenture 2026’s new Vertical Lift Center will feature Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies, Wing, Zipline, and other drone and eVTOL innovators. Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof preview the aircraft, demonstrations, and companies bringing advanced air mobility, drone delivery, personal flight,...
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FAA BVLOS Right-of-Way, DJI Rescue Drones, and eVTOL Certification Delays
The FAA’s proposed framework for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations moves closer to publication, raising a controversial question: Could some BVLOS drones receive presumptive right-of-way over crewed aircraft? Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof examine the proposed Part 108…
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Joby Toyota eVTOL Deal, Archer Salinas Factory, Pentagon Drone Czar & Disaster Response Drones
In episode 444 of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof announce that the show is returning to a weekly schedule, then dive into a packed week of drone and eVTOL news. Video of the Week: Max taxiing by the Archer Midnight during testing at Salinas, CA. They begin with how aerial…
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Drone Delivery, Flock Drones, eVTOL Forecasts, World Cup Drone Busts & Flying Into a Tornado
Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof open episode 443 with their Video of the Week. It's a remarkable Sacramento Sheriff’s Office video showing a drone carrying a magnet into a cluttered house to remove a knife from the hand of an apparently unconscious armed suspect. They discuss the flying...
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Can American Drone Technology Compete with DJI? HYFIX H1D, AI Drones, RTK GPS & U.S.-Made Chips
Can American drone technology compete with DJI? In this episode of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof talk with Mike Horton, CEO and co-founder of HYFIX Spatial Intelligence, about U.S.-made drone chips, AI drones, RTK GPS, and the HYFIX H1D drone module. Mike explains that one of...
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Drone Delivery Expands, Pentagon’s Drone Arsenal & Honda eVTOL – UAV News Talk 441
In this episode of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof cover a wide range of drone, UAS, counter-drone, and eVTOL stories. They begin with their video-of-the-week: an unusual drone-assisted police story from Louisiana, where officers used a drone to locate a fleeing suspect after he...
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DJI Drone Ban, World Cup No-Drone Zones, and Archer Joby eVTOL Air Taxi Plans
Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof cover a packed week of drone and eVTOL news, starting with Eve Air Mobility’s latest hover and low-speed flight testing. They discuss how Eve’s Embraer connection and fixed-lift-rotor design differ from Archer and Joby, and why eVTOL certification…
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Counter-Drone Security: Shahed Drones in Cuba, World Cup Defense & eVTOL Air Taxis
David Vanderhoof returns to UAV News Talk after a six-month medical hiatus, joining Max Trescott for a wide-ranging discussion of drones, counter-UAS challenges, and the future of eVTOL air taxis. Max and David begin with David’s kidney transplant story and his return to the American Helicopter...
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Counter-UAS Drone Defense: Capturing Drones with LiDAR, Nets, and Parachutes
Max Trescott talks with David Hall, founder and CEO of Velodyne Space, about a new approach to counter-UAS defense that focuses on capturing drones using LiDAR, nets, and parachutes instead of destroying them. Hall begins by explaining LiDAR—Light Detection and Ranging—and how it measures…
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Ukraine to Build Drones for the U.S., and Hobby Drone Bans Threaten STEM Education
Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof tackle an unexpected reversal in global drone production and a growing crisis for the hobbyist drone community. The show opens with a headline few would have predicted a decade ago: Ukraine negotiating to produce drones for the U.S. military. David explains that...
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Germany’s Drone Crackdown, Sikorsky’s Autonomous Black Hawk, and FAA Shutdown Fallout — UAV News Talk 436
Episode 436 of UAV News Talk dives into global security, emerging automation, and the effects of Washington’s budget stalemate on the future of flight. Hosts Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof examine how nations, defense contractors, and innovators are redefining drone policy and autonomy at the...
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FAA eVTOL Approvals, Drone-in-a-Box Tech, HALE Solar UAVs, and EHang’s African Debut
Max talks with David Vanderhoof in Episode 435 of UAV News Talk about an especially busy week in drone, eVTOL, and military UAV news. The episode covers new FAA certifications, autonomous launch systems, solar-powered endurance flights, Chinese technology in Africa, U.S. counter-drone readiness,...
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Joby Buys Blade, China’s 2-Ton eVTOL, FAA Powered-Lift Rules & Drone Rescues
Max and David reunite for UAV News Talk episode 434, bringing listeners a wide-ranging discussion on the latest UAV, eVTOL, and rotorcraft developments. FAA Advisory Circular on Powered-Lift They start with the FAA’s release of AC 21-17-4, the long-awaited certification guidance for powered-lift...
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BVLOS Rules, School Safety Drones, Mars Helicopters & Michigan Drone Skyway – UAV News Talk
BVLOS rules, school safety drones, NASA’s Mars helicopters, and Michigan’s 40-mile drone research skyway take center stage in UAV News Talk episode 433, hosted by Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof. The discussion begins with the newly introduced LIFT Act—short for Leading Innovation in Flight...
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Drone Fireworks, Police UAVs, and a Black Hawk Crash in Texas
In Episode 432 of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof explore the evolving role of drones in public events, law enforcement, and emergency response—highlighting both their growing utility and the risks of poor coordination. Titled "Drone Fireworks, Police UAVs, and a Black Hawk Crash...
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Drone Delivery Test: Max Trescott Reviews Matternet’s BVLOS UAV Drop
Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof dive into the future of drone delivery in Episode 431 of UAV News Talk. Max shares his firsthand experience receiving multiple packages via drone as part of a pilot program from Matternet, a Mountain View, California-based drone logistics company. After visiting...
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430 DJI Drone Ban, Battery Fires, and Beta Alia’s Transatlantic Flight
In episode 430 of UAV News Talk, Max Trescott and David Vanderhoof return from vacation with urgent news and safety concerns in the drone industry. The episode opens with a major headline: the DJI Mavic 4 Pro is not available in the United States. Although the drone boasts high-end…
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429 The UAV Digest Relaunch: eVTOLs, Drones, and the Future of Flight
Episode 429 marks a major milestone for the podcast formerly known as The UAV Digest, soon to be relaunched as UAV News Talk. Max Flight and David Vanderhoof return to the mic after a long hiatus to introduce new co-host Max Trescott, known for his work on the Aviation News Talk podcast and...
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428 We’re Coming Back and We need Your Feedback to Make Us Better
If you’ve been a longtime listener, you know it’s been a while — actually, a couple of years — since our last episode. But the good news is: The UAV Digest is coming back! Since we last released an episode, the world of drones, UAVs, and advanced air mobility has evolved dramatically. And with so...
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427 Drone Safety Day 2023
Drone Safety Day is April 29, a drone that changes shape, jump-starting your car with a drone, Florida bans DJI from government agencies, decision-making for small UAVs, drones that work together without colliding, adding VTOL to a fixed-wing drone, agave farmers saving water, land a drone in Red...
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426 ADS-B Spoofing
uAvionix detects ADS-B spoofing, racing drones are delivering explosives, an aerial tanker that autonomously guides and controls multiple drones, self-flying F-16s that test loyal wingmen, the Condor heavy-lift UAV wins its first customer, a new mini light tactical UAS, and Archer Aviation and...
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425 Drone Delivery Network
Alphabet’s Wing subsidiary wants a drone delivery network, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces consider using drones to intercept aircraft, DJI is reportedly dropping AeroScope, U.S. Senators want an assessment of DJI security risks, cardboard drones from Australia are going to Ukraine, the USAF has...
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424 Personal eVTOL
Another personal eVTOL, cops flying BVLOS, military drones with facial recognition, a lethal drone designed in Australia, the Lilium Jet eVTOL, and moving air quietly. UAV News Is this one-seat flying saucer the future of flight? ZEVA Aero designs and builds electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing...
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423 Ameriflight Cargo Drones
Ameriflight plans to purchase cargo drones from Natilus and Saberwing, a plan for autonomous wind turbine inspections and repair, the American Security Drone Act, an arrest made for flying a drone at Dublin airport, a new hydrogen-powered octocopter drone, and Green and Blue UAS. UAV News...
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422 Global Drone Market
A global drone market report, aircraft control with artificial intelligence, a slow start to Amazon drone deliveries, drones disrupt flight operations at Dublin Airport, a testing service for microgravity research. UAV News Chinese drone maker DJI is dominating the market – despite being...
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421 Cargo Drone
A large autonomous blended-wing cargo drone and a smaller electric cargo drone, the Eaglet takes flight, taser drones at public schools, the GAO recommends the FAA create a comprehensive strategy, the Dronut for inspections, two MQ-9 Reapers for a Dollar, and a BVLOS autonomous inspection…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The UAV Digest is an audio podcast devoted to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Systems. We cover new developments in the industry, regulatory issues, unmanned technology, and a lot more. We consider both commercial and military applications, from all perspectives.
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The UAV Digest
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