In a matter of days, more than $110 million in federal funding, Army contracts, distribution partnerships and major program acceptances have hit the wire.

Taken together, it’s clear that the U.S. government is not just buying finished American airframes, but funding and validating every single layer of the domestic drone supply chain — from raw motor manufacturing and autonomous software to modular warheads and dock infrastructure.

Here is a roundup of four key ways federal money and Department of War initiatives are reshaping the U.S. drone manufacturing landscape today:

1. Ondas secures another $50M+ Army order

Defense contractor Ondas Inc. announced on August 5 that its subsidiary, Mistral Inc., received an additional order of over $50 million from the U.S. Army for tactical Lethal Unmanned Systems, which they refer to as LUS.

This award falls under a massive $982 million multi-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. Combined with an initial $190.8 million award, Mistral’s total orders under the program now exceed $240 million.

As demand accelerates for precision-strike and loitering-munition capabilities across the Department of War and allied forces, Ondas is ramping up third-quarter 2026 production deliveries. The award proves that federal defense procurement for autonomous, rapidly deployable airframes has gone well past the experimental phase and is now operating at high-volume commercial scale.

2. XTEND accepted into DOW’s Drone Dominance Program

Lethality is more about the modular payloads mounted to it rather than the aircraft itself. On August 20, robotics company XTEND announced that its U.S.-manufactured X-Strike lethality package was officially accepted into the U.S. Department of War’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP).

X-Strike combines a U.S.-made Electronic Safe and Arm Device (ESAD) and warhead into a modular, platform-agnostic package that can integrate across multiple small UAS platforms. Currently progressing through Combat Evaluation with limited Army Fuze Safety Board approval, the system is paired with XTEND’s platform for Gauntlet II.

By pairing its XOS autonomous operating system and robotic platforms with a U.S.-made, platform-agnostic warhead, XTEND’s milestone underscores the Department of War’s push to give warfighters standardized, American-made payload effects that can be rapidly mounted on almost any airframe.

3. ePropelled lands $60M to 4X motor manufacturing

Drones are so much more than just the airframe, which means that American-made airframe is useless for clients seeking fully American-made drones if the motors, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and propulsion systems inside it are sourced from abroad. Sourcing domestic electric propulsion at scale has long been one of the biggest bottlenecks for U.S. drone builders.

That might change. New Hampshire-based ePropelled announced on Aug. 11 that it has secured $60 million in government funding through the Department of War’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.

The funding will allow ePropelled to expand its manufacturing footprint from 20,000 to 80,000 square feet, quadrupling its production capacity for dual-use electric propulsion systems. The company says that its automated facility will produce precision motors, speed controllers, and complete propulsion systems for defense and commercial drone platforms alike, which should directly supporting federal efforts to de-risk the component supply chain.

4. Drone Nerds brings NDAA-compliant docks to government buyers

As federal and local agencies look to deploy autonomous drones for perimeter security and emergency response, finding non-foreign, compliant dock stations has posed another hurdle.

Closing that gap, drone dealer Drone Nerds announced an exclusive U.S. partnership with Lithuanian docking platform developer DBOX. The partnership brings automated docking stations paired specifically with Parrot Anafi UKR platforms to U.S. public safety and government markets.

Because the compatible Parrot aircraft carry TAA, NDAA, and Blue sUAS designations featuring 5G connectivity, jamming resistance, and up to 70 minutes of flight time, the partnership gives government buyers an end-to-end, compliant “drone-in-a-box” solution ready for immediate deployment.

Are we getting closer to a complete domestic ecosystem?

For years, critics argued that American drone companies couldn’t compete with foreign rivals on manufacturing scale or component availability. But these four examples—funding propulsion plants (ePropelled), procuring tactical airframes (Ondas), standardizing U.S.-made lethality packages (XTEND), and distributing compliant dock infrastructure (Drone Nerds/DBOX)—suggest that the U.S. government is actively rebuilding the domestic drone ecosystem from the ground up.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

The post How $110M+ in new federal funding is building the U.S. defense drone supply chain appeared first on The Drone Girl.

If you notice an extra burst of illuminated energy across the San Francisco skyline this weekend, you aren’t imagining things. The 2026 Pokémon World Championships and the citywide PokémonXP fan festival have officially arrived in San Francisco, bringing competitive players, Trainers, and fans from around the globe to the city.

While trading card battles and video game tournaments will dominate the convention halls during the day, the real highlight for me (and all of the folks who love Pokemon but couldn’t get coveted tickets to the real event!) after dark. San Francisco’s night sky is hosting four separate Pokémon-themed drone light shows over four consecutive nights.

Here is your complete guide to catching every light-up character in the sky. The best part? It’s all free.

1. Thursday, August 27: Pokémon Worlds Night at Oracle Park

The aerial festivities launch on Thursday, August 27 when the San Francisco Giants host Pokémon Worlds Night at Oracle Park.

In addition to pregame ceremonies, photo booths, and in-game Pokémon GO activations throughout the ballpark, the evening concludes with a custom Pokémon Worlds Night Drone Show. Now you DO need a paid ticket to get into all that, but the drone show can be seen afterwards for $0. The performance takes flight over the bay roughly 15 minutes after the final pitch, projecting giant, illuminated 3D Pokémon formations over the water.

• Inside the ballpark: Ticket holders can enjoy front-row stadium seats for the post-game launch.
• How to watch nearby for free: If you don’t have a game ticket, set up along McCovey Cove, the Lefty O’Doul Bridge, or the public waterfront promenades outside Oracle Park to watch the sky light up over the bay.

The exact time of the drone show is contigent upon when the game ends. The game starts at 6:45 p.m., and the average MLB game is about 2 hours and 45 minutes, so expect drones to fly around 9:30 p.m.

2. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 3 FREE shows at the Ferry Building

If you miss Thursday’s stadium show, the PokémonXP fan festival is hosting three completely free, public drone light shows along the Embarcadero in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building.

This drone show will be set against the backdrop of the Bay Bridge.

Ferry Building Drone Show schedule:

• Friday, August 28: 9:35 p.m.
• Saturday, August 29: 9:20 p.m.
• Sunday, August 30: 9:20 p.m.

The best viewing spots

No event badge or ticket is required to enjoy the Ferry Building performances. For the clearest perspective, gather at Embarcadero Plaza directly in front of the Ferry Building or set up along the Harry Bridges Plaza promenade. Be sure to arrive 20 to 30 minutes early to secure a railing spot, and bring a warm jacket! Oh and by the way, pray for no fog!

How Pokémon built a global drone show legacy

San Francisco’s four-night display is part of a growing trend for The Pokémon Company, which has increasingly turned to high-tech light shows to anchor its premier global events.

For example, to celebrate the 6th anniversary of Pokémon GO and the Pokémon Air Adventures campaign, 500 LED drones operated by light show firm SKYMAGIC took over Singapore’s Marina Bay skyline. Over three nights, the 20-minute show featured a flying 3D Pikachu arriving alongside a commercial jet, an Afro Pikachu, a giant floating Poké Ball, and regional favorite Corsola dancing above the Marina Bay Sands.

And a the 2023 World Championships in Yokohama, 800 synchronized drones delivered a grand finale at Rinko Park titled “Pokémon Fantastic Live Show, We Move!!”. That show was also put on by SKYMAGIC and used a split-fleet launch setup that allowed giant characters to rapidly appear in sequence. Visual highlights included wing-flapping Legendary Pokémon Lugia and Ho-Oh, Charizard breathing streams of light, and the Gen-9 starters (Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly) glowing over Yokohama Harbor.

With four shows packed into a single weekend, San Francisco is set to host one of the densest drone show schedules the Bay Area has ever seen. Which Pokémon are you hoping to spot in the sky? I’m hoping for Jigglypuff!

The post Gotta catch ’em all: How to watch 4 massive Pokémon drone light shows in San Francisco this weekend appeared first on The Drone Girl.

We’re all familiar with standard multirotor drones, which rely on spinning propellers to generate lift and thrust. Then there are fixed-wing drones, that require a thrust of power but better glide through the air with their wide wings. eVTOL drones are increasingly popular to blend the two.

But what if there was another type of drone, one particularly well suited to fly in tight, confined spaces (like collapsed buildings, narrow industrial pipelines, or dense forest canopies) where exposed spinning blades could be a hazard? Enter flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles (FW-MAVs).

This style of drone is inspired by birds and insects, and they typically involved tiny, lightweight robots that use rapidly beating wings to hover, dart and maneuver in tight quarters without the danger of exposed rotors.

So why don’t we actually see drones like these widely used? As it turns out, flapping drones have always suffered from a fatal flaw: they are ridiculously vulnerable to wind gusts. Because they are so light and rely on rapid wing oscillations, a sudden breeze can throw them completely off course.

But that could change. According to a new report put out this month, a research team at Chiba University in Japan says it has solved a fundamental flight dynamics problem, developing a control system that cuts flight position errors in wind by over 50%.

How they solved it

Published in the journal Control Engineering Practice, the study — led by Assistant Professor Abner Asignacion Jr. and Dr. Satoshi Suzuki — investigated why flapping drones struggle so intensely when correcting for wind.

Testing a 103-gram, commercially available Flapping Nimble+ robot, the researchers uncovered a peculiar flight behavior known as non-minimum-phase behavior. When the flapping drone was commanded to move quickly in one horizontal direction to correct for a wind gust, it actually moved slightly in the opposite direction first before self-correcting.

Because of this counter-intuitive movement, standard drone flight controllers that try to correct wind disturbances too fast end up causing violent, unstable oscillations. Conversely, controllers tuned too slowly fail to stop the drone from drifting into walls.

To solve the issue, the Chiba University team designed a custom bandwidth-constrained disturbance observer. This smart control algorithm calculates external wind forces in real time while accounting for the drone’s odd initial wobble.

By carefully tuning how fast the observer responds to sudden air movements, the researchers achieved the perfect middle ground:

• Position error reduction: The robot’s X-axis position error was reduced by 53.1%.
• Overall 3D stability: Total 3D position error in flight dropped by approximately 28%.

Does this mean more flapping-wing drones ahead? Not necessarily. Companies like Flyability have tried to solve issues around exposed propellers by creating drones with full spherical collision-safe frames. And many use cases, like drone delivery and even carrying certain cameras requires bigger drones that can handle bigger payloads.

Still, this study suggests that we might see flapping-wing drones ahead. Because they can hover like hummingbirds and bounce off obstacles safely without exposed propeller blades, stabilized FW-MAVs, that means they could soon be deployed into environments where traditional drones fail—including disaster search-and-rescue inside collapsed structures, tight factory pipe inspections and agricultural crop monitoring.

What do you think? Do flapping-wing drones have a future? Tell me in the comments!

The post Defying wind gusts: How researchers cut flapping-wing drone flight errors by 53% appeared first on The Drone Girl.

Every once in a while, a piece of journalism comes along that captures an industry shift so vividly, thoughtfully and humorously that you can’t help but pass it along to everyone you know.

That is exactly what journalist Sheon Han achieved in his longform feature for Wired, “I Found Jesus at a Drone Show.”

And I love this story not just because I am quoted in the piece! Even if my name weren’t in it, this would still be easily the best article I have ever read on the drone light show industry, going far beyond standard press releases and corporate PR to take readers on a cross-country journey through the heart, tech and underlying drama of this rapidly growing world. Han’s story makes it clear he went past the computer screen and goes out into the field, taking readers across the U.S. to meet the key figures, companies and personalities shaping the sky matrix today.

For example, he explores how Kimbal Musk (brother of Elon) launched Nova Sky Stories after a pandemic-era “Free Burn” in the Black Rock Desert. Then he joins Preston Ward and the crew at Sky Elements (America’s largest show operator by volume) to break down the sheer manual labor required to set up 1,000 UVify drones. He walks readers through the RTK base stations, pre-flight checklists, ammo cans full of lithium batteries and the dance of plugging in thousands of connectors one by one.

The article culminates in Manvel, Texas, over Easter weekend, where company Aerial Illuminations launched a record-breaking spectacle for a multi-day Christian event titled “Jesus Jesus Jesus” (JJJ).

As someone who is so entrenched in the drone industry, it’s easy to take a lot of the stories and the tension for granted, but I like how this Wired piece brings up some interesting points, including:

• Drama between drone light show companies: The piece candidly outlines the tensions between operators, where competitors dismiss each other’s shows as “clip art” or clever marketing, and business models range from hardware manufacturing and custom software sales to pure marketing agencies that “just happen to have a fleet of drones.”
• The race with China: Han addresses the technological gap between Western operators and Chinese giants like Damoda, where thousands of drones launch autonomously from self-charging hexagonal hives rather than being laid out manually in grid lines.

Beyond the hardware specs, RTK positioning and FAA Part 107 waivers, what stood out to me with this story is how it articulates the spiritual and psychological impact of drone light shows.

I learned new things reading it, and I know you will too.

Head over to Wired to read Sheon Han’s full feature.

The post This Wired feature is the best thing you’ll read about drone light shows today appeared first on The Drone Girl.

Sanjuksha Nirgude has spent nearly a decade working across the broader robotics landscape — from warehouse mobile robots to space simulation with NASA’s VIPER lunar rover to ground robotics. Today, she serves as an Autonomy Technical Lead at Nightingale Security, where she designs and deploys autonomous aerial systems for 24/7 security and critical infrastructure operations.

She holds a Master’s degree in Robotics Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

In addition to bridging advanced robotics research with real-world production systems, she serves as an organizer for the Women in Robotics Bay Area chapter, advocating for gender diversity and mentorship in autonomous technology. 

And, she found a moment in her busy life to chat with The Drone Girl! Here’s our conversation, lightly edited for clarity and length.

Do you know an awesome drone girl I should profile? Contact me here.

The Drone Girl: What’s the top challenge within drones and robotics that you’re trying to solve for right now?

Sanjuksha Nirgude: Multi-drone coordination. That’s not just getting a fleet to safely share the same airspace without colliding, but pushing into the many applications that open up once multiple drones are actually working together as a system rather than as individual vehicles doing their own thing.

TDG: Ah ha, this has me thinking of drone light shows, which are such a good example of that! Now one thing on my mind lately is how AI fits into this.

SN: Yes, so the next frontier I’m excited about is bringing physical AI into that picture, specifically, how vision-language-action models, which have mostly proven themselves on ground robots and manipulators, can translate into aerial robotics. Drones operate in a much less structured, faster-moving environment, so figuring out what it takes for a VLA-style model to reason and act in that context feels like one of the more interesting open problems in the field right now.

TDG: Okay, so I’m curious how your background — which spans warehouse logistics, space simulation, and ground robotics all leads into this. How has working across ground and space systems shaped your approach to drone autonomy software?

SN: What’s stuck with me is how much of the core framework actually carries over. The underlying principles of robotics, how you think about perception, planning, control, vision, how you debug a system in production, how you handle a customer issue or ship a new feature or product from scratch, all of this translate more smoothly from ground and warehouse robotics into aerial than people might expect.

ROS(Robot Operating System) is a good example. It has been the backbone across nearly every domain I have worked in, from lunar rover simulation to warehouse AMRs to drones now. The vehicle underneath looks completely different in each case, but a surprising amount of the underlying approach carries over regardless.

TDG: What about the differences?

SN: There is something about working on robots that fly that simply hits differently, and my excitement for this field increased tenfold once the systems I was building left the ground. But the more interesting realization, technically, is just how much research and knowledge from ground robotics turns out to be transferable to drones. You are not starting from zero every time you move domains. You are building on the same foundation and applying it somewhere new.

TDG: Now you’ve worked heavily on high-fidelity simulation environments. from NASA lunar rovers to autonomous warehouse bots. When taking a drone out of simulation and deploying it into the real world for 24/7 security operations, what is the ‘gap’ between code and reality that surprises engineers the most?

SN: Closing the sim-to-real gap is a huge area of research right now, especially with the rise of world models, where physical AI and robots are trained inside a simulated world with the goal of that training holding up once the robot is operating in the real one. Most of that effort has gone into getting the physics right, the visuals right, how realistic and fast objects move, frame rates, even weather conditions. And simulation has genuinely gotten good at all of that.

TDG: Any surprises for you there?

SN: Network connectivity is one of the biggest gaps that gets the least attention. Ground robots are usually operating in an enclosed space or on a stable wired or WiFi connection.

Drones don’t have that luxury. When you’re flying miles from a ground station, the strength and consistency of that connection has a direct impact on whether operations run smoothly. Simulating a realistic network environment, with latency, dropout, degraded signal, is still a much smaller focus than simulating physics or weather, even though it’s one of the most common real-world failure points. That gap matters whether you’re talking about a rover on the Moon or a drone running security operations around the clock.

TDG: What’s something you think people don’t understand about your work in drones and robotics?

SN: That it’s nowhere near as software-centric as people assume. Robotics is genuinely one of the most interdisciplinary fields in engineering, you need mechanical, electrical, and computer science all working together, and that’s still true whether you’re building a ground robot or a drone.

Up until fairly recently, very few universities even offered a dedicated robotics engineering degree, so most people in the field came in through one of those three lanes and had to pick up the other two along the way. I started in mechanical engineering myself, and I think that foundation still shapes how I approach software design today, in the sense that I’m always thinking about it in the context of the robot’s anatomy, not just as code sitting on top of a machine.

TDG: Is there one area people should focus on though if they want a career like yours?

SN: The coding and AI side gets most of the spotlight because it’s the most visible part, but the algorithm is only ever as good as your understanding of the system underneath it. A working knowledge of robot design, hardware behavior, and sensors, how they’re placed, calibrated, and how they perform under real-world conditions, directly shapes how well you can write that algorithm in the first place.

A plan that looks perfect on paper can fail entirely if it doesn’t account for what the platform underneath it can physically do. That intersection, not any one piece of it, is what makes robotics hard and honestly what makes it interesting.

TDG: We were talking previously, and you mentioned no two days in your life look the same.

SN: That’s genuinely one of the top reasons I love my job. Robotics is such an interdisciplinary field that being effective means being comfortable moving across a wide range of problems, not staying confined to one lane. That range is something I’ve come to see as a strength rather than a distraction.

TDG: Okay, well do you have any average day in your life? Or one day that’s particularly stood out?

SN: When I joined a site assessment to evaluate whether a location we were installing at was actually suitable for the application. Most of my day-to-day work is on the software side, so being out there in person, thinking through airspace considerations and hearing directly from the customer what they needed the system to do, gave me a level of understanding you simply don’t get from a behavior planner or a simulation alone. It’s the kind of context that makes the software work better once you’re back at your desk.

TDG: Ah ha, I agree! The days out in the field are way better than my days at my desk.

SN: Both are core to the job. One day I’m deep in the literature shaping how we think about a problem, the next I’m on-site seeing exactly what the system needs to deliver in practice. Staying sharp on both ends, the research and the real world, is what it actually takes to build something that holds up.

TDG: Fair advice! Okay, so for the women and aspiring engineers reading The Drone Girl who want to break into autonomy software: What is one core technical skill or mindset shift you recommend focusing on first?

SN: Speak up and ask questions, even when you’re not sure you have the “right” answer yet. I’ve noticed women in particular tend to hold back, assuming their input isn’t important enough to share. But you never actually know until you put it out there, and often it’s the question everyone else overlooked that ends up moving a project forward. Getting out to local events and talking directly to people already in the field is one of the best ways to build that instinct, you learn faster from real conversations than from any course or textbook.

The second one is more specific to robotics: I’ve learned to keep asking myself, how can I simplify this? Robotics gives you access to genuinely sophisticated algorithms, sensors, and compute, and it’s tempting to reach for the fanciest tool just because it exists. But the best engineering solution is usually the simplest one that reliably gets the job done. Knowing when you don’t need something complicated is just as important as knowing how to build it.

TDG: As an organizer for Women in Robotics Bay Area, what are some of the most pressing hurdles you see early-career women facing in autonomous systems today?

SN: Confidence is a big one. I’ve seen women who are genuinely excellent at what they do still doubt themselves simply because the field feels daunting, or because they don’t see many people who look like them further along the path.

Also feeling like you need to prove you belong in the field because you’re a woman. That’s extra weight that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

The truth is, robotics rewards curiosity, creativity and skill, and there’s room to build a career for anyone willing to work hard in any corner of it, hardware, software, systems, whatever draws you in. The sooner that pressure to prove yourself goes away, the more women will simply see themselves as engineers, not as an exception in the room.

TDG: And what kinds of things could we do better at (or is Women in Robotics Bay Area doing) to support that?

SN: A big part of it comes down to visibility, exposure to the technology itself, but just as importantly, exposure to the people, especially women, already doing incredible work in this industry. Seeing someone who’s already achieved what you’re working toward is one of the most powerful things for an early-career woman to witness. It turns something abstract into something concrete: this is possible, and here’s someone who’s done it.

That’s a big part of what Women in Robotics focuses on. We regularly organize networking events and talks featuring women from both industry and academia, giving them the spotlight and letting their work speak for itself, similar to what The Drone Girl is doing with this very profile series.

The other piece is mentorship and community…making real openings for women to ask questions of people more senior than them, or even peers just a step or two ahead, about how they actually got into the field or how to navigate it. A lot of that knowledge doesn’t live in a textbook, it lives in conversation, and it tends to happen naturally once you’ve built an actual community around it. That’s what we try to create! It’s a space where those conversations keep happening, where mentorship is simply part of how the community works.

Follow Sanjuksha Nirgude on LinkedIn, and follow along with Women in Robotics Bay Area on Meetup.

Do you know an awesome drone girl I should profile? Contact me here.

The post Sanjuksha Nirgude: Women in Robotics lead shares lessons on autonomy appeared first on The Drone Girl.

Next up in our “Ask Drone Girl” series is about working in drone delivery. If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.

I’m a Part 107 remote pilot in western North Carolina and I’d like to know how to get involved or apply with Wing to do Walmart deliveries. I saw your YouTube video and thought maybe you would know how to start or what website I can go to in order to apply. Thanks for your time and hopefully help!

Woot! Congrats on having that Part 107 certificate. You’ll need it! And great news that you’re in North Carolina. Wing runs a bunch of drone delivery operations in Charlotte.

And sure, while Wing’s aircraft rely heavily on autonomous flight software, they still employ Part 107-certified pilots and flight operations teams on the ground to oversee logistics, manage remote site hubs, handle maintenance and monitor operations.

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to apply, where to look, and what roles to keep an eye out for.

1. Where to apply

All official job postings for Wing are managed directly through their central careers portal. When you land on the page, scroll down to the Open Roles section. You can filter open positions by both Department and Location.

2. Find the best job for you

Because Wing operates under complex FAA certifications (including Part 135 air carrier operations and Part 107 rules), “pilot” roles don’t always look like traditional stick-and-rudder flying jobs. Instead of sitting with a remote control for every flight, operations staff monitor highly automated fleets and manage ground handoffs at hub sites (like local Walmart Supercenters).

Wing has careers that relate specific to aviation and drone piloting, including Flight Operations Support Coordinator, sUAS Flight Operator / Site Coordinator and Aviation Safety Analyst.

Then again, there are tons of roles at Wing that have nothing to do with flying. They’re hiring in communications, accounting, HR, business and so much more.

3. Location considerations for drone pilots

Wing’s operational roles are typically tied directly to active hub markets (of which it is rapidly expanding, including recent growth announcements in Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area).

A quick check of their current careers list shows active locations such as Charlotte, NC, as well as other major regional hubs in the Southeast, like Atlanta, GA, Tampa, FL, and Orlando, FL. This one in Charlotte specifically seeks a flight operator to work on a 36-month fixed contract, operating drones. And yes, you’ll need a current FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate to apply.

4. How to stand out on your Wing application

Having a Part 107 license is a baseline requirement for field operations roles, but Wing looks for a few specific skill sets to stand out in their hiring pool:

1. Safety-critical experience: Highlight any past experience in safety-first environments—whether that’s commercial drone work, manned aviation, logistics, or emergency services.
2. Software and telemetry comfort: Because Wing’s system is autonomous, operators spend a lot of time monitoring web-based interfaces, airspace data, and system telemetry. Make sure to emphasize your experience with flight planning tools, airspace apps, or technical logging.
3. Customer and merchant operations: At Walmart sites, flight operations teams often interact directly with retail workers loading packages or local stakeholders. Customer service and clear communication skills are major advantages.

Best of luck with your application! Bookmark the Wing Careers Page, set a recurring reminder to check new postings every week, and keep your logbook updated.

Happy flying, and happy applying!

The post Ask Drone Girl: How do I get hired to fly drones for Wing and Walmart? appeared first on The Drone Girl.

The Army in August awarded a $46.1 million contract to Elroy Air to test and experiment with the company’s Chaparral autonomous hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for heavy cargo operations to ensure the drone can be easily used by soldiers in various environments.

The San Francisco-based company on Tuesday said the firm-fixed-price Phase III Small Business Innovation Research award builds on two other Army contracts the past two years to improve the Group 4 unmanned aircraft system’s ability to operate with its forces in austere and contested environments by “enhancing its modular multi-mission payload versatility and payload delivery mechanisms.”

The contract was awarded on Aug. 17 with an initial obligation of $5.1 million in fiscal year 2026 research, development, test and evaluation defense-wide funds being obligated.

Elroy Air in July said it recently demonstrated three modes of autonomous cargo delivery for the Army using Chaparral. The demonstration included two payload drops in a single flight on July 15 in a close-in hover mode followed by another during forward flight without personnel required at the delivery points. A separate event featured a ground delivery with the payload releasing without personnel.

The post Army To Test And Evaluate Elroy Air’s Hybrid-Electric VTOL Under New Contract appeared first on Aviation Tech Today.