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Drones are being seriously considered for use in a number of important applications from military functions, like bomb disposal, to energy applications, like remote pipeline monitoring and inspection. But as the Federal government works to finalize rules on the use of drones in commercial applications, the drones are increasingly finding their way into more and more unusual settings – like the delivery of slurpees. Convenience store operator, 7-Eleven is an unlikely participant in drone delivery operating at the bleeding edge of the space. The company has partnered with drone delivery service Flirtey and in November, the two companies completed 77...

Millions of dollars' worth of U.S.-supplied drones that Kiev had hoped would help in its war against Russian-backed separatists have proven ineffective against jamming and hacking, Ukrainian officials say. The 72 Raven RQ-11B Analog mini-drones were so disappointing following their arrival this summer that Natan Chazin, an advisor to Ukraine's military with deep knowledge of the country's drone program, said if it were up to him, he would return them. "From the beginning, it was the wrong decision to use these drones in our (conflict)," Chazin, an advisor to the chief of the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces, told...

Cheap off-the-shelf drones are changing how so-called Islamic State and other groups are fighting - and the world’s militaries are racing to catch up. A small drone rises into the air. The operator checks its bird’s-eye view ... before nudging a control and sending the drone buzzing across town.... in places like Iraq, consumer drones have also become weapons of war. Off-the-shelf drones [were] used by so-called Islamic State in 2014. At first ... to film propaganda videos.... Then they became scouts. A drone video of a Syrian military base was released shortly before the base was hit by multiple...

Apple is reportedly planning to use drones to improve its Maps app and truly compete with Google Maps, following a problematic launch four years ago. Bloomberg News reports that Apple has been building a team of experts in robots and data capture to utilize drones to quickly update maps. Google and Apple both use fleets of cars and vans equipped with cameras, but drones will allow Apple to examine and monitor roads, street signs, construction areas, and more. Apple is said to have hired at least one employee from Amazon’s Air division to help run its own drone team based in Seattle. Alongside the...

(Yossi Zeliger/Flash90) Israeli drone Report: India Inks $1.4 Billion Deal for Acquisition of Israeli Radar Systems and Drones Print Email 4 Comments Nov 27, 2016 Related: Drones Indian Air Force Israel Aerospace Industries Israel-India relations Share Tweet Email Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1992 establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and India. By: Barney Breen-Portnoy/The Algemeiner India signed a $1.4 billion contract with Israel Aerospace Industries earlier this month for the acquisition of two airborne early warning and control radar systems and ten unmanned aerial vehicles, Air&Cosmos International reported this week. The deal was said...

http://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

President Obama on Monday said he has selected W. Neil Eggleston to become chief counsel, adding the expertise of a veteran attorney who was involved in some of the most heated legal battles of the Clinton administration. Eggleston, a white-collar defender who is now at Kirkland & Ellis, will replace departing White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler in mid-May. "Neil brings extraordinary expertise, credentials, and experience, to our team," Obama said in a statement. "He has a passion for public service, is renowned for his conscientiousness and foresight, and I look forward to working closely with him in the coming years."...

ISIS previously has used commerical, off-the-shelf drones for surveillance and to deliver ordnance, and now it is is using drones to deliver explosives, Colonel John Dorrian, the spokesman for U.S. military operations in Iraq, told reporters on Wednesday. He confirmed that one enemy drone exploded after it was shot down: “We know that there was an improvised device on a — on a — a drone. And when that was brought back to the camp, it exploded. So, the reason or the way or the manner in which that happened — still digging into that.” Dorrian said the drones have...

From high above, Agadez almost blends into the cocoa-colored wasteland that surrounds it. Only when you descend farther can you make out a city that curves around an airfield before fading into the desert. Once a nexus for camel caravans hauling tea and salt across the Sahara, Agadez is now a West African paradise for people smugglers and a way station for refugees and migrants intent on reaching Europe’s shores by any means necessary. Africans fleeing unrest and poverty are not, however, the only foreigners making their way to this town in the center of Niger. U.S. military documents reveal...

Aussie surf lifesavers could soon have a new tool in their arsenal to rescue struggling swimmers – high-tech drones. A new drone has been trialled in Spain which can save drowning bathers in less than a minute.

Video of three whales below, and around a sportfishing boat off New Caledonia.

Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group in Syria, has released a video showing one of its small drones dropping a bomb on Syrian regime forces in Hama province. The unguided bomb doesn’t appear to have been especially effective, but the video is noteworthy because it documents the Sunni jihadis’ further experimentation with explosives. Iran’s chief terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, was reportedly an early adopter of drones for use in its operations. Over the past year, Al Qaeda-linked groups and others have increasingly used commercial drones and similar technology to record their propaganda videos. The Long War Journal has previously...

Some of the classified information Hillary Clinton discussed in emails sent on her private server appears to have centered around planned drone strikes and attacks against US/NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, according to 58 pages of documents released by the FBI Friday detailing the bureau's investigation into the Democratic presidential candidate's email practices. "After reviewing an email dated [redacted], with subject line [redacted], Clinton stated she did not remember the email specifically. Clinton stated deliberation over a future drone strike did not give her cause for concern regarding classification," the FBI's memorandum said, suggesting that Clinton's responses to specific questions she...

"It came over my airspace, 25 or 30 feet above my trees, and hovered for a second. I blasted it to smithereens."​ A woman in Virginia shot down a drone flying near her property in June of this year. It's at least the third time this has happened in the U.S., with previous incidents in Kentucky and Tennessee. Originally reported in the local Fauquier Times and subsequently covered by Ars Technica, the shooter was Jennifer Youngman, a neighbor to actor and director Robert Duvall. She had been cleaning her shotguns on the porch when two men stopped on a nearby...

Aerial pizza delivery may sound futuristic but Domino's has been given the green light to test New Zealand pizza delivery via drones. The fast food chain has partnered with drone business Flirtey to launch the first commercial drone delivery service in the world, starting later this year. Domino's Group chief executive and managing director, Don Meij said the company had been investigating innovative and new delivery methods as business had grown. This included looking at robotic delivery, which the government is still considering. Details around where the trial would be held have been kept under wraps - however Domino's said...

According to a press release provided to The Daily Caller, Terence Burke, senior vice president of national news, said that “CNN’s cutting-edge development of technology to enhance the way we tell stories is a part of our DNA. We are proud to continue the tradition with CNN AIR, and to establish a unit that will expand our technological capabilities for newsgathering.” CNN has formed the “first media-related research partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute” and will be in a direct research agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration. According to the press release, in 2015, “CNN was selected by the...

Chesapeake Conservancy and Terrain360 are using drones to give a bird’s-eye tour of historic shipwrecks in an inaccessible zone of the Potomac River. WASHINGTON — There’s a corner of the Potomac River known as Mallows Bay that is teeming with sunken vessels, what has been described as a “ghost fleet” of more than 100 wrecked ships. You don’t even have to go beneath the river’s surface to get a good view of these ships. In fact, you don’t even have to leave your computer chair, thanks to the Chesapeake Conservancy’s latest effort. Through the use of drones, the Annapolis-based...

American military drones monitored Islamic State militants loading up hundreds of cars, buses and trucks with fighters and civilians and fleeing the city of Manbij, Syria, on Friday, as Syrian rebels advanced and the extremists lost yet another stronghold. On Wednesday, the Libyan city of Surt, held by the Islamic State for more than a year, also fell to pro-government militiamen, and the militants lost the headquarters from which they had ruled more than 150 miles of Libyan coastline. The two new victories against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, could have a significant effect on the...

Whether you are a fan of drones or not, one fact remains the same: the drone is here to stay. Considering the many positive things for which they can be used, it makes sense to welcome such possibilities. However, with pluses come minuses, and not every drone operator is going to have good intentions at heart. Due to the small percentage of people who enjoy behaving badly, it has become necessary to have plans in place to quickly and efficiently resolve drone-related issues. Although there are a few options for grounding a rogue drone, the Dutch National Police are taking...

The policy document, known as the President Policy Guidance, or PPG, says counterterrorism operations, including lethal action against designated terrorist targets, "shall be discriminating and precise as reasonably possible" and says "direct action" against "high value targets" "will be taken only when there is near certainty that the individual being targeted is, in fact, the lawful target and located at the place where the action will occur."