Drone News Roundup: Drone Flies Inside a Tornado for the First Time Ever, Aerial Tour of New Zealand with the Mavic 4 Pro, and More!

This week we’re covering the first drone footage ever shot inside a tornado.

We’re also covering an aerial tour of New Zealand shot on the DJI Mavic 4 Pro, a fisherman using a shark-bait drone to save a drowning victim, news that Parrot’s commercial pivot is paying off, and Drone Industry Insight’s 2025 Global Survey.

Now let’s get to those links!

Drone Flies Inside a Tornado for the First Time Ever

For the first time ever, researchers have successfully flown a drone directly into the heart of a tornado, capturing groundbreaking data from inside the vortex. The OTUS Project team’s fixed-wing drone braved extreme winds and debris, transmitting real-time measurements that could revolutionize our understanding of tornado dynamics and improve future forecasting. While drones have previously been used to study severe storms and tornado environments from a distance, the OTUS Project’s recent mission is the first documented instance of a drone penetrating a tornado’s circulation and transmitting scientific data from within. There have been previous attempts to fly into a tornado, but they either failed to reach the tornado’s core or did not survive the extreme conditions. Follow the link below to learn more about the OTUS Project.

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Aerial Tour of New Zealand with the Mavic 4 Pro

This new video shot with the DJI Mavic 4 Pro takes you on a tour of New Zealand’s stunning landscapes, highlighting the drone’s advanced camera capabilities. From sweeping shots of Queenstown’s mountains, to close-ups of Lake Wakatipu, to cinematic footage of the dramatic peaks of the Southern Alps, New Zealand presents an incredible place to demonstrate just how much detail the Mavic 4 Pro can deliver. In the footage, we see how the drone’s 360° rotating Infinity Gimbal and powerful zoom make it easy to move from wide, cinematic views to tight, textured shots—whether you’re filming glacial ice, rolling farmland, or the golden light of sunrise.

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Fisherman Uses Shark-Bait Drone to Save Drowning Victim

In a dramatic rescue on Pensacola Beach, a local shark fisherman used his fishing drone to save a teenage girl caught in a rip current. Andrew Smith flew his drone out nearly 100 yards and dropped a flotation device to the struggling swimmer, saving her life. Smith’s drone was rigged to drop bait for shark fishing, allowing him to attach the flotation device to it—and release it at just the right time—instead of attaching bait. Smith credits his drone for making the save, and officials say that without his quick thinking she probably wouldn’t have survived.

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Parrot’s Commercial Pivot Is Paying Off

The Parrot ANAFI USA

Parrot’s strategic pivot to commercial and government markets is clearly paying off. The company’s Q1 2025 earnings report shows a 17% year-over-year revenue jump, driven by strong demand for its secure ANAFI drones—and especially the ANAFI USA, which is on the Blue UAS list—as well as its Pix4D photogrammetry software suite. Parrot has succeeded by solidifying its reputation as a trusted, non-Chinese supplier for sensitive government and enterprise use cases. Notably, nearly half of Parrot’s revenue now comes from software, underscoring how data solutions are becoming the real value driver in the drone industry. As regulation and security concerns reshape the market, Parrot’s reinvention stands out as a success story among legacy drone makers.

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Help Shape the Drone Industry—And Enter to Win $500 in Drone Industry Insights’ 2025 Global Survey

Drone Industry Insights is back with its annual Global Drone Industry Survey, and this year, there’s even more incentive to participate. By taking the 2025 survey, you’ll not only help shape the industry’s future—you’ll also be entered to win a $500 gift card (Amazon, Rakuten, or Coupang), free tickets to major drone expos, and get a free copy of the State of Drones 2025 whitepaper. (Every survey participant gets the whitepaper.) The survey takes just 8–15 minutes and closes June 30, 2025.

Ready to share your insights? Follow the link below to take the survey.

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