Drone News Roundup: Drone Rescues Hiker from Quicksand, Cold Weather Flying Tips, and More!
BY Zacc Dukowitz
16 December 2025This week we’re covering a drone-assisted rescue of a hiker trapped in quicksand in dangerously cold weather.
We’re also covering cold-weather flying tips, new data showing how many drone flights took place worldwide in 2025, Skydio’s 1,000-agency public safety milestone, and a warning from the New York Times editorial board about U.S. drone readiness.
Now let’s get to those links!
Drone Helps Rescue Hiker Trapped in Quicksand
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Quicksand is something we often associate with television and children’s games. But it poses real dangers to hikers every year, and can be life-threatening. A drone recently played a key role in helping first responders locate and assist a hiker trapped in quicksand in Utah. After finding the hiker, the drone helped rescuers further by providing an overhead view of the scene, helping them assess the situation without putting people at risk. Conditions were dangerously cold, but thanks to the drone the hiker was only trapped for a few hours.
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Cold Weather Flying: What Drone Pilots Need to Know
Planning to fly in cold weather? These tips can help. Flying in cold conditions can dramatically impact battery performance, sensors, and even basic flight stability. This video breaks down what you need to know for flying in cold weather, including:
- What happens to LiPo batteries in low temperatures
- Why pre-warming matters
- How cold weather can shorten flight times or trigger early return-to-home warnings
Watch the video and read the companion guide linked below for all the tips.
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2025 Saw Nearly 28 Million Drone Flights Worldwide—Up 44% from Last Year
Nearly 28 million drone flights took place worldwide over the past year—a huge jump of 44% from last year. This stat comes from Drone Industry Insight’s new global drone report, which highlights continued growth in commercial operations, with inspection, mapping, and public safety driving a large share of flight activity. The report also notes a growing gap between hobbyist flight counts and enterprise flight counts, underscoring how fewer—but more complex—missions are delivering outsized economic impact.
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Skydio Hits 1,000+ Public Safety Agency Milestone
Credit: Skydio
Skydio’s drones are now deployed in over 1,000 public safety agencies across the U.S. Its drones are now found in both large departments, like the NYPD and SFPD, as well as smaller rural teams. Skydio points to two drivers behind the milestone: accelerated adoption of Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs and a broader shift toward NDAA-compliant, U.S.-built systems. According to Skydio, most of these agencies are moving beyond basic trial projects into everyday use for work like patrol support, crash reconstruction, and tactical response, signaling that drones are becoming standard-issue tools in U.S. public safety.
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NY Times Editorial Board Warns U.S. Is Unprepared for Drone Warfare
The New York Times editorial board has issued a stark warning, arguing that the U.S. is falling behind China in military readiness for drone and AI-enabled warfare. The piece points to rapid advances in low-cost drones, autonomous systems, and battlefield integration. According to the writers, China’s pace is much faster than the slower, fragmented efforts in the U.S. While focused on military implications, the editorial underscores how quickly drone technology is reshaping global power dynamics, with spillover effects for the drone industry and drone regulations.
The Pentagon is aware of this gap. In 2023, it announced the Replicator Program, an ambitious plan to buy thousands of small drones. But the plan doesn’t seem to be working. According to reports, it’s mired in procurement bottlenecks, industrial base constraints, and slow timelines that fall short of the urgency described in the editorial.
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