Drone News Roundup: How Drones Keep People Safe from Volcanoes in Iceland, DJI Ban Back in Play, and More!

This week we’re covering a story from Iceland about how police there use drones to keep people safe from volcanic eruptions.

We’re also covering a new amendment to add the DJI ban to the Senate NDAA for 2025, a drone residency in Las Vegas, a drone cheating scandal involving the Canadian women’s soccer team, and the FAA’s first ever Category 2 approval for a drone to fly over people.

Now on to the links!

How Drones Protect People from Volcanic Eruptions in Iceland

Most of us have seen epic drone footage of volcanoes erupting in Iceland. But drones are also helping keep people safe during these eruptions. This video from DJI tells the story of the Iceland Civil Protection Drone Unit, which is tasked with monitoring and responding to eruptions in order to protect people from them. Watch the video to learn more about the Unit, and to see how it uses the DJI Dock with the Matrice 30T and the M300 RTK in its work.

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DJI Ban Amendment Submitted for Senate Version of NDAA 2025

Credit: DJI

Last week we reported that the DJI ban might be dead in the water. This was because the Senate version of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) for 2025 didn’t include the Countering CCP Drones Act, the law that calls for banning DJI drones throughout the U.S. Since then, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has proposed an amendment that would add that law back in, which means the DJI ban could be back in play. But that doesn’t mean its passage is guaranteed. There is still a long road ahead for the NDAA to get passed, and the ban could be removed from the NDAA well before then.

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First “Drone Residency” Light Show Hits Las Vegas Skies

Want to catch a drone light show? Atomic Golf is hosting what it calls the first ever drone residency show in Las Vegas. The shows take place every Thursday at 9 and 11 p.m. and will be running for 12 weeks. That makes 24 drone light shows total in the residency, which will feature an accumulated total of 5,400 drones.

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Canadian Women’s Soccer Team Used Drones to Spy on Competing Team

This week at the Olympics members of the New Zealand women’s soccer team saw a drone flying over their closed practice session, and complained about this to the Olympic Committee’s integrity unit. New Zealand was scheduled to play Canada, the defending Olympic champion, and that team was a clear suspect as the source of the drone flight. Shortly after the New Zealand team filed the complaint, New Zealand got its proof: a 43-year-old Canadian man was given a suspended sentence by a French court for being the pilot of the spying drone. As a result, two staff members from the Canadian women’s team were sent home. Also, the head coach for Canada has decided to step aside for the New Zealand game voluntarily “with the interests of both teams in mind and to ensure everyone feels that the sportsmanship of this game is upheld.” The Canadian man who flew the drone said he was an independent sports analyst for the Canadian federation.

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First Drone/Parachute Combo Approved to Fly Over People without a Waiver

Credit: AVSS

The FAA has approved the first Category 2 drone for operations over people. This means you can fly it over people without getting a waiver, so long as you’re using the approved technology. That technology is the Matrice 3D (or 3DT) along with the DJI Dock 2 equipped with the AVSS PRS-M3DT parachute system. AVSS (Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc.) recently announced this news, sharing that the FAA granted the company both the first ever Category 2 and Category 3 Declarations of Compliance (DOCs) for its PRS-M3DT drone parachute. These DOCs are a milestone for the drone industry. Granting permission for specific types of operations based on the drone technology people plan to use rather than on a case-by-case basis, and is required in the waiver process, promises to open up a range of drone operations for commercial purposes, making it easier for people to do work with drones.

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