Tesla engineering director Joseph Mardall, who helped in the creation of the lauded Model Y Heat Pump system, has left the company for a new role as head of engineering at drone-maker Zipline, he wrote in a  LinkedIn post.

Mardall worked at Tesla for a decade, according to his profile, leading the development of the Model Y Heat Pump, which CEO Elon Musk called"some of the best engineering" he's seen in a while. He also led a team of engineers in developing Thermal/HVAC systems for the Model X and Model 3.

Mardall is leaving the company, which was first reported by CNBC, to be the head of engineering at Zipline. Zipline, which started in 2014, makes drones and aerial devices that deliver needed medical supplies to multiple countries such as the US and Rwanda, according to its website.

The San Francisco-based company has raised $233.3 million to date, according to PitchBook data. The company is valued at $1.32 billion after its series D funding round raised $190 million. Zipline is now in the midst of raising a series E.

On his LinkedIn profile, Mardall said he will be leading Zipline's engineering team "to design and build the next generation of autonomous drones to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies."

Read more:Tesla, GM, and Ford each have their own unique strategies for EV success — here's how they compare

In a post on LinkedIn, he said, "After 10 wonderful years at Tesla, I'm super excited to start my next chapter as Head of Engineering at Zipline ... The next 5 years are going to change everything and I can't wait!"

Mardall and Tesla were not immediately available to respond to Insider's request for comment. In an email, Zipline confirmed the hire, and said the company is incredibly excited to have such an amazing leader joining the team as we continue scaling Zipline across America and the world."

In recent years, Tesla has been known for its high rate of executive turnover, with many senior employees departing. Much of the turmoil came in 2019 when the company faced federal investigations and production and delivery issues. In the past year, Tesla shares have had a long-winded rally, with analysts at Morgan Stanley predicting the rise will continue as the company increases deliveries and rival electric-vehicle makers fail to keep up. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide legal advice. These drone laws & regulations are continually changing, and you should not rely solely on the lists herein. Please look up your state's current laws and/or contact an attorney to determine what, if any, legal requirements or restrictions apply to the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in your area.

Recreational vs. Commercial Drone Regulations

One of the biggest hurdles to mass adoption of drones is the numerous regulations that restrict what drone owners and operators can do. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has several regulations that have hindered drone market growth.

The most prevalent of these restrictions is the one colloquially known as the "line of sight rule," which mandates that drone operators keep the unmanned aircraft within eye shot at all times. This clearly removes any potential application for drones in the delivery space, as the need to keep a drone in line of sight at all times defeats the purpose of sending off a drone to drop off a product at a consumer's home.

But there are different FAA drone rules for commercial use and for recreational use. Recreational drone laws are in some ways more lax than commercial ones, but the line of sight remains pivotal (more on these laws later). 

Drone Pilot License and FAA Laws & Regulations

"Do I need a license to fly a drone?""Do I need to register my drone?" These are two of the most common questions prospective drone owners ask.

As of a law passed on January 3, 2018, a recreational drone user must register their drone with the FAA, mark the outside of the drone with the registration number, and carry proof of registration when flying. Furthermore, the pilot must fly only for recreational purposes.

This next portion is crucial: The pilot must keep the drone below 400 feet in uncontrolled or "Class G" airspace. This simply refers to airspace where the FAA is not controlling manned air traffic, which means it is safe to fly your drone there. Fortunately, most drones and their accompanying mobile apps provide guidelines to help identify appropriate airspace and height.

The FAA has a full list of drone rules and guidelines here.

Drone Registration

The FAA's online registration system went into effect on Dec. 21, 2015. This required all UAS weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds to be registered.

Since then, the number of drones registered in the U.S. has been increasing. More than 900,000 owners had already registered by the end of 2018, and monthly owner registration averaged between 8,000-9,000 during the full year 2018, according to the FAA.

As of December 10, 2019, there were 1,509,617 drones registered with the FAA. This includes 1,085,392 recreational drones and 420,340 commercial drones, as well as 160,748 remote pilots certified. 

State and Local Laws & Regulations

In addition the federal laws, several states have enacted drone regulations of their own. Here's a breakdown of drone regulations by state:

Alabama

N/A

Alaska

Alaska state law HB 255 passed in 2014 places limits on how law enforcement can use drones in their operations, which includes but is not limited to how and whether they can save images and video captured by drone.

Arizona 

SB 1449 passed in 2016 is quite robust, and includes the following regulations:

• Drones cannot interfere with police, firefighters, or manned aircraft.
• Flying a drone in what is considered "dangerous proximity" to a person or property is deemed Disorderly Conduct.
• Drones must stay a minimum of 500 feet horizontally or 250 feet vertically of any "critical facility." These include but are not limited to courthouses, hospitals, military installations, water treatment and oil and gas facilities, and power plants.
• Any city or town in Arizona with more than one park must permit the usage of drones in at least one of those parks.
• Cities and towns in Arizona may not craft their own drone laws.

Arkansas

Arkansas has several state laws regarding drones. Act 293 forbids the use of drones to invade privacy and commit video voyeurism. Act 1019 forbids the use of drones for surveillance of "critical infrastructure." And am Arkansas State Park Regulation passed in 2018 forbids the operation of drones in any Arkansas State Park without first acquiring a Special Use Permit from the Office of the Director.

California

The most populous state in the union has three laws regarding drones. Civil Code Section 1708.8 forbids the use of drones to record another person without their consent. SB 807 grants immunity for first responders who damage any unmanned vehicle that interferes with first responders during emergency services. Related, AB 1680 makes it a misdemeanor for drones to interfere with the activities of first responders during an emergency.

Colorado

HB 1070 passed in 2017 requires the Center of Excellence within the Division of Fire Prevention and Control within the Department of Public Safety to conduct a study on the integration of drones within state and local government operations that relate to certain public safety functions. The law also created a pilot program to facilitate this goal.

Meanwhile, Colorado State Parks Regulation #100-c.24 in 2018 forbids the operation of drones in Colorado State Parks with the exception of designated areas.

Connecticut

SB 975 prohibits municipalities within the state from regulating drones with the exception of municipalities that are also water companies, which can regulate or forbid the use of drones over said municipality's public water supply and land.

DEEP 23-4-1 prohibits the use of drones at Connecticut State Parks, State Forests or other lands under the control of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, with the exception of those specifically authorized by the Commissioner through a Special Use License.

Delaware

HB 195 forbids flying a drone over any event with an attendance greater than 5,000 people (such as concerts, sporting events, auto races, and festivals), as well as any critical infrastructure (such as government buildings, power plants, water treatment facilities, military installations, oil and gas refineries). Lastly, the law forbids cities and towns in Delaware from crafting their own drone laws.

Florida

Criminal Code Section 934.50 forbids the use of drones for surveillance that violates another person's reasonable expectation of privacy. This includes law enforcement, however police can use drones with a valid search warrant, if there is a terrorist threat, or "swift action" is needed to prevent loss of life or to find a missing person, per SB 92. That same law also allows someone harmed by the inappropriate use of a drone to pursue civil action.

HB 1027 forbids local regulation of drones, but does allow for local legislatures to craft some drone laws related to "nuisances, voyeurism, harassment, reckless endangerment, property damage, or other illegal acts." It also forbids also the use of drones over or near critical infrastructure in most situations, and bans the possession or use of a weaponized drone.

Finally, Florida Administrative Code 5l-4.003 forbids the usage of drones on managed lands (such as Florida state parks and forests) with the exception of runways or helispots and only with authorization from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. 

Georgia

HB 481 preempts Georgia's local governments from creating drone regulations after April 1, 2017. This law also permits state and local governments in Georgia to regulate the launch or landing of drones on public property.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources also has rules and regulations that forbid the use of drones in Georgia's State Parks and Historic Sites, with some exceptions for waivers for professional commercial projects that could help generate revenue or promote those sites. Prior authorization is required for such exceptions.

Hawaii

Act 208 created a drone test site advisory board, along with a chief operating officer to oversee the site.

Idaho

Idaho Code 36-1101 forbids the use of drones to hunt, molest, or locate game animals, game birds, or fur-bearing animals. Idaho Code 21-213 mandates warrants for law enforcement to use drones, creates guidelines for drone use by private citizens, and outlines civil penalties for damage caused by improper use of drones.

Illinois

Illinois has one of the more thorough sets of state drone laws in the nation.

20 ILCS 5065 created the Unmanned Aerial System Oversight Task Force Act charged with regulating commercial and private drones. These regulations include landowners' rights, operational safety, and privacy rights.

HB 1652 prohibits the use of drones to interfere with the activities of hunters or fishermen.

SB 1587 permits the use of drones by law enforcement with a warrant for counterterrorism, to prevent harm, or to thwart the impending escape of a suspect. If used, law enforcement agencies must destroy all information gathered by the drone within 30 days, with exceptions made if the information contains reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

SB 2937 relaxes regulations on drone usage by law enforcement during a disaster or public health emergency, and creates rules for how law enforcement can acquire and use information gathered from a private party's use of drones.

Finally, SB 3291 forbids cities, towns, and other municipalities from enacting regulations or restrictions on the drone use, with the exception of municipalities with more than one million residents.

Indiana

Indiana has multiple state drone laws, starting with HB 1009, which created warrant guidelines for law enforcement use of drones and other real-time geolocation tracking devices. The law also created a Class A misdemeanor called "Unlawful Photography and Surveillance on Private Property," in which a person intentionally conducts electronic surveillance of another's private property without permission.

HB 1013 permits drone use to photograph or video a traffic crash site, while HB 1246 forbids drone use to locate game during hunting season.

SB 299 created two Class A misdemeanors tied to drone use. The first is "sex offender unmanned aerial vehicle offense," in which a sex offender uses a drone to follow, contact, or surveil another person under conditions that prohibit said offender from doing so. The second is "public safety remote aerial interference offense," in which a person uses a drone in a manner that obstructs or interferes with a public safety official performing his or her duties. Both offenses become level 6 felonies if the guilty party has a prior conviction under the same section.

Finally, IAC 312 8-2-8 (i) forbids drone use on Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) property, which includes state parks; however, the DNR can grant licenses to use drones at its discretion.

Iowa

The Hawkeye State's lone drone law, HB 2289, forbids any state agency from using drones to enforce traffic laws and insists upon a warrant or other lawful measure to use any information obtained by drones in any civil or criminal court proceedings.

Kansas

SB 319 expands the definition of harassment in the state's existing Protection from Stalking Act to include particular drone uses.

Kentucky

HB 540 permits commercial airports to design their own drone facility maps and forbids drone use in certain areas designated by said maps.

Louisiana

La. Revised Statutes, section 3.41, et seq. regulates drone use for agricultural purposes and mandates that operators be licensed and registered, with renewals every three years.

HB 1029 created the crime of unlawful drone use, defined as the intentional use of a drone to surveil a location without the owner's prior written consent.

SB 183 regulates drone use for agricultural commercial operations, while SB 141 clarifies that some drone surveillance constitutes criminal trespass.

HB 635 added drones under the crimes of voyeurism and video voyeurism, and HB 335 authorized the establishment of registration and licensing fees for drones in Louisiana at a $100 limit.

HB 19 forbids drone use to surveil school rounds or correctional facilities, while SB 73 expands the definition of obstructing an officer to include intentionally crossing a police barrier with a drone. SB 73 also permits law enforcement and the fire department to disable drones if they endanger the safety of the public or an officer.

Lastly, SB 69 insists that only the state, not local governments, can regulate drone use.

Maine

Sec. 1. 25 MRSA Pt. 12 mandates that law enforcement agencies obtain approval before acquiring drones and lays out other rules for police use, such as warrant requirements.

Maryland

Section 14-301 establishes the state's power over local authorities to create laws that regulate drone operation.

Massachusetts

N/A

Michigan

Mich. Compiled Laws Section 324.40112 forbids the use of drones to interfere with hunters, and Mich. Compiled Laws Section 324.40111c forbids the use of drones to locate, hunt, trap, or catch animals.

Furthermore, SB 992 outlines several prohibitions for drones, all of which classify as misdemeanors. First, local governments cannot regulate drones except if the drone belongs to the locality. Second, the law allows commercial drone operation provided the FAA has authorized the user to do so commercially, and allows recreational use under federal law compliance.

Third, SB 992 forbids drone use that interferes with emergency personnel, to harass any individual, to violate restraining orders, or to capture photo or video that invades a person's reasonable expectation of privacy. Finally, the law forbids sex offenders from using drones to photograph, follow, or make contact with an individual they are forbidden to contact.

Minnesota

Minnesota Statute 360.60 mandates that all recreational and commercial drone operators register their drone with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Commercial operators must have drone insurance per the requirements set forth under Minnesota Statute 360.59. Furthermore, all commercial operators must pay a licensing fee for a Commercial Operations License, according to the Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Rules Chapter 8800.

Mississippi

Miss. Code Section 97-29-61 forbids the use of drones to spy on another person inside a building.

Missouri

N/A

Montana

In the Big Sky State, SB 196 outlines that information gained from drone use is only admissible in court when obtained with a search warrant or through some other exception recognized by the courts.

HB 644 forbids drone use that interferes with efforts to suppress wildfires.

Nebraska

N/A

Nevada

Amendments 362, 640, and 746 officially define drones as aircraft, which regulates drone operations. This law also prohibits weapons on drones and forbids the use of drones within a certain distance of airports and other "critical" facilities. Finally, it places restrictions on drone use by law enforcement.

New Hampshire

RSA 207:57 forbids the use of drones to interfere with legal hunting, fishing, and trapping.

New Jersey

The New Jersey State Park Service Policy forbids drone use on all areas managed by the State Park Service without prior authorization.

SB 3370 is a robust law that establishes several guidelines for drone use:

• Permits drone use in accordance with federal law
• Classifies drone use in a way that endangers the life or property of another as a disorderly person offense.
• Establishes that is a fourth-degree crime if an individual "knowingly or intentionally creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or security of a correctional facility by operating an unmanned aircraft system on the premises of or in close proximity to that facility"
• Outlines that using a drone to interfere with a first responder is a criminal offense
• Allows drone owners of critical infrastructure to apply to the FAA to forbid or limit drone use near said infrastructure
• Classifies operating a drone under the influence of drugs or with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or greater as a disorderly person offense
• Forbids local governments from regulating drone use in any way that conflicts with this law

New Mexico

SB 556 forbids unwanted surveillance via drone.

New York

N/A

North Carolina

Appropriately, the state that was "First in Flight" was also one of the first to adopt a truly detailed set of drone laws, starting with SB 744 in 2014, which established requirements for recreational, commercial, and government drone use.

SB 446 gives North Carolina's Chief Information Officer the power to approve drone use by state agencies, mandates tests for drone operations, and establishes a permit process for commercial drones.

HB 128 forbids drone use near a correctional facility, with the exception of certain official use or other prior authorization.

HB 337 permits drone use for emergency management activities. It also makes adjustments to align the state law with federal law, and exempts model aircraft from the state's training and permitting requirements for drones.

Finally, NCAC 13B.1204 forbids drones to take off or ascend at any state park area without a special permit from the park.

North Dakota

North Dakota Code Sec. 29-29.4-01 restricts drone use to surveillance, crime investigation, and other law enforcement uses. It also mandates law enforcement have a warrant to do so.

Ohio

N/A

Oklahoma

HB 2559 forbids drone use within 400 feet of any critical infrastructure facility.

Oregon

HB 2710 established quite a few drone regulations, including:

• Creating new crimes and civil penalties for mounting weapons on drones, as well as interfering with or obtaining unauthorized access to public drones
• Allowing a law enforcement agency to use a drone with a warrant and for exceptions such as training
• Requiring any drone operated by a public body to be registered with the Oregon Department of Aviation (DOA)
• Allowing a landowner under certain conditions to take action against an individual operating a drone lower than 400 feet over their property

SB 5702 set the fees for registering a public drone. HB 4066 clarified and modified some drone definitions and made it a class A misdemeanor to operate a weaponized drone. It also regulated public drone use and mandated policies and procedures for data retention.

HB 3047 adjusted the law forbidding weaponizing drones by making it a class C felony to fire a bullet or projectile from such a device. It also prohibits drone use over private property in any way that intentionally or recklessly harasses or agitates the property's owner or occupant. Finally, it allows law enforcement to use drones to reconstruct accident scenes. 

Lastly, The State Fish and Wildlife Commission forbids the use of drones to hunt, fish, or trap animals and prohibits using drones to interfere with hunters.

Pennsylvania

Title 18 Section 3505 forbids drone use to intentionally surveil other people in a private place, to use a drone in a way that puts another person in reasonable fear of injury, or to operate a drone to handle contraband.

Title 53 of Section 305 builds upon this law by having Title 18 Section 3505 preempt any laws or resolutions of other municipalities. Furthermore, municipalities cannot regulate ownership and operation of drones unless authorized by statute.

Finally, The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources states that drone use is prohibited at state parks with the exception of designated areas at Beltzville State Park, Benjamin Rush State Park, Hillman State Park, Lackawanna State Park, Prompton State Park, and Tuscarora State Park.

Rhode Island

HB 7511 provides exclusive regulatory power over drone use to the state and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, in accordance with federal law. It also prevents local governments from crafting their own drone laws.

Title 250 of Park and Management Area Rules and Regulations forbids drone use at any Rhode Island state park without a special use permit, typically issued for professional filming and media companies. Furthermore, the law also bans drone use to harass or disturb individuals, wildlife, or natural resources at a state park.

South Carolina

N/A

South Dakota

SB 80 mandates that drone operation complies with appropriate FAA requirements. It also classifies drone use over military and correctional facilities as a class 1 misdemeanor. Delivering contraband or drugs by drone to a correctional facility is a class 6 felony under this law. Finally, it amends the crime of unlawful surveillance to include intentional drone use to observe or record an individual in a way that violates their reasonable expectation of privacy, and forbids landing a drone on someone's property without consent. Unlawful surveillance is a class 1 misdemeanor.

The much simpler SB 22 grants exemptions from aircraft registration requirements for drones that weigh less than 55 pounds.

Tennessee

The Volunteer State has six drone laws to consider. SB 796 permits law enforcement to use drones with a search warrant in cases of high-risk terrorist attacks or if quick action is necessary to prevent clear and present danger to life. Any evidence obtained in violation of this law cannot be admitted in state criminal prosecutions, and the law creates opportunities for those wronged by such evidence to take civil action.

SB 1892 classifies intentional drone surveillance of an individual or property, and possessing images from said surveillance, as  Class C misdemeanors. Distribution or use of those images is a Class B misdemeanor.

On a similar note, SB 1777 makes it a Class C misdemeanor for any private entity to use a drone to conduct video surveillance of someone who is hunting or fishing without their consent.

HB 153 forbids drone use to capture footage above open-air events and fireworks displays. HB 2376 clarifies that individuals can use drones on behalf of both public and private institutions of higher education.

Finally, SB2106 makes it illegal to operate a drone within 250 feet of a critical infrastructure facility in order to surveil or gather information about said facility.

Texas

Way back in 2005, Texas Administrative Code §65.152 banned drone use to to hunt, move, capture, count, or photograph any wildlife without special permits.

HB 912 detailed 19 lawful uses for drones and also created two new crimes: illegal use of drones to capture images, and the offense of possessing or distributing said images.

HB 1481 classifies drone use over a critical infrastructure facility if the drone is not more than 400 feet off the ground as a Class B misdemeanor. Meanwhile, HB 2167 allows individuals in certain professions to capture images for use in those professions via drone as long as no individual can be identified in the images.

HB 1643 forbids local governments from regulating drones with the exception of special events and when the drone is used by the locality. HB 1424 forbids drone use over correctional and detention facilities. It does the same for sports venues, with some exceptions.

SB 840 allows telecom companies to use drones to capture images. Furthermore, it clarifies that only law enforcement can use drones to capture images of property within 25 miles of the U.S. border for border security reasons. Lastly, it permits insurance companies to use drones to capture images for certain insurance purposes, according to FAA regulations.

Finally, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Policy bans drones in Texas State Parks without a permit, with the exception of Lake Whitney and San Angelo. Individuals can also request permits for drone use at state parks.

Utah

SB 196 mandates that law enforcement obtain a warrant before using drones in any location where an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Related, SB 167 regulates drone use by the government and establishes that law enforcement must have a warrant to obtain, receive, or use any data from drone use.

HB 296 permits law enforcement to use drones to capture footage at testing sites, or to find a lost or missing person in an area in which a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy.

HB 217 forbids individuals from using drones to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly harm, actively disturb, or chase livestock.

Finally, SB 111 established several regulations for drones:

• Creates cases for law enforcement to use drones for purposes not related to a criminal investigation
• Mandates law enforcement create an official record of drone use to provide information on that use and any data acquired from it
• Preempts local regulation of drones and exempts drones from aircraft registration in Utah
• Classifies flying a drone with a weapon attached or carried on it as a class B misdemeanor
• Modifies the offense of criminal trespass to include drones entering and remaining unlawfully over property with specified intent
• States that a person is not guilty of what would otherwise be a privacy violation if the person is using a drone for some legitimate commercial or educational purpose under FAA law. It further amends the offense of voyeurism (a class B misdemeanor) to include the use of any technology, including drones, to secretly capture video of an individual under certain circumstances

Vermont

SB 155 mandates that law enforcement report annually on drone use by the department, regulates said use, and forbids weaponizing drones.

Virginia

In 2010, The Code of Virginia 4VAC5-30-400 banned drone use in Virginia State Parks without a special use permit.

In 2013, HB 2012 forbade drone use by any state agency "having jurisdiction over criminal law enforcement or regulatory violations," as well as units of local law enforcement, until July 1, 2015.

HB 2125 mandates that law enforcement agencies obtain a warrant before using a drone for any purpose, with a few exceptions. Meanwhile, HB 412 forbids local government regulation of drones.

SB 873 specifies that the fire chief or other ranking officer at a fire department has the authority to maintain order at an emergency site, which includes the immediate airspace where drones might fly.

Finally, HB 2350 classifies using a drone to trespass on another's property to peep or spy on them as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Washington

The Washington State Legislature allows drone use in any state park area with written permission, wherein the director or designee can set restrictions. The operator must have said permission on them when using the drone.

West Virginia

HB 2515 forbids hunting, taking, or killing wild animals with drones. HB 4607 mandates that operators have permission from the State Park Superintendent to fly drones in any of West Virginia's state parks. 

Wisconsin

SB 338 bans drone use to interfere with hunting, trapping, or fishing, while AB 670 forbids drone use over correctional facilities.

Wyoming

SF 170 requires the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission to craft rules and regulations for where drones can take off and land. The commission can also develop reasonable rules for drone use through coordination with the drone industry and local governments. Importantly, the law clarifies that the commission cannot regulate drone use in navigable airspace, and makes it illegal to land a drone on another's property; however, operators can fly drones over their own property.

Interested in learning more? Join other Insider Intelligence clients who receive thousands of Connectivity & Tech forecasts, briefings, charts, and research reports to their inboxes. >> Become a Client

Join the conversation about this story »

• Insider Intelligence predicts total global shipments to reach 2.4 million in 2023 – increasing at a 66.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
• Here are some pertinent drone industry applications and market statistics.
• Do you work in the Drone of broader Tech industry? Get business insights on the latest innovations, market trends, and your competitors with data-driven research.

The Rise of the Drone Industry

For years, the drone market was in a nascent phase and had yet to break into the mainstream. Then, in 2016, drone industry growth took flight when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted hundreds of new exemptions for companies to operate drones in the U.S. through FAA Part 107.

These exemptions included several new use cases in multiple industries, such as insurance, construction, and agriculture — each of which demonstrates the broad range of commercial drone applications.

The FAA helped push commercial drone market growth forward by formulating a regulatory framework with its consumer drone registry. Now, drone manufacturers and tech suppliers are doing all they can to capitalize on this and turn drones into a full-fledged industry.

Drone Market Stats & Sales

There's no arguing the spike in drone industry growth that has occurred in the last few years – the drone services market size is expected to grow to $63.6 billion by 2025, and Insider Intelligence predicts consumer drone shipments will hit 29 million by 2021.

Sales of US consumer drones to dealers surpassed $1.25 billion in 2020, according to Statista. Goldman Sachs forecasts the total drone market size to be worth $100 billion—supported by this growing demand for drones from the commercial and government sectors.

Drone Market Trends and Forecasts

Drones for the enterprise hold the most potential in the broader drone market. Insider Intelligence defines enterprise drones as all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) sold directly to a business for use in its operations. 

Under that criterion, Insider Intelligence predicts total global shipments to reach 2.4 million in 2023 – increasing at a 66.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Drone growth will occur across five main segments of the enterprise industry: Agriculture, construction and mining, insurance, media and telecommunications, and law enforcement.

Drones in agriculture

The UN projects that the world's population will reach a massive 9.7 billion by 2050, causing agricultural consumption to rise 69% between 2010 and 2050. And considering most of the farmers and agriculture companies using drones are big-ag-owned farms that manage thousands of acres of land, the potential for drone growth in agriculture is extensive.

Popular applications for drones in agriculture include crop and livestock monitoring, irrigation management, and fertilization – DroneFly estimates that drones can spray fertilizer 40 to 60 times faster than doing so by hand.

Drones in construction and mining

Drone use in construction and mining could eventually become a $28.3 billion global market, according to PwC. Businesses within these industries are leveraging drones to more easily adhere to the extensive laws and regulations surrounding worker safety. 

US government laws require construction companies to survey their sites on a regular basis to ensure they're safe for workers. This process can take from 10 hours to a few days – but with drone technology, inspections can be completed in a quick 15 minutes.

Drones in insurance

It's estimated that the average global annual cost of insurance claims from natural disasters has increased eight-fold since 1970. Because of this, insurance firms will likely leverage drone technology to provide faster and more accurate property assessments.

Enterprise drones can get to hard-to-reach locations immediately after a disaster hits. From there, they can capture precise images and videos of damage that can be transmitted back to mobile devices for assessment in real time. Ultimately, drones can help claims adjusters process property significantly faster than doing so manually.

Drones in law enforcement

Drones are currently used by police forces for a variety of situations including surveilling expansive open areas, negotiating hostage situations, pursuing armed suspects, and investigating bomb threats. 

Unmanned aerial vehicles are an innovative, affordable alternative to helicopters, which can be very costly and aren't always readily available. Most importantly, they allow police to navigate potentially dangerous situations while ensuring the safety of their officers.

Drone Industry Outlook

While enterprise is the fastest growing drone market, more inexpensive drones are becoming increasingly popular for recreational use as well. Additionally, flaring competition among drone providers is pushing down costs for these types of consumer drones – particularly among higher-end models that can shoot photos and live stream video.

For example, in 2019 Parrot launched the Anafi Thermal in response to DJI's 2018 Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual – but for $700 cheaper. Both devices are portable thermal drones that incorporate  FLIR's Lepton 3.5 miniature thermal imaging unit. And while the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual is a better product overall – offering a longer flight time and nearly double the range – Parrot's lighter product and camera with zoom capability may be enough for consumers who would rather not spend $2,699.

Interested in learning more? Join other Insider Intelligence clients who receive thousands of Connectivity & Tech forecasts, briefings, charts, and research reports to their inboxes. >> Become a Client

Join the conversation about this story »

Food delivery by drones in the US is about to see a major breakthrough in 2021 after months of testing under the guidance of federal regulators.

Ten public and privately held companies including Amazon and Flytrex recently cleared a major "airworthiness" hurdle under the Federal Aviation Administration's ongoing pilot drone program. Next is certification. While Amazon's strategy revolves around package delivery, Flytrex is focused on food delivery and is taking dead aim at suburban backyards.

Over the past two years, the Tel Aviv-based logistics company has been using its drones to deliver everything from hot dogs to ice cream in test markets across the US.  

Flytrex, which has certified drone routes in Iceland, previously delivered food and beverages at a golf course in North Dakota. But its biggest FAA experiment started in late 2020 when it took to the skies carrying trash bags from a Walmart store in North Carolina. 

Drops are made to houses about a half mile from the mega-retailer. The North Carolina drone trials will be used by the FAA to create final guidelines for safely integrating drones into the national airspace.

While Flytrex began with a Walmart partnership in North Carolina, the startup later expanded the experiment to include on-demand delivery from a local Starbucks near the "Walmart station" in Fayetteville.

"Once we have the food, in five minutes, it's in your backyard," Yariv Bash, CEO and co-founder of Flytrex, told Insider.

The "unofficial"Starbucks deliveries, available through Flytrex's test app, are another way for the company to test its drones' ability to carry beverages. So far, no spills as the drone is "a lot more stable than a human" carrying a load of drinks in a cardboard cupholder, Bash said.

The company is also testing the delivery of meals from a local Japanese restaurant in the area.

For Walmart, Flytrex offers local residents an assortment of 300 grocery items and household goods – items small enough to fit into the drone. So far, the hottest on-demand items are ice cream, fresh produce, and hand sanitizer. 

"We've even delivered eggs a few times," Bash said. "It works nicely."

Bash said the ride is smooth because his drones are traveling about 30 mph along a straight line with no bumps on the road or traffic lights.

"We don't have to stop anywhere," he said.

By clearing the latest FAA hurdle, Flytrex and nine other companies operating unmanned aircraft systems are one step closer to getting federal certification to scale operations. Flytrex has raised $10.5 million, according to Pitchbook. The other companies that have cleared latest hurdles include 3D Robotics, Airobotics, Amazon, Flirtey, Matternet, Percepto, Telegrid, Wingcopter, and Zipline. 

Flytrex's drone can carry up 6.6 pounds of goods, while traveling about 200 feet in the air before landing in a backyard.

"You can't really hear or see us while we're cruising. We're a little speck in the sky," Bash said.

Flytrex is focused on making on-demand deliveries of restaurant meals, groceries, and consumer goods.  Each drone can carry about 10 items and travel a max of about six miles round trip. The goal is to deliver on-demand orders  at retail partners within 15 minutes. 

"We are not aiming at building a drone that can deliver a month's worth of groceries," Bash said. "We've basically designed our system to be able to deliver dinner for a family in the suburbs."

Bash said one person can remotely operate multiple drones at the same time, making for a speedier and more efficient delivery system. 

Instead of doing two and a half deliveries per hour by car, Bash said Flytrex's drones can complete about 10 deliveries in the same time span. Flytrex's drone operators don't need special certification to "pilot" drones, either.

"If you have a driver's license, you're overqualified to fly my system." Bash said. "The drone flies autonomously."  

As for scaling up, Bash said once he gets final FAA approval he hopes to have multiple "drone stations" in operation throughout the US by the end of the year. 

While ongoing testing in North Carolina requires residents to order Starbucks and Walmart using Flytrex's app, Bash said he doesn't want to compete with third-party delivery companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub.

Those are "huge companies" that are "fighting over customers," he said.

"I don't want to be the marketplace. I want to be a delivery company," Bash said.

Eventually, Flytrex will be behind the scenes, powering last-mile delivery for restaurants and retailers whose customers are ordering directly from partners' websites or apps.

Since using drones involves less labor, he said it will become a much more cost-effective delivery option for restaurants. Third-party delivery operators charge a commission fee that can be as high as 30% per order.

Bash declined to discuss the cost of Flytrex's drone delivery fees, only stating it will be "so cheap" that merchants  will likely absorb the delivery cost so customers get free delivery.

"It's going to be a lot less than what they pay today," he said.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

It's a dark rite of passage for new, post-9/11 US presidents: Usually, within the first weekend, the fresh commander-in-chief, having inherited a global war on terror, orders the military or an intelligence agency to end someone's life with an airstrike. To adversaries, it demonstrates resolve; to allies as well as critics, it demonstrates that there will be continuity, no matter which party controls the White House.

President Joe Biden, it appears, has been different. Under his watch, there has been just one declared US airstrike: a February 9 attack in Iraq that, the military claims, "resulted in the deaths of two Daesh terrorists."

And in stark contrast to his immediate predecessors, there have been no immediate reports of civilian casualties — this, following months of escalated US attacks, from Central Asia to Africa, during his predecessor's last couple months in office.

Clandestine operations, by their nature, cannot be ruled out. What we know for sure, though, is that "there have been zero local or official reports of US drone or other strikes in Somalia, Libya, Yemen, or Pakistan so far under Biden," Chris Woods, director of the monitoring group Airwars.org, told Insider.

Biden's forerunners, Republican and Democrat alike, both carried out US military operations that were both well-publicized and fraught, the demonstration of American power resulting in the death of innocents.

Former President Barack Obama ordered his first drone strike within 72 hours of taking office; that attack, aimed at the Taliban and carried out by the CIA, missed its mark, killing three Pakistani civilians and gravely wounding a child. The tactic would come to define Obama's legacy, boots on the ground replaced by unmanned aerial vehicles, American lives protected at a cost borne by others.

Former President Donald Trump oversaw his first drone strike on January 20, 2017, the day he was inaugurated. A spree of attacks took place in Yemen, culminating a week later in a botched raid that killed an 8-year-old girl and other civilians. Over the next four years, Trump would go on to bomb the country more often than any of his predecessors combined— not counting ramped up US support, just rescinded, for the Saudi-led war against the nation's Houthi militants.

Biden is no peacenik. In the US Senate, he backed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And there is no reason to believe a lull amid a pandemic and other domestic crises will evolve into a policy of unilateral disarmament.

Nicholas Grossman, a professor of international relations at the University of Illinois and author of a book on drone warfare, wonders if the apparent pause in most US military operations is the aftermath of his predecessor's outgoing escalations.

"Under Trump, the US ramped up drone strikes in Somalia, though that escalation was already happening in Obama's final year," Grossman told Insider. According to data from the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington, there were 43 airstrikes in Somalia targeting the extremist group al-Shabaab, during Obama's two terms in his office, including 16 in his last year. During Trump's single four-year term, where a focus on rhetoric led many falsely to label him a principled isolationist, there were 208 such airstrikes, including 14 in his final six months.

There have been previous gaps in US strikes, Grossman noted; a lot or a little can happen in three weeks. It's also possible, he said, that this is something more: "the Biden administration is pausing while reviewing the strategy." Relatedly, "it's possible the US military and intelligence agencies launched a few strikes at the end of Trump's term in anticipation of that pause."

Alternatively, "it's also possible that those January strikes did real damage to al-Shabaab as intended, and for that reason there either isn't a need or a good opportunity at the moment," Grossman said.

Critics of the US-led war on terror hope the apparent moratorium signals something greater.

"If there is a pause in airstrikes overall, we hope it's due to a reassessment of the United States' strategy," Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security With Human Rights program at Amnesty International, told Insider, "and a recognition that past strikes have not succeeded in ending attacks by armed groups, but have instead killed and injured thousands of civilians."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: July 15 is Tax Day — here's what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time

• EHang, a drone company based in China, snapped back from its 63% decline on Wednesday after a negative short report.
• Wolfpack Research said in a report on Tuesday that EHang is an "elaborate stock promotion."
• EHang has responded to the report, calling it "deceptive" and "unsubstantiated."
  
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

EHang snapped back from its 63% decline on Wednesday after a short-seller report from Wolfpack Research said the Chinese company is an "elaborate stock promotion."

EHang is developing an "autonomous" aerial vehicle ridesharing network, with its main vehicle similar in design to a large drone, according to its website. 

The stock fell 63% on Tuesday, and was down as much as 12% in pre-market trades on Wednesday before surging as much as 62% in the regular trading session. Wolfpack alleges EHang's relationship with its primary customer "is a sham" based on recorded phone calls, on-site visits, and behind the scenes photographs. 

"Common with a stock promotion, EH has only collected on a fraction of its reported sales since its mid-December 2019 IPO," Wolfpack said.

EHang is pushing back on the report, call it "deceptive" in a statement and that it "strongly believe that the report contains numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements, and misinterpretation of information."

Shares of EHang were on a tear prior to Wolfpack's research report. The stock soared 515% year-to-date before the report. Even at Wednesday's prices, the stock is still more than 100% year-to-date.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Epidemiologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths

There has been a steep drop in reported drone strikes since President Joe Biden took office, as Insider reported last month. Now The New York Times is reporting why: the new administration is conducting a major policy review that began the day it came into power.

The last administration unleashed the CIA and Pentagon, scrapping rules meant to protect innocent men, women, and children from being killed by unmanned aerial vehicles. It also spent its last few weeks in office escalating in Somalia, conducting a half-dozen attacks in the first half of January alone.

There have been no strikes there since January 20, however.

The Times reported that Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan imposed strict new controls on the use of drones outside of active war zones, requiring the White House to sign off on any such attack.

The new administration is using the pause to review how the military and its intelligence agencies conduct extrajudicial killings. Among considerations: whether or not restore Obama-era rules that limited drone strikes to targets considered an active threat — not just members of a designated terrorist organization — and only when there is "near certainty" that no women or children will be killed.

That is just the sort of review that critics of US foreign policy hoped for when Insider first reported on the apparent lull in drone strikes.

"If there is a pause in air strikes overall, we hope it's due to a reassessment of the United States' strategy and a recognition that past strikes have not succeeded in ending attacks by armed groups, but have instead killed and injured thousands of civilians," Daphne Eviatar, director of the Security With Human Rights program at Amnesty International, said at the time.

It is extremely unlikely, however, that the Biden administration will stop using drones altogether. It is not even certain that it will return to limits on their use that former President Barack Obama imposed in his second term amid an outcry over civilian deaths in Pakistan, Yemen, and elsewhere.

As The Times reported, the chief concern is rolling back the Trump-era expansion of the rules of engagement, with Biden officials discovering that ostensible safeguards for civilians "were sometimes stronger on paper than in reality."

That resulted in a record-breaking pace of US airstrikes. For example, according to monitoring groups, the US may have bombed Yemen more often during Donald Trump's four years in office than under all previous US presidents combined.

"I totally changed the rules of engagement," the last president boasted.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

China's military is stepping up its use of surveillance and strike drones in the country's mountainous border regions, with recent training highlighted by the PLA and state television.

The People's Liberation Army on Thursday released images of about 200 troops taking part in exercises using drones in the southwest of the country.

In a post on its official WeChat social media account, the PLA said the training by the 75th Group Army was aimed at improving soldiers' skills in using drones for aerial surveillance and precision strikes.

"Drones are our second pair of eyes on the battlefield," the post said.

The 75th Group Army is based in Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, an elite unit in the far western Xinjiang region used drones for a recent aerial surveillance exercise in the Kunlun Mountains.

State broadcaster CCTV aired footage of the drill on the weekend, identifying the troops as belonging to Jin Lie Sun, or Golden Eagle and Saker Falcon — an elite unit set up in 2017 that uses hi-tech military equipment. The report said the information gathered was sent back to a command centre to inform decisions made during the drill.

Drones have become increasingly important for defence forces around the world, and they are a focus for military research in China.

Last week, the National University of Defence Technology said it had bought a drone simulation training system that can operate a "super swarm" from Tiduyun, a tech company in Guangxi.

The military academy in Hunan province was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Bureau of Industry and Security, which said it posed "a significant risk of being, or becoming, involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

The announcement of the new training system comes after Chinese media reported in October that a low-cost "suicide drone"— dispatched in a swarm to attack a target — had been developed in China.

Drones were also used by Chinese troops after the Himalayan border clash with India in June, the worst fighting between the two sides in decades. A private drone maker in Shenzhen last week revealed on WeChat that two of its employees had been sent to the area in the Galwan Valley to help the PLA in its surveillance of "illegal activities by the foreign force."

After months of tensions, troops from the two sides last month disengaged and are forming demilitarised zones along the border.

China is a world leader in developing and making both civilian and military drones for everything from logistical support to surveillance, reconnaissance and precision strikes. The PLA has a high-altitude, high-speed spy drone in service, the WZ-8, as well as the GJ-2, a medium-altitude, long endurance combat drone.

SEE ALSO: China is rolling out new uniforms to make troops on disputed South China Sea islands more comfortable

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why China Loves Tesla

Ghana has become the first country to launch a nationwide program to deliver coronavirus vaccines with drones.

Zipline started delivering the shots on Tuesday as part of the WHO's first shipment of vaccines through COVAX, its program that aims to provide poorer countries with enough doses to cover 20% of their population.

Zipline, a San Francisco startup, has been delivering medical supplies including blood, personal protective equipment, and vaccines since 2016 using patented, autonomous drones.

Doctors can use Zipline's app to place orders and track shipments.

As well as national operations in Rwanda and Ghana, Zipline also has partnerships with Walmart and Novant Health in the US, and its PPE deliveries become the first long-range drone logistics flights to be approved by the FAA.

 Zipline started the drone deliveries in Ghana on Tuesday when it distributed 4,500 doses across the Ashanti Region in the country's south in 36 separate journeys in a partnership with the Ghanaian government and UPS.

Around 2.5 million doses will be delivered in Ghana using the drones, GAVI said.

"Not only does this make Ghana the world's first country to deploy drones on a national scale for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but is also a giant effort in ensuring equitable access and enabling Ghana to fully utilize its healthcare infrastructure to deliver vaccines," Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said in a statement.

COVAX shipped 600,000 doses of the vaccine created by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to the capital, Accra, in late February.

But distributing vaccine doses globally is proving to be a mammoth task.

Even when vaccines do make it to developing countries, they might lack the transport links and road networks to distribute the doses to everyone in need.

This is complicated further by storage requirements. Pfizer's vaccine has to be transported at -94 degrees Fahrenheit through a system of deep-freeze airport warehouses and then refrigerated in vehicles using dry ice and GPS temperature-monitoring devices, while AstraZeneca's and Moderna's can be transported at fridge temperatures.

Zipline told Bloomberg it has developed drones that can deliver "all leading COVID-19 vaccines."

Zipline's drones look like six-foot long airplanes

Insider's Noah Lewis spoke to CEO Rinaudo back in May, when the company started delivering coronavirus tests in Ghana and Rwanda.

Each drone's flight is fully automated and monitored from its distribution center. They can fly close to 100 miles round-trip on a single battery charge, travel up to 80 mph, and carry four pounds of cargo.

Orders can be scheduled in advance or placed on demand for just-in-time delivery, and drones can be launched within seven minutes of the company receiving the order.

Unlike conventional drones, Zipline's drones resemble small planes. They are six feet long with an 11-foot wingspan, and, rather than landing themselves, drop boxes of supplies with a parachute attached to cushion their fall.

SEE ALSO: The coronavirus variant first found in Brazil may spread more easily or reinfect people who've already had the virus, researchers say. 10 cases have been confirmed in the US.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

The Republican National Committee paid more than $36,000 in February to a Michigan company that specializes in high-tech surveillance and private investigations, according to the RNC's most recent campaign-finance disclosure. 

The GOP's campaign arm paid Cross Xamine Investigations Inc. for "legal and compliance services" on February 10, the records showed. Cross Xamine Investigations Inc. bills itself as a "national private investigations firm that specializes in insurance defense, domestic investigations and a number of other supporting services." 

It's unusual for a party committee to hire private investigators, and it's even more unusual for a party committee to explicitly report that they've done so in campaign-finance reports, according to Republican and Democratic operatives interviewed by Insider.

Reached by phone Monday, an official at Cross Xamine Investigations declined to comment on the payment by the RNC. "I can't tell you any information about that," the official, who declined to provide his name for the story, said. Asked to provide further details about the company's work, he said: "I can't really discuss anything with it." 

The Republican National Committee did not respond to a request for comment. 

"This could be a million and one things," a former RNC official told Insider of the payment. But that person added that most political-research projects would be run through a larger national firm. 

"You'd have to know specifically what they were after before you could draw any conclusions," the former RNC official said. "It's very possible that they were running backgrounds for attendees at an event." 

It's also possible that it was a onetime project pitched by the firm to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan resident, the former RNC official said.

"When you have a chairwoman from Michigan and a nonpolitical firm in Michigan, the odds that it's a one-off project are increased," the official said.

It doesn't appear that any federal political committee has ever before hired Cross Xamine Investigation, according to an Insider review of campaign-finance data.

Though the payment was made on February 10, it's not clear when the surveillance company provided services to the RNC. Federal regulations allow political committees to use broad language when describing the nature of their expenditures. 

'Far from common'

The public disclosure offers a window into the often opaque world of opposition research and investigations that have long been conducted by Republicans and Democrats alike. 

A Cross Xamine Investigations promotional video includes images of surveillance drones and video cameras, as well as eyeglasses that appear to have a camera embedded in them. The equipment amounts to "some pretty nasty stuff from a privacy standpoint," a Democratic researcher who watched the video said.

That person and other party strategists spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't at liberty to discuss party tactics.

Cross Xamine Investigations also advertises its divorce and infidelity investigations and "undercover" services that permit the company "to get inside a civil or criminal apparatus and stay there long enough to find out how it works and who the players are." Its unmanned camera-surveillance service "provides stationary HD video documentation 24 hours a day for up to 7 consecutive days."

The RNC's payment to a private investigations firm is "far from common — very, very rare," another longtime Democratic operative familiar with opposition research said. 

Democratic strategists suggested a host of reasons the RNC might have hired a Michigan surveillance firm, including hiring a local company to comb through documents, trail high-profile Democrats, investigate election officials, and search for evidence of voter fraud — the RNC made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in Michigan and other states after the 2020 election. 

Candidates and party committees frequently pay firms to investigate their opponents, including everything from scouring past comments on their social-media accounts to compiling lists of votes they took as public officials. It's often unclear from the disclosures what specific services are being provided. 

The Democratic National Committee reported paying about $11,800 since 2019 to the Florida company At-Risk for security-consulting services. That company advertises services including event protection and "negative press or background investigations." 

The RNC has also paid the investigations and security firm Pinkerton about $83,000 since 2016, according to campaign-finance disclosures. That company, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, offers services such as background checks, security, and response to "political risks," according to its website.

Pinkerton has provided security services to the RNC in recent years, according to the disclosures. The RNC and Pinkerton did not respond to Insider's requests for additional details about which services were provided. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship

A Valkyrie drone launched another drone during a recent flight test, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced Monday.

The XQ-58A Valkyrie is a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle capable of high subsonic speeds. It was built by Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems for the Air Force Research Laboratory's Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) program and first flew on March 5, 2019.

During its sixth flight test on March 26, 2021, the aircraft conducted its first payload release from its internal weapons bay, launching an Area-I ALTIUS-600 small unmanned aircraft system.

The Air Force is looking at relatively inexpensive, expendable drones like the Valkyrie as potential artificial-intelligence-driven autonomous platforms that could fly alongside and support manned fighter aircraft. This is the major focus of the Skyborg program.

The Air Force's Skyborg project, for which Kratos, Boeing, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems are developing prototypes, is about fielding autonomous unmanned systems that will "enable the Air Force to operate and sustain low-cost, teamed aircraft that can thwart adversaries with quick, decisive actions in contested environments,"the service says.

The smaller, tube-launched autonomous ALTIUS-600 drones provide additional support in the form of intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, counter-drone, electronic-warfare, and strike capabilities.

The recent Valkyrie test was not only the first time the payload doors have been opened in flight, Alyson Turri, the demonstration program manager, said in a statement, but this time the XQ-58A drone also flew higher and faster than it has in previous tests.

The recent test followed the Valkyrie drone's fifth flight test in December, which involved the aircraft flying alongside Air Force F-22 and F-35A fighters and a Marine Corps F-35B.

The rocket-launched Valkyrie drone conducted a semi-autonomous flight while carrying a gatewayONE payload built to allow the different fifth-generation aircraft to communicate, though the communication tool lost connectivity shortly after the aircraft took off.

Despite the connectivity problem during the testing in December, the Air Force was able to overcome the digital security barriers to allow the F-22's Intra-Flight Data Link and F-35's Multifunctional Advanced Data Link to communicate and transmit data, demonstrating some of the possibilities for this technology.

The Air Force Research Laboratory said that the most recent Valkyrie drone test, which like past tests was conducted at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and supported by Kratos and Area-I, "further demonstrates the utility of affordable, high performance unmanned air vehicles."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This Global Hawk surveillance drone will be NATO’s new eyes in the sky

The US Navy is no closer to identifying mysterious drones that were spotted hovering around US warships off the coast of California, a top Navy commander said. 

Speaking at an event in Washington, DC, on Monday, Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, said that the sightings were still being assessed by naval intelligence, reported NBC News. 

"No, we have not," Gilday answered, as quoted by the outlet, when asked whether the Navy had identified the drones spotted in 2019 near US vessels off the Californian Channel Islands. 

"I am aware of those sightings, and as it's been reported, there have been other sightings by aviators in the air and by other ships not only of the United States, but other nations — and of course other elements within the US joint force," Gilday said.

"Those findings have been collected and they still are being analyzed," he said.

Gilday was referring to a series of puzzling incidents uncovered by documentary filmmaker Dave Beaty, in which the destroyers USS Kidd, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS John Finn were tracked by the drones during exercises in a military zone near the California coast. 

Further details of the incidents were obtained by the The Drive, a cars-focused website that also covers defense issues. It obtained details in March using FOIA requests. 

According to deck log documents obtained by the website, the drones surpassed the capacity of commercially obtainable drones. As many as six at a time hovered round the ships, often in low-visibility conditions, and had flashing lights. They were able to keep up with the warships at a speed of about 16 knots. 

The incidents took place near sensitive US military and training facilities, and prompted an investigation by US naval intelligence and the FBI, according to The Drive. 

Gilray, though, was clear in his remarks Monday that there was no evidence the drones were extraterrestrial in origin, NBC said.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside London during COVID-19 lockdown

Israel's skies are defended by the Iron Dome, an air-defense system that has been put to the test in the current conflict with Palestinian militants by not only unusually heavy rocket fire but also other threats it has never faced in combat.

The Israel Defense Forces reported that over a period of 10 days, Hamas and other Palestinian militant forces in Gaza have fired 4,000 Qassam rockets at Israel. For comparison, over the course of the intense 50-day conflict in 2014, 4,881 rockets were fired, according to UN investigators.

The IDF said the Iron Dome has successfully intercepted roughly 90% of the incoming rockets considered potential threats.

In a first for the system, the Iron Dome has also intercepted unmanned aerial vehicles in combat. The system has so far intercepted five Hamas drones since the fighting started earlier this month, the IDF told Insider.

Israel's Iron Dome is a short-range air-defense system designed to intercept rockets, artillery, and mortars. The system has been in use since 2011 and has helped reduce casualties from rocket attacks against Israeli cities.

The air-defense system was developed by the Israeli defense firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries with US support. It is a part of a larger tiered defense system that includes other critical assets like the Arrow and Patriot batteries.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced in March the completion of upgrades to Iron Dome that would allow it to defend against a more diverse collection of aerial threats.

During the upgrade process, the defense system was tested against a variety of threats that include rockets, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the Associated Press reported.

The Iron Dome is designed to eliminate aerial threats at ranges out to a little over 40 miles in any weather conditions. Each Iron Dome battery consists of three to four launchers, each carrying 20 Tamir interceptors and a battlefield radar.

Israel has at least 10 batteries deployed around the country. There might be more, as there were plans to deploy 15 batteries.

While the system is effective, "there is no hermetic solution," Avi Mayer, a former IDF spokesman, told Insider recently.

"There may indeed be a situation in which these systems are overwhelmed," he said. "We certainly hope we don't reach that point, but I think that if we reach that point, it would be extraordinarily dangerous, not only for Israel, but for Palestinians as well."

"What people don't understand is that the Iron Dome system not only spares Israeli lives, but many Palestinian lives as well," he said, suggesting that Israel can show more restraint because most incoming rockets are not making it through.

The IDF declined to comment on how the Iron Dome affects the military's strategic thinking, but the IDF spokeswoman Capt. Libby Weiss told Insider that she thought that "we would be in a very different conflict" if Israel didn't have the Iron Dome.

"We are, of course, extremely grateful that it exists," Mayer said. "We can only shudder to think about how many lives would have been lost if it didn't."

Ian Williams, a missile-defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Insider that "the hope" with the Iron Dome is that it would have a stabilizing effect.

"If you can alleviate the pressure from the rocket attacks through missile defense, it allows more space for diplomacy. It allows Israel to not send in troops so early. It slows the need for Israel to retaliate," he said.

"The flip side of the coin is you can say that Iron Dome allows Israel to be much more aggressive because they can withstand Hamas rocket attacks," Williams added, telling Insider that "it is hard to prove" which is the case.

Some of the rockets launched toward Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have made it through Israel's defenses, with some rockets scoring direct hits on urban centers and resulting in civilian deaths within Israel.

Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on targets in Gaza since the fighting began, resulting in both combatant and civilian casualties.

Scenes of destruction within Gaza coupled with the reports of civilian casualties recall the horrors of the 2014 Gaza War in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed. More than half were civilians.

An IDF spokeswoman previously told Insider that "when it comes to our practices in the strip, we are obviously very concerned about the impact on the civilian population within Gaza."

The challenge, she explained, is that Hamas and other Palestinian militant forces operate in and around civilian infrastructure in a densely populated area, making it difficult for Israeli forces to target Hamas and ensure its own defense without harming civilians.

International pressure is mounting as the death toll grows, with calls for a cease-fire becoming more frequent.

In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he "expected a significant de-escalation" and a move forward "on the path to a cease-fire," according to a White House readout of the call.

In a subsequent statement, Netanyahu said that he appreciates "the support of the American president," but he is "determined to continue this operation until its aim is met," with the aim being the return of "calm and security" to Israel.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 'Doesn't sound too optimistic': Watch Trump and Netanyahu’s awkward exchange over West Bank settlements

Israel's Iron Dome accidentally shot down an Israeli military drone during recent fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces told local media.

"As part of the round of fighting in Gaza and as part of the defense of the country's skies, an IDF Skylark drone was hit by Iron Dome,"an IDF spokesperson told Haaretz, adding that the incident is under investigation.

Skylark drones are small unmanned aerial vehicles built by Elbit Systems, an Israel-based international defense firm, and used by the IDF Artillery Corps' "Sky Rider" unit for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

Haaretz reported that the IDF is "worried" about the friendly-fire incident because it calls into question whether the IDF is able "to conduct a long period of fighting without harming its own forces." It is unclear to what extent this is a concern.

During a recent 11-day conflict involving an intense exchange of fire between the IDF and Palestinian militants in Gaza, Israel's Iron Dome faced thousands of rockets, as well as enemy drones, the latter being a first for the system.

Israel's Iron Dome is a short-range air-defense system designed to intercept rockets, artillery, and mortars. The system has been in use since 2011 and is in place to reduce casualties from rocket attacks against Israeli cities.

The system was designed and developed by the Israeli defense companies Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries with US support. It is a part of a larger tiered defense system that includes other critical assets like the Arrow and Patriot batteries.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced in March the completion of upgrades to Iron Dome that would allow it to defend against a much more varied collection of aerial threats that Israel might battle in future conflicts.

During the upgrade process, the defense system was tested against a variety of threats that include rockets, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the Associated Press previously reported. Iron Dome had not yet engaged a drone in combat though.

The recent fighting began on May 10 as Hamas began launching Qassem rockets at Israeli cities after a period of heightened tensions and local clashes. During the conflict, the IDF repeatedly praised Iron Dome for its effectiveness.

The system is said to have intercepted 90% of incoming rockets, significantly reducing Israeli losses. Thirteen people, including two children, died in Israel from rockets that made it through. Palestinian deaths, as Israel retaliated with airstrikes, were much higher.

The Times of Israel, which also reported the accidental downing of an Israeli drone, said that the Israeli military conducted around 1,500 airstrikes in Gaza during the conflict. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 243 Palestinians were killed, including several dozen children, with roughly 2,000 wounded. The deceased included both combatants and civilians.

The horrific conflict, some of the worst fighting in years, concluded last Friday with a ceasefire agreement.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 4 longest range missiles in the world

A "lethal" weaponized drone "hunted down a human target" without being told to, likely for the first time, according to a UN report seen by the New Scientist.

In the March 2020 incident, a Kargu-2 quadcopter autonomously attacked a person during a conflict between Libyan government forces and a breakaway military faction, led by the Libyan National Army's Khalifa Haftar, the Daily Star reported.

The Turkish-built Kargu-2, a deadly attack drone designed for asymmetric warfare and anti-terrorist operations, targeted one of Haftar's soldiers while he tried to retreat, according to the paper.

The drone, which can be directed to detonate on impact, was operating in a "'highly effective' autonomous mode that required no human controller," the New York Post reported.

"The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true 'fire, forget and find' capability," the report from the UN Security Council's panel of experts on Libya said.

Read more: Etsy is awash with illicit products it claims to ban, from ivory to dangerous weapons and mass-produced good

This is likely the first time drones have attacked humans without instructions to do so, Zak Kallenborn, a national-security consultant who specializes in unmanned systems and drones, confirmed in the report.

Kallenborn has concerns about the future of autonomous drones. "How brittle is the object recognition system?" he said in the report. "How often does it misidentify targets?"

Jack Watling, a researcher on land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute, told the New Scientist that the incident demonstrates the "urgent and important" need to discuss the potential regulation of autonomous weapons.

Human Rights Watch has called for an end to so-called "killer robots" and is campaigning for a "preemptive ban on the development, production, and use of fully autonomous weapons," according to a report by the nonprofit.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How JFK customs searches 1 million packages a day for illegal items

The team in charge of Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery program saw higher attrition than the rest of the company last year, in part due to delays in the official launch that's now pushed back to 2022, Insider has learned.

That's according to Prime Air VP David Carbon, who was asked about the team's high attrition rate during an internal staff meeting in March, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by Insider. Carbon said the turnover rate was 20% last year, a higher figure than Amazon Robotics' 16%, and higher than the 14% rate seen across the broader retail operations unit. Turnover is a growing concern at Amazon with employees having to deal with a rigorous performance review system and the company facing an unusually high number of executives leaving the company in the past year.

"20% is not a great number," Carbon said at the meeting. "We're hoping to bring ours down. Obviously, we can't sustain 20% — it's just gonna kill our folks."

Carbon's response came during the meeting's Q&A session, which quickly turned sour as he started addressing contentious questions submitted by employees, as Insider previously reported. Other questions he answered include the cultural difference between longtime Amazon employees and the newly hired Boeing "expats," the lack of transparency among some teams, and the repeated launch delays.

The tension at the meeting is the latest sign of upheaval at Prime Air, Amazon's most ambitious shipping program that's designed to deliver packages using fully electric drones. Since its first unveiling in 2013, Prime Air has dealt with years of internal conflict and regulatory issues, and it's still unclear when exactly the drone delivery service will become commercially viable, as Insider previously reported.

During the March meeting, Carbon explained that the employee departures were largely split into two categories. The first group is composed of people who agree with the team's direction but grew tired of the launch delays, and "don't have another two years to wait" for the launch, Carbon said. The others, meanwhile, "just flat out don't agree with the plan," he said.

Amazon's spokesperson previously told Insider the attrition rate at Prime Air had improved in recent months.

"Prime Air has new leadership and it's normal for some team members to find new roles as the program transitions from R&D to an operations focus," the spokesperson said.

Turnover rate in the division is now down to 16%, according to people directly familiar with the matter. 

While Carbon said during the meeting that Prime Air has made "steady progress despite attrition," some employees still appeared frustrated by the delays. One employee said many decisions were "burning bridges everywhere" and that they were hurting the team's "ability to meet the existing schedules." Another employee asked what would happen if the team failed to meet its internal timeline again.

"Let's say worst case scenario and we fail to meet our alpha launch by Q3 2022. What happens then? Push the goalpost out another two years?" the employee asked.

Do you work at Amazon? Contact reporter Eugene Kim via the encrypted-messaging apps Signal and Telegram (+1-650-942-3061) or email (ekim@insider.com).

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Sneaky ways stores like H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo get you to spend more money on clothes

"War is trauma."

Those are the words of Daniel Hale, a former US Air Force intelligence analyst who is facing up to 11 years in prison for leaking a trove of documents about the US drone program to a journalist from the Intercept. 

Ahead of his sentencing, which is set for Tuesday, Hale wrote an emotionally raw letter with gruesome details about US drone strikes to explain to Judge Liam O'Grady why he leaked the documents and violated the Espionage Act. 

In the 11-page, handwritten letter that was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Hale offered details on what he described as "the most harrowing day of my life" that took place months into his deployment in Afghanistan. 

Hale said it was "a routine surveillance mission turned into disaster."

It was back in 2012, and Hale found himself watching a car being driven by a suspected bomb-maker from Jalalabad head toward Pakistan. Hale's superiors were "alarmed" and feared that the suspect was trying to escape across the border, prompting the car to be targeted with a drone strike. 

"It was a windy and clouded afternoon when one of the suspects had been discovered heading east at a high rate of speed," Hale wrote. "A drone strike was our only chance and already it began lining up to take the shot."

But the payload missed the target, and the car "continued on ahead after narrowly avoiding destruction" before stopping. A man emerged and looked shocked he was still alive. To Hale's surprise, a woman also stepped out and rushed to the trunk.

Hale would later learn the woman was the man's wife and she was checking on their two young children who had been in the back. Afghan soldiers found the children — ages three and five — in a nearby dumpster the next day. 

"The eldest was found dead due to unspecified wounds caused by shrapnel that pierced her body. Her younger sister was alive but severely dehydrated," Hale said, going on to describe his distress over his commanding officer being more disgusted with the children being left in the dumpster than with the fact they had "errantly fired on a man and his family, having killed one of his daughters."

"Whenever I encounter an individual who thinks that drone warfare is justified and reliably keeps America safe, I remember that time and ask myself how I could possibly continue to believe that I am a good person, deserving of my life and the right to pursue happiness," Hale went on to say. 

The letter provides details on other drone strikes Hale witnessed, including one that occurred within days of his arrival to Afghanistan. In this instance, a group of men carrying weapons gathered to drink tea. Among them was a suspected member of the Taliban, which Hale said was "enough evidence to place them under suspicion as well." 

"Despite having peacefully assembled, posing no threat, the fate of the now tea drinking men had all but been fulfilled," Hale wrote. "I could only look on as I sat by and watched through a computer monitor when a sudden, terrifying flurry of Hellfire missiles came crashing down, splattering purple-colored crystal guts on the side of the morning mountain."

Hale went on to write about how his experiences were at odds with President Barack Obama's public assurances that drone strikes helped protect the US and that all steps were being taken to prevent civilian casualties. 

"I came to believe that the policy of drone assassination was being used to mislead the public that it keep[s] us safe, and when I finally left the military, still processing ... I began to speak out, believing my participation in the drone program to have been deeply wrong," Hale said. 

Prosecutors have called for Hale to spend 11 years behind bars for leaking documents on the US drone program, contending that "vanity overrode the commitments he made to his country,"per the Washington Post. Hale pleaded guilty in March. But Hale and his lawyers have called for no more than 12 to 18 months, stating that he leaked the documents due to "irreconcilable moral conflict."

The US drone war has been going on for almost 20 years

The use of drones and drone strikes by the US in counterterrorism operations began in 2002 under the Bush administration, but escalated dramatically under Obama.

By the time Obama came into office, the US public was war-weary and the prospect of sending troops into dangerous places had become increasingly unpopular. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, offered an ostensible solution. They allowed the US to surveil and target suspected terrorists without putting US troops in harm's way.

Critics of the drone program have contended that it kills too many civilians, excoriating the US government's dubious legal and ethical justifications for drone strikes. Similar to strikes described by Hale, the US has conducted what are known as "signature strikes"— strikes that target military-aged men on battlefields without full confirmation they were plotting against the US or posed a significant threat. 

There are also critics and scholars who've made the case that US drone strikes serve as a recruiting poster for terrorism by increasing enmity toward America. In 2010, a man named Faisal Shahzad was arrested for attempting to bomb Times Square — and he cited US drone strikes as his motivation. 

The US government has consistently faced criticism over a lack of transparency surrounding drone strikes — particularly in relation to civilian casualties. Many strikes have occurred in remote, dangerous areas, making it difficult for journalists or independent organizations to verify details. Official reports on civilian casualties from the US government tend to run far lower than those from independent observers.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a UK-based organization that has tracked US drone strikes for years, estimates that between 8,858 and 16,901 people have been killed by US drone strikes and other covert operations since 2004 in Pakistan,  Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan — including up to 2,200 civilians. 

Obama responded to criticism of US drone strikes by pledging greater transparency and putting safeguards in place to protect civilians, signing an executive order in July 2016 along those lines. The Trump administration abandoned many of those changes, showing less concern for civilian casualties. 

Under President Joe Biden, who pledged to end "forever wars," the US has cut back on drone strikes in a massive way compared to past administrations. This has occurred as the administration reviews standards for military and covert operations. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How JFK customs searches 1 million packages a day for illegal items

Amazon appears to have decimated its UK-based Prime Air drone delivery team, according to a new report from Wired.

Amazon has laid off more than 100 employees in the Prime Air division, Wired reported. The division's goal was to make drone deliveries a reality for the tech giant, and Amazon has been testing its Prime Air drones in the UK since 2016.

Wired spoke to former Prime Air employees who said the project was chaotic. Managers who had no technical knowledge about drones were brought in from other parts of Amazon's business, they said.

Former Prime Air employees told Wired the division began to fall apart in 2019. Staff were constantly leaving, they said. One former employee told Wired they had three different managers over the course of a month.

Amazon told Wired there were still staff working on Prime Air in the UK, but did not provide a headcount.

Insider's Eugene Kim reported last month that staff were leaving Prime Air at a faster rate than any other division in Amazon.

The Financial Times reported in November 2020 that Prime Air was laying off dozens of R&D and manufacturing staff. 

Former employees also told Wired that the company was constantly changing what it wanted from them, and that every few months an unnamed American executive would arrive from Amazon's head office, buy pizza for the team, then double their workload.

"Everything started collapsing inwards because they [Amazon] piled too much on, they put people in charge who didn't know anything about the project and they oversold," one former employee told Wired. "It's all one gigantic oversell – just so many promises that can't be kept."

One employee told Wired they saw a co-worker drinking a can of beer on a Monday morning during a period of low morale.

Staff also told Wired that as the division gradually shrank through short-term contracts and redundancies, employees were told to train their replacements in Costa Rica.

Amazon did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider for comment.

Amazon won approval from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to start flying its drones in August 2020. At the time, Amazon Prime Air Vice President David Carbon told Insider this was an important step towards Amazon's goal of 30-minute drone delivery.

Amazon founder and chair Jeff Bezos said in an interview with CBS in 2013 he thought the company's drones would be making deliveries by 2018.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why I'm throwing away every plastic thing in my kitchen ASAP

There are three main components to homeowners insurance: dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, and personal liability coverage. 

Your possessions are covered under personal property coverage. How do drones, a relatively new type of tech device, factor into your insurance coverage?

Does homeowners insurance cover recreational drones?

Homeowners insurance's personal property coverage protects your personal belongings and furnishings from damage due to covered events, known as insurance perils. A peril is an event that may damage your home or belongings. Common insurance perils include: theft, fire, lightning, hail, and vandalism.

If your personal drone is damaged by an insurance peril like theft, homeowners insurance would cover it. However, if you use the drone for a commercial or business use, homeowners insurance will not cover it.

There are limits to standard personal property coverage depending on your policy and insurance carrier, usually $100,000.

Does homeowners insurance cover damage a drone causes to other people's property?

Homeowners insurance offers personal liability protection if someone is injured at your property or sues for damages. There are limits to standard personal liability coverage depending on your policy and insurance carrier, usually $100,000.

If your recreational drone damages your neighbor's property or injures someone and they sue you, personal liability coverage will protect you.

If someone is injured by your drone, be sure to file a claim with your homeowners insurance in a timely manner. 

Filing a claim with your homeowners insurance

Treat stolen or damaged possessions like a car accident and follow these steps to report and file a claim. 

1. Notify the police and file a police report if it is due to theft. Your insurance company may request a copy of the police report.
2. Take pictures of damaged possessions and what caused the damage (fire, storm, etc).
3. Contact your homeowners insurance company. Failure to timely notify your insurance provider can result in denying the claim. 

Join the conversation about this story »

We were told there would be drones. Ever since Jeff Bezos told Charlie Rose drones were on the way in 2013, many retail and logistics leaders have been saying flying packages are just over the horizon. As last-mile delivery picks up speed and the pandemic puts enormous emphasis on home delivery, now seems the perfect time for takeoff. 

The skies, though, remain virtually empty. After years of internal disagreements and strategy shifts, Amazon's drones are now set to debut no sooner than late next year, Insider reported. Walmart, Amazon, Google, UPS, CVS, Dunkin Donuts, DHL, Domino's, Kroger, and Starbucks have all toyed with drones. Few have put them to serious use. That's largely because most of these programs are short-term pilots or even one-off stunts, a buzzy way for a company to indicate it's hip to the future.

But it begs the questions: Is drone delivery really the future? And if not, who loses out? 

Drone deliveries are only happening in small pockets of the US

Delivery drones are active in small pockets of the US. Drone startup Flytrex has approval to deliver in 2,000 backyards in Fayetteville, North Carolina and a small area in Corona, California. 

UPS is delivering supplies on a medical campus in North Carolina and prescription medications in a retirement community in Florida. A spokesperson told Insider the company has made 6,800 revenue-generating drone deliveries since March 2019. 

Alphabet's Wing makes thousands of deliveries of coffee, food and personal care items per week in Christiansburg, Virginia, Australia, and Finland. A spokesperson told Insider there will be more expansion in the US this year. 

Flytrex CEO Yariv Bash called the string of pilots, and one-off delivery flights over the last few years "a lot of noise." While general merchandise retailers, it seems, may take or leave drones, Bash told Insider there's genuine demand for drones from restaurants and coffee chains that need delivery alternatives.

A key regulatory green light remains red 

Getting off the ground isn't so easy. Flytrex and a handful of other drone-makers have been working with the Federal Aviation Administration to pass the regulatory framework to enable drone deliveries at the federal level. 

The FAA granted certifications to UPS,Amazon, and Wing, in 2019 and 2020, signalling drone delivery might be near. But those certifications simply allowed the grantees to fly drones beyond the line of human sight. In January, the agency cleared drones to fly over people. It has yet to do away with all rules that hold back sky deliveries. 

"Everything is based on waivers and exemptions," Bash said.

The next big hurdle is the FAA must finalize standards to approve drone models for flight, the same way it approves full-sized aircraft. Flytrex and nine other companies, including ​​Amazon, are on the list. 

Flytrex expects to clear this hurdle within a year.

Who's clamoring for drones?

So far, drones have been more effective in creating good press for companies than actually aiding with the pandemic, according to a report from Brookings. (Exceptions include Zipline's work to deliver vaccines in Africa.)

But restaurants like Flytrex-partner El Pollo Loco are desperate for alternatives to the gig economy and drones offer the same service at a fraction of the price, El Pollo Loco executives told Insider. 

Bash said he's no longer interested in one-off demonstrations. He's raising a fresh round of funding with an eye on the next regulatory hurdle to clear. For the retailers like Amazon and Walmart, the urgency just isn't there. But for restaurants chafing from the lack of cost-effective delivery options, drones can't come too soon. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What would happen if you never washed your sheets