Drone

US releases footage of Russian jet downing drone over Black Sea

The downing of the US MQ-9 drone on Tuesday was the first direct US-Russian incident since the Ukraine war began, worsening already tense relations between Washington and Moscow as both countries publicly traded blame.

In the video, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet can be seen coming very close to the drone and dumping fuel near it, in what US officials said was an apparent effort to damage the American aircraft as it flew.

US sanctions drone-maker DJI

On Thursday, the Treasury Department put the companies on an investment exclusion list, banning US citizens from buying and selling shares in them.

It has been alleged that DJI's drone technology has been used for the surveillance of Uyghur Muslims in China.

However the ban is largely symbolic as DJI is not a publicly-traded company.

Consumers in the US can continue to buy and use DJI drones.

Amazon unveils flying Ring security drone and Luna games service

It is designed to activate only when residents are out, works indoors, and is limited to one floor of a building.

The firm also unveiled an online games-streaming service and a voice-activated screen that swivels about.

But one campaign group described the drone camera as Amazon's "most chilling home surveillance product" yet.

"It's difficult to imagine why Amazon thinks anyone wants flying internet cameras linked up to a data-gathering company in the privacy of their own home," said Silkie Carlo from Big Brother Watch.

Drone collides with commercial aeroplane in Canada

The drone struck one of the plane's wings, while six passengers and two crew members were aboard.

The aircraft sustained only minor damage and was able to land safely, the Canadian transport minister said.

Earlier this year, Canada announced that it was making it illegal to fly recreational drones near airports.

The law prohibited airborne drones within 5.5km (3.5 miles) of an airport and restricted the height of a drone's flight to 90 metres (300ft).

Those breaking the restrictions could face fines of up to 25,000 Canadian dollars ($20,000, £15,000).

Eagle captured swooping on drone

Leigh Nairn said his drone was badly damaged in the incident at Binnu, 550km (340 miles) north of Perth.

The drone, used to monitor barley-seeding equipment on his property, was sent off to be repaired.

He said he was "100% lucky" that the drone managed to capture an image of the bird as it swooped.

"That's the only photo I have of it," he said.

"I'm not sure where it came from, but I was obviously in the wrong spot and [it] wanted to let me know that."

The eagle flew off unscathed, he said.

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Prince William's air ambulance in near-miss with drone

UK Airprox Board investigators said the Eurocopter 145, used by the East Anglian Air Ambulance, missed the remote-controlled machine "by chance".

The incident happened 1,900ft (579m) above London in August.

There had been "high risk" of a crash, "endangering the EC145 and its crew" over a busy area, the report said.

Drone photography company to pay record-sized fine

Chicago-based Skypan International had been accused of conducting 65 illegal flights in "congested airspace" over its home city and New York.

The Federal Aviation Administration had threatened a $1.9m (£1.5m) charge.

However, Skypan settled the case by agreeing to pay a $200,000 civil penalty.

It must also help the watchdog's drone-use education efforts and pay up to a further $300,000 if it breaks the law again.

Passenger plane nearly hit drone

The A320 plane was descending toward Heathrow Airport in July when the drone was spotted from the cockpit window, according to the UK Airport Board report.

The plane was flying at an altitude of 4,600 feet (1,402 meters) near the Shard skyscraper in central London when the 50-centimeter (19-inch) drone was spotted.

 

A "very near-miss"

The pilot said the risk of collision was "high" in the report released last Friday. The authors of the report also classified the incident as a "very near-miss" and said that "chance had played a major part."

Interest in Use of Drones Growing

A flying robot is basically a drone, as commonly known, and has been spotted in many recent big events in the country, particularly in Port Moresby.

However, seen from a larger scale, the market in PNG is still small even though the interest is high.  

Drones have been available in PNG in more recent years, mostly in the form of expensive type toys for consumers, according to Aaron Chin, who is in the technology business.

Aaron is the group manager – retail division for Chin H Min, one of PNG’s leading supplier in technology for more than a decade.