Researchers developing low-cost preventive maintenance system for UAVs By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As more and more commercial drone operators build out their fleets of UAVs, and as those drones begin to experience normal wear and tear over the next several years, the need for preventive maintenances will grow exponentially. A team of researchers […]
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Drones Take Center Stage in California’s 2025 Wildfire Response Advanced technology helps agencies fight fires faster and safer California’s 2025 wildfire season has pushed the state to expand its use of drones and other unmanned systems in firefighting. State and local agencies, along with research institutions and private companies, have adopted advanced drones to help […]
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New approval enables large-scale, address-free drone delivery across the U.S. Dayton-based drone delivery company DEXA has announced it has secured a national waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing its drones to operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without case-by-case approvals. This achievement positions DEXA among a small group of U.S. drone operators […]
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In a move that sets a new standard for drone logistics in the U.S., autonomous drone delivery startup DEXA (formerly widely referred to as Drone Express) just received a key approval.
DEXA announced today that it received a national BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing its aircraft to operate long-range drone flights in the U.S. without case-by-case FAA approval. This waiver is among the most significant regulatory achievements in the drone industry and places DEXA in rare company alongside tech giants like Amazon Prime Air, Wing (Google), and Zipline.
But what makes this announcement especially noteworthy isn’t just the milestone — it’s how DEXA got here.
DEXA now holds the trifecta of FAA approvals required to operate scalable, commercial drone delivery nationwide. Those are:
This national waiver dramatically reduces operational complexity and overhead, unlocking the potential for scalable drone delivery to any community in the U.S.
“We’re excited to move forward with BVLOS operations and bring the benefits of drone delivery to more people and businesses around the country,” said Russell Kline, DEXA’s Chief Regulatory Officer in a prepared statement. “This nationwide waiver enables us to deliver on our promise of faster, smarter logistics in communities across the country.”
DEXA’s achievement is all the more remarkable considering the company has raised just $15 million. That’s a sliver compared to the hundreds of millions required by competitors to reach similar milestones. For example, Zipline has raised $1.23 billion, according to PitchBook. Wing is backed by Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google.
“This approval is a testament not just for our regulatory clearances, but also to how efficiently our team has worked together to get to this point,” said Beth Flippo, DEXA’s CEO.
That lean ethos carries over into DEXA’s business model, too. Unlike other drone operators who are vertically tied to large retailers (think Amazon or Walmart, DEXA is building a direct-to-consumer drone marketplace.
Through its DEXA NOW app, customers will be able to shop from participating local retailers, including grocers, pet stores and pharmacies. Current partners include grocery chain Kroger and pizza chain Papa John’s.
Drones will then deliver goods within minutes to a user’s real-time location — no fixed address required. For a $6/month subscription, users get unlimited deliveries at in-store prices, without hidden fees or tipping.
By removing the traditional logistics bottlenecks and infrastructure costs, DEXA offers small businesses a way to compete with big-box and online retailers on delivery speed and convenience. Kroger might not have the scale as Walmart to run its own drone deliveries, but DEXA serves as a supporter.
DEXA is led by Beth Flippo, a self-described “modern-day Frankenstein,” as she referred to herself in a 2024 interview with The Drone Girl.
Flippo began her career as an embedded systems engineer. Her early work in wireless mesh networking for drones led her family’s defense contracting firm into the world of autonomous logistics.
That pivot gave birth to Drone Express—now known as DEXA. Armed with experience at firms like Goldman Sachs, Cantor Fitzgerald and TELEGRID Technologies, Flippo combines financial acumen with technical ingenuity.
But she’s also on a mission to feminize and humanize tech and aviation.
“Our office has a pink couch,” she said in that 2024 interview with The Drone Girl. “I decided to embrace my femininity. I believe the future is female, and I’m proud to lead a company that reflects that.”
The post Watch out, Wing and Zipline: this tiny drone startup just got a key leg up appeared first on The Drone Girl.
The Pentagon has announced sweeping new changes intended to surge the fielding of small drones, including weaponized types, across the entire U.S. military. Most notably, certain types of smaller unmanned aerial systems (UAS) will now be treated as “consumables,” more akin to hand grenades and other kinds of ammunition, than aircraft, which has broad ramifications. […]
– Firestorm Labs, Inc., a supplier of advanced additive manufacturing and drone production solutions, has secured exclusive distribution rights from HP Inc. for its mobile Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technologies. This collaboration cements Firestorm as the sole provider of HP’s high-performance 3D printers in mobile and field-deployable environments and marks a major leap […]
When Anton Wass founded Stark Future, his goal wasn’t to break into the defense industry — it was to build a better motorcycle. “We started this company to create an electric motorcycle that outperforms the best gas bikes in every category,” Wass said. However, the unintended outcome of that mission, designing lightweight, silent, high-performance bikes, has increasingly attracted […]
Engineers at the University of Tokyo JSK Robotics Laboratory had been working on a drone that represents the latter called the “Dual-Rotor embedded multilink robot with the Ability of multi-deGree-of-freedom aerial transformatiON” – a mouthful, so just DRAGON for short. In Japanese mythology, dragons aren’t the fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding monsters you’ll find in Tolkien, Martin, et […]
Ukrainian defense company TENETA has developed a new lightweight, single-use anti-drone device designed to counter enemy FPV drones and reconnaissance quadcopters. According to the company’s official announcement, the MITLA net launcher is intended for frontline use and provides short-range drone interception using a rapidly deploying entanglement net. Weighing just 365 grams, the MITLA launcher measures 200 mm in height and 40 mm in diameter, allowing for easy storage in a pouch, backpack, […]On July 8th, 2025, a violent wildfire swept through the hills of L’Estaque, in the northern districts of Marseille, causing severe damage and triggering a major emergency response. This short video presents a powerful visual montage combining: footage captured during the fire, close to the flames, and drone aerial images filmed on July 10th from the Grand Port Maritime of Marseille, showing the full scale of the scorched landscape. The drone views reveal a devastated natural area: charred forests, blackened hills, and a scarred terrain across the Nerthe massif — a stark reminder of the destructive power of wildfire and the increasing vulnerability of Mediterranean ecosystems to climate change.
A production by Drone-Pictures, specialists in aerial cinematography and drone reporting since 2011.
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Location: L’Estaque, La Nerthe, Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (France)
Filming dates: July 8th & 10th, 2025
Le 8 juillet 2025, un violent incendie a ravagé les collines de L’Estaque, dans les quartiers nord de Marseille, causant d’importants dégâts et une mobilisation massive des pompiers. Dans cette vidéo, nous vous proposons un montage court et immersif mêlant : des images tournées pendant l’incendie, au plus près des flammes, et des vues aériennes par drone captées le 10 juillet depuis le Grand Port Maritime de Marseille, révélant l’étendue des zones sinistrées. On y découvre un paysage dévasté par le feu : forêts noircies, collines brûlées à perte de vue, cicatrices profondes sur le relief de la Nerthe… Un témoignage saisissant de la violence des flammes et de la fragilité de notre environnement face au dérèglement climatique.
Une réalisation Drone-Pictures, société spécialisée dans les prises de vues aériennes et les reportages par drone depuis 2011. N’oubliez pas de liker, partager et vous abonner pour soutenir notre travail de documentation par l’image.
Lieu : L’Estaque, La Nerthe, Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (13)
Dates de tournage : 8 et 10 juillet 2025
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