Drone News: FCC Drone Exemptions, Axon Vision x Parazero, Avalanche Triggering Drones

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have three stories for you this week: two more drones just got exemptions from the FCC's foreign drone ban, Axon Vision and ParaZero team up on a new non-destructive counter-drone system, and the FAA approves a drone system that can trigger avalanches on purpose. Let's get to it.

The FCC just granted Conditional Approval to two more drone systems. That's Exedy Globalparts' Ayre CX and Parallel Flight Technologies' Firefly. That brings the total number of exempted drone companies to 17. Back in December, the FCC put nearly all foreign-made drones on its Covered List. That blocked new FCC approvals over national security concerns. But since March, the agency has been approving individual drones almost every month. And there's a bigger change too. As of July 21st, these approvals no longer expire at the end of 2026.Manufacturers can now keep them indefinitely, as long as they follow their onshoring plans. For everyday consumer pilots, nothing changes right now. These are commercial and industrial drones, not camera drones. And DJI and Autel still can't get new models approved under this system.Axon Vision and ParaZero Technologies have announced a new counter-drone setup. It combines Axon's ForceField detection system with ParaZero's DefendAir interceptor. DefendAir uses a net to capture rogue drones instead of shooting them down. The companies are marketing this as a non-destructive option for airports, power plants, and other sensitive sites. They say it was tested during a trial in Israel. Now, the report is a company press release, so treat the performance claims with some caution. Instead of one-size-fits-all kinetic responses, companies are building modular systems that can switch between destructive and non-destructive interception depending on the environment. What’s interesting here is that “non-destructive” involves using a net to take down a rogue drone, which still poses a threat to both the drone and people on the ground while falling. The FAA has approved Drone Amplified's MONTIS system for avalanche mitigation. This lets ski resorts and transportation agencies use drones to deploy explosive charges. The goal is to trigger small, controlled avalanches before unstable snow builds into something dangerous. This won't replace helicopters or artillery towers. But it gives crews another tool, especially when weather grounds manned aircraft. It also means fewer people need to physically enter high-risk avalanche terrain. MONTIS shares engineering with the company's IGNIS platform, which is already used for prescribed burns. Drone Amplified developed this with explosives partners Austin Powder and CIL Avalanche, along with help from the Alaska Department of Transportation. It's a solid example of drones taking on jobs that are genuinely dangerous for humans.And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/07/27/fcc-drone-ban-exemption-update/https://www.suasnews.com/2026/07/axon-vision-and-parazero-introduce-new-forcefield-configuration-fornon-destructive-counter-uas-interception/https://dronedj.com/2026/07/15/montis-avalanche-drone-amplified-faa/