UAV Navigation enhances VNS01

UAV Navigation–Grupo Oesía has announced major software enhancements to its VNS01 Visual Navigation System, introducing advanced terrain referenced navigation (TRN) and satellite map matching algorithms to improve navigation accuracy during operations in GNSSdenied environments and over previously unflown routes. www.uavnavigation.com

A2Z Drone Delivery launches Longtail Dual

A2Z Drone Delivery has launched its latest multi-mission commercial drone, the A2Z Longtail Dual.

The aircraft’s added battery redundancy combines with integrated smart battery features to improve fault tolerance for rapidly expanding longrange beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations. The dual-battery design also expedites charging when the aircraft is perched on the company’s drone docks. www.a2zdronedelivery.com

RIEGL launches miniVUX4UAV lidar sensor

RIEGL has introduced the miniVUX4UAV, a lightweight lidar scanner for UAV-based mapping and surveying, debuting at Intergeo 2026 in Munich, Germany.

The sensor offers selectable laser pulse repetition rates of 100, 200, 300 and 400 kHz. Within a 120-degree field of view, it captures up to 133,333 measurements per second at scan speeds of up to 150 scans per second. Overall specifications include a 360-degree field of view and up to 200,000 measurements per second.

A more tightly focused laser beam — with a footprint measuring 125 mm by 50 mm at 100 m — delivers spatial resolution with 12 mm accuracy and 8 mm precision, according to the company. The miniVUX-4UAV incorporates RIEGL’s echo signal digitization and online waveform processing.

Drone-testing centre to come up in Chintamani

Chintamani in Karnataka state, India is set to get a dedicated drone-testing centre, with the state govt approving a Rs 42.8-crore project at Jeedarahalli aimed at building infrastructure for testing and developing unmanned aerial systems. The centre will come up on 19.3 acres of govt land and is expected to provide testing and validation facilities for drone manufacturers, startups, research institutions and other industry stakeholders. Drone Federation India has been identified as the implementation partner.

The facility will have dedicated testing areas, segregated airspace and a runway measuring about 1,000 metres in length and 23 metres in width. It is also expected to have a control centre, laboratories, repair and testing facilities, warehousing and training infrastructure. The centre will enable testing of drones for flight performance, endurance and safety, besides advanced operations such as beyond-visualline-of-sight (BVLOS) flights, subject to regulatory approvals. The project is also intended to support training, research and development and the commercialisation of drone technologies. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Terminal-to-mainland cargo drone mission over Singapore’s waters

Last month ADLC flew the complete terminal-to-mainland cargo drone mission over Singapore’s waters, connecting the Maritime Drone Estate with a marine terminal on Pulau Sebarok. It’s the first time a permitted operator has flown this profile in one of the world’s busiest and most tightly regulated ports. ADLC holds the only CAAS permit in Singapore (and Asia) covering both BVLOS operations and dangerous goods transport. The demonstration shows how petroleum cargo samples, which today travel by launch boat and van, could instead move by. https://adlc.eu