Drone News: Autel Added to CMC List, NEW Matrice 4, DroneUp Contract Ended, DOD Expands LAANC

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Welcome to your weekly UAS news update we have 3 stories for you; Autel and others added to DOD’s CMC List, DJI Releases Matrice 4, Walmart ends contract with DroneUp, DOD Expands LAANC.

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First up, Autel has been added to the DOD’s Chinese Military Complex or CMC List.
If you aren’t familiar with the CMC List, it lists companies that are part of China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy, as required by the 2021 NDAA.
A major problem with the list is that the reasoning behind the designation is not published or public information.
Autels inclusion on this list means that in the view of the government it is now a part of the Chinese military.
We’ve previously seen this with DJI, who is currently suing the DOD for removal from the list, claiming they lost contracts and business due to their inclusion.
We’ll keep you updated when we see more about this.

Next up, DJI released the Matrice 4 Enterprise and Thermal!
The Matrice 4 is the enterprise continuation of the Mavic 3 Enterprise line.
This new naming convention started with the Matrice 3D and will continue with enterprise drones being called the Matrice rather than the Mavic.
Onto the specs, The Matrice 4 Enterprise and thermal comes with a 1/1.3” wide angle lens, a 1/1.3” CMOS medium telephoto lens (3X), a 1/1.5” CMOS Long telephoto lens (7X), and a laser range finder with effective range to 1800m, or 5900 feet.
The Matrice 4 Thermal includes a 640X512 thermal imager with a high-res mode that increases resolution to 1280X1024 and a near IR auxiliary light for illumination up to 100m.
Both aircraft weigh 1219g or 2.7lbs, fly for a maximum of 49 minutes, include an integrated RTK Module, include integrated Ai functions to identify objects, and have an additional payload of 200g.
Specifically for search and rescue, the Matrice 4 includes a map visualization of searched area and cruise control that allows pilots to multitask.
The M4E is priced at $4,799 while the M4T is price at $7,299.
We’re looking forwards to getting our hands on one to test!

Next up, Walmart has ended their contract with DroneUp.
In addition, Walmart has also exited as an investor in the company though it’s unclear if anyone has taken their place.
DroneUp has confirmed they are not shuttering and will continue to work on other projects.

Last up this week, Aloft has added several DOD installations into their LAANC system!
Aloft added 14 DOD sites to their platform across Texas, California, and Florida.
In the past, these installations have required approval through the DroneZone, complicating operations for both part 107 and recreational operators.
LAANC approval is quick and easy and should assist more folks with flying in these zones!

Alright, that’s all we’ve got, we’ll see you on Monday for the Live!