Also: Model Aviation Month, ANA-Joby Form JV, Embraer Receives STC, Virgin Galactic Delays
The US Department of Transportation has officially dropped a long-anticipated rule that could change the game for American drone operators. Unveiled August 6 by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the new proposed rule would (finally) allow unmanned aircraft to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) without case-by-case exemptions. Archer Aviation announced two strategic acquisitions intended to speed up the development of its next-generation defense aircraft. Overair, a spinoff of Karem Aircraft, and Mission Critical Composites bring to Archer a patent portfolio, critical talent, composite manufacturing assets and a 60,000 sq ft facility specializing in defense composites. Pivotal recently put on a series of public safety demos for several fire agencies in California to showcase the potential of its single-seat aircraft to drastically improve emergency response capabilities, particularly in locations where terrain, time, or traffic could be the difference between life and death. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-NextGen!!!
Airborne-NextGen 08.12.25 is chock full of info in this Weekly News Episode, Tuesday, August 12th, 2025... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Holland Lee, Sophie Hurlock, Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, and Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, this episode covers:
FAA Publishes Long-Awaited NPRM to Expand Drone Operations
Archer Fires Up Defense Program With Acquisitions
California Fire Agencies Keen On Pivotal’s eVTOL
The Month of Model Aviation Begins!
ANA, Joby Form JV For Air Taxi Ops In Japan
Embraer Receives STC For Starlink In Praetor, Legacy Models
Surprise, Surprise: Virgin Galactic Delays Space Tourism Project
Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne-NextGen" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, next week!
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