Drone News: Amazon Drone Crash, Aerodome Drone Launch, New 247MP Camera!

Welcome to your weekly UAS News update, we have 3 stories for you: Amazon resumes operations after two drones crash into a crane, Flock Safety launches Aerodome Drone as Automated Security, and Phase One releases a 247MP camera! First up, Amazon Prime Air has resumed delivery flights after two of its MK30 aircraft collided with a mobile crane in Tolleson, Arizona. The incident occurred on Wednesday, October 1st when a construction crane was doing roofing work at a business. The two drones impacted the crane a few minutes apart, with one falling to the ground and catching on fire. Both the FAA and NTSB have begun investigations. Amazon resumed operations on Friday, October 3rd, raising questions about whether Amazon is prioritizing conducting operations over safety. According to DroneXL, this incident is the 4th reported crash this year by an Amazon MK30, and the second time the system has been grounded. In January, Amazon halted operations after two MK30s crashed during testing in Oregon due to faulty LiDAR programming. This event hasn’t yet hit the NTSB’s CAROL database, but we’ll likely get more information if or when it does. Next up, Flock Safety has released their Aerodome Drone as Automated Security (DAS). This system is designed to be a turn-key solution for security patrols. This is a separate product and mission profile from Drones as First Responder, and caters to the private entity looking for a similar solution. It appears that Flock is using the DJI Dock 3 and the Matrice 4D, with Flock’s own back-end deployment software. The system also integrates with Flock’s ecosystem through FlockOS, allowing private entities to utilize alarm panels, video management systems, license plate readers, and audio sensors. Way to diversify! Last up this week, Phase One has released a 247MP photogrammetry camera! If you’re unfamiliar with Phase One, they’ve been a well-known name in the mapping space for their high-megapixel cameras. This week they released the iXM-RS250, with a resolution of 19,200×12,800 pixels and a new IIQ-X compression format, which reduces file size by 90% when compared to 16-bit TIFFs. The new camera is also said to reduce mapping times by 30% compared to previous systems. For those operators who fly large missions and deal with terabytes of data, this could be a game-changer. The iXM-RS250 is immediately compatible with the DJI Matrice 400, and features a USB 3.0 and 10G ethernet for other systems. At this time, Phase One has not released any pricing for the iXM-RS250, but it’s safe to say it’ll be pricey! And on Post Flight, our show where we share our opinions, we won’t be talking about part 108… We will be discussing these stories and Sikorsky, who has released an entire family of VTOL drones. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week! https://dronexl.co/2025/10/08/phase-one-247mp-drone-camera-intergeo/https://dronexl.co/2025/10/03/amazon-resumes-drone-deliveries-days-after-tolleson-crane-crash-and-fire/https://dronexl.co/2025/09/30/flock-safety-aerodome-das-drone-security/