Tariffs, Tactics & Transition Flights: The Drone Industry Enters a New Phase | May 7, 2025

In this episode of Weekly Wings, Paul Rossi and Terry Neff return from a brief hiatus to tackle a jam-packed lineup of updates shaping the drone industry and adjacent sectors. They kick off with a listener-driven deep dive into the real-time impacts of steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese-manufactured drones—highlighting price spikes in DJI's enterprise line and the broader consequences for public safety agencies and small businesses.

They then examine how U.S. drone firms like Unusual Machines are leveraging the policy shift, with discussions about their ongoing motor production facility in Orlando, their connection to Red Cat, and a new public stock offering aimed at scaling up domestic manufacturing.

From the battlefield to the backcountry, the episode explores cold-weather drone testing by the 10th Mountain Division using a variety of drone platforms, revealing the harsh operational realities of flying in snow, sleet, and freezing rain—and what it teaches about battery performance under stress. They also spotlight a new GM-made hybrid military truck capable of powering an entire command post for 24 hours.

Wrapping up, Paul and Terry react to Joby Aviation’s successful emergency failure testing of its piloted eVTOL aircraft, applauding its layered resilience systems and uneventful response to simulated motor, battery, and actuator failures. It’s a forward-looking, fast-paced episode that connects geopolitical shifts, tactical drone use, and the growing reliability of next-gen flight.