Drone News: Drone News: Drone Rescue, Kyle Nordfors Awarded, Pierce Aerospace and MITRE, & Some DAA Updates

Watch Post Flight on our Community site
https://bit.ly/premium-drone-communityWelcome to your weekly UAS
news update, we have 4 stories for you: A swimmer rescued by a
fisherman’s drone, Kyle Nordfors awarded at the Global Search and
Rescue Excellence Awards, and Pierce Aerospace partners with
MITRE for remote ID research.





And first up this week, a real-world drones-for-good story that
really shows you the versatility of these machines! Out in
Pensacola, Florida, on May 15th, shark fisherman Andrew Smith
found himself in a true life-or-death situation. He’d only been
at a new fishing spot for about ten minutes when a girl ran up,
screaming for help – another girl was drowning, caught in a
dangerous rip current. Now, Andrew has a seizure disorder, which
meant he couldn't safely swim out to her himself. He saw the girl
getting pulled further away, already struggling for about five
minutes, and knew time was absolutely critical.Andrew typically
uses his drone for fishing, specifically to position bait,
because his medical condition makes using kayaks unsafe. He
attached a nearby flotation device to his drone. His first
attempt, he told CBS12, was incredibly nerve-wracking: “I was
shaking pretty badly... I almost cried.” In the stress of the
moment, he released the device too early, and it missed. But he
didn't give up. A bystander quickly provided a second flotation
device. This time, Andrew flew the drone out slowly and
deliberately, carefully lowering it to the struggling girl. He
saw her reach for it, released the device, and she grabbed on,
able to stay afloat! It reportedly took first responders another
five minutes to arrive on scene. Local authorities, including
police, EMS, and lifeguards, apparently told Andrew that if his
second attempt had failed, "she wouldn’t have made it." Andrew,
If you’re watching this and you want to learn more about drones,
send us an email and we’ll get you signed up for a free course of
your choosing. Next up, Captain Kyle Nordfors, who’s a UAS pilot
with the Weber County Sheriff’s Office in Utah, snagged the
Unsung Hero Award. And let me tell you, what he’s doing with
drones in Search and Rescue is nothing short of revolutionary.
He’s using drones equipped with thermal imaging and
high-resolution cameras to transform searches that used to take
hours, or even days, into operations that can be wrapped up in
minutes. We're talking about covering vast areas, sometimes
several square miles, in really rugged terrain with elevation
changes exceeding 5,000 feet! Shout out to our good friend Kyle,
keep up the good work! Third, Pierce Aerospace and MITRE have
announced they're officially joining forces. They've signed
what’s called a memorandum of understanding – basically a formal
agreement – to advance UAS and remote identification for more
complex missions. This is a pretty big deal because, as you know,
Remote ID is a critical piece of the puzzle for integrating
drones safely and securely into our national airspace. Without
robust Remote ID, moving forward with more advanced operations
gets a LOT
trickier.https://www.pierceaerospace.net/blogs/news/pierce-aerospace-and-mitre-partner-to-advance-remote-id-research-and-developmenthttps://dronexl.co/2025/05/19/nordfors-global-search-rescue-excellence-awards/https://dronexl.co/2025/05/20/drone-rescue-girl-drowning/