Drone News: World Cup Drone Seizures, Drones Ground Wildfire Aircraft, FAA $9M Grant, DoorDash Air

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the FIFA World Cup drone crackdown wraps up with more than 700 seizures, wildfire drones ground firefighting aircraft in Spokane 26 times in just three days, the FAA rolls out a 9 million dollar inspection grant that barely covers the DJI ban fallout, and DoorDash becomes a certified drone airline. Let's get to it.

The US Department of Transportation says it just ran the largest counter-drone operation in US history. More than 700 unauthorized drones were seized during the FIFA World Cup, with over 1,100 total detections. That's across all 11 US host cities, fan zones, hotels, and training sites.. The FAA set up nearly 250 Temporary Flight Restrictions, and Ground Intercept Teams were stationed at venues to catch violators fast. This wasn't just confiscation either. Federal prosecutors in Houston filed criminal charges against four people for flying into restricted zones, and there are likely more in progress. Officials are calling this a blueprint for the 2028 LA Olympics, and the message for pilots is simple: Don’t fly in TFRs.Speaking of TFRs, wildfires are burning through Spokane County Washington, and drone pilots keep making it worse. If you’re unfamiliar, These fires have destroyed 700 structures and forced 65,000 people to evacuate. The sheriff's office counted at least 26 drone incursions into the fire's flight restriction in three days. It’s currently unclear how these detections occurred, but at least four of those drones allegedly flew into the path of firefighting aircraft. One incursion on August 3rd grounded all 35 firefighting aircraft, while homes were actively burning. Only two operators have been cited so far. Federal penalties can exceed $20,000 and up to a year in prison. Remember to check TFR.FAA.GOV before every flight and don’t be that guy. The Department of Transportation just posted a new grant forecast. 9 million dollars for agencies that want to inspect bridges, dams, and roads with drones. Applications open in September and close November 15th, and five awards are expected. Since December of last year, federal funds can't be used to buy or operate Chinese-made drones. That grounded hundreds of state government drone fleets overnight. State officials asked Congress for 50 million dollars to help replace them. Congress authorized 12 million for this year, and only 9 million actually got funded. If your agency relies on federal drone funding, this program is real money, but it is nowhere close to funding a replacement for all the grounded aircraft. Last up, DoorDash just got FAA Part 135 certification. That makes it only the 8th company in the US approved to run commercial drone delivery. The new program is called DoorDash Air. Instead of just partnering with drone companies like Wing or Flytrex, DoorDash built its own aircraft and its own software to decide how each order gets delivered. Car, robot, or drone. The company says drone deliveries under five miles can arrive in under 25 minutes. DoorDash says the drone is American designed and built. Details on the aircraft itself are still under wraps, with more coming later this year. We’ll keep you updated when we see more! And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/08/05/fifa-drone-pilot-court-fine/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/04/spokane-wildfire-drone-incursions-ground-aircraft/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/03/usdot-diig-9-million-drone-inspection-grants-fy26/https://dronedj.com/2026/07/31/doordash-air-drone-delivery-launch/