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/