The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is often described as the world's first drone war. It has led to a continuing huge growth in the production of military drones, both within and outside Ukraine. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine Kseniia Kalmus was a floral artist. Now, she makes drones for use against the Russians. It was just an obvious decision for me, she tells the BBC from the Ukrainian capital.

Japan may effectively shut off China from supplying drones to its government to protect sensitive information, according to six people in government and the ruling party familiar with the matter, as part of a broad effort to bolster national security. The primary concerns, those people said, centered on information technology, supply chains, cybersecurity and intellectual property -- worries that have been rising outside Japan as well. But Japan must balance such fears -- particularly Beijing's growing push to export sensitive technologies such as commercial drones and security cameras -- against deep economic dependence on China. It must also navigate increasingly choppy waters between China and Japan's closest ally, the United States, which is at odds with Beijing over many things, including technology. "China is a big market and it is important for Japan," one of the senior government officials said. "On the other hand, there are worries that advanced technologies and information could leak to China and could be diverted for military use."

The U.S. Department of Defense has given five small drone manufacturers permission to sell to the U.S. military and federal agencies, in the wake of last year’s ban on these agencies buying Chinese-made drones.

These being pandemic times, a recent visit to the Silicon Valley offices of drone startup Skydio involved slipping past dumpsters into the deserted yard behind the company's loading dock. Moments later, a black quadcopter eased out of the large open door sounding like a large and determined wasp. Skydio is best known for its "selfie drones," which use onboard artificial intelligence to automatically follow and film a person, whether they're running through a forest or backcountry skiing. The most recent model, released last fall, costs $999. The larger and more severe-looking machine that greeted WIRED has similar autonomous flying skills but aims to expand the startup's technology beyond selfies into business and government work, including the military.

SAN FRANCISCO – The world's largest drone maker has teamed up with the nation's largest thermal camera company to create ready-to-fly drones that can see in the dark. The drone maker is DJI, a China-based company that currently has about 70% of the world drone market. The camera is by FLIR Systems, a Wilsonville, Ore.-based thermal and infrared imaging company. The collaboration will produce drones that can be used in search-and-rescue, firefighting, security and surveillance. At a news conference Thursday, the companies showed video shot from one of the infrared-capable drones in which several people walking in a pitch black field at night looked like brightly lit light bulbs moving across the rough ground.

Shanghai has formed a RMB 500 million ($70 million) fund to boost its drone industry and lure drone makers to the city with subsidies and preferential policies. Why it matters: Shanghai aims to become a global tech powerhouse. The city has already laid out plans to become an artificial intelligence hub and has set its sights on becoming a world "e-sports capital." Details: Shanghai's Jinshan District has implemented 18 policies to attract businesses to the city, including covering up to 20% of a firm's budget to build research and development centers in the city. Context: Jinshan hopes to attract up to 100 domestic and international drone makers by 2021.

NEW YORK – AeroVironment Inc. was accused of trying to conceal that employees transported a drone rigged with explosives on a commercial flight and retaliating against a manager who told the government. In April 2015, AeroVironment workers traveled to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City on a Delta Air Lines Inc. There were about 230 civilian passengers aboard, the lawsuit states. The plaintiff, Mark Anderson, who oversaw security for the drone-maker's top-secret government programs, learned of the incident in May 2015, according to the complaint. After reporting it to the U.S. Department of Defense, he was reprimanded, stripped of his responsibilities and ultimately fired without severance, Anderson alleges.

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is nearing completion of new "buy American" rules to make it easier to sell U.S.-made military drones overseas and compete against fast-growing Chinese and Israeli rivals, senior U.S. officials said. While President Donald Trump's aides work on relaxing domestic regulations on drone sales to select allies, Washington will also seek to renegotiate a 1987 missile-control pact with the aim of loosening international restrictions on U.S. exports of unmanned aircraft, according to government and industry sources. At home, the U.S. administration is pressing ahead with its revamp of drone export policy under heavy pressure from American manufacturers and in defiance of human rights advocates who warn of the risk of fueling instability in hot spots including the Middle East and South Asia. The changes, part of a broader effort to overhaul U.S. arms export protocols, could be rolled out by the end of the year under a presidential policy decree, the administration officials said on condition of anonymity. The aim is to help U.S. drone makers -- pioneers in remote-controlled aircraft that have become a centerpiece of counterterrorism strategy -- reassert themselves in the overseas market, where China, Israel and others often sell under less cumbersome restrictions.

In a bid to overtake its rivals, including Facebook and Instagram, Snap looks like it could soon be developing a drone. Reports suggest that Snap, the firm that owns Snapchat, is in talks to buy Zero Zero Robotics, a Chinese drone maker. The rumours suggest that the deal is in the range of $150 million-$200 million (£113 million-£150 million), although neither Snap nor Zero Zero Robotics has commented on the news. In a bid to overtake its rivals, including Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat looks like it could soon be developing a drone. It tracks a user's face and body and electronic image stabilisation means the end of shaky and blurry footage.

Young Instagram users are now spending over half an hour on the photo sharing app every day. The Facebook owned app revealed users under 25 are on the app for 32 minutes on average daily, while older users spend 25 minutes each day using it. The firm released the latest stats a year after it launched Instagram Stories in its ongoing battle with Snapchat. The Facebook owned app revealed users under 25 are on the app for 32 minutes on average daily, while older users spend 25 minutes each day using it. They show that the younger users now spend three percent of their waking hours using the app.