483 pages of professional course materials. That’s not a rounded number. We counted. → 178 pages of Student Handbooks across 5 days of ground school→ 305 pages of operational templates in the BVLOS Resource Centre→ 28 ready-to-use documents covering mission planning, field checklists, regulatory references, flight logs, and weather assessment→ 377 glossary terms cross-referenced to…
How Draganfly Became America’s Military Drone Supplier From Saskatchewan to Special Operations A company that started building drones in a Saskatoon workshop in 1998 is now supplying combat-grade unmanned systems to the most elite military units in the world. In February 2026, Draganfly Inc. announced it had been selected to provide its Flex FPV drone…
From First Flight to Fleet Operations For years, Clarion Drone Academy students have been given access to tools that made them better pilots—resources that helped them prepare for flights, understand regulations, track their progress, and build professional habits from day one. Now, for the first time, we’re making those tools available to everyone. FlightOps isn’t…
Get Regulatory Answers in Seconds “Can I fly here?” “What are the BVLOS requirements?” “Do I need authorization for this operation?” After training thousands of drone operators across Canada and internationally since 2014, we’ve heard these questions countless times. And we’ve watched pilots spend hours searching through Transport Canada or FAA documents trying to find…
Why We Built a Mental Fitness Check Into FlightOps After training thousands of drone operators since 2014, we’ve seen pilots make poor decisions because they were fatigued, stressed, or distracted. Small errors that could have been avoided with 60 seconds of honest self-assessment. That’s why we built IMSAFE+ into FlightOps. Every pilot knows the standard…
When Kingston Police deployed a DJI Matrice 300 drone to catch distracted drivers in May 2025, they operated with full Transport Canada authorization. Their airspace permissions were in order, pilot certifications valid, and equipment compliant. Yet within days, the Canadian Constitution Foundation was threatening litigation, privacy commissioners were calling the operation absurd, and the Crown…
Built by Pilots, for Pilots For years, Clarion Drone Academy students have been given access to tools that made them better pilots—resources that helped them prepare for flights, understand regulations, track their progress, and build professional habits from day one. Now, for the first time, we’re making those tools available to everyone. Whether you’re a…
Canada faces a critical national security challenge as adversaries rapidly outpace NATO in Arctic-capable drone technology. A December 2024 Center for European Policy Analysis report reveals Russia and China are exploiting surveillance gaps across Canada’s northern territories while Canadian procurement remains fragmented and slow. With the Arctic representing 40 percent of Canada’s land mass and…
The US Has a Plan. We Have… What Exactly? In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a new Program Executive Office for UAS and Counter-UAS, backed by $115 million for counter-drone technologies. This followed President Trump’s June 2025 executive orders establishing a comprehensive national drone strategy. Meanwhile, in southern Alberta, the Foremost…
By Bruce McPherson, CEO, Clarion Drone Academy Inc. | January 2026 On January 8, 2026, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced two new FAA UAS Test Sites—the first expansion of America’s drone testing infrastructure in nearly a decade. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Indiana Economic Development Corporation join seven existing facilities, bringing America’s total…
