Texas Inspection Company to Host Field Trials for NDAA-Compliant Drone Systems

MFE Inspection Solutions (Houston, TX) has announced it will host MFE Field Trials on 17 April, bringing together drone manufacturers offering platforms compliant with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for live evaluations in real industrial settings. The event is designed for industrial inspection teams, reliability leaders, and drone program managers seeking to evaluate compliant platforms in practical field conditions.

“This is a moment of major change for professional drone programs,” said Dylan Duke, CEO of MFE Inspection Solutions. “We’re seeing more industrial teams investigating alternatives to [China-based drone manufacturer] DJI and considering NDAA-compliant platforms, and they need more than just spec sheets or trade show conversations. We made MFE Field Trials to give industrial operators a way to see these systems in action, speak directly to manufacturers, and evaluate them in a setting that reflects how they’ll actually be used.”

Participating manufacturers include Skydio, Freefly, Teledyne FLIR, WISPR Systems, and RT Robotics, whose systems will be evaluated on a live glycol unit and in designated free-fly zones during evaluation periods. Unlike a traditional trade show, the event is structured as a working evaluation day for prospective buyers from oil and gas and other heavy industries. Attendees can speak directly with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) representatives and MFE specialists about platform capabilities, payloads, and deployment considerations.

“This event is meant to help teams make better decisions, faster,” said Cody Menchaca, director of UAS Sales and Operations at MFE Inspection Solutions. “Industrial operators are under pressure to evaluate compliant alternatives, but most haven’t had the chance to compare multiple systems side by side in a real-world environment. MFE Field Trials gives them that opportunity in a format built around evaluation rather than trade show browsing.”

The event reflects a broader shift in the industrial drone market, as regulatory changes drive interest in NDAA-compliant platforms and organizations reassess how they source their drone fleets. MFE Inspection Solutions describes MFE Field Trials as the first event of its kind to bring NDAA-compliant drone manufacturers together for live evaluations in real industrial scenarios.

MFE Field Trials will take place at the San Jacinto College Center for Petrochemical, Energy & Technology in Pasadena, Texas, on Friday, 17 April, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (CT). Admission is free; registration is encouraged due to limited space.

More information and registration are available on the MFE Inspection Solutions website.