(Richfield, Ohio) – December, 2025 – Event 38 Unmanned Systems, a leading manufacturer of American-made VTOL fixed-wing drones, is pleased to announce its E455 drone is being used by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to help identify and locate undocumented and abandoned oil and gas wells, one of the most widespread environmental challenges facing the U.S.

Los Alamos researchers are pairing artificial intelligence (AI) with aerial data collected by the Event 38 E455 VTOL drone. The aircraft is being used to survey large geographic areas, gather high-resolution imagery, and validate potential well sites identified by AI models. A key component of the mission is the E455’s ability to carry specialty sensors, including high sensitivity magnetometers, which detect subtle
magnetic disturbances in the ground.

The E455 flies low altitude survey lines, and LANL uses this information to pinpoint well locations for inspection and environmental assessments. Identifying these hidden sites is critical for environmental remediation, but many wells are located in remote, difficult-to-access terrain.

“The ability to perform wide-area magnetometer surveys from the air is something that simply hasn’t been practical at scale until now,” said CEO/Founder of Event 38, Jeff Taylor. “With the E455, researchers can identify lost wells, UXO, and other buried anomalies across terrain that would otherwise be impossible or unsafe to access.”

Once a likely location is flagged, researchers deploy the E455 to confirm the site from above. The drone’s extended endurance, long-range communications, and modular payload capabilities make it ideal for covering large areas with precision. These capabilities allow scientists to reach areas that are difficult or unsafe to access by ground, helping accelerate the identification of abandoned wells with significantly
reduced environmental impact.

About Event 38 Unmanned Systems:

Event 38 designs and manufactures fixed-wing VTOL drones in Richfield, Ohio. Since 2011, we’ve sold drones to organizations all around the globe. Our drones capture geo-tagged data for a range of industries and applications. Event 38 drones can be customized for high-resolution aerial photogrammetry, thermal and multispectral imagery, LiDAR, and live video streaming.