Has there been any more progress on drones for the ships that use them? Carrack, Reclaimer, Vulcan, and I think the Apollo?

Yes, sort of, the Apollo. Short answer, no. There's nothing to specifically talk about. The slightly longer answer is there are multiple scenarios in Squadron, mostly in the side missions, that make use of them. So they are on the Vehicle Feature Team schedule in the near future, to essentially do a lightweight ship IFCS that is remote controlled, that will be the foundational aspect of drones in the PU.