US Army placing ‘many bets’ on new uncrewed systems
The US Army is rolling out a diverse range of uncrewed aerial systems for combat units small and large, with the goal of testing the wide variety of platforms currently available.
Skydweller Aero completes tests of ultra-long-endurance solar aircraft
The Oklahoma-headquartered firm on 30 September said the Skydweller UAS successfully conducted a series of autonomous long-duration flights in recent weeks, including one sortie lasting 22h 30min and another spanning 16h.
US Marine Corps completes third XQ-58 test flight
The US Marine Corps’ third test flight of the Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie autonomous jet saw the successful integration of the Link 16 data communications system that will be critical to the effective deployment of uncrewed fighters.
L3Harris exploring maritime variant of Vampire drone defence system
The truck-mounted Vampire guided-rocket system was one of the first counter-UAS weapons provided to Ukraine by the Pentagon, and may soon see active service aboard ships.
USAF’s first autonomous combat jets will act as air-to-air ‘missile trucks’ for crewed fighters
The first batch of autonomous “Collaborative Combat Aircraft” being developed for the US Air Force will primarily be tasked with carrying extra precision munitions aloft, with other combat functions coming in subsequent designs.
Chinese UAV maker pitches loitering munition, drones in Indonesia
Chinese unmanned air vehicle (UAV) maker Zhonghe BeiFang Science & Technology hopes to promote its commercial and military systems in the Indonesian market.
How Ukraine turned mobile phone microphones into an air defence network
After enduring wave after wave of cheap suicide drones bombarding its cities, Ukraine found a novel solution for detecting and tracking the low, slow uncrewed aerial vehicles: microphones that can identify the airborne threats based on their audio signature.
Kratos, AFRL test low-cost turbofan for use by attritable systems
Kratos Turbine Technologies and the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have conducted ground tests of a low-cost turbofan engine architecture which the company claims will advance “affordable propulsion technologies for the warfighter”.
US Army selects Anduril and Performance Drone Works to supply new tactical UAVs
The US Army jas selected two manufacturers, Anduril and Performance Drone Works, to provide the service with new uncrewed aerial vehicles that will support tactical-level ground troops in combat operations.
Anduril unveils low-cost Barracuda cruise missile designed for ‘hyper-scale’ production
The US defence start-up plans to develop a line of long-range precision munitions called Barracuda that are being designed for simplicity and rapid production at a mass scale.