Unmanned Warfare

The Marine Corps is looking at small drone boats for spying on vessels

The uncrewed surface vessels ideally would be light enough to get lugged around by a Marine heavy-lift helicopter, the Corps said.

2 days ago

Anduril reveals Roadrunner drone, mum on first US customer

The baseline model can quickly launch and fly at high subsonic speeds and its payloads can be reconfigured for a variety of missions.

6 days ago

Pentagon

Defense Innovation Unit to host Replicator technology summit

The summit is slated for early 2024 and is designed to update companies on the Replicator process and get feedback on the Defense Department’s plans.

An ALE system is launched from a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, as testing commences during Project Convergence in September 2020.

Lockheed, Northrop win US Army contract for spy gear on launched drones

Launched effects — hurtling outward from vehicles and aircraft — are meant to complement equipment soldiers already rely on to scout, target, jam and kill.

7 days ago

Replicator candidates to be chosen by early December, Pentagon says

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks laid out the timeline for Replicator, an initiative to field thousands of drones within 24 months.

2 weeks ago

Brazilian firm Mac Jee unveils exploding drone, with demo in months

A demonstration of the drone is scheduled for next year during the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia.

3 weeks ago

General Atomics fires back at critics of MQ-9 drone after downing

Experts have questioned the sustainability of flying expensive aircraft in contested environments.

3 weeks ago

Greek drone maker nears first surveillance drone sale to Athens

Hellenic Aerospace Industry wants to sell its surveillance and combat drones to the Greek armed forces first before pitching to international customers.

3 weeks ago

Pentagon counter-drone office makes headway as services adopt new tech

Here's how the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office is moving capability out of development and into the field.

3 weeks ago

Turkey and UAE cozy up over drone, missile cooperation

The countries have focused on strengthening bilateral ties through agreements in the defense and technology sectors, among others.

3 weeks ago

The Zephyr drone, an Airbus product, traveled more than 30,000 nautical miles in a single flight during testing in 2022.

Airbus, maker of long-flying Zephyr, launches US drone business

The Pentagon in August rolled out its Replicator initiative, calling for thousands of attritable systems in the field to counter China.

3 weeks ago

Spanish tech center to test Eurodrone’s propulsion system

The deal marks the first step toward the platform’s eventual test flight.

4 weeks ago

US Navy tests sub-launched drones while industry continues designing

The Navy fleet is experimenting with launching and recovering medium UUVs from submarines, even as a formal acquisition effort is still ongoing.

4 weeks ago

UAE’s Edge Group takes over Swiss unmanned helicopter maker Anavia

The acquisition comes as the Swiss government debates a screening mechanism for foreign acquisitions of local firms with national security implications.

4 weeks ago

Navy surface drone fires its first missile during Middle East exercise

The mini missile fire was part of an exercise by a unit working to develop the Navy's drone and artificial intelligence technologies.

4 weeks ago

German air chief urges haste in fielding strike, utility drones

The Luftwaffe wants so-called remote carriers and a dedicated combat drone earlier than the timing of the Future Combat Air System envisions.

5 weeks ago

Are the once-vaunted Bayraktar drones losing their shine in Ukraine?

A local commander sees the unmanned aircraft as too vulnerable for combat, while the manufacturer says the mission types have changed.

5 weeks ago

Slovenian firm quietly provides surveillance drones to Ukraine

Slovenian drone maker C-Astral recently provided Belin or Bramor C4EYE drones to Ukrainian troops, Defense News has learned.

6 weeks ago

What weapons might Israeli forces use for a ground campaign in Gaza?

One of the new technologies that could see combat is the Spark drone developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and its subsidiary Aeronautics.

6 weeks ago

Unmanned

News coverage of the latest platforms, systems, technologies and policies of unmanned warfare.

The uncrewed surface vessels ideally would be light enough to get lugged around by a Marine heavy-lift helicopter, the Corps said.

The baseline model can quickly launch and fly at high subsonic speeds and its payloads can be reconfigured for a variety of missions.

The summit is slated for early 2024 and is designed to update companies on the Replicator process and get feedback on the Defense Department’s plans.

Launched effects — hurtling outward from vehicles and aircraft — are meant to complement equipment soldiers already rely on to scout, target, jam and kill.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks laid out the timeline for Replicator, an initiative to field thousands of drones within 24 months.

A demonstration of the drone is scheduled for next year during the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia.

Experts have questioned the sustainability of flying expensive aircraft in contested environments.

Hellenic Aerospace Industry wants to sell its surveillance and combat drones to the Greek armed forces first before pitching to international customers.

Here's how the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office is moving capability out of development and into the field.

The countries have focused on strengthening bilateral ties through agreements in the defense and technology sectors, among others.

The Pentagon in August rolled out its Replicator initiative, calling for thousands of attritable systems in the field to counter China.

The deal marks the first step toward the platform’s eventual test flight.

The Navy fleet is experimenting with launching and recovering medium UUVs from submarines, even as a formal acquisition effort is still ongoing.

The acquisition comes as the Swiss government debates a screening mechanism for foreign acquisitions of local firms with national security implications.

The mini missile fire was part of an exercise by a unit working to develop the Navy's drone and artificial intelligence technologies.

The Luftwaffe wants so-called remote carriers and a dedicated combat drone earlier than the timing of the Future Combat Air System envisions.

A local commander sees the unmanned aircraft as too vulnerable for combat, while the manufacturer says the mission types have changed.

Slovenian drone maker C-Astral recently provided Belin or Bramor C4EYE drones to Ukrainian troops, Defense News has learned.

One of the new technologies that could see combat is the Spark drone developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and its subsidiary Aeronautics.