News

Army Air Assault brigade found AI tools ill-suited to tactical planning

An Army Air Assault brigade found AI tools struggle with three-dimensional spatial reasoning needed for tactical planning.

Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme enters critical integration phase

Joint Belgian-Dutch autonomous mine clearing programme advances toward operational capability demonstrations by year-end.

«Ми називаємо це "bureaucracy killer"». Данило Цьвок розповів, як ШІ має замінити паперову роботу в ЗСУ

Ukraine's Defense AI Center proposes automating military paperwork to free officers for strategic work instead of routine administrative tasks.

Frank Kendall on the trouble with banning autonomous weapons [Book excerpt]

A former Air Force Secretary examines whether existing arms-control frameworks can effectively govern autonomous weapons development.

Hegseth hosts emerging weapons makers for meeting on munitions production: Sources

The Pentagon convened emerging weapons makers—Anduril, Castelion, and Leidos—in an unannounced meeting on munitions production.

National Resilience Strategy Connects the Dots Behind U.S. Drone Policy

A new White House strategy positions commercial drones within broader U.S. efforts to strengthen manufacturing and supply chain resilience.

Polish Deep-Strike Drone With 1,000-km Range Tested Near Kyiv

Ukraine has completed field testing of Poland's Striker UAV with positive operator feedback; the drone can strike targets 1,000 kilometers away.

40-tonne machine and fleet of robots: this is how Ukraine clears world’s most mined country without losing sappers

Ukraine is deploying remote demining robots and heavy machinery to clear dangerous minefields while reducing casualties among combat sappers.

As Russian air defense dwindles, Ukrainian glide bombs join the fray. But juicy targets are receding.

Ukraine deploys larger glide bombs as Russian air defenses weaken, though retreating targets limit the tactical advantage.

Engineering Reliable Autonomous Systems: Challenges and Solutions

Workshop report examines challenges in engineering reliable autonomous systems as their deployment becomes widespread.

MQ-28 Ghost Bat Drone Debuts In Large-Force Combat Exercise In The Pacific

Australia's MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone debuted in its first multinational large-force exercise during Valiant Shield 26 in the Pacific.

NavWM: A Unified Navigation World Model for Foresight-Driven Planning

A unified navigation system integrates perception and control to improve autonomous planning in complex environments.

TurboMPC: Fast, Scalable, and Differentiable Model Predictive Control on the GPU

A new GPU-accelerated solver lets model predictive control run alongside neural networks, expanding autonomous robotics capabilities.

Ukraine built spy drone cheap enough for one-way missions. Pentagon is already watching producer

Ukraine is producing long-range reconnaissance drones designed for one-way missions, attracting Pentagon scrutiny of the manufacturer.

Ukrainian forces strike Russian vehicle used to launch Shahed-type drones

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian Shahed drone launcher after monitoring its launch operations.

Army launches new low-cost interceptor program, targets fall for first live fire demo

The Army's new low-cost interceptor successfully completed its first live-fire test, positioned to supplement rather than replace air-defense systems.

China’s Export Restrictions on Red Cat Highlight a Bigger Challenge for U.S. Drone Manufacturing

China restricted exports from Red Cat Holdings, highlighting supply chain vulnerabilities in the U.S. drone sector.

Counter-UAS Operations at the World Cup: A Template for Layered Airspace Defense

Kansas City's World Cup operation combined local police detection sensors with federal jamming teams in a coordinated civil-military model.

DARPA X-Plane Designed To Maneuver With Just Bursts Of Air Finally Gets Its Wings

Aurora Flight Sciences is installing wings on DARPA's X-65, an experimental aircraft that maneuvers using air bursts instead of traditional control surfaces.

FCC Drone Exemption List Offers Clues to Trusted Supplier Requirements

The FCC's conditional drone approvals reveal evolving criteria for which foreign-made systems bypass its import restrictions.

Leonardo and Baykar complete test flights for manned-unmanned teaming

Leonardo and Baykar complete test flights demonstrating interoperability between crewed and uncrewed aircraft systems.

MBDA and Fly-R Launch Co-development Contract for Diamond-Shaped Loitering Munition in U.A.E.

MBDA and Fly-R have signed a contract to co-develop a diamond-shaped loitering munition for the United Arab Emirates.

Poland buys V-Bat UAVs from Shield AI for naval forces

Poland is acquiring V-Bat drones from Shield AI for its navy, following reports the system has resisted electronic warfare attacks in Ukraine.

Also reported by Naval News.

U.S. Transfers Ocean Aero Tritons to Philippine Navy USV Unit

The U.S. transferred four Ocean Aero Triton autonomous vessels to the Philippine Navy, expanding its unmanned maritime operations.

What Was The “Jellyfish-Like” Drone Swarm The Downed F-15E Pilot Reportedly Saw Over Iran?

A U.S. F-15E pilot downed over Iran in April reported encountering a jellyfish-like drone swarm before ejecting.

Army picks Anduril to lead Next Gen C2 common data layer baseline

Anduril will develop the Army's next-generation command-and-control data layer, following successful field tests with the 4th Infantry Division.

Automation vs autonomy: What will shape the future of battlefield drones?

The military debate centers on where to draw the line between autonomous drone operation and mandatory human control over firing decisions.

Capacity is the new capability

Military planners increasingly view industrial production capacity and manufacturing speed as strategic advantages equal to weapons technology itself.

Ecuador Bets on Drones to Beat the Cartels — At What Cost?

As Ecuador deploys armed drones against drug cartels, the approach tests both the promise and limits of technology-driven counterinsurgency.

MARTAC and Intrepid Powerboats Announce Manufacturing Partnership to Scale Autonomous Surface Vessel Production

MARTAC partners with Intrepid Powerboats to scale Devil Ray autonomous surface vessel production, targeting 200–300 units annually amid government and commercial demand.

Success-Induced Orientation Collapse: Extending the OODA Loop in AI-Accelerated Decision Environments

Military theorists argue that AI-accelerated decision cycles may paradoxically harm effectiveness if they outpace the ability to maintain accurate situational awareness.

Turkey’s ‘Fighter Drone’ Teamed With M-346 Fighter-Trainer In Autonomy Trials

Turkey's Baykar and Leonardo completed the first live trials of K-SWARM, a crewed-uncrewed fighter concept toward autonomous air combat.

War robots invade Eurosatory 2026 as interest grows in UGVs after use in Ukraine

Unmanned ground vehicles combat-tested in Ukraine are on display at Eurosatory, signaling defense-industry interest despite expert skepticism about wider deployment.

Army’s Newest Unit Aims To “Overwhelm” Adversary With Drones In Pacific Fight

A new U.S. Army command aims to maintain Pacific operations through coordinated drone tactics in contested environments, informed by Ukraine's experience.

Beyond the Primes: Drone Dominance’s First Order Highlights a New Generation of Defense Drone Manufacturers

The Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program receives its first order as the initiative moves from competition to active procurement of military drones.

FCC says some Chinese drones are suddenly safe again

The FCC has expanded its list of Chinese drones exempt from import restrictions, signaling that federal regulators are making targeted exceptions despite their broader crackdown.

RC-135 Rivet Joints Could Control Drones To Drastically Expand Collection Capabilities

L3Harris is working to let RC-135 surveillance aircraft control uncrewed drones, expanding intelligence-collection range while keeping the valuable jets safer from air defenses.

Software-Defined Shielding: Inside the Ukrainian Hardware Interoperability at Eurosatory 2026

At Eurosatory 2026, Ukraine showcased open-architecture military systems designed for interoperability across disparate hardware platforms.

Extraordinary Footage From Moscow Under Heavy Ukrainian Aerial Attack

Ukraine launched a major drone and missile strike on Moscow during daylight hours, the largest attack on the capital in two years.

Fassmer and ST Engineering Sign Teaming Agreement for Unmanned Surface Vessels

A German-Singaporean shipbuilding partnership aims to develop unmanned surface vessels, expanding the industrial base for maritime robotics.

MQ-9 Getting Airborne Early Warning Radar Is A Huge Deal

The MQ-9 Reaper is receiving airborne early warning radar, combining strike capability with wide-area threat detection in a single platform.

Rheinmetall, Vantor plan joint ISR venture for Bundeswehr

Rheinmetall's partnership with Vantor on Bundeswehr ISR marks the company's third major military deal in recent months.

Taiwan’s Green UAS Milestone Highlights a Potential Path for Trusted Foreign Drone Suppliers

Taiwan's participation in a U.S. drone certification program illustrates how allied manufacturers might provide alternatives to Chinese-made drones for the American market.

The sights of Eurosatory 2026, from the show floor

Photographs from Eurosatory 2026 document the defense platforms Europe's nations are prioritizing in their current military modernization efforts.

USAF Orders Both General Atomics’ FQ-42 And Anduril’s FQ-44 Into Production

The Air Force orders both competing drone designs into production, establishing a dual-vendor strategy for collaborative combat aircraft.

From Combat to Coalition: How Ukraine’s Battle-Tested Deep Tech is Anchoring Germany’s Air Defense

Ukrainian defense technology proven in combat is now part of Germany's air defense, marking a NATO shift toward faster adoption of battle-tested systems.

95% Autonomous: How MaXon Systems Bypasses the Elite Pilot Bottleneck in Swarm Defense

Ukrainian firm MaXon Systems has developed highly autonomous drones to counter swarms, addressing the pilot bottleneck in air defense.

The Jet-Age Dogfight: Ukrainian Military Tech Shifts to High-Speed AI Interceptors

Ukraine is shifting its air defense to high-speed AI-guided interceptors as it faces faster, jet-powered loitering weapons.

The Transatlantic Defense Corridor: How Ukrainian and Canadian DefTech Companies are Forging a Bilateral Hardware Pipeline

Ukrainian and Canadian defense companies are partnering to bring battle-tested hardware innovations to commercial scale.

2U Tech Forum: How Ukraine is Architecting a Resilient Technology Ecosystem

Ukraine is positioning itself as a testing ground for frontier dual-use technologies amid geopolitical upheaval.

Drones hit nuclear sites and surrounding areas under Russian and Ukrainian control

Drone strikes are targeting nuclear power plants on both sides of the front line, including Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya facility now under Russian control.

Reuters: ‘Russia authorises banks to directly defend against drones’

Russian banks now operate their own anti-drone defenses with armed staff, without requiring state military support.

AUKUS partners sign agreement on underwater drones, speed up sub plan

AUKUS members formalize underwater drone cooperation to speed up their submarine plans.

Army sent jailbroken tech to Middle East as part of ongoing hackathon

The Army deployed modified equipment to the Middle East through hackathon sprints, accelerating iteration of capabilities in active theater.

Romania deploys F-16s after Russian drone strike on civilian infrastructure

Romania mobilized F-16 fighters in response to Russian drone strikes on civilian targets.

SpaceX wins $4.16B Space Force contract to detect airborne moving targets

SpaceX lands a $4.16 billion contract to build satellite systems for detecting and tracking aircraft and airborne targets.

v1.17.0 - Stable Release

PX4-Autopilot releases version 1.17.0 as stable, the open-source autopilot software used in autonomous military and civilian platforms.

v1.18.0-alpha1

PX4-Autopilot, foundational software for autonomous drones, releases v1.18.0-alpha1 ahead of the next stable version.

v1.16.2 - Stable Release

PX4-Autopilot reaches stable v1.16.2 release, an update to the open-source flight control system used across civilian and military unmanned platforms.

v1.17.0-rc1

PX4-Autopilot, the open-source autopilot used in autonomous drones and aircraft, releases candidate version 1.17.0.