Kratos has shown off a launcher for its low-cost XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that fits inside a standard shipping container. There has been a growing trend toward containerized weapon systems around the world and combining this general concept with the Valkyrie could make these already very exciting
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AeroVironment, Inc. has announced the launch of Puma LE (Long Endurance), the next generation in its Puma All Environment small UAS product line. Puma LE builds on the combat-proven Puma AE legacy with new capabilities, increased range, and expanded payload capacity. With the integrated Mantis i45 gimballed EO/IR sensor and
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The Drone Racing League (DRL), the global, professional drone racing circuit, launched the DRL RacerAI, the league’s first-ever autonomous racing drone. Designed to be the first autonomous robot to defeat a human in a physical sport, the DRL RacerAI will help close the gap between artificial intelligence (AI) and human
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Airspace security technology company launches consultancy, Dedrone Defense, providing authorized customers a complete, detect and defeat system to protect themselves against adversary drones Dedrone, the market leader in counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) technology, today announced the purchase of DroneDefender from Battelle. This purchase includes all assets and intellectual property
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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, manufacturer of the Reaper drone, has recently been awarded a US Air Force contract to demonstrate the ‘Agile Condor’ artificial intelligence system with the MQ-9 Reaper drone. According to General Atomics President David R. Alexander, “The Agile Condor project will further enhance RPA [remotely
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The Messerschmitt Me. 163B was the only rocket powered intercepter in history. Find out how piston-engined US P-51 Mustangs managed to down two of these super fast aircraft in dogfights high above Germany in late 1944. Designed by Alexander Lippisch, it is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have
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The FirePoint Innovations Center at Wichita State University today announced registration is now open for the first-ever FirePoint C3 Challenge, inviting university students from around the U.S. to submit their best designs for the Army’s future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) intended for next-generation combat and defense. To enter, teams must
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Polish Company WZL 2 presents its Dragonfly UAVS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System) at MSPO 2019, the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Poland. The Dragonfly is a quadcopter designed for combat operations in urban areas and can carry a warhead to conduct precision strikes against targets up to lightly armored threats.
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Facing dreaded pest disease caused by fall armyworm, XAG is among the first to introduce fully autonomous drones in some of the most affected countries, such as Zambia, South Africa, Vietnam and China, to improve the control efficacy that has originally been limited to manual spraying. XAG has discovered that
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While the primary focus for UK military drone operations has been around larger systems like Reaper, the forthcoming ‘Protector’ and Watchkeeper; the UK is increasingly funding the development of smaller drones to engage in war-fighting roles. Mosquito At the International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in late July, the MoD
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The US Air Force is flying at supersonic speeds towards an AI-enabled fleet. Under project Skyborg’s direction, future fighter jets won’t be supported by a wingman, but by an unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Finger four has been the dominant fighter aircraft formation since the 1930s. The world’s most advanced
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SAN DIEGO, CA, August 23, 2019 – Planck Aerosystems (Planck Aero) was awarded a contract valued over $2M by the United States Department of Defense’s Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) to produce mobile tethered unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for integration onto tactical ground vehicles. The mobile tethered UAS leverages
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The Guardian reported recently that the Pentagon’s Southern Command are testing stratospheric balloons over the US, to combat drug trafficking and support homeland security. The news has caused concern among US civil liberties advocates angry that American citizens will be being monitored in these tests. However, these balloons are just
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A U.S. MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) crashed on August 7 in the district of Radwaniyah west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. “A Coalition Unmanned Aerial Vehicle made an unscheduled landing in Baghdad Wednesday due to a mechanical problem. The aircraft landed safely and was successfully recovered
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The Russian S-70 Okhotnik-B (Hunter) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, made its first flight on Saturday, August 3rd. 2019. The flight took place at 12.20 Moscow time and lasted for over 20 minutes. The aerial vehicle flown by the operator made several circles around
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Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has begun placing engine orders in anticipation of receiving first series production contracts for its XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned combat air system (UCAS) before the end of 2019. Developed in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under the Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD)
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Russia’s Okhotnik (Hunter) heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, has made the first flight, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters on Saturday. “Under the test program, a long-duration flight time UCAV Okhotnik has performed its first flight,” says the press release circulated by the
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The U.S. Army issued a contract award to accelerate the rapid prototyping and fielding of its first combat-capable laser weapon system. This prototype will deliver 50 kilowatt (kW)-class lasers on a platoon of four Stryker vehicles in Fiscal Year 2022, supporting the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) mission. The directed
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The Ministry of Defence’s two flagship drone projects – the ‘Protector’ programme to introduce the Certifiable Predator B drone into service with the Royal Air Force, and the Army’s Watchkeeper surveillance drone – continue to face ‘significant issues’ according to a government spending watchdog. The latest annual report (published in
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U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Ariel Cecil, the Low Altitude Air Defense officer in charge assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166 Reinforced, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, explains the importance of the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System during Theater Amphibious Combat Rehearsal (TACR) 18. Led by Naval Amphibious Force,
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A new project to develop a novel unmanned combat aircraft has been announced by the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) concept looks to offer additional capability, deployed alongside fighter jets like the F-35 and Typhoon
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Danish prosecutors have charged three men under Denmark’s anti-terror laws on suspicion of buying drones and components with the purpose of delivering them to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq where they were to be used “in combat actions.” Prosecutor Kristian Kirk says the three men, aged 30,
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Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division will be the first infantry Army battalion to employ pocket-sized drones at the squad level on their upcoming Afghanistan deployment. Troops with the Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat team were issued Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System this spring and provided training on how to use
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