Unmanned

Unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance: More and more these assets are powering military operations and informing decision-making.

Unmanned program could suffer if Congress blocks F-22 retirements, Hunter says

The Air Force wants to retire 33 older F-22s in fiscal 2023, but Congress wants the service to keep the fighter jets and bring them to parity with newer variants.

6 days ago

UK to test Sierra Nevada’s high-flying spy balloons

Sierra Nevada Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, will provide the United Kingdom with high-altitude uncrewed balloons to be used for surveillance and reconnaissance.

6 days ago

Battlefield Tech

This infantry squad vehicle is getting a laser to destroy drones

The U.S. Army’s pursuit to counter small drones is heating up through directed-energy solutions.

As Ukraine highlights value of killer drones, Marine Corps wants more

These drones can remain airborne until a target is identified ― at which point they set a course for that target and go out in a blaze of glory.

6 days ago

US Army’s ‘Lethality Task Force’ looks to save lives with AI

The Close Combat Lethality Task Force hosted the first meeting of the Artificial Intelligence for Small Unit Maneuver working group at Fort Benning, where participants tested robots among other AI technologies.

7 days ago

Spanish Army buys Milrem ground robot for testing

The evaluation comes as some European armies are in the market to equip their soldiers with robots for anything from cargo carrying to surveillance and attack missions.

7 days ago

How does use of ‘ninja missile’ change counterterrorism?

Drone strikes have also been relatively effective at limiting collateral damage compared to other strike options—reducing deaths among both civilians on the ground as well as U.S. servicemembers who might otherwise take part in a ground raid. Needless to say, a more precise missile will only serve to keep lowering civilian casualties.

7 days ago

US Navy injects first-of-kind unmanned experiments into multinational exercise

Look no further than the Rim of the Pacific drills for clues about the sea service's future fleet.

9 days ago

An MQ-9 Reaper sits along the flight line during sunset at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, Nov. 17, 2020. (Robert Brooks/Air Force)

Which drone was used in Al-Zawahiri strike? Experts point to General Atomics’ Reaper

The MQ-9 Reaper, which is made by unmanned aerial vehicles company General Atomics, has been used in many notable strikes across recent presidential administrations.

2 weeks ago

A look at the ‘knife bomb’ that may have killed al-Qaida leader

U.S. officials haven't publicly said what weapon was used, but experts said a likely option was the highly secretive Hellfire R9X — know by various nicknames, like the “knife bomb."

2 weeks ago

RIMPAC lessons will inform Navy’s pursuit of a program-of-record unmanned ship in 2025

Four unmanned surface vessels are operating at RIMPAC -- and the lessons they generate will inform the path to a Large USV program of record in the next three years, and help determine if there's a future for a Medium USV.

2 weeks ago

Army pursues shared software among uncrewed vehicles

The Army will focus on light robotic combat vehicles.

3 weeks ago

Leonardo DRS chief talks taking out drone swarms and what integrated sensing has in common with Tesla

The Army won't be able to shoot down a swarm of enemy drones they way it would a single drone, Leonardo DRS CEO William Lynn said, so it needs a new strategy.

3 weeks ago

Up, up and away: Airbus’ Zephyr drone breaks flight record high above Arizona

Army Futures Command launched a record-breaking test of the Zephyr, a UAS designed by Airbus.

4 weeks ago

Future of autonomous flight comes into focus at Farnborough Airshow

“There is no reason why [a drone wingman] should be any less autonomous than what the F-35 is doing right now,” an F-35 pilot from the Royal Air Force said on Tuesday.

4 weeks ago

Contractors look to lasers for unmanned systems

Laser technology’s ability to play a growing role in the military drone sector made a showing at the Farnborough Airshow this week.

4 weeks ago

Marine Corps wants to test out partner drones, new MQ-9 Reaper payloads

The Marine Corps wants to increase its rapid prototyping fund by nearly a factor of six in 2023.

4 weeks ago

Valkyrie success may push Skyborg drone concept to other programs, Kratos says

“This is getting to the end of the Skyborg program, is where we are,” Kratos executive Jeffrey Herro said at Farnborough.

4 weeks ago

Lockheed working on expendable, advanced drones to team up with Air Force fighters

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works hopes to have expendable drones ready for the Air Force to use in the next few years, if a war with China breaks out.

4 weeks ago

Pentagon AI roadmap seen helping build warfighter, public trust

Department of Defense released an implementation plan for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

5 weeks ago

Homeland Security, Justice officials urge Congress to expand counter-drone authority

Federal law enforcement agencies asked Congress for more authority to counter domestic drones.

5 weeks ago

Britain’s Royal Air Force chief says drone swarms ready to crack enemy defenses

The conundrum of overcoming enemy air defenses is currently on display in Ukraine, where Ukrainian and Russian air-defense capabilities are effectively canceling out the other side's air power arsenal.

5 weeks ago

Iranian envoy responds to US claim it’s selling drones to Russia

Earlier in the war, Iran was criticized in the West for not condemning Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

5 weeks ago

Teledyne wins Pentagon order for hundreds of bomb disposal robots

The U.S. Armed Services placed an order for 500 robots from Teledyne FLIR Defense.

6 weeks ago

US must invest in emerging tech to keep pace with China, Govini report says

Govini report said the U.S. government needs to put more spending toward emerging tech.

6 weeks ago

US Navy, Air Force running ‘capstone test’ of new high-power microwave missile

The High-Powered Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike Weapon (HiJENKS) uses microwave technology to disable an adversary’s electronic systems.

7 weeks ago

South Korea develops robot for autonomous tunnel exploration

The robot can explore underground tunnels without topographic information, detecting risks and generating a 3D map of the exploration area, a government agency says.

8 weeks ago

Battlefield robots getting ‘common sense’ training before deployment

Although legged robots have existed for several years, in order to be deployed, they would need to adapt in real-time to unseen scenarios such as changing terrains, changing payloads and wear and tear.

8 weeks ago