South Korea to deploy laser weapons to intercept North Korean drones
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it will deploy at least one anti-air laser weapons system — called “Block-I” — this year.
Unmanned
Australia takes aim with US-made loitering munitions
AeroVironment's Switchblade 300 has a 3.69-pound (1.68 kg) warhead and 19-mile (30 km) range in its latest Block 20 variant.
DIU, Air Force pick four firms to prototype modular testing drone
DIU and the Air Force want to use ETV in large numbers to “create an overwhelming dilemma" for an enemy, perhaps making it a candidate for Replicator.
Another MQ-9 Reaper drone goes down in Yemen
It wasn’t immediately clear what brought down the US drone, but the incident marks potentially the third such downing this month alone.
US Army sets development plan for future tactical drone
The service approved an abbreviated capabilities development document as two competitors move into a prototype flight demo phase for future tactical UAS.
DARPA picks six firms to develop experimental ship-launched drones
ANCILLARY would take off vertically from a ship's flight deck and then shift to forward flight to conduct recon, move cargo, or track enemy targets at sea.
Industry responding to Navy’s interest in small unmanned systems
It's unclear when or how the Navy will buy small unmanned surface and undersea systems. But the desire is there, and L3Harris is responding to that signal.
Replicator drones already being delivered, Pentagon says
The program meant to counter China by helping the Pentagon quickly buy thousands of drones. It's nearing the halfway point of an August 2025 deadline.
Russian forces may have seized first Estonian ground robot in Ukraine
Images started showing up in Russian social media channels this month of what appears to be a damaged THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle.
Houthi rebels claim shooting down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed that rebels shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone on May 16 with a surface-to-air missile.
Navy, Marine Corps pitched three systems for first Replicator batch
An acquisition official said the Navy and Marine Corps brought three systems to Replicator, but declined to clarify whether all were selected.
