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Reporting, analysis and explainers tracking the systems, companies, programs and operational developments shaping Testing.
LATEST COVERAGE
Interceptor drones are becoming a mass-produced layer of air defence. Their effectiveness depends less on one aircraft than on the chain that detects, tracks, cues and engages an incoming drone.
The XVIII Airborne Corps is assessing how sensors, command-and-control systems and algorithms can improve drone-threat detection and shorten counter-UAS decision chains.
The Mojave STOL demonstrator landed and departed from a rough maneuver trail during a simulated battlefield exercise, as the partners prepare a production design review planned for November 2026.
Live trials in Turkey’s Konya province combined electronic-support, electronic-attack and radar-imaging pods, though reports differ on whether they flew aboard one drone or two.
Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones licensed for Russian production have evolved into the Geran family, with analysts assessing that upgraded systems and targeting support may now flow back to Tehran.
Company says the July exercise also included an AIM-120 launch against a simulated target using an externally generated track.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine cited AI-enabled FPV drones in Ukraine and a Task Force 59 rescue near Oman as examples of unmanned systems reshaping operations.
The company is building several prototypes of the payload-capable uncrewed aircraft, with a first flight expected by the end of 2027.
Kongsberg has selected the U.S. company’s MESA radar for air and surface applications, including integration with Protector remote weapon stations.
Officials are considering a 2027 expansion that could add autonomous systems and counter-drone capabilities, Breaking Defense reports.
The service plans to place at least 500 autonomous aircraft in service by 2032, alongside a separate massed modular aircraft effort.
Private companies will be able to seek access through a new online portal, including for electronic-warfare testing designed around conditions observed in Ukraine.
The U.S. company is pairing its unmanned aircraft proposal with a planned Polish production partnership for the Barracuda-500M missile.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine cited the June operation and AI-enabled FPV drones in Ukraine as examples of unmanned systems’ growing military role.
The South Korean company plans serial production of its wheeled laser armored vehicle by the end of 2027 and is pursuing export discussions across three regions.
The AI company said the software was tested with real hardware but had not been fielded, and that it blocked the group from its services.
The Ukrainian Navy said its armed unmanned surface vessel engaged an unidentified Russian USV with a Kongsberg-made 12.7 mm remote weapon station.
The company is conducting a proof-of-concept effort with an undisclosed country to assess the light-attack aircraft against drone targets.
The companies expect to begin testing the planned 38-meter medium unmanned surface vessel in January 2027.
The SkyCourier UX concept pairs a Cessna 408 airframe with Merlin autonomy, but no prototype has been built.
The Navy says the carrier’s Unmanned Air Warfare Center can support command and control of Boeing’s MQ-25A unmanned aerial refueling aircraft.
Skunk Works says its tailless, single-engine Vectis design combines modular systems and autonomy for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
Epirus will deliver a production-ready high-power microwave system under an $11 million Office of Naval Research contract.
Fiber-optic FPV drones do not make a drone invulnerable. They remove one of the most important vulnerabilities of conventional FPV systems: a radio-frequency control and video link that can be jammed.
Russian officials confirmed a drone incident and fire in Novy Urengoy, while the unmanned system involved and the scale of damage remain unverified.
Four additional experimental drones are in development as Lockheed Martin targets a first Vectis flight by the end of 2027.
General Cherry, Grim Tech and BlueBird Tech outlined counter-drone interceptor projects at the MSPO defense exhibition in Poland.
The ground-launched system is intended to engage multiple unmanned aircraft with a high-power microwave payload and be recovered for reuse.
A containerized xCell microfactory manufactured drone components, repair parts and 12 Squall aircraft during the ship’s transit to RIMPAC 2026.
Ukraine did not simply add drones to an existing battlefield. It turned unmanned systems into a persistent layer of sensing, strike, logistics and adaptation — forcing militaries to rethink how they see, move, buy and fight.
The Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency selected Terra Drone’s rocket-launched Terra B1 following a Maritime Self-Defense Force demonstration.
The Royal Netherlands Navy plans to integrate kinetic drone interceptors on several warships under a program targeted for completion in the second quarter of 2027.
An SBIR Phase II solicitation calls for AI-controlled uncrewed swarms that could deploy from mobility aircraft and establish autonomous perimeter monitoring networks.
Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink also confirmed the FQ-42 and FQ-44 unmanned combat aircraft will carry the names Vengeance and Fury.
Ground testing on the YFQ-44A includes JDAMs, Small Diameter Bombs and rocket pods, though no air-to-ground stores have flown on the aircraft.
Emerald Flag in December 2026 is intended to test how autonomous fighter drones integrate with crewed fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft.