Unmanned Systems Archives - Defense Daily

DoD Opens $30 Million Prize Challenge For Autonomous Non-Tactical Vehicles

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:22:06 +0000

The Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) last Friday kicked-off a $30 million prize challenge that seeks to make better use of the Pentagon’s fleet of manually-operated non-tactical vehicles (NTVs) […]

Blue Water Autonomy Marks Construction Progress On First Liberty Class USV

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:36:44 +0000

Autonomous vessel developer Blue Water Autonomy on Thursday released photos of its first Liberty Class ship under construction at Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana,\. The images are of the bow section […]

YFQ-42A Dark Merlin Resumes Flight Tests for CCA Program

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 21 May 2026 21:24:58 +0000

The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A Dark Merlin prototype drone for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has resumed flight testing, the Air Force and the […]

Red Cat Acquires Wireless Drone Recharging Company Quaze Technologies

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:27:04 +0000

Red Cat Holdings [RCAT] on Wednesday said it has acquired Quaze Technologies, a developer of wireless power transfer technology for unmanned systems and autonomous machines, adding a new capability to […]

MQ-9 Strikes in Iran Far Outnumber Those of Other Platforms, USAF Chief Says

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 20 May 2026 19:14:03 +0000

The number of air to ground strikes in Iran by U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reapers by General Atomics has far outstripped that by any other aircraft, U.S. Air Force Chief […]

MQ-25 Okayed For Production With Milestone C Approval

Rich Abott — Tue, 19 May 2026 20:38:30 +0000

The Navy on Tuesday announced the Boeing [BA] MQ-25A Stingray carrier-based unmanned tanker aircraft officially received its Milestone C approval, setting it up for Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) later this […]

Shield AI’s AI Pilot Software Selected To Provide Collaborative Autonomy To LUCAS Drones

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:44:35 +0000

Shield AI on Tuesday said the Defense Department has picked the company’s Hivemind artificial intelligence software to pilot Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Aircraft System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones and allow them […]

Coast Guard Plans R&D Effort With Lockheed Martin To Assess HPMs To Stop Small Boats

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 18:02:39 +0000

The Coast Guard plans to work with Lockheed Martin [LMT] to evaluate and test high power microwave (HPM) effectors that would temporarily disable the engines or support electronics of small […]

Redwire Says Awarded Large Drone Contract From NATO Ally

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 19 May 2026 11:37:39 +0000

Redwire Corp. [RDW] on Tuesday said it received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract from a NATO ally to deliver the company’s Penguin Mk3 unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Redwire said the […]

Perennial Autonomy Nabs $500 Million DoD Counter-Drone Contract

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 18 May 2026 21:49:15 +0000

The Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)-401 has awarded Perennial Autonomy a three-year contract with a $500 million ceiling to acquire three of the company’s drone interceptors, a deal that […]

DIU Picks Five Companies As Winners of Drone Dominance Program’s Lethality Challenge

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 18 May 2026 20:17:03 +0000

The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has chosen five companies as winners of the Drone Dominance Program’s Lethality Prize. Northrop Grumman [NOC] was the only traditional defense company picked. The […]

Navy Reveals Long-Term MUSV Fleet Size; Using OTA For Off The Shelf Vehicles

Rich Abott — Fri, 15 May 2026 21:41:35 +0000

The Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan published on May 11 revealed more details about how the service plans to acquire Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels (MUSVs), including the acquisition strategy and long-term […]

Demand Signal For L3Harris’ Vampire Counter-Drone System Exceeds $1 Billion, Executive Says

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 15 May 2026 20:52:39 +0000

An affordable counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) L3Harris Technologies [LHX] began developing five years ago that Ukrainian forces have used since 2022 to fend off Russian drone attacks has a kill […]

Australian AI Sensor Startup Arkeus Raises $18 Million To Help Expand In U.S, Europe

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 15 May 2026 18:33:56 +0000

Australia’s Arkeus has raised $18 million in a Series A round to help developer of artificial intelligence-enabled hyperspectral sensors to expand and scale manufacturing in Australia, the U.S. and Europe. […]

With Software Add, L3Harris Turns Its Tactical Radios Into Counter-Drone Sensors And Effectors

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 13 May 2026 19:11:13 +0000

L3Harris Technologies [LHX] on Wednesday introduced an upgrade to an existing waveform used in its tactical radios that transforms them into a distributed network of radio frequency sensors and effectors […]

Swarmer Leads Ukrainian Team Developing Counter-Unmanned Systems Platform

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 12 May 2026 11:29:01 +0000

The drone autonomy company Swarmer [SWMR] on Tuesday said it will integrate technologies from three Ukrainian-based firms to create a containerized system that can send swarms of drones into the […]

Blue Water Autonomy Announces Power, Propulsion, Manufacturing Partners

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 07 May 2026 21:43:52 +0000

Autonomous vessel developer Blue Water Autonomy on Thursday announced some of its key partners for the supply and production of its Liberty Class ship it has entered into the Navy’s […]

MARTAC USV Completes Eight Day Autonomous Demo For Navy

Rich Abott — Thu, 07 May 2026 21:43:04 +0000

Unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developer Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc. (MARTAC) this week announced its T38 Devil Ray vehicle recently completed an eight-day long autonomous test mission for the Navy. A […]

Bipartisan House Bill Would Give National Guard To Counter-Drone Authorities

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 07 May 2026 20:30:53 +0000

Seeking to close gaps that may arise between state and local law enforcers in different jurisdictions, a bipartisan contingent of House members this week introduced a bill that would allow […]

Pentagon Selects Locations For Directed Energy Counter-Drone Pilots To Accelerate Fielding

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 07 May 2026 03:52:09 +0000

The Defense Department’s counter-drone task force on Wednesday evening announced that five U.S. locations have been selected to begin a pilot program later this year to assess the use of […]

DARPA Looks To Next-Gen Small Autonomous Undersea Vehicles

Rich Abott — Wed, 06 May 2026 21:06:46 +0000

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) last month released a solicitation for its two year-long Deep Thoughts program looking to rapidly develop next-generation small autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) in […]

Textron Nabs DIU Award For Small USVs In Support Navy Experiment

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:49:23 +0000

Textron’s [TXT] Textron Systems segment last Thursday said it received a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to deliver multiple TSUNAMI unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in support of a […]

Navy Leaders Want More Industry Entrants, Potentially Multiple Vendors Per Program

Rich Abott — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:58:44 +0000

Navy leadership this week emphasized the need for the Pentagon to move faster and deliver more capability includes using new entrants and potentially using multiple vendors for munitions programs. Newly […]

Unmanned Warfare Frontier Model Developer Scout AI Raises $100 Million

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:26:49 +0000

Scout AI, which is squarely focused on developing a frontier artificial intelligence model for unmanned warfare, on Wednesday said it has raised $100 million in an oversubscribed Series A round […]

Firestorm Labs Raises $82 Million To Transition Mobile 3D Printing Tech, Drones Into Production

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:58:17 +0000

Firestorm Labs, which has developed additive manufacturing cells that can be forward deployed to print drones and parts, raised $82 million in a Series B funding round as it transitions […]

USAF Awards Contracts For Rapid Fielding Of Counter-Drone Systems For AFCENT

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:28:38 +0000

The Air Force has begun awarding sole source contracts to field counter-drone systems within 15 days for use by Air Forces Central (AFCENT) in Operation Epic Fury, which began on […]

Navy’s MQ-25A Unmanned Tanker Finishes First Test Flight

Rich Abott — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:13:12 +0000

The first Boeing [BA] MQ-25A Stingray carrier-based unmanned tanker aircraft conducted its first flight test on Saturday a year later than previously planned, the Navy and Boeing revealed on Monday. […]

Army Begins Evaluating Bumble Bee Drone Interceptor With Autonomous Kill Capability

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 19:01:44 +0000

FORT BRAGG, N.C.—Army paratroopers here last Thursday began assessing a new drone prototype designed to autonomously intercept adversary small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to inform further development of the Bumble […]

Booz Allen Invests In Autonomy Orchestration Company NODA AI

Cal Biesecker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 20:00:06 +0000

Booz Allen Hamilton [BAH] last Friday said it made a strategic investment in NODA AI, a startup developing software that allows different autonomous systems to work together across air, land, […]

Drone Dominance Program Releases Solutions Request For $300 Million Second Phase

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 20:53:33 +0000

The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program (DDP) on Tuesday released the Request for Solutions (RFS) for $300 million second phase effort that seeks bids in the areas of long-range strike and […]

INDOPACOM Commander Praises LUCAS And MEROPS Drones

Frank Wolfe — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:53:26 +0000

Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), used the phrase “unmanned hellscape” in June 2024, to describe what China would face in the Taiwan Strait if […]

Lockheed Martin Invests $25 Million In Fortem Technologies To Strengthen C-UAS Capabilities

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:46:50 +0000

Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Rotary and Mission Systems business on Wednesday said it has invested $25 million in counter-drone company Fortem Technologies that will help Fortem on its path to increase […]

Nearly All of USAF’s $1.5 Billion FY 2027 Request For Airbase Air Defense Is to Counter Missiles

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:32:05 +0000

The Air Force’s fiscal 2027 budget includes $1.5 billion for airbase air defense against missiles and drones–a $1.3 billion increase from last year’s appropriated amount, according to the service. Yet, […]

Coast Guard Scaling Use Of Counter-Drone Systems For Homeland, Forward Operations

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:57:08 +0000

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The Coast Guard is moving from limited uses of counter-drone systems to a broader use of the technology in the homeland and aboard its cutters, service officials said […]

Leidos Partners With Havoc To Enhance Autonomous Capabilities On USVs

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:45:35 +0000

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Leidos [LDOS] and the all-domain autonomy company Havoc on Monday formally partnered to add the startup’s collaborative autonomy capabilities to Leidos’ existing autonomy stack used on its family […]

Rapid Detection And Display of Adversary Drones Cited As Need

Frank Wolfe — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:02:50 +0000

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.–Kamikaze drones have been a mainstay of Iranian attacks since the start of the Pentagon’s Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28, and the rapid detection of such drones […]

Anduril Adds Edison Chouest Offshore For MUSV Production In The U.S.

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:41:36 +0000

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD.—Anduril Industries, which last fall announced a partnership with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to design and develop autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) to meet requirements of the U.S. Navy, […]

Saildrone Introduces High-Speed Spectre Medium USV Class For ASW, Strike Missions

Cal Biesecker — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:32:27 +0000

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Saildrone on Monday introduced a new class of high-endurance, medium unmanned surface vessels (MUSVs) with two variants, one of which is optimized for higher speeds and kinetic strike […]

Air Combat Command’s EOU Tests Anduril’s YFQ-44A

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:23:00 +0000

Last week, the Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) at Nellis AFB, Nev., tested an Anduril Industries YFQ-44A Fury prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which flew from a company site […]

Army Bought 13,000 MEROPS Interceptors After Iran Operations Began, Driscoll Says

Frank Wolfe — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:13:04 +0000

The Army has bought 13,000 MEROPS interceptors to use against Shahed drones from Iran since U.S. operations there began on Feb. 28, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said on Thursday. “When […]

Autonomous Maritime Vessel Developer Ulysses Announces $46 Million In Funding

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:03:55 +0000

Autonomous maritime vessel developer Ulysses on Thursday said it has raised $46 million in two funding rounds, a previously undisclosed seed financing last year, and new Series A investment, to […]

U.S. Razorback UUV Launched From French Sub

Rich Abott — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:57:43 +0000

The U.S. and French navies recently demonstrated interoperability by launching a U.S. Razorback Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) from a French nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). In the operation, a French Suffren-class […]

AEVEX Looks To Raise Around $300 Million In IPO; Generated $433 Million In 2025 Sales

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:02:12 +0000

AEVEX Corp. on Thursday launched its initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise between $278 million and $310 million as the developer and manufacturer of autonomous loitering munitions, unmanned […]

Pentagon’s Counter-Drone Task Force Seeks More Than $580 Million For R&D In 2027

Cal Biesecker — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:54:53 +0000

The Defense Department’s office focused on speeding the development and delivery of systems and technologies to counter threats from small drones is requesting more than $580 million in research, development, […]

GA-ASI Lays Out No Date for Resumption Of YFQ-42A Flights After Mishap

Frank Wolfe — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 21:27:07 +0000

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has paused flight testing of the company’s YFQ-42A Dark Merlin prototype drone for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program after a mishap about […]

X-Bow Providing Rocket Assisted Takeoff Kit For AEVEX Long-Range Loitering Munition

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:16:42 +0000

X-Bow Systems has entered a new end market with a new tool in its quiver, receiving a $12.2 million contract from AEVEX to produce rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) kits to launch […]

Powerus, DFT Team To Deliver Enhanced Drone Interceptors

Cal Biesecker — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:34:32 +0000

Powerus has partnered with Digital Force Technologies (DFT) to leverage DFT’s sensor fusion platform to strengthen the capabilities of its interceptor drones for countering threats posed by fast-moving one-way attack […]

USAF Requests $5 Billion for F-47 In FY ’27, $1.5 Billion Increase

Frank Wolfe — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:57:34 +0000

Out of the more than $150 billion in fiscal 2026 reconciliation funding, the U.S. Air Force received a $400 million boost to move Boeing [BA]’s future F-47 stealth fighter to […]

DoD’s Drone Dominance Programs Opens Lethality Prize Challenge For Group 1 UAS

Cal Biesecker — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:41:42 +0000

To jumpstart the munitions payload ecosystem for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program has initiated a prize challenge for lethal payloads, according to an April 2 […]

Caudle Sees Frustration In Navy MUSV Changes, Previews Containerization Plan

Rich Abott — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:48:08 +0000

The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) on Tuesday acknowledged industry’s frustration with changing Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) plans after the latest switch from the Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) […]