Drones & Air Force
News about military drones, UAVs, air force projects, and unmanned systems.
Reliable Robotics is making existing aircraft increasingly autonomous (video)
A cargo plane that taxis out, takes off and lands by itself: Reliable Robotics is working on much more than an ordinary autopilot. It fits the technology into existing aircraft, giving the familiar Cessna a very different role.
This ship full of AI fighter aircraft shows where Shield AI is heading (video)
Shield AI shows a ship packed with X-BAT aircraft. The design aims to enable fighters to operate without long runways, changing the thinking behind the flight deck.
Your next delivery driver flies: Uber and Zipline target a million deliveries a day (video)
Uber and Zipline aim to make a million drone deliveries a day in 2029. Amazon is expanding Prime Air. Flying deliveries are becoming a real service.
X-BAT is meant to take off like a rocket and then fly like a jet fighter (video)
Shield AI is building an AI-piloted combat aircraft designed to fly without a runway. The X-BAT combines a jet engine with a vectoring exhaust nozzle and autonomous flight control.
In Shenzhen, police drones simply live on top of the traffic lights (video)
Shenzhen has installed fifty drone stations on traffic-light and camera poles in Futian district. The drones fly out during rush hour and return on their own.
China tests autonomous air taxis: EHang leads the way in pilotless transport (video)
China is betting on autonomous air taxis. EHang leads the way with the EH216-S, a pilotless electric aircraft for two passengers. How far has the technology come?
China tests amphibious drone that can fly and operate underwater (video)
New footage from China shows the ‘Formula 1’, a prototype cross-medium drone from Loon Innovations that can operate underwater and then take off and fly.
New hybrid drone dives underwater and takes off again seconds later (video)
Researchers at Rutgers University have presented a hybrid drone that can move underwater and take off into the air within seconds, blurring the line between air and maritime systems.
Allen Control Systems uses smart laser to safely disable drones
Allen Control Systems demonstrates how targeted laser technology can disable drones without physical destruction…
New generation attack drones demonstrate coordinated battlefield strike capability (video)
A new series of attack drones, presented under the name Skydagger, shows how rapidly small but highly effective weapon systems are evolving…
Germany’s Helsing unveils CA-1 Europa combat drone: first flight planned for 2027 (video)
German defence startup Helsing unveils the CA-1 Europa combat drone, with its first flight planned for 2027.
Ukrainian Sting drone attacks Shahed drones (video)
Ukraine’s Sting interceptor drone is reported to stop 80 to 90 percent of the Shahed drones it targets. At around 2,000 dollars each, it is a fraction of the cost of air defence missiles.
Ukraine tests drone interceptor that captures enemy UAVs with a net
Ukraine is testing an interceptor drone that fires a net over Russian drones, tangling their propellers so they crash. Unlike a kamikaze drone, the interceptor can in theory return and be used again.
B-21 Raider seen refueling mid-air: US stealth bomber nears operational phase (video)
New footage shows the US B-21 Raider stealth bomber refuelling in mid-air during a test flight. The Northrop Grumman bomber first flew in November 2023 and the US Air Force plans to buy at least one hundred.
Chinese heavy-lift drone can carry up to 600 kilos (video)
New footage shows a Chinese heavy-lift drone carrying a load of about 600 kilograms on a cable. Drones like this are moving into a category traditionally filled by helicopters.
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Robotics Google boss Pichai praises what Elon Musk gets done (video)
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Robotics Human-shaped robot practises on a computer, then lands seven throws in a row (video)
Apollo is a robot with a human-shaped body. In a Google test, it learned to throw bean bags through a hole in a wooden board, using a person’s throw as a starting point.
Robotics This Meta glasses model sees what you see — and responds to tiny finger movements (video)
AI answers in front of your eye, on-screen translation and control through small finger movements. Here is how Meta Ray-Ban Display and its wristband work.
Defence This Dutch radar spots drones while driving down the road (video)
Spotting a drone from a moving off-road vehicle is exactly what Robin Radar developed IRIS for. A compact rooftop radar scans all around, measures the height of objects and helps identify whether a bird or a drone is flying nearby.
Robotics Atlas lifts 30 kilograms and sees all around: what Boston Dynamics’ robot can do (video)
Strong arms, endlessly rotating joints and hands that sense contact: Atlas is full of clever engineering. Here is how Boston Dynamics wants its humanoid to work.
Robotics Chinese inventor flies a home-built hoverboard over a river (video)
Chinese maker Ayu shows an electric flying board with ten motors. According to the accompanying text, two smartphones and an AI coach help him learn to fly. What makes this experiment interesting for defence?