Drones & Air Force
News about military drones, UAVs, air force projects, and unmanned systems.
Small attack drone gets a big role: US Marines order hundreds of Bolt-Ms (video)
The US Marine Corps is ordering more than 600 Anduril Bolt-M attack drones worth almost 24 million dollars, giving individual infantry units their own precision firepower.
Twenty drones, one attack: new footage shows swarm technology against infantry
Turkish company STM has tested a swarm of twenty KARGU drones with live explosives, controlled by one operator and detonating almost simultaneously just above a group of infantry targets.
Watch: US troops train with 22 AI drones at once (video)
At Camp Pendleton, US troops trained with a swarm of 22 drones guided by just two operators, using Auterion’s Nemyx software that lets drones work as one coordinated unit.
US Army carries out attack with drone swarm on test targets (video)
In January, the US Army for the first time used a swarm of attack drones with live munitions against simulated targets in the US, controlled through Auterion software as one cooperating system.
Why Russia is deploying a Shahed drone with an air-to-air missile: the war in Ukraine accelerates military innovation (video)
Russian Shahed drones are now being fitted with infrared-guided air-to-air missiles such as the R-73 or R-60, making interception by Ukrainian helicopters and jets riskier.
Why are the American MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-4 Triton drones so crucial for modern warfare and air superiority?
The MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-4 Triton give the US and allies such as the Netherlands persistent eyes in the sky. They are powerful, but only safe once enemy air defences have been weakened.
US Navy takes a big step with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone (video)
The US Navy has signed a contract for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie, a low-observable, rail-launched combat drone with a range of over 4,800 km that flies alongside F-15s and F-16s. Germany may follow from 2029.
Bayraktar attacks test target: Turkish drone attracts Japanese interest
Baykar’s high-altitude Akıncı drone has used ASELSAN’s TOLUN-IIR precision munitions to penetrate a thick concrete structure. Japan is showing interest in cooperating on Turkish drones.
Elbit unveils mobile drone system: SkyStriker operates from containers (video)
Elbit shows SkyStriker loitering munitions launched from ordinary shipping containers on trucks for border protection, guided by a Hermes 900 overhead and attacking as a networked swarm.
SkyStriker drone: flies like a drone, strikes like a missile
Elbit’s SkyStriker loitering munition flies quietly on an electric motor, dives at over 550 km/h with a warhead of up to 10 kg and can be launched from the PULS system the Netherlands also bought.
Launching drones from trucks and cargo ships: China surprises military analysts
Footage shows China testing a truck-mounted catapult rail for large CCA-type drones, later seen on the deck of an ordinary cargo ship alongside containers that probably hold missile launchers.
Dutch company AI Armaments to produce Israeli military drones in the Netherlands (video)
AI Armaments will produce military drones in the Netherlands together with Israel’s Aeronautics, starting with the Aurion MK4. Aeronautics is transferring technology and knowledge so that production takes place entirely in the Netherlands.
Taiwan gets Altius-600 and Altius-700 loitering munitions from the US (video)
The US has approved the sale of Anduril’s Altius-600 and Altius-700 loitering munitions to Taiwan as part of a package of about 1.1 billion dollars. The first units are already in exercises.
Footage shows Chinook and Apache helicopters in Venezuela (video)
Footage of Apache and Chinook helicopters over Venezuela turned out to show a US special forces operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, reportedly involving about 180 aircraft.
Ukrainian Sting drone attacks Shahed-136 drones with precision (video)
Footage shows Wild Hornets’ Sting interceptor drones taking out Russian Shahed-136 drones with striking precision. The cheap, fast quadcopter is changing Ukraine’s air defence.
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