Defence news
The Gripen E is no underdog — but a different strategy. Ukraine gets 150 of these fighter jets (video)
Saab’s Gripen E combines a compact design, AESA radar, passive IRST and the ramjet-powered Meteor missile into an efficient, affordable fighter. Ukraine is set to receive 150.
YFQ-44A: the Netherlands follows the autonomous combat drone (video)
Anduril’s YFQ-44A made its first semi-autonomous test flight at Victorville, California, at the end of October 2025. The jet drone is one of two candidates in the CCA programme, in which the Netherlands also takes part.
This is how the Dutch Leopard 2A8 tank will arm itself against drones (video)
The Dutch Leopard 2A8 is getting Israel’s Trophy system, which destroys incoming anti-tank weapons with a hard-kill countermeasure. Trophy can also counter drones, a growing threat to tanks.
Modernised Dutch CV90 gets new teeth: the Spike LR2 missile can be fired beyond line of sight (video)
The Royal Netherlands Army is modernising its CV90s with new fire control, sensors and data links. The most important addition is the Spike LR2 missile, which can also hit targets out of the vehicle’s sight.
Leclerc XLR gets a “cage” against drones: how the war in Ukraine is changing the rules at lightning speed (video)
During exercises in Switzerland, France’s newest Leclerc XLR tank was fitted with an anti-drone and anti-mine kit including a metal cage on the turret, a stopgap until active protection systems mature.
Update for the Abrams tank: loitering munitions launched directly from the tank (video)
General Dynamics and AeroVironment have shown that Abrams tanks and Stryker vehicles can fire Switchblade loitering munitions with the bolt-on PERCH launcher, striking targets beyond line of sight.
China’s Jiu Tian: mega-drone makes first test flight
China’s Jiu Tian SS-UAV, a giant unmanned ‘mothership’ that can carry and launch swarms of smaller drones, has made its first flight in Shaanxi.
Aquila: Europe’s answer to hypersonic threats is getting closer (video)
MBDA is developing Aquila, an EU-funded hit-to-kill interceptor and sensor network designed to stop manoeuvring hypersonic weapons, with a technology demonstration targeted for 2030.
Germany orders 229 RCH-155 self-propelled howitzers: a new generation of artillery firepower (video)
Germany has ordered 229 KNDS RCH-155 wheeled howitzers on the Boxer chassis, a fully automated 155 mm system that can fire on the move and needs only two crew.
Jackal missile: smart precision missiles that work together (video)
Northrop Grumman’s Jackal is a turbojet loitering munition flying over 600 km/h with about 100 km range, carrying modular strike, electronic warfare or ISR payloads.
A story to be proud of: Defenture delivers 49 Mammoth vehicles to German Special Forces (videos)
Defenture from Tiel is delivering 49 Mammoth vehicles to German special forces. The company’s lighter VECTOR vehicle has been in use for years with Dutch commandos and the Air Assault Brigade.
Chunmoo 3.0: the rocket artillery of the future (video)
Hanwha’s Chunmoo 3.0, unveiled at ADEX 2025, combines rocket artillery with loitering munitions and anti-ship capability in one AI-supported launcher.
Manta Ray: the silent underwater drone that can move without a sound
Northrop Grumman and DARPA’s Manta Ray is a flat, gliding, fully autonomous underwater drone that can stay at sea for weeks or months, carry up to about ten tonnes and be shipped in containers.
Sentradel: autonomous machine gun takes out 6 targets within seconds (video)
US start-up Sentradel shows autonomous gun turrets using machine vision to shoot down FPV drones and hit six separate targets in under a minute, aiming for cheap, networked counter-drone defence.
Drones and robots: China and Singapore show the future of urban warfare (video)
In a joint 2025 exercise at Singapore’s SAFTI City, Chinese and Singaporean troops sent an armed robot dog into buildings first and used hand-launched attack drones in urban counter-terrorism drills.
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Robotics Boston Dynamics’ Handle moves boxes on two wheels: the path to Stretch (video)
It leans forward, lifts a box from a pallet and rolls away on two wheels. Boston Dynamics' Handle looks like a mechanical bird with an oversized neck. Every odd movement serves an ordinary job: moving boxes.
Robotics How Rocket Lab makes rocket parts from carbon fibre (video)
Rocket Lab uses a 90-tonne robot to make large carbon-fibre parts for Neutron. The footage shows precision work on a tank dome for the reusable rocket.
Robotics This giant robot is meant to lift half a tonne (video)
NeodraDynamics and JD Industrial aim to automate heavy industrial tasks with Neo1. The four-metre robot is designed to handle a combined 500 kilograms with its two arms.
Robotics Amazon researchers test Unitree G1 on warehouse tasks (video)
Researchers at Amazon, Carnegie Mellon and Stanford are testing how a Unitree G1 picks up boxes, carries them and opens doors. FIBER aims to combine these skills in one controller.
Robotics Aitu opens a factory for 10,000 sewing robots a year (video)
Aitu's new factory in China is designed to make 10,000 sewing robots a year. Their challenge: gripping fabric and positioning it at the sewing machine.
Robotics This BYD SUV can float and steer without touching the bottom (video)
The Yangwang U8 can stay afloat and manoeuvre slowly in an emergency. Four individually controlled electric motors are behind its unusual water trick.