SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
Eutelsat has awarded Aerospacelab, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus contracts covering all 330 satellites in IRIS2’s LEO component, while authorizing Airbus to begin industrial work on 229 additional OneWeb satellites. The company is also expanding European satellite capabilities through payload and platform partnerships.
UAV Development & Drone Programs
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Angola has taken delivery of six Anavia HT-100 uncrewed rotorcraft from EDGE Group after a successful test campaign. The vertical-takeoff-and-landing assets will operate from the decks of Angola’s new naval corvettes, expanding the navy’s shipborne surveillance and mission capabilities.
RTX is collaborating with fusion-energy startup Xcimer to assess whether high-energy laser technology rooted in Cold War research could support directed-energy defenses. The effort highlights a potential crossover between fusion research and systems designed to counter missiles and drones.
High activity
Eutelsat has awarded Aerospacelab, Thales Alenia Space and Airbus contracts covering all 330 satellites in IRIS2’s LEO component, while authorizing Airbus to begin industrial work on 229 additional OneWeb satellites. The company is also expanding European satellite capabilities through payload and platform partnerships.
High activity
A Russian drone crashed near a Moldovan village as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s aircraft prepared to depart for Norway, prompting Moldova to close its airspace and delaying three flights. Officials said debris resembled Russian Geran-type drones, underscoring the growing risk to civilian aviation from the war in Ukraine.
Iran’s capture of a U.S. military underwater drone could give Tehran access to technology developed by Anduril, creating a potential reverse-engineering risk and a setback for the Pentagon. The U.S. military and Anduril have downplayed the significance of the loss.
Russia is using the 2026 El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt to promote the export Su-57E, S-71 drones, drone-like missiles, upgraded Ka-52 helicopters and air-defense systems, including the ZAK-30 Citadel. The showcase comes as the Su-57’s operational effectiveness remains difficult to establish publicly.
Unmanned air and naval weapons are breaching NATO territory with increasing frequency, putting critical economic infrastructure at risk and challenging the alliance’s ability to deter, detect and respond to incursions. The trend underscores growing exposure to low-cost, ambiguous threats across Europe’s air and maritime domains.
The U.S. Army has selected Boeing and Anduril to advance to the next phase of its competition for a midrange interceptor under the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 program. Separately, Anduril is providing autonomy software for a hypersonic aircraft startup targeting a 2027 flight test.
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