Bloomberg
• Tom Giles, Yazhou Sun
Shield AI is planning to raise at least $1 billion to finance production of its latest autonomous fighter jet, CEO Gary Steele said. The company is also considering more mergers and acquisitions, signaling a push to scale both its manufacturing capacity and its broader business.
UAV Development & Drone Programs
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Germany’s BAAINBw has commissioned MBDA Deutschland to build an airborne laser demonstrator. The work is intended to lay the groundwork for a future Luftwaffe weapon designed to engage drones and cruise missiles; the reports do not specify a contract value, schedule or platform.
Shield AI is planning to raise at least $1 billion to finance production of its latest autonomous fighter jet, CEO Gary Steele said. The company is also considering more mergers and acquisitions, signaling a push to scale both its manufacturing capacity and its broader business.
The Royal Air Force says its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Protector RG1 fleet has passed 1,000 flight hours while deployed to the Middle East. The service describes the Reaper successor as a vital intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance asset, marking an early operational milestone for the aircraft.
After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to reinforce its eastern flank in the Black Sea. The move follows attacks that bring the conflict closer to NATO territory.
Shield AI is developing the X-Bat, a vertical-landing combat aircraft, under the leadership of a former SpaceX engineer. The project places the company among efforts to shape next-generation combat aviation, where autonomous operations and unconventional aircraft configurations are emerging features of future fighter concepts.
Mar-a-Lago is the latest real-world deployment site for the U.S. military’s growing arsenal of LOCUST counter-drone lasers. The system is now guarding President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, extending the weapon’s use to a high-profile protected location; the report provides no details on deployment size or operational performance.
The military has deployed high-energy laser weapons around President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of a counter-drone shield requested by the Secret Service. The deployment is a security application of directed-energy weapons against unmanned aircraft.
A technical breakdown published by Ukraine’s HUR says the Gerbera-2, an enlarged version of Russia’s Gerbera drone, can fly up to 1,200 kilometers and carry a 25-kilogram warhead. The reported conversion from decoy to one-way attack role expands the capabilities attributed to Russia’s UAV fleet.
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