UAV Development & Drone Programs News

FlightGlobal

Inzpire wins three-year multinational training contract for General Atomics MQ-9B and RAF Protector fleets

Qinetiq-owned Inzpire has been awarded an initial three-year contract to deliver multinational training for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ MQ-9B and the RAF Protector fleets. The company says the program could eventually support up to 37 instructor crews as it scales training capacity.

Vertical Mag

Unifly develops UAS Traffic Management for urban drone operations, using conflict detection and airspace segmentation

Unifly says it is advancing UAS Traffic Management for urban drone environments with technologies focused on conflict detection and airspace segmentation. The approach targets safer, more orderly routing and deconfliction for growing volumes of unmanned aircraft operating in constrained airspace.

Airline Weekly

High activity

UK and Europe expand defense investment at Farnborough, from GCAP and Dreadnought to Ukraine and autonomous aircraft

Farnborough coverage underscored Europe’s widening defense commitments: the UK allocated £8.6 billion to GCAP and released £8.4 billion in existing Dreadnought submarine funding, while the EU approved €3.47 billion for Ukrainian military hardware. New autonomous aircraft and sovereign-production plans highlighted the industrial implications.

AeroTime

High activity

EU releases €3.47B for Ukraine drones, air defence and Swedish Gripens as F-16s strain intercepting Russia’s drone swarms; NATO

Ukraine says its F-16s have destroyed more than 2,500 one-way attack drones, but repeated interceptions are wearing down the small fleet. The EU has disbursed €3.47 billion ($4 billion) to fund additional drones, air-defence missiles and Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets, amid renewed Russian missile and drone attacks that killed nine, including children. NATO is also investigating a reported Russian missile hit into Polish airspace.

Breaking Defense

US pushes autonomous aircraft swarms and “robot wingman” CCAs alongside B-21 automation and new airborne-systems buys

AeroVironment and Applied Intuition demonstrated operator-controlled software for multiple Mayhem 10 autonomous aircraft acting as a coordinated swarm. Concurrently, the Air Force confirmed the B-21 Raider will fly with two pilots while pursuing cross-training for mission roles, and sent CCA prototypes (YFQ-42A/YFQ-44A) to Creech AFB for austere-environment exercises. Chaos Industries acquired Atropos to expand into airborne autonomy, as CCA Increment 2 concept refinement is expected to complete by May 2027.

Vertical Mag

Elroy Air’s Chaparral adds three unattended delivery modes under U.S. Army contract

Elroy Air is equipping its Chaparral autonomous drone with three unattended delivery modes, aimed at heavy-cargo logistics for defense and commercial supply chains. The update is tied to a U.S. Army contract, reinforcing a focus on autonomous, “lights-out” cargo drops rather than manned transport or controlled delivery.

FlightGlobal

Israel’s IAI to team with Merlin for autonomous-freighter concept work

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will explore the development of autonomous freighters with a U.S. specialist called Merlin, with cargo-conversion providers also set to contribute engineering expertise. The effort targets large multi-crew transport platforms under consideration for adaptation into autonomous cargo operations.

Reuters

UN experts allege Boeing 727-linked operation transported weapons and drones for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces

A draft UN report says aircraft associated with a Boeing 727-linked operation—linked by Reuters to a U.S. military contractor’s business network—moved weapons and drones for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. The findings raise further questions about sanctions compliance and the networks enabling armed-group resupply.