Reuters
NATO air-defense fighters shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early Friday, according to Latvia’s armed forces. The incident comes as Finland restricted access to parts of the Baltic Sea, underscoring heightened military vigilance around NATO’s eastern flank.
UAV Development & Drone Programs
Latest source-backed stories
NATO air-defense fighters shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace early Friday, according to Latvia’s armed forces. The incident comes as Finland restricted access to parts of the Baltic Sea, underscoring heightened military vigilance around NATO’s eastern flank.
Boeing personnel hoisted an MQ-25 Stingray prototype aboard the USS Nimitz in June, revealing a potential expansion of the carrier-based drone’s mission beyond aerial refueling. The move suggests the U.S. Navy may be quietly exploring an armed role long suspected but repeatedly denied by the Pentagon.
Lockheed Martin’s MORFIUS X-Rotor is a counter-UAS system designed to detect and engage hostile drones with a high-power microwave payload. The company says the system can disable dozens of drones, positioning directed-energy technology as a potential response to increasingly dense and persistent unmanned threats.
Rheinmetall has launched its FV-014 loitering munition from a containerized launcher mounted on a moving HX truck during trials in Germany. The demonstration combines a mobile ground platform with a loitering weapon system, highlighting the company’s ongoing development of deployable unmanned strike capabilities.
Kratos has paused flight testing of its XQ-58 Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft after one vehicle crashed shortly after takeoff during a test in Utah. The incident puts the program’s near-term flight-test activity on hold as Kratos assesses the crash and its implications for ongoing development.
DARPA’s Lift Challenge sought new approaches to small-drone design, offering millions of dollars in prize funding for innovation. The winning entry demonstrated the ability to carry a payload four times its own weight, highlighting a significant lift-to-weight target for compact unmanned aircraft.
Boeing is divesting its electric aircraft and defense drone units in exchange for a 20% stake in Archer Aviation, valuing the air-taxi company at $5 billion. The transaction shifts Boeing’s exposure to advanced air mobility from direct development to an equity position in Archer.
High activity
Lockheed Martin, Verizon, NVIDIA and other technology partners have demonstrated NetSense, a system that uses radio-frequency signals from existing 5G cellular networks and artificial intelligence to detect and track low-altitude unmanned aircraft. The effort comes as the Pentagon expands counter-drone defenses across 46 U.S. sites.
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