News

Aviation Week • Steve Trimble

GE Aerospace wins US Air Force funding to advance GE426 medium-thrust engine for Autonomous Collaborative Platform

GE Aerospace has received a U.S. Air Force contract to complete the preliminary design review (PDR) for its GE426 medium-thrust engine under the Air Force’s Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) effort. The GE426 is positioned as a larger engine than GE’s separate 1,500-lb-thrust GEK1500 program being developed with Kratos for uncrewed fighters.

2026-05-19T05:11:14.081754-07:00

defence-blog.com

Russia begins flight testing Su-57D twin-seat stealth fighter prototype after first airborne sortie

2026-05-19T11:25:23.543577-07:00

Flying Magazine

Miami-Dade and MIA to build a $33M AI Airport Operations Center and trial an air-taxi management system

2026-05-19T06:10:37.334803-07:00

AeroTime

Romanian NATO F-16s shoot down suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia—Baltic Air Policing’s first documented engagement

2026-05-19T04:09:20.248562-07:00

News Timeline

defence-blog.com

Russia begins flight testing Su-57D twin-seat stealth fighter prototype after first airborne sortie Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation has flown a rebuilt Su-57 prototype for the first time in a two-seat configuration and then started flight-testing the Su-57D, a twin-seat variant of the S u-57. Footage released by TV Zvezda on May 19, 2026 marks the transition from reported taxi trials to airborne testing, with reported potential for drone-coordination missions.

2026-05-19T11:25:23.543577-07:00

Russia begins flight testing Su-57D twin-seat stealth fighter prototype after first airborne sortie

FlightGlobal

Tekever opens first US office near Fort Bragg to expand autonomous drone footprint for US special operations Autonomous drone developer Tekever has established its first US presence near Fort Bragg, North Carolina—home of the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command. The move signals a push to commercialize and scale its drone operations closer to a key U.S. special-operations customer base.

2026-05-19T09:24:25.477042-07:00

Tekever opens first US office near Fort Bragg to expand autonomous drone footprint for US special operations

Vertical Mag

Applied Aeronautics unveils SkyBeam modular heavy-lift quadrotor platform for defense, public safety and commercial missions Applied Aeronautics introduced SkyBeam, a U.S.-made modular heavy-lift quadrotor aimed at defense, public safety and commercial operations where endurance, payload flexibility and rapid deployment are prioritized. The company also described dual-use, hybrid-electric VTOL concepts using a compound-rotor configuration.

2026-05-19T09:10:29.354298-07:00

Applied Aeronautics unveils SkyBeam modular heavy-lift quadrotor platform for defense, public safety and commercial missions

Flying Magazine

❗️

Miami-Dade and MIA to build a $33M AI Airport Operations Center and trial an air-taxi management system Miami International Airport and Miami-Dade County will spend $33 million by 2027 to launch an AI-enabled Airport Operations Center with 360-degree monitoring. The county will also start trials for air-taxi management—beginning with drones—before scaling to electric air taxis, leveraging BDI’s ALTA platform at Miami Executive.

2026-05-19T06:10:37.334803-07:00

Miami-Dade and MIA to build a $33M AI Airport Operations Center and trial an air-taxi management system

Aviation Week

GE Aerospace wins US Air Force funding to advance GE426 medium-thrust engine for Autonomous Collaborative Platform GE Aerospace has received a U.S. Air Force contract to complete the preliminary design review (PDR) for its GE426 medium-thrust engine under the Air Force’s Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) effort. The GE426 is positioned as a larger engine than GE’s separate 1,500-lb-thrust GEK1500 program being developed with Kratos for uncrewed fighters.

2026-05-19T05:11:14.081754-07:00

GE Aerospace wins US Air Force funding to advance GE426 medium-thrust engine for Autonomous Collaborative Platform

AeroTime

❗️

Romanian NATO F-16s shoot down suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia—Baltic Air Policing’s first documented engagement Romanian F-16s operating under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission downed a suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia after it entered Estonian airspace from Russia. Estonian officials said the trajectory drove the decision to take it down, marking the first-ever engagement for the 22-year-old operation.

2026-05-19T04:09:20.248562-07:00

Romanian NATO F-16s shoot down suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia—Baltic Air Policing’s first documented engagement

FlightGlobal

Kelluu’s vision: long-endurance airships as persistent airborne sensor platforms to detect drones and cue defenses Finnish startup Kelluu says it wants to use airships as floating, long-endurance drone-defense platforms. The founder envisions the vehicles operating as persistent airborne sensors designed to detect incoming threats and trigger defensive measures—bridging ISR and counter-UAS response in one system.

2026-05-18T15:53:49.963540-07:00

Kelluu’s vision: long-endurance airships as persistent airborne sensor platforms to detect drones and cue defenses

FlightGlobal

Report: US loses or severely damages 42 aircraft in Iran bombing campaign; includes 24 MQ-9A Reaper and seven KC-135 tankers A report says the US military lost or suffered significant damage to 42 aircraft during an aerial bombing campaign against Iran amid a tenuous ceasefire. The tally includes 24 MQ-9A Reaper drones, seven KC-135 tankers, and several fighter types, underscoring combat attrition risks to high-tempo air operations.

2026-05-18T10:39:20.544451-07:00

Report: US loses or severely damages 42 aircraft in Iran bombing campaign; includes 24 MQ-9A Reaper and seven KC-135 tankers

Menu

UAV Development & Drone Programs News

GE Aerospace wins US Air Force funding to advance GE426 medium-thrust engine for Autonomous Collaborative Platform

Russia begins flight testing Su-57D twin-seat stealth fighter prototype after first airborne sortie

Miami-Dade and MIA to build a $33M AI Airport Operations Center and trial an air-taxi management system

Romanian NATO F-16s shoot down suspected Ukrainian drone over southern Estonia—Baltic Air Policing’s first documented engagement

News Timeline