Defense News

UAV Development & Drone Programs AI Bayraktar

FlightGlobal • Lizzie Rix

Indian Naval Academy develops maritime rescue drones as Baykar completes Kalkan sea trials

Two separate developments point to expanding maritime UAV roles: an Indian Naval Academy team has designed an autonomous quadcopter for search and a hexacopter to deliver lifebuoys, while Baykar says its Kalkan VTOL UAV has completed its first at-sea flight tests. The reports provide no further performance or deployment details.

2 Sources

2026-10-27T07:05:11.517483-07:00

UAV Development & Drone Programs AI

Breaking Defense • Breaking Defense

The new must-have capabilities for drones

By Breaking Defense: The must-have drone capabilities shaping modern defense, including the technologies and features needed to meet evolving military mission requirements.

2 Sources

2026-10-27T06:04:55.541625-07:00

Europe ESA Commercial Space Space Defense & Militarization

Payload • Douglas Gorman

OSMOS X Tapped to Lead EDF-backed Tactical Capture Consortium

By Payload: The European Defence Fund tapped French OTV startup OSMOS X to lead a coalition studying how countries can respond to threats in orbit.

1 Source

2026-10-27T06:05:38.897759-07:00

Military Aircraft Procurement Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) Defense Policy Boeing

Breaking Defense • Michael Marrow

USAF should buy newly designed air refuelers to meet China threat: Report

By Breaking Defense: Although there’s a “temptation” to keep buying KC-46s, a plan to procure 75 more of the Boeing-made tankers should be an “upper limit” followed by a new, longer range tanker, the Hudson Institute’s Timothy Walton told Breaking Defense.

FlightGlobal

USAF needs blended-wing-body tanker for war against China: think tank

Aviation Week

Think Tank Study Urges USAF To Buy Blended Wing Body Tanker Fleet

5 Sources

2026-10-27T05:04:43.725365-07:00

Satellite Space Defense & Militarization Space Debris & Traffic Management

Space.com • Tereza Pultarova

Astroscale proposes fleet of 'bodyguard' spacecraft to protect satellites from orbital attacks

By Space.com: Technologies developed to remove space junk and fix broken satellites can be repurposed to build fleets of bodyguard spacecraft to protect important assets from attacks.

1 Source

2026-10-27T03:05:29.447892-07:00

Europe Defense Industry & Major Contractors

Reuters

Exosens Q3 revenue rises 23.5% on stronger demand, capacity ramp-up

By Reuters: French detection and imaging technology company Exosens on Tuesday posted a 23.5% rise in its third-quarter revenue, driven by ‌stronger demand for its products and faster-than-expected European capacity ramp-up.

1 Source

2026-10-27T01:04:27.391880-07:00

Hypersonic Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons Defense Industry & Major Contractors

Air & Space Forces Mag • Greg Hadley

Air Force Sends ARRW, Its 1st Hypersonic Missile, into Production

By Air & Space Forces Mag: The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $694 million contract for production of the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW.

The War Zone

USAF Orders ARRW Hypersonic Missile Into Production, The Same Weapon It Nearly Cancelled

Air Data News

US Air Force puts once-canceled ARRW hypersonic missile into production

Also: The Aviationist, Sandboxx, Forbes, Sandboxx and overtdefense.com

13 Sources

2026-10-26T15:04:49.514809-07:00

China Space Defense & Militarization

SpaceNews.com • Sandra Erwin

China could field directed-energy weapons in orbit by late 2020s, U.S. intelligence says

By SpaceNews.com: To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site.

1 Source

2026-10-26T16:20:39.270261-07:00

Indian Naval Academy develops maritime rescue drones as Baykar completes Kalkan sea trials

The new must-have capabilities for drones

OSMOS X Tapped to Lead EDF-backed Tactical Capture Consortium

USAF should buy newly designed air refuelers to meet China threat: Report

USAF needs blended-wing-body tanker for war against China: think tank

Think Tank Study Urges USAF To Buy Blended Wing Body Tanker Fleet

Astroscale proposes fleet of 'bodyguard' spacecraft to protect satellites from orbital attacks

Exosens Q3 revenue rises 23.5% on stronger demand, capacity ramp-up

Air Force Sends ARRW, Its 1st Hypersonic Missile, into Production

USAF Orders ARRW Hypersonic Missile Into Production, The Same Weapon It Nearly Cancelled

US Air Force puts once-canceled ARRW hypersonic missile into production

China could field directed-energy weapons in orbit by late 2020s, U.S. intelligence says

Baykar completes at-sea flight test of Kalkan VTOL UAV

The new must-have capabilities for drones

OSMOS X Tapped to Lead EDF-backed Tactical Capture Consortium

USAF should buy newly designed air refuelers to meet China threat: Report

Astroscale proposes fleet of 'bodyguard' spacecraft to protect satellites from orbital attacks

Exosens Q3 revenue rises 23.5% on stronger demand, capacity ramp-up

US Air Force plans US$1 billion Nellis complex for F-47 operational testing

Canada receives first two F-35s as full purchase remains under review

Britain’s Final Plan To Kill Argentina’s Super Étendards Attack Jets

Air Force Plans $1 Billion Campus for Testing F-47 at Nellis

Ukraine says Starlink restored after 10-day disruption as allies seek alternatives

Philippines grounds SF-260 fleet after training collision kills four pilots

Cosmos 2612’s close approach to ICEYE-X36 raises questions about NATO’s response to Russian space operations

The day’s aerospace signal, in one email.

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