Editor

CCA

YFQ-42A Returns to Flight Testing

“We pushed the envelope, identified a risk, learned from the data, and have cleared the YFQ-42A to return to flight. Even when flight testing on the YFQ-42 was temporarily paused, the program was not.”

Software

AV Expands AV_Halo Platform with INSTINCT and DETECT

Extending AV_Halo with distributed autonomy and resilient RF sensing to enable faster decisions and mission execution in denied environments

Business

PteroDynamics to Supply Transwing VTOL UAS to Royal Australian Navy

PteroDynamics will deliver P4 Transwing UAS aircraft, plus training and support, with the option for RAN to purchase larger P5 Transwing UAS systems for delivery starting in 2027

Weapons Systems / Lasers

US Navy’s Directed Energy Systems Integration Lab to Train Sailors on Laser Weapons

Although ODIN is not a Navy program of record at this time, NSWC PHD pitched SCSTC on the need for an official training program because of how the fleet has been using the directed energy system and how it has matured since it went into service in 2020.

E W

GA-ASI Completes First Flight of MQ-9B with AEW Pods

GA-ASI pairs Saab’s AEW sensors with the world’s longest-range, highest-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the MQ-9B. At sea or over land, the AEW mission package on MQ-9B will put air dominance within reach at a lower cost than legacy platforms.

Weapons Systems / Lasers

Ukraine's First Guided Aerial Bomb is Combat-Ready

Ukraine is moving from importing individual solutions to creating its own high-tech weapons, which systematically strengthen the Defence Forces and provide a technological advantage on the battlefield

C-UAS

Pentagon Drone Defence Marketplace Broadens Allied Access to C-UAS Capabilities

The drone defence marketplace connects a diverse array of solutions with an expanding network of users who need scalable, effective, and interoperable technologies

Loitering Munitions - One Way Effector (OWE)

Teledyne FLIR Defense Announces New ‘Block 2’ Upgrades to Rogue 1 Lethal UAS

Operating range doubles to 20+ km while new ‘Shape Charge Jet’ anti-armour payload expands mission profile against hardened vehicles. Enhanced communications, autonomy, and endurance features boost electronic warfare resilience and operation in contested environments

Military

MQ-9 Reaper ‘Most Valuable Player’ of Iran War - US Air Force Chief

“No other platform is even close to the MQ-9” in terms of the number of strikes against Iran, and it has done so without putting its pilots, who remotely operate the aircraft, in danger.

Video

de Havilland Vampire - the Wrong Little 500mph Jet Fighter

During its early service, it accomplished several aviation firsts and achieved various records, such as being the first jet aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean. By the end of production, almost 3,300 Vampires had been manufactured, a quarter of these having been manufactured under licence abroad.