Testing
* Electra, in partnership with Surf Air Mobility Inc. and Virginia Tech, successfully completed the first series of public demonstrations of its Ultra Short aircraft capabilities earlier this month. The demos – captured as part of a new video series – highlight how blown lift and hybrid-electric propulsion together enable takeoffs and landings
Transport
A new startup has a contract with the Air Force’s innovation arm and a prototype to test its new concept: a network of “flying pickup truck” drones to solve the problem of logistics in the vast Pacific. * Grid Aero debuted its “Lifter Lite” drone Aug. 18, as the firm
C-UAS
The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency has signed a contract with a British company, Operational Solutions Ltd. (OSL), for the purchase of new anti-drone systems. The systems being acquired are known as anti-drone systems, also called "Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems," or C-UAS, which will protect bases as well as
C-UAS
* ParaZero Technologies Ltd. has announced a significant development with a new purchase order for its advanced Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) solution from a reputable defense agency. This achievement reflects ParaZero’s strategic expansion into the defense sector, particularly within the rapidly evolving counter-drone marketplace. Currently, as the prevalence of drones
C-UAS
Fiber laser specialist IPG Photonics has posted sales of $251 million for the second quarter of the year, well above the figure of $225 million that company executives had forecast back in May. CEO Mark Gitin attributed that to the combination of a “modest recovery” in the firm’s key
News
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense has introduced a new multi-role unmanned aerial system developed at the state-run Plant 202 in collaboration with private-sector manufacturers. The program, aimed at meeting the demands of asymmetric warfare, emphasizes mass production, low cost, and operational versatility. According to National Defense Online, the lineup
Law Enforcement
An MQ-9 Guardian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) flew deep into Mexico last week, according to flight tracking data. What at least appears publicly to be a very rare event comes as the Trump administration has reportedly authorized the military to take
Testing
* Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced that is has successfully completed its first series of open-water demonstrations of its advanced maritime Mission Equipment Package (MEP) for counter‑UAS (C‑UAS) naval fleet protection. The DRS maritime MEP is a scalable C-UAS system based on DRS’s proven land-based mobile short-range air defense
AI
* Auterion, the international defence software company and provider of AI-powered drone software solutions, has announced a landmark commitment to deliver 33,000 artificial intelligence-driven drone 'strike kits' to Ukraine. The initiative, backed by a $50 million Pentagon contract, represents a major step forward in supporting Ukraine’s defense
News
The German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems says it is working on developing a mothership drone called Sparta. As a company spokesperson told hartpunkt, the system, which is currently being developed in Ukraine, is expected to reach series production by the end of the year. He also pointed out that the
News
In an aviation tech breakthrough that could change naval warfare, Chinese aerospace engineers have unveiled what could be the world’s first high-speed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone powered by a jet engine. The sleek, runway-independent uncrewed aircraft can be launched from the decks of ordinary warships – even in
The 'Pavuk Dopkhina' (Dophin Spider) drone, is cutting-edge technology developed by the 3rd Assault Brigade and Omnitech, with support from Brave1, according to a post on the official Telegram channel of Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation. The name “Dophin” honours a