The recovered drone closely resembles a clone of the Iranian Shahed-136 one-way attack weapon, specifically the U.S. military’s Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) that took center stage during its first combat use in Operation Epic Fury.
Northrop Grumman is joining forces with Camgian to explore harnessing its advanced AI into the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), enhancing automation, threat optimization and decision-making superiority for warfighters.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Raybird has flown more than 350,000 combat hours for Ukrainian forces, mostly on long-range reconnaissance missions, and the company has marketed that record as evidence of low attrition rates and resilience against electronic jamming.
The MAKO X1 is intended for use by ground forces and special operations forces. The developers position the system as a cheaper and more maneuverable alternative to conventional guided missiles for countering unmanned aerial systems.
The MQ-25A program of record comprises 76 air vehicles, including four engineering development and manufacturing and five system demonstration test articles. Currently, seven test aircraft are in production.