Business
Skydio announced it has raised $230 million in funding following a year that saw its enterprise customer base exceed 1,200 organizations, just three years after entering the enterprise and public sector market. Skydio drones are now used by every branch of the U.S. Department of Defense, by over
Accidents
An American-made MQ-9 Reaper combat UAV has crashed in West Africa. This happened on February 18 this year. Officially, the information has not yet been confirmed, but a Telegram account reported the incident. He refers to the remains of the drone, which is believed to be an MQ-9. The drone
The U.S. military has announced a new aid package for Ukraine that is packed with drones and loitering munitions, among other things. This includes AeroVironment Switchblade 600s and Jump 20s, CyberLux K8s, and Area-I ALTIUS-600s. This appears to be the first time the latter three types have been included
Since around Feb. 15, there have been no reports of Russia using Iranian-made “one-way attack” drones to carry out strikes against Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest intelligence update. The ministry said that Ukrainian forces shot down at least 24 Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones between late
Law Enforcement
South Korea’s Coast Guard reports it will expand its use of drones for monitoring activities including targeting Chinese boats engaged in illegal fishing activities. The expansion of the program comes as there have been increasing reports of Chinese incursions into neighboring countries’ water and after North Korea deployed a
Weapons Systems / Lasers
Sudan's Military Industry Corporation (MIC) unveiled Kamin-25, a loitering munition designed to be launched from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), during the IDEX 2023 show recently held in Abu Dhabi. Engineer Atif Mohamed al-Amin, MIC's manager in Abu Dhabi, told Janes the munition is being tested
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully performed Cold Weather Validation (CWV) using a company-owned MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) in late Jan./early Feb. 2023, adding to the cold weather experience of the MQ-9 family of systems. The system’s ground servicing actions, maneuvers, and flights were
Military
Israeli political leaders from the ruling coalition, also Members of the Knesset (Parliament), visited a Ukrainian facility where they examined downed Iranian-origin drones. The visit has both military and political significance. Members of the Knesset Ze’ev Elkin and Yuli Edelstein visited the Ukrainian military intelligence laboratory on February 22,
Accidents
A prototype of Taiwan’s homegrown Teng Yun 2 drone, developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), had an accident on February 22 after it spun out of control and ended up beside the runway at Hualien Air Base. The Teng Yun 2 is a medium-altitude
Electronic Sub-Systems
HENSOLDT South Africa recently launched the latest addition to its range of airborne electro-optical systems, the ARGOS-8 and is further introducing it at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The sensor solutions house signed an agreement with Threod Systems to cooperate in joint
A Chinese drone manufacturer has denied it has any commercial dealings with Russia, following a report claiming it was negotiating with the country’s military over the mass production of “kamikaze” drones. A Thursday report by German newspaper Der Spiegel said the Chinese company, Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology,
The U-2 Dragon Lady is a legendary platform in the U.S. Air Force inventory. Previous variants were created to overfly the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. The USAF’s current models continue to be a coveted surveillance asset well after newer aircraft have come and