Military
Houthi rebels claim to have shot down an MQ-9 drone over Yemen on April 25, releasing nighttime intercept footage and daytime video of what appears to be MQ-9 wreckage. If confirmed, it would mark the third MQ-9 shot down by the Houthis in the past six months and the the
Military
Pakistan plans to purchase 10 more Caihong-4 (CH-4) Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, costing an estimated 24 million USD. Further details, such as variants or the date of the sale, are not currently known. The CH-4s sent to Pakistan could be outfitted with the superior turbocharged, four-stroke
Military
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) celebrated the delivery of the first MQ-9A Extended Range (ER) Unmanned Aircraft System to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron 2 (VMUT-2). The delivery of the MQ-9A ER on March 18, 2024, is part of the Marine Air-Ground
Military
On April 24, 2024, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense commemorated the 93rd anniversary of the Air Force’s establishment with a ceremony attended by notable figures including the Prime Minister, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the Minister of Defense, among other senior leaders and officers. A significant highlight
Military
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, was awarded a $387,545,690 definitized contract action for Global Hawk (RQ-4) aircraft sustainment. This contract provides for contractor logistics support services. The locations of performance are Sacheon Air Base, Republic of Korea; Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea; Misawa Air Base,
Military
Mayman Aerospace will unveil a full-scale model of Razor, its high-speed Air Utility Vehicle, during SOF Week 2024, May 6-10 in Tampa, Florida. Razor is the name for the military variant of the dual-use, jet-powered, high-speed vertical take-off and landing (HS- VTOL) vehicle, from US-based manufacturer Mayman Aerospace. Derived from
Military
Ukraine has transformed another sport plane into another long-range strike drone. One of them crashed inside Russia reportedly more than 600 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border, at least matching the depth of the first strike by an explosives-laden pilotless Ukrainian sport plane. A photo circulated online by Russian propagandist Kirill
Business
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $52,918,826 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee) contract for Gray Eagle fleet sustainment and logistics support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of April 23,
AI
AeroVironment (AV) has introduced its Autonomy Retrofit Kit (ARK) and AVACORE software demonstrating the company’s commitment to advancing autonomy and machine learning capabilities to increase effectiveness of autonomous systems and reduce operator burdens. ARK and AVACORE bring AV’s accelerated autonomy to fielded assets such as Puma 3 AE
Testing
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) confirms that its Mojave Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) destroyed static targets in live-fire tests on April 13, 2024, validating the system’s battlefield relevance and recording another milestone for the demonstrator aircraft. GA-ASI partnered with Dillon Aero to mount two of Dillon’s DAP-6
Military
Recently, social media users have shared photos of a Chinese N-6H bomber in flight. This bomber, an adapted Soviet Tu-16 that is produced in China, had a WZ-8 jet drone attached to its undercarriage. The exact context of these photos remains unclear, such as whether the WZ-8 drone is operational,
Military
Swarms of Ukrainian long-range attack drones targeted three Russian air bases.The drone strikes on Yeysk, Kursk and Engels-2 air bases—respectively 100, 200 and 400 miles from the front line in Ukraine—inflicted some damage, but it’s hard to say how much damage. The Ukrainian intelligence directorate told