Testing
* ZeroAvia has announced that it has completed a full flight profile ground test of its certification-intent low temperature proton exchange membrane (LTPEM) fuel cell power generation system (PGS) for the ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain. The test simulated a 250 nautical mile flight in a Cessna Caravan 208b aircraft, equivalent to flying
C-UAS
The U.S. Army successfully demonstrated the ability of AH-64E Apache helicopters to detect, track, and defeat unmanned aircraft systems, underscoring the attack helicopter’s value as a decisive counter-UAS platform. The demonstration, conducted by Program Manager Apache, Program Manager Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions, and the JPEO Armaments and
Testing
In a historic first, the Royal Navy made a delivery of supplies between warships using a British-made drone during its major 2025 Indo-Pacific mission. A Malloy T-150 quadcopter flew from flagship HMS Prince of Wales to destroyer HMS Dauntless during the UK Carrier Strike Group deployment – carrying critical supplies, including
C-UAS
The US Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, known as the “Sky Soldiers,” has conducted what officials say is the first test in the United States of a first-person-view (FPV) drone shooting down another unmanned aerial vehicle. Over the skies of Fort Rucker, history was made as the 173rd Airborne Brigade,
Testing
The YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft, designed and developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), is now conducting flight testing in coordination with the U.S. Air Force. This historic achievement continues the company’s rapid creation of new, jet-powered unmanned platforms chartered by the U.S. Air Force (USAF)
C-UAS
"In [the Star Wars movie], 'A New Hope,' Luke Skywalker flies an X-Wing through the Death Star trench and blows it up," La Torre said. "This wasn't like that. It was way harder. Honestly, it felt more like Darth Vader shooting down rebel
Testing
A first-person view (FPV) type quadcopter drone controlled via a fiber optic cable was among the participants in a U.S. Navy-led exercise earlier this year focused on exploring new distributed electronic warfare capabilities. Fiber optic kamikaze FPVs, which Russia first began using in Ukraine last year and have now
Testing
* Airbus U.S. Space & Defense recently completed its first autonomous helicopter test flight utilizing Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy package. The test flight, which took place in Grand Prairie, Texas, marks a significant step in the development of the MQ-72C Lakota Connector, in support of the U.S. Marine
Weapons Systems / Lasers
The Lockheed Martin F-35A has completed a first-of-its-kind strike test with the help of a PDW C100 drone. Acting as a laser designator, the drone guided four bombs to target, showing how small unmanned systems can enhance stealth aircraft without risking pilots or ground forces. In a breakthrough for battlefield
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
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
Testing
* Shield AI, the deep-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software products and aircraft, announced that its V-BAT unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has been operational in Europe since early June under a contract with Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and in partnership with Global Sat Tech, to provide a