Military Drones

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Sep 16

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JASDF RQ-4B Global Hawk parked in a hangar beneath a large Japanese flag

Military Drones · Japan

Japan's $110M Global Hawk Drone Crashes on Undisclosed Mission

Japan's first RQ-4B Global Hawk loss: the $110M drone crashed off Tottori three minutes after its link failed. The ASDF won't say what it was doing.

Haye KestelooSep 163 min read

Robert Brovdi in camouflage uniform and cap standing in front of a burned-out apartment building

Ukraine

Ukraine's Drones Kill the General Who Told Putin Kostiantynivka Fell

Ukraine's drone forces killed Maj. Gen. Anton Grunis, the Hero of Russia who told Putin in July that Kostiantynivka had fallen. Moscow confirmed the death.

Haye KestelooSep 16

Wingcopter 262 VTOL drone in forward flight against a blue sky

Industry

Wingcopter 262: Delivery Drone Maker Launches 6-Hour Recon Drone

Wingcopter's all-electric 262 VTOL flies up to six hours and 93 miles at 22 pounds, and the German delivery company is lining it up for Ukraine.

Haye KestelooSep 15

Bayraktar Akinci combat drone parked on a concrete apron with a Turkish flag on its tail

Weaponized drones

Turkey Armed the Arab World With Drones After the US Refused To

A Saudi Akinci shot down over Yemen and two more spotted in eastern Libya show how far Turkish armed drones have spread into a gap Washington left open.

Haye KestelooAug 29

A white jet-powered unmanned aircraft with red accents and Kratos and NCSIST co-branded logos on its fuselage, displayed on an exhibition stand in Taipei

Industry

Taiwan Approves $7.6 Billion Drone Buildup, Rejects Lai's Own Plan

Taiwan's legislature passed a NT$240 billion (US$7.56 billion) drone act 60-50 and killed President Lai's special budget. The military says it falls short.

Haye KestelooAug 27

Shield AI's X-BAT fighter drone standing tail-first on its launch trailer in a jungle clearing

Industry

Navy Puts $50 Million On Shield AI's X-BAT While The Air Force Watches

The Navy and Defense Innovation Unit are investing $50 million in Shield AI's X-BAT, a tail-landing fighter drone that has never flown. The Air Force is deliberately sitting this one out, and the hard part is the landing.

Haye KestelooAug 20

Helsing HX-2 strike drone with X-shaped wings backlit by white studio light bars in a dark hangar

Japan

Helsing Pitches Japan A Strike Drone With A Contested Combat Record

Rakuten is brokering Helsing's sale of HX-2 strike drones to Japan's army, and the aircraft under test is the same one a German defense ministry document said struggled to launch in Ukraine.

Haye KestelooAug 18

Red Cat Black Widow drone seen head-on, showing its forward camera payload and folding arms

Interview

Red Cat Has Air Force Black Widows Built as Army Tests AiN

Red Cat's entire $2.49 million Air Force Black Widow order is built and waiting, Divisional CEO Mitch McDonald told DroneXL, as the Army assesses the company's new Palantir-equipped AiN payload on its own factory floor.

Rafael SuárezAug 18

Military Drones

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