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Drones (Page 2)

Latest in Drones

A recent video out of Russia once again highlights the drastic efforts being taken to provide Moscow with additional air defense coverage against the threat of long-range Ukrainian drones. While we have seen examples of the Pantsir short-range air defense system installed on buildings in Moscow before now, the footage shows the counter-drone-optimized SMD-E variant being lifted on top of a skyscraper by helicopter.
Drones

New Counter-Drone Optimized Pantsir Air Defense System Being Deployed Atop Skyscrapers In Moscow

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 28, 2026

Ukraine has a voracious appetite for ground drones.
Drones

Inside The Effort To Build Ukraine’s Ground Robot Arsenal

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 27, 2026

Israeli troops are turning to fishing nets for protection against Hezbollah FPV drones.
Drones

Israeli Troops Turn To Fishing Nets For Protection Against Hezbollah FPV Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 27, 2026

The cost to connect each of the U.S. military's Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) one-way attack drones to SpaceX's Starshield communications network is approximately $25,000 a month, according to a new report.
Drones

Cost To Link LUCAS Kamikaze Drones To Starlink Highlights Pentagon’s Ever-Growing Dependence On SpaceX

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on May 27, 2026

The U.S. Air Force plans to send a new version of the glider-like Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA) drone with a turbocharged engine to the Middle East for an operational evaluation.
Drones

USAF’s New Turbocharged ULTRA Surveillance Drones Are Heading To The Middle East

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 25, 2026

Shield AI, the defense-tech company building state-of-the-art autonomy software and aircraft, today announced that the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E) has selected Shield AI to integrate its Hivemind autonomy software onto the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a new class of low-cost, one-way attack drones often referred to as kamikaze drones designed to operate in large numbers.
Drones

U.S. Military’s Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drone Clone Is Getting Hivemind Swarming Capability

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on May 21, 2026

DZYNE Technologies has shared new details about its recently unveiled lower-cost Blitz drone and the accompanying containerized BlitzBox launch system.
Drones

BlitzBox Packs 100 Weaponized Drones Into An Unassuming Container

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on May 19, 2026

Inside Ukraine's Shahed interceptor program.
Drones

Inside Ukraine’s Interceptor Drone Innovations Swatting Down Thousands Of Russian Shaheds

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 15, 2026

An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft piloted by Airmen from the 556 Test and Evaluation Squadron flies over the Nevada Test and Training Range and performs live-fire exercises with Air-to-Ground Missile-114 Hellfire missiles and Guided Bomb Unit-12 Paveway IIs, Aug. 30, 2023. The 556 TES performs all software and physical testing to improve the combat capabilities of the MQ-9 Reaper.
Drones

MQ-9 Reaper Replacement Requirements Stress A Drone Cheap Enough To Risk Losing

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on May 13, 2026

The UAE is building so-called ‘cope cages’ around oil storage tanks to protect them against Iranian attacks.
Drones

UAE Building Massive ‘Cope Cages’ To Protect Energy Facilities From Iranian Drone Attacks

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 13, 2026

Facing with a growing threat from Hezbollah, the IDF is building its own drone factory.
Drones

Israel Building Factory To Pump Out Its Own FPV Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on May 13, 2026

Gdynia, Poland 28th, July 2014 Scenes at the 43rd Polish Naval Air Base airport in Gdynia - Babie Doly. The Naval Aviation Brigade has been established in 1994 and it is the only naval aviation tactical unit in The Polish Military. The objective of Naval Aviation Brigade is to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), search-and-rescue (SAR), reconnaissance, ecological and transport operations. The Navy aircraft and helicopters are stationed and operations from three airfields located in Gdynia Babie Doly, Siemirowice and Darlowo. PZL M28B Bryza aircraft sits at the airbase.
Drones

Drone-Hunting M28 Skytruck In The Works For Poland

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 12, 2026

The MQ-9 Reaper has become the latest platform to test-fire the laser-guided 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) rocket. The trials, conducted with the U.S. Air Force, involved the MQ-9 employing the APKWS in its original air-to-ground capacity, as well as against aerial targets.
Drones

MQ-9 Reaper Fires Laser-Guided Rockets In Tests

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on May 11, 2026

The Project 21980 vessel is described by Russia as multi-purpose anti-saboteur boats. Primarily designed to protect ports and other naval installations, they are used by the Russian Navy as well as the Border Service. Around 30 of the vessels have been completed since 2008.
Drones

Anti-Drone “Cope Cage” Appears On Russian Patrol Boat

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 11, 2026

DARPA is exploring capabilities to support a largely self-sustaining "autonomous constellation" of containerized systems designed to launch and recover networked swarms consisting of as many as 500 drones at once.
Drones

Drone Swarms Packed Into Unassuming Containers Sought By DARPA

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 9, 2026

Northrop Grumman's experimental XRQ-73 Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion AiRcraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) hybrid-electric drone has now taken to the skies.
Drones

DARPA’s XRQ-73 Hybrid-Electric Flying Wing Drone Has Flown

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 6, 2026

Among the latest products from Turkey’s prolific defense industry is a missile apparently directly inspired by the secretive AGM-114R9X variant of the widely used Hellfire, the effects of which TWZ was the first to identify back in 2017. Named Neşter, Turkish for scalpel, the new missile features the same kind of pop-out, sword-like blades as used on the AGM-119R9X, a weapon popularly dubbed “Flying Ginsu” or “Ninja” due to its unusual capabilities.
Drones

Turkey Developing Its Own Bladed ‘Ginsu’ Precision Guided Munition

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on May 5, 2026

The IDF is now using netting on vehicles to protect against Hezbollah FPV drones.
Drones

Israel Now Using Netting To Protect Combat Vehicles Against Scourge Of Hezbollah Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 30, 2026

A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie, highly autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, soars overhead during its second test flight at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023. The XQ-58A Valkyrie test flight and the data collected inform future requirements for the Marine Corps in a rapidly evolving security environment, while successfully fueling joint innovation and experimentation opportunities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John McRell)
Drones

First USMC MQ-58 Valkyrie CCA Drones To Arrive In 2029

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 29, 2026

The U.S. Marine Corps is set to test at least two new autonomous cargo helicopters, as it seeks to field platforms that can rapidly resupply Marines in contested environments. The service recently awarded contracts for two such platforms, one being the R66 Turbinetruck that inserts Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy system in the proven Robinson R66 airframe.
Drones

Light Uncrewed Cargo Helicopters Based On Robinson R66 And Bell 505 Compete For USMC Contract

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Apr 28, 2026

Ukraine is air-launching its SHahed-136 interceptor drones now.
Drones

Ukraine’s Drone-Hunting An-28 Turboprop Is Now Launching Interceptor Drones

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 24, 2026

X-Bat's new design at sea air space 2026.
Drones

X-BAT Autonomous VTOL ‘Fighter’ Looks Dramatically Different

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 21, 2026

The U.S. Navy has disclosed the test of an AeroVironment LOCUST laser counter-drone system aboard the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
Drones

Navy Fires Drone-Frying LOCUST Laser From Supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush

By Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 20, 2026

A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie, highly autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, conducts its second test flight with two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II aircraft assigned to 33rd Fighter Wing, 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023. The XQ-58A Valkyrie test flight and the data collected inform future requirements for the Marine Corps in a rapidly evolving security environment, while successfully fueling joint innovation and experimentation opportunities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. John McRell)
Drones

F-35s Quarterbacking Drones Seen As Gateway To USMC’s 6th Gen Fighter

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 20, 2026

The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit, under Air Combat Command, concluded a critical exercise with Collaborative Combat Aircraft recently at Edwards Air Force Base, California, putting principles of the new Warfighting Acquisition System into practice. The exercise employed the YFQ-44A aircraft and represents a shift toward the new concept of earlier, operator-driven experimentation to inform tactics and procedures that will accelerate the delivery of this transformative capability to the warfighter.
Drones

YFQ-44 Fury Fighter Drone Wraps Contested Operations Test That Could Accelerate Its Fielding

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 17, 2026

The U.S. shipped 10,000 Merops interceptor drones to the Middle East to take on Iranian Shahed drones.
Drones

Cheap Interceptor Drones Proven In Ukraine Protected U.S. Troops Against Iranian Shaheds

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 16, 2026

MAYHEM 10 is an autonomous, multi-role launched effect designed to deliver coordinated non-kinetic and kinetic effects at standoff. Employable from air, ground, and maritime platforms, it combines advanced collaborative autonomy with modular payloads to operate effectively in contested environments.
Drones

Super-Adaptable Mayhem 10 Swarming Drone Evolved From The Switchblade

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 16, 2026

Apache counter-drone ammunition ramps up production
Drones

Production Of AH-64 Apache’s New Counter-Drone Cannon Shell Ammunition Ramping-Up

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 16, 2026

Boeing has provided details on its future plans for the venerable H-47 Chinook, including adding launched effects and creating a path toward an uncrewed version of the helicopter.
Drones

CH-47 Chinook Air-Launching Swarms Of Drones Touted As Future Feature

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 15, 2026

General Atomics is calling attention to a new mission for its Mojave short takeoff and landing (STOL) drone: hunting uncrewed aerial threats with laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets.
Drones

Hunting Drones From Sloppy Airstrips Is General Atomics’ Future Vision For Mojave

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 15, 2026

The Marines are keeping an eye on the progress of a seaglider drone.
Drones

Regent Squire Wing-In-Ground Effect Drone Demonstrator Makes First Flight

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 13, 2026

A new and not immediately recognizable launcher has emerged on the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Carl M. Levin.
Drones

U.S. Navy Destroyer Equipped With New Launcher For Unknown Weapons

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Apr 11, 2026

Hezbollah is stepping up its FPV attacks on the IDF.
Drones

Hezbollah Ramping Up FPV Drone Attacks On IDF In Lebanon

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 10, 2026

A Bahraini F-16 fighter recorded the first air-to-air kill for the Block 70/72 version of the jet during the conflict in the Middle East earlier this month.
Drones

Bahrain First To Claim F-16 Block 70 Air-To-Air Kills

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 10, 2026

A former Pentagon official offers unique insights into the creation of the LUCAS drone.
Drones

How America’s Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drone Clone Suddenly Became An “Indispensable” Weapon Of War

By Howard Altman

Updated on Apr 9, 2026

Here Is What Trump’s Gargantuan $1.5T Defense Budget Has In It
Drones

Here Is What Trump’s Gargantuan $1.5T Defense Budget Has In It

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 8, 2026

BAE has test fired APKWS rockets from an RAF Typhoon for the first time.
Drones

Eurofighter Typhoon Test Fires Laser-Guided Counter-Drone Rockets

By Howard Altman

Posted on Apr 8, 2026

RQ-180 features seen in new videos shot in Greece.
Drones

New Views Of Massive RQ-180 Stealth Drone Flying Over Greece

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 7, 2026

A secretive late Cold War-era drone program known as Quartz, intended to persistently monitor mobile nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles deep within the Soviet Union, offers a window into exactly why the RQ-180 could be in high demand in the Middle East now.
Drones

RQ-180’s Likely Role Over Iran Foreshadowed By Secret Cold War Stealth Drone Program

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Apr 6, 2026

An MQ-28A Ghost Bat loaded with an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile during Trial Kareela at RAAF Base Woomera, South Australia.
Drones

MQ-28 Ghost Bat Gains Major European Foothold As Rheinmetall Joins Forces With Boeing

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 31, 2026

Ukraine is experimenting with private sector air defense.
Drones

Ukraine Using Private Air Defense Teams To Protect Industry Against Russian Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 30, 2026

Soldiers from multiple units, to include members of the U.S. Army Drone Team, compete in the Hunter-Killer lanes at the U.S. Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Huntsville, ALA., Feb. 17-19, 2026. Hosted by Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), this inaugural Army Best Drone Warfighter Competition, themed “Agile, Adaptive, Lethal."
Drones

Epic Fury Already Stress Testing More Agile Army Acquisition System, General Says

By Hope Hodge Seck

Posted on Mar 25, 2026

Kamikaze drones operated by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq appear to have struck a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter and an air defense radar at an American base in Iraq.
Drones

Drone Attack On Parked U.S. Army Black Hawk In Iraq A Harbinger Of What’s To Come

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 25, 2026

Barksdale Air Force Base in Lousiana, home to B-52 bombers, was the site of a wave of recent drone incursions.
Drones

U.S. Battled Drone Incursions Over Key Bases At Home After Launch Of Epic Fury

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 25, 2026

Drones launched from ships offshore is a highly plausible mode of attack that TWZ has been drawing direct attention to for years now as the United States continues to play catch-up in establishing domestic defenses against the dangers posed by drones.
Drones

Drone Attacks On U.S. From The Sea Are A Known Possibility

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Mar 13, 2026

Despite widespread interest across the Middle East in the wake of Iranian Shahed attacks, Ukrainian companies still can't export them.
Drones

Ukrainian Companies Prohibited From Exporting Shahed Interceptor Drones

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 13, 2026

We obtained first-hand accounts of police chasing down Jersey Drones.
Drones

What Cops Saw Chasing Down New Jersey Drones

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 12, 2026

The irony that lower-end long-range kamikaze drones are perhaps the biggest threat to extremely advanced radars capable of providing telemetry for intercepting targets traveling at hypersonic speeds, sometimes in space, is glaring. The losses of the radars should finally serve as a stark wake-up call regarding the vulnerability of these critical but largely static assets.
Drones

Iranian Attacks On Prized Missile Defense Radars Are A Wake-Up Call

By Joseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 7, 2026

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, lauds the LUCAS drone.
Drones

LUCAS Kamikaze Drones Lauded As “Indispensable” By U.S. Admiral In Charge Of Iran War

By Howard Altman

Posted on Mar 6, 2026

For more than three weeks, Ukraine was left with only “a handful” of U.S.-made AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles for its F-16 fleet, after the supply of the weapons dried up. This is the conclusion of a Reuters report, citing three sources, all of whom are said to have direct knowledge of the situation. It also comes as Kyiv is increasingly in competition with the U.S. military and its Gulf allies as they come under continued pressure from Iranian drones and missiles in the Middle East.
Drones

Ukrainian F-16s Had Only A Handful Of Sidewinder Missiles Available: Report

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 5, 2026

The U.S. used LUCAS kamikaze drones against Iran, the first combat deployment of these weapons.
Drones

U.S. Military Has Used Long-Range Kamikaze Drones In Combat For The First Time

By Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 28, 2026

An Aerovironment Locust directed energy laser weapons took down a small Customs and Border Protection Drone.
Drones

Drone That LOCUST Laser Shot Down On Border Was Small And Belonged To Customs and Border Protection

By Howard Altman, Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 27, 2026

Shield AI says X-Bat will start flight testing this year.
Drones

X-BAT Drone ‘Fighter’ Will Begin VTOL Flight Testing In Kansas This Year

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 25, 2026

MQ-9 being turned into cruise missile truck.

General Atomics Is Turning The MQ-9 Reaper Family Of Drones Into “Cruise Missile Trucks”

By The War Zone staff

Posted on Feb 24, 2026

Talon Blue drone from Northrop Grumman.
Drones

Talon Blue Is The New Name For Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A ‘Fighter Drone’

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 24, 2026

YFQ-42A is now named Dark Merlin
Drones

Dark Merlin Is The Name Of General Atomics’ YFQ-42A Fighter Drone

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Feb 23, 2026

General Atomics' air-launched LongShort drone has made new progress toward its first flight with the completion of various tests on the ground, including a demonstration of its weapons release capabilities.
Drones

X-68A LongShot Air-To-Air Missile-Carrying Drone Moves Closer To F-15 Launch

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 17, 2026

AH-64 has tested APEX proximity fuse rounds
Drones

AH-64 Apache Is Getting Proximity Fuzed 30mm Cannon Ammo For Swatting Down Drones

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Feb 16, 2026

The recent use of a laser directed energy weapon to take down an aerial object in Texas highlights policy challenges in protecting U.S. skies.
Drones

Airspace Closure Over Laser Weapon Use A Glaring Example Of Drone Defense Policy Struggles

By Howard Altman

Posted on Feb 13, 2026

Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels flying across the border prompted a major clampdown in air traffic over El Paso, Texas, earlier today, a Trump administration official has told TWZ.
Drones

Claims Swirl Around Government’s Response To Cartel Drone Threat That Prompted El Paso Airspace Closure

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Updated on Feb 11, 2026

YFQ-42 selected for test program with the USMC.
Drones

YFQ-42 Fighter Drone To Test USMC’s Autonomy ‘Brain’ Alongside Crewed Jets

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Feb 11, 2026

Lockheed Martin has rolled out a new highly modular uncrewed undersea vehicle called Lamprey than can be configured to launch waves of aerial kamikaze drones.
Drones

Undersea Drone That Attaches Itself To Other Vessels Unveiled By Lockheed

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 9, 2026

The entire U.S. military is now pushing to acquire hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new drones, especially smaller types, in the coming years, spurred on by new direction from the Pentagon.
Drones

Hunt For Container Launchers Packed With Drones Kicked-Off By Pentagon

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 6, 2026

An MQ-28A Ghost Bat loaded with an AIM-120 during Trial Kareela at RAAF Base Woomera, South Australia.
Drones

Boeing Details New MQ-28 Ghost Bat Features, Eyes Indo-Pacific Sales

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Feb 5, 2026