Innovations
Technological and operational innovations in the UAS and counter-UAS space — what emerged first, where, and what it changes. Each entry is sourced, dated, and linked to the drones involved.
Powerus unveils fully autonomous Guardian 3 drone interceptor
Powerus presented the Guardian 3, a fully autonomous drone interceptor that uses radar cueing plus onboard AI/navigation to detect and strike aerial drones without a human in the terminal phase. This represents a shift from the manually con…
Sponsored piece claims fully autonomous ground vehicles entering battlefield use
The post highlights a shift from remotely operated UGVs to fully autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) controlled under a “one commander, many robots” concept. If accurate, this indicates increased battlefield ground autonomy and multi-robot co…
Airbus U740 Valkyrie European XQ-58A variant completes first flight
Airbus and Kratos flew the U740 Valkyrie, a Europeanized XQ-58A intended as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Germany, featuring European-controlled MARS mission software aimed at autonomous operations and multi-UAV coordination with huma…
Drones: IAI Heron TP (Eitan) · Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat · Kazhan heavy FPV bomber
Sikorsky to fly pilotless UH-60 'U-Hawk' cargo variant and expand MATRIX autonomy
Sikorsky’s Black Hawk 2070 modernization plan centers on adding a “digital backbone” (open-architecture power/data/network interfaces) plus expanded autonomy via the MATRIX system, enabling optionally piloted and potentially uncrewed UH-60 …
Drones: Anduril Altius-600 / Altius-700
Northrop YFQ-48A Talon Blue CCA completes fully autonomous flight
Northrop Grumman reports its YFQ-48A Talon Blue Collaborative Combat Aircraft completed a fully autonomous end-to-end flight (taxi, takeoff, maneuvers, landing). The program emphasizes modular design and manufacturing changes to reduce part…
Report: Russia fields Geran-4 with Susannin optical-correlation navigation
Ukraine's GUR reports a new Geran-4 jet UAV variant with a localized Russian engine, an added optical-electronic correlation navigation system (“Susanin”) to match terrain imagery and correct its route under GNSS denial, and a new cumulativ…
HUR reports Geran-4 upgrade with optical nav, magnetometer, and new warhead
Ukraine’s HUR says Russia has begun using a new Geran-4 variant featuring added autonomous navigation layers: a magnetometer-assisted inertial module to reduce gyro drift and an optical correlation navigation system (“Susanin”) that matches…
Northrop Grumman YFQ-48A Talon Blue completes first fully autonomous flight
Northrop Grumman’s Talon Blue (YFQ-48A) Collaborative Combat Aircraft flew for the first time, completing a fully autonomous profile including taxi, takeoff, maneuvers, and landing. The novelty is a new CCA airframe entering the competitive…
Drones: Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat · Kazhan heavy FPV bomber
USAF FQ-42A Vengeance CCA flies in formation with F-35A and F-15E
General Atomics released imagery and details of the FQ-42A Vengeance Collaborative Combat Aircraft flying alongside crewed USAF fighters, indicating advancing crewed-uncrewed teaming. The article also highlights semi-autonomous/autonomous o…
USAF receives GA FQ-42 Vengeance CCA for testing at Creech AFB
General Atomics delivered the FQ-42 Vengeance Collaborative Combat Aircraft to Creech AFB for ongoing test and evaluation, including manned-unmanned teaming with F-35 and F-15E. The novelty is the fielding of a low-observable, internally-ar…