Innovations
Tactical and technological innovations in drone warfare — what showed up first, where, and what it changes. Each entry is sourced, dated, and linked to the drones involved.
US Navy plans nuclear-powered Trump-class guided-missile battleships (BBGN)
The post describes a planned shift to nuclear propulsion for the future Trump-class large surface combatants, reviving nuclear-powered surface combatants and enabling effectively unlimited range plus much higher onboard electrical power. Th…
US Navy considers overseas shipbuilding for auxiliaries and modules
The FY2027 US Navy shipbuilding plan proposes using allied/partner shipyards to build auxiliary tankers and potentially fabricate some combatant modules overseas, plus expanding distributed shipbuilding sites from ~10% to 50%. This is a pro…
Aselsan unveils Tufan kamikaze USV and Kılıç kamikaze UUV family
Aselsan presented new autonomous naval strike concepts: the Tufan unmanned surface “kamikaze” vehicle and the Kılıç family of “kamikaze” unmanned underwater vehicles (Kılıç 10/200) designed for long-range, low-signature, swarm-capable opera…
Draft US-Ukraine defense deal for tech export and joint drone production
The post describes a draft memorandum for a new US-Ukraine defense agreement enabling Ukraine to export military technology to the US and establish joint ventures to manufacture drones with American companies. This is a notable shift in def…
UK to begin P-8A flight trials for Sting Ray Mod 1 torpedo integration
The UK is moving toward operationally integrating the domestically developed Sting Ray Mod 1 lightweight ASW torpedo onto RAF P-8A Poseidon aircraft, with initial air-carriage and jettison trials planned for Q3 2026. While Sting Ray is not …
Russian Project 21980 patrol boat fitted with anti-drone cope cage
Photos show a Russian Navy Project 21980 Grachonok patrol boat in the Black Sea with a multi-level overhead screen/"cope cage" added to the superstructure for protection against drone-delivered munitions. This adapts a now-common armored-ve…
MQ-9 Reaper test-fires APKWS laser-guided rockets including air-to-air C-UAS use
General Atomics and the U.S. Air Force flight-tested MQ-9A Reapers firing laser-guided 70mm APKWS rockets, including profiles against aerial targets. Integrating the air-to-air optimized APKWS variant (AGR-20F/FALCO with proximity fuze) wou…
Drones: MQ-9 Reaper · Shahed-136 · MQ-1C Gray Eagle / Gray Eagle ER
US Navy considers new force-generation model after extended carrier deployment
The post describes the U.S. Navy reassessing its carrier strike group deployment/maintenance cycle after USS Gerald R. Ford’s unusually long ~330-day deployment and sustained high operational tempo. Proposed changes include shifting amphibi…
US selects five bases for directed-energy counter-drone pilot
The US DoD is launching a pilot program at five installations to test and operationally assess directed-energy counter-UAS tools (high-energy lasers and high-powered microwaves). While directed-energy C-UAS is not brand-new, this represents…
Russian Project 21980 boat fitted with anti-drone 'mangal' cage
The post shows a Russian Black Sea Fleet Project 21980 (Grachonok) patrol/anti-saboteur boat fitted with a metal cage/"mangal" style overhead protection intended to reduce damage from UAV/FPV attacks. While improvised cages are common on gr…