UnmannedGrid Aero Raises $20 Million As It Preps To Begin Flying Long-Range Cargo UAS Grid Aero on Jan. 26 said it has raised $20 million in a funding round to move the Lifter Lite long-range, autonomous unmanned aircraft system (UAS) into flight testing and use in…
MilitaryDIU Seeks Platforms For Magnetic Data Collection To Support Precision Navigation The Defense Innovation Unit last Friday issued a solicitation seeking prototype solutions for airborne magnetic data collection platforms that would support the development of magnetic map data as an alternative to GPS…
AI & AutonomyUSAF Designates Talon CCA Contender As YFQ-48A YFQ-48A is the designation for Northrop Grumman‘s Project Talon series of drone contenders for the U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the service said on Dec. 22. The YFQ-48A Mission…
Editor's NoteNorthrop Grumman Eyes First Flight Of Project Talon Next Year Northrop Grumman used its Beacon autonomous testbed, announced in June, to accelerate development of the Project Talon autonomous drone offering for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Modified for…
MilitaryFirst MQ-25 Flight Test Pushed To Early 2026 The Navy and Boeing have pushed back the initial flight test of the first MQ-25A Stingray aircraft carrier-based tanker aircraft into early 2026. The government-industry team insisted they are making progress towards…
MilitaryF-22 Controls Unmanned General Atomics MQ-20 Drone In Industry Demo General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) on Nov. 17 announced the successful test of an F-22 Raptor fighter controlling an MQ-20 Avenger unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) for the first time in…
AI & AutonomyFlight Debut for Shield AI X-BAT Could Come Next Fall Shield AI plans to conduct initial vertical takeoff and landing demonstrations of its X-BAT drone fighter jet “as early as fall 2026, followed by all-up flight testing and operational validation in 2028,”…
MilitaryBoeing Says MQ-28 Demonstrations Prove Operational Effectiveness Boeing on Sept. 1 said it and the Royal Australian Air Force have proven the “operational viability” of the MQ-28 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) through a series of capability demonstrations that concluded…
UnmannedMQ-4C Approved For Initial Use Despite Deficiencies That Could Prevent Mission Success, Says Pentagon Auditor The Navy “failed to effectively manage the operational capabilities” of the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft program, declaring Initial Operation Capability (IOC) before undergoing an initial testing phase despite having several important deficiencies,…
MilitaryHundreds Of Switchblades Delivered So Far In First Replicator Tranche, DIU Official Says The contractor supplying Switchblade loitering munitions to the Defense Department under the first phase of the Replicator initiative has delivered “hundreds” of systems to a customer who has fielded them, a Defense…