Every UASFeed story on U.S. Air Force — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
An AFRL lab at Eglin spent four days checking Anduril's Barracuda-M cruise missiles against 14 domains of the Air Force's open weapon architecture and found them compliant. It is a test of whether "modular" can be proven by someone other than the vendor.
Read the story →DARPA has confirmed a second Lift Challenge for summer 2028 that doubles the minimum payload to 220 lbs and the course to 10 nautical miles, raising the bar after AVIDrone's 3.84:1 payload-to-weight finish this August.
The Air Force christened the FQ-42 'Vengeance' and FQ-44 'Fury' at AFA, but Anduril says its self-funded Ohio plant can't begin CCA production without FY27 money, and a continuing resolution is holding spending at FY26 levels.
With at least 45 MQ-9s shot down in Operation Epic Fury and Reaper production already shut, the Air Force is dragging DIU's $10M-per-airframe Massed Modular Aircraft from a 2031 target to as early as 2029.
A Sept. 3 Air Force RFI asks industry for a ground-based, medium-caliber gun firing cheap rounds at subsonic cruise missiles and Group 1-5 drones, the latest sign the service intends to defend its own bases rather than wait on the Army.
A Sept. 4 Air Force solicitation seeks four Echodyne EchoShield counter-drone radars for the 57th Rescue Squadron's HH-60Ws at Aviano, Italy — with an unusual admission built into the paperwork: the money isn't there yet.
Saab has publicly revealed a full-scale mock-up of the A3-001, a tailless, DSI-equipped uncrewed combat aircraft it says goes beyond the US Air Force's CCA class, with first flight targeted before the end of 2027.
Avidrone's single-rotor Katana won DARPA's Lift Challenge with a 3.84:1 payload-to-weight ratio, narrowly missing the agency's 4x target as dozens of teams competed for a $6.5 million prize pool at the Air Force Museum in Dayton.
US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa says it has assessed and deployed the Compact Laser Weapon System to undisclosed bases across two continents, and tested a ground-launched APKWS interceptor good to six kilometers — the first public confirmation that directed energy is emplaced at USAFE installations.
A verified cost ladder across drone classes, from $500 FPV strike drones to a $618 million MQ-4C Triton, showing why unit cost, all-up-round cost, and program cost are not the same number.
From Air Force officers flying MQ-9 Reapers to Army 15Ws at Fort Huachuca to squad-level FPV familiarization, a look at how the U.S. military actually trains drone operators, and how South Korea and Ukraine compare.
DARPA has grown its Lift Challenge to 124 teams from 20+ countries, setting up a $6.5 million heavy vertical-lift flyoff at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, August 2-9, with public finals August 6-9.
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