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Industry & Contracts
The Anode Bottleneck: Sila's $300M Raise and America's Drone Battery Problem
Sila's $300M round scales a Moses Lake plant from 2 GWh toward 250 GWh of silicon-carbon anode — the component that sets the endurance-versus-payload trade on every small UAS. Federal records show DOE has been funding the same plant since 2019. No drone customers are named.
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Industry & Contracts
Skydio Gets Its Whole Lineup Cleared — Including the First Blue UAS Drone-in-a-Box for DFR
Skydio's X10, Dock for X10 and R10 joined the Blue UAS Cleared List on 23 July 2026, making its entire lineup cleared and the Dock the first Blue UAS-cleared drone-as-first-responder system — unlocking Byrne JAG, COPS and HSGP grant money just as the list itself moves from DIU to DCMA.
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Defense & Combat
$80 Million for Copper and Steel: The Army Buys a Domestic Drone-Motor Stator Line in Anniston
The Army just paid Siemens Government Technologies $79,988,134 to stand up a government-controlled drone-motor stator line in Anniston, Alabama — the second motor-production bet in a month, and still no answer on the 90% China-sourced magnets that go inside.
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Policy & Regulation
Australia Will Let Some Large Drones Fly Commercially With No Certificate of Airworthiness
From 29 September, CASA can issue any applicable kind of airworthiness certificate to large RPA — and let some of them operate commercially with none at all, subject to a risk assessment and existing operator approvals.
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Tech & Builds
No Satellites, No Pilot, No Map: Inside NATO's SAPIENCE Finale for Autonomous Search-and-Rescue Drones
At Unmanned Valley in the Netherlands, four university teams flew multi-drone systems through an indoor-outdoor disaster zone with satellite positioning switched off — the third and final round of NATO's SAPIENCE competition, won by City St George's, University of London.
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Counter-UAS
Lasers on the Flight Line: USAFE-AFAFRICA Fields the Compact Laser Weapon System Across Europe and Africa
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.
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Industry & Contracts
BAE Built Britain's First Combat Drone on Its Own Dime — Then Handed the Bill to the Government at Farnborough
BAE Systems unveiled Brontanax at Farnborough on July 22, 2026 — the UK's first uncrewed autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft, self-funded to a finished prototype before the government committed £300 million and a 2027 first flight.
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Commercial & Delivery
The 1,000-Pound Crop Duster: US Heavy-Lift Ag Drones Scale Up Just as the FAA Starts Auditing Part 137 Exemption Holders
Powerus is pushing 100-1,000 lb US-built spray drones into agriculture through Kaizen Aerospace and a $60M New Zealand distribution deal — in the same week the FAA disclosed it is running operational validations on noncompliant Part 137 exemption holders and closing petitions that ignore its Requests for Information.
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Counter-UAS
Project Solar Shield: Kratos Wins $156M Sole-Source Deal to Put Counter-Drone Gear on America's Nuclear Weapons Convoys
The NNSA office that moves US nuclear weapons by road just handed Kratos a $156M sole-source IDIQ for mobile counter-drone systems — pushing domestic C-UAS off the fixed perimeter and onto a convoy doing highway speed, where jamming and kinetic response both hit hard limits.
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Defense & Combat
The Pentagon Wants a Drone That Comes Home: $32M for 1,200 Reusable Bombers at $20,000 a Copy
Phase 2.5 "Mission C" of the Drone Dominance Program asks industry for reusable 55-pound bomber drones that survive at least 30 sorties — 150 preferred — at $20,000 apiece, a pointed break from the disposable one-way attack drones the program has bought so far.
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Policy & Regulation
Reverse Lend-Lease: Kyiv and Washington Reportedly Sign the First Bilateral Framework to Ship Ukrainian Combat Drones Into US Test Ranges
Reported July 21-22: a US-Ukraine statement of intent would let Ukrainian aerial, ground and maritime drones be temporarily exported to America for Pentagon testing — no procurement, no tech transfer, but a direct line into the $1 billion Drone Dominance requirements pipeline.
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Policy & Regulation
FCC Moves to Ban Import and Sale of Foreign 'Military-Grade' Drones Already on Its Covered List
The FCC is seeking comment on prohibiting the import, marketing, and sale of certain foreign military-grade drones on its Covered List, while extending Blue UAS and Buy-America exemptions to 2028 and opening its first equipment-authorization revocation against DJI-linked Odyssey Robot.
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