All articles
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Tech & Builds
Shield AI's X-BAT Gets $150M More From the Pentagon as Prototype Rollout Nears and 2029 Navy Target Looms
Shield AI says its first full-scale X-BAT tail-sitting jet drone rolls out by the end of October, with $400M now behind the program and a Navy early-capability target of 2029. The engine, nozzle and launch system it depends on still have to be proven.
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Counter-UAS
Thales Turns the Bushmaster Into a Counter-Drone and Loitering-Munition Carrier at Land Forces 2026
At Land Forces 2026 in Perth, Thales Australia put its RapidStriker counter-UAS system and STARK's 100 km Cascade loitering munition on a Bushmaster Dual Cab. The concept is sound, but every performance figure so far comes from the companies, and STARK's 2025 trial record gives reason for caution.
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Defense & Combat
France to Deliver About 100 Drones to Madagascar's Armed Forces, Starting With Maritime Surveillance in the South
France and Madagascar have signed a drone and training agreement that is to put roughly 100 UAVs in Malagasy military hands by the end of 2026. The first aircraft, which appears to be a hybrid VTOL fixed-wing design, is aimed at illegal vessels off the island's southern coast.
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Tech & Builds
ideaForge Adds Hybrid and UCAV Variants to Its Zolt VTOL Drone, Already in Indian Army Service
ideaForge's new ZOLT Hybrid claims more than 6 hours of endurance and 100 km line-of-sight range, and a battery-powered ZOLT UCAV joins it. The baseline drone already flies with the Indian Army, but it is not clear which variants the Army is receiving.
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Policy & Regulation
Laredo Police Vow to Take Down Drones at a Hotel Fire, but the FAA Listed No Restriction and Federal Rules Require Mitigation Certification
Laredo's police chief said officers would "take down" drones over the DoubleTree hotel fire, but the FAA's TFR list showed no restriction for the city. Federal rules let local police mitigate drones only after certification, with ATC notice and a 48-hour report, and no one has said whether any Laredo officer is certified.
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Counter-UAS
Cheap Kill at Land Forces: Raid Hunter 50mm Gun, a Containerised Interceptor Launcher and a Slovak C-UAV Kit
Northrop Grumman's guided 50mm Raid Hunter round targets US$3,000-7,000 a shot, Rheinmetall and Praetorian put 20+ interceptors in a shipping container, EOS moves Slinger production to Alabama, and Kolarms pitches a full C-UAV package: one week of reveals, one theme, the cost of a kill.
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Industry & Contracts
Shield AI Puts Hivemind Autonomy on Australia's OWL Loitering Munitions
At Land Forces 2026 in Perth, Shield AI and Innovaero signed an MoU to put Hivemind mission autonomy on the Australian-designed OWL loitering munition family. The software is already on the electric OWL-B ahead of flight tests, but no deal value or ADF order has been disclosed.
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Counter-UAS
7th Air Force Opens 'Project Iron Sentry' Counter-Drone RFI for South Korea as the Air Force Builds a Point Defense Career Field
Seventh Air Force wants combat-proven, theater-wide counter-drone systems for South Korea under 'Project Iron Sentry.' The RFI arrives weeks after Air Force leaders said they would stand up a point defense weapon system, a new career field and possibly a dedicated acquisition executive.
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Industry & Contracts
Anduril's $3.7B Arsenal-2: What the Maryland Shipyard Announcement Says, and What Trump's 'Drone Sub' Pitch Adds
Anduril's $3.7B Arsenal-2 shipyard at Sparrows Point is meant to build Virginia-class submarine parts, starting with torpedo tubes, under a Navy deal worth up to $2.9B. The president's talk of drone subs and a 40% taxpayer stake doesn't appear in any official release.
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Defense & Combat
Army Gives Industry Two Days to Pitch Its Brigade Drone, and Only Drone OTA Consortium Members Can Answer
The Army's UAS program office asked approved DoW Drone OTA Consortium members for off-the-shelf brigade drone whitepapers on Oct. 5 and gave them until 23:59 Central on Oct. 7, the shortest response window of the consortium's three Army calls so far.
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Policy & Regulation
Bellingham's Skydio Drone-as-First-Responder Program: 23 Flights, One Real Response, and a State Law That Never Mentions Drones
Bellingham police's new Skydio-run DFR program logged 23 flights in its first seven weeks, but only one was an incident response, and the state law behind its $475,417 grant never mentions drones.
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Commercial & Delivery
Wing's Walmart Hometown Gap: Bentonville Approved a Drone Nest in 2025, but Wing's 19-Metro List and the FAA's Public Record Show Only Zipline
Bentonville planners approved a Wing drone nest at Walmart Store #100 by a 7-0 vote in September 2025. A year later, Walmart's hometown is missing from Wing's 19-metro list, and in Arkansas the FAA's public environmental record covers only Zipline.
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