Every UASFeed story on General Atomics — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
After years of flying CBP's MQ-9As, the Coast Guard has placed a $247.8M order for four General Atomics MQ-9Bs of its own. It bought them through a CBP contract, and a spokesperson says the aircraft are not expected to carry weapons.
Read the story →The FAA's new $12M round of drone research awards, with four going to ANRA and three to SPS Aerial, comes from money Congress already set aside, and it buys data for a BVLOS rule that has been at OIRA since July 10.
Northrop's company-funded YFQ-48A Talon Blue flew itself from taxi to landing at Mojave on Oct. 3, about 15 months after concept, and it now goes after an Air Force CCA Increment 2 competition whose requirements are still undefined.
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.
MBDA confirmed at Farnborough 2026 that its 100km-range SPEAR mini cruise missile enters low-rate production this year, and a 20 July MoU with General Atomics will integrate the networked weapon onto the MQ-9B Protector and Gambit 6 collaborative combat aircraft.
A BIS final rule effective 10 July 2026 pulls the UAE out of Country Groups D:3 and D:4 and adds it to A:5 — unlocking License Exceptions STA, TMP, GOV, TSU, AVS and APR for missile-technology-controlled items, with UAVs used as the rule's own worked example.
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.
A reference guide to medium- and high-altitude long-endurance drone deliveries in 2026: MQ-9B handovers across Europe and Asia, NATO's Triton letter of intent, Baykar's Akinci production surge, China's Wing Loong assembly lines, Israel's Heron Mk II squadron, and the Eurodrone that still isn't shipping.
The Defense Innovation Unit is soliciting a low-cost, modular strike/ISR drone to replace the MQ-9A Reaper after nearly 30 were lost in recent Iran operations, with bids due July 23, 2026.
The U.S. Air Force selected General Atomics and Anduril Industries on June 17 to produce the first operational Collaborative Combat Aircraft — the FQ-42A and FQ-44A — targeting more than 150 combat-capable drones by decade's end under a unit cost ceiling near one-third of an F-35A.
Ground control stations span from a $50 telemetry radio running open-source Mission Planner to hardened USAF shelters managing satellite-linked MQ-9s worldwide. Here's how MAVLink, mission-planning software, datalinks, and military GCS tiers actually work.
Free daily briefing — military UAS, counter-drone, industry moves, and the rules of the sky.
You're in. ✓
Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.No spam. Unsubscribe any time. Read our privacy policy.
