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Marines Rushing To Equip Amphibious Combat Vehicles With Anduril Pulsar-L Anti-Drone Jammers
Defence Tech

Marines Rushing To Equip Amphibious Combat Vehicles With Anduril Pulsar-L Anti-Drone Jammers

The U.S. Marine Corps has initiated a sole-source contract with Anduril Industries to integrate Pulsar-L electronic warfare jammers onto its Amphibious Combat Vehicle fleet, citing an urgent capability gap against small drones. Initial delivery of 50 units is planned within the first year, with integration beginning in the first quarter of FY2027.

By UAVHelpline Editorial · 5 min read
Marines Want Their Own Drone Boats: How a Combat Deployment Exposed the USMC's USV Gap
2026-09-19

Marines Want Their Own Drone Boats: How a Combat Deployment Exposed the USMC's USV Gap

Colonel Chris Niedziocha, who commanded the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit during its Middle East combat deployment under Operation Epic Fury, has publicly stated that future MEU deployments must include organic uncrewed surface vessels. The call highlights a growing capability gap between the Navy's expanding USV fleet and the Marine Corps' limited operationalisation of the same technology.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Drones, Satellites, and Common Controls: How Cross-Domain Connectivity Is Rebuilding ISR from the Ground Up
2026-09-19

Drones, Satellites, and Common Controls: How Cross-Domain Connectivity Is Rebuilding ISR from the Ground Up

Modern ISR architectures are being fundamentally redesigned around cross-domain data sharing — connecting drone fleets, space-based sensors, and unified control software — to stay resilient against degradation in contested electromagnetic environments. The US Air Force's accelerated Massed Modular Aircraft programme, the Marine Corps' push for common controller software, and Space Force's expanding ISR delta are the sharpest expressions of this shift in 2026.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Mojave STOL Drone Conducts First Battlefield Short-Field Operations in South Korea
2026-09-18

Mojave STOL Drone Conducts First Battlefield Short-Field Operations in South Korea

On September 16, 2026, GA-ASI's Mojave STOL became the first medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS to land and relaunch from a simulated battlefield — a rough tank maneuver trail at South Korea's Seungjin Training Field. The milestone, achieved with Hanwha Aerospace during the Defense Drone Technology Exhibition, advances the path to a production Gray Eagle STOL with a Critical Design Review slated for November 2026.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
NATO Rewrites Its Air Defence Playbook — For The First Time In Decades
2026-09-16

NATO Rewrites Its Air Defence Playbook — For The First Time In Decades

Triggered by a cascade of drone and missile incursions into allied territory, NATO has launched Standing Defense Plan 12000 and the EVA Eastern Sentry mission to rebuild its integrated air and missile defence architecture from the ground up. The overhaul is the first wholesale revision of the alliance's standing air defence plan in decades, driven by the proliferation of low-cost one-way attack UAS and cruise missiles.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Swarm Aero Debuts Gamera: A Clean-Sheet, Non-Stealthy Group 5 UAS Built for Extreme Range and Mass Production
2026-09-15

Swarm Aero Debuts Gamera: A Clean-Sheet, Non-Stealthy Group 5 UAS Built for Extreme Range and Mass Production

California startup Swarm Aero has unveiled Gamera, a dual-fuselage Group 5 turboprop UAS with a 72-foot wingspan and 9,000-nautical-mile unrefueled range, purpose-designed around long-range strike payloads and high-rate manufacturing. The aircraft is Swarm's formal entry into the Pentagon's Massed Modular Aircraft (MMA) programme, which seeks a sub-$10 million attritable successor to the MQ-9A Reaper.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Baykar Akinci UCAV Fires UAV-300 Air-Launched Ballistic Missile for the First Time, Striking Maritime Target at 250+ km
2026-09-14

Baykar Akinci UCAV Fires UAV-300 Air-Launched Ballistic Missile for the First Time, Striking Maritime Target at 250+ km

Baykar's Akinci UCAV successfully completed the first live firing of Roketsan's UAV-300 (İHA-300) supersonic air-launched ballistic missile on September 11, 2026, striking a maritime target at over 250 km. The test, conducted over the Black Sea from Çorlu airfield, marks a step-change in UCAV-delivered stand-off strike range for Turkey's domestically developed arsenal.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
USV vs. USV: Ukraine's Sargan-3000 Claims the First-Ever Drone Boat Kill of Another Drone Boat
2026-09-14

USV vs. USV: Ukraine's Sargan-3000 Claims the First-Ever Drone Boat Kill of Another Drone Boat

Ukraine's Navy says its Sargan-3000 uncrewed surface vessel used a 12.7 mm Kongsberg Protector remote weapon station to sink a Russian Orcan-type drone boat in the Black Sea — the first recorded combat destruction of one USV by another. The engagement marks a doctrinal inflection point: counter-USV capability is now as operationally relevant as the strike missions that drove the original USV arms race.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Green Mountain Boys' F-35As Touch Down at Lakenheath on the Long Road Home from CENTCOM
2026-09-05

Green Mountain Boys' F-35As Touch Down at Lakenheath on the Long Road Home from CENTCOM

Eight of twelve Vermont Air National Guard F-35A Lightning IIs from the 158th Fighter Wing's 134th Fighter Squadron have transited RAF Lakenheath, UK, on their redeployment home from the CENTCOM area of operations. The jets, which are configured as a specialist suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) unit, flew in two four-ship cells supported by KC-135 tankers launched from Romania.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Singapore's Drone Mothership Fleet Grows: Keel Laid for Third Victory-Class MRCV
2026-09-05

Singapore's Drone Mothership Fleet Grows: Keel Laid for Third Victory-Class MRCV

ST Engineering marked the keel-laying of the Republic of Singapore Navy's third Multi-Role Combat Vessel on September 3, 2026, keeping a six-ship programme on track for progressive delivery from 2028. Each 8,000-tonne vessel is engineered as an unmanned-systems mothership, capable of deploying aerial, surface, and underwater drones across all maritime domains.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Explosive Quadcopter at Leipzig: Germany Formally Attributes An-124 Drone Strike to Russia
2026-09-03

Explosive Quadcopter at Leipzig: Germany Formally Attributes An-124 Drone Strike to Russia

A military-grade explosive-laden quadcopter struck the wing of a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan at Leipzig/Halle Airport on 4 August 2026, going undetected by automated security systems for roughly four hours before a bus driver spotted it. Germany has now formally attributed the attempted attack to Russian state actors, citing forensic, intelligence, and pattern-of-operations evidence.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Saab Unveils Stealthy Supersonic 'Fighter Drone' Concept — The ACP That Could Reshape European Air Combat
2026-08-31

Saab Unveils Stealthy Supersonic 'Fighter Drone' Concept — The ACP That Could Reshape European Air Combat

Saab has publicly revealed its Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) roadmap, including a full-scale mock-up of the A3 operational concept — a low-observable, supersonic drone intended to fly alongside the Gripen E and potentially inform Sweden's next crewed fighter. Two funded technology demonstrators, A1 and A2, are already in development, with A1's first flight targeted within roughly 15 months.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
BAE Systems Unveils Brontanax: Britain's First Sovereign Collaborative Combat Aircraft
2026-07-23

BAE Systems Unveils Brontanax: Britain's First Sovereign Collaborative Combat Aircraft

BAE Systems has unveiled the Brontanax, the UK's first fully sovereign Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, with a first flight planned for 2027. The Hawk-sized, stealthy loyal-wingman drone was developed in-house by BAE's FalconWorks team and is positioned as the UK's operational answer to the RAF's StormFighter CCA requirement.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Anduril Brings The Thunder With Autonomous Tiltrotor Attack Drone Concept
2026-07-21

Anduril Brings The Thunder With Autonomous Tiltrotor Attack Drone Concept

Anduril and Archer Aviation have jointly unveiled Thunder, a Group 5 autonomous hybrid-electric tiltrotor designed to fly as a loyal wingman alongside crewed attack helicopters and tiltrotors at low altitude in contested airspace. First flight is targeted for 2027, with rate production envisioned in the 2029–2030 timeframe.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Royal Navy's Sea Launch Of Combat-Proven Nyan Kamikaze Drone Points To Fleet's 'Hybrid' Future
2026-07-10

Royal Navy's Sea Launch Of Combat-Proven Nyan Kamikaze Drone Points To Fleet's 'Hybrid' Future

The Royal Navy has successfully launched Callen-Lenz's Nyan one-way effector from the experimental ship XV Patrick Blackett off England's south coast — marking the first time a strike-capable drone has been fired from a British naval vessel at sea. The trial, conducted under tri-service Project Vantage, is the opening move in a broader programme to field expendable strike drones across the entire fleet, up to and including the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Anduril wins a $16.8M Army order for Ghost-X ISR drones
2026-06-16

Anduril wins a $16.8M Army order for Ghost-X ISR drones

The US Army has awarded Anduril a $16.8 million contract for Ghost-X reconnaissance drones fitted with Trillium HD45LP sensors. The tandem-rotor VTOL aircraft offers GPS-denied vision navigation and runs on Anduril's Lattice software, letting one operator manage several at once.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
US Marines pick Anduril's Bolt-M loitering munition for infantry squads
2026-06-16

US Marines pick Anduril's Bolt-M loitering munition for infantry squads

The US Marine Corps has selected Anduril's Bolt-M — a man-packable VTOL loitering munition — under its Organic Precision Fires–Light program, ordering more than 600 systems on a $23.9 million contract. Deliveries run from February 2026 into 2027 as Anduril scales production toward 175 units a month.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Anduril's YFQ-44A “Fury” flies: a semi-autonomous fighter drone built in 556 days
2026-06-16

Anduril's YFQ-44A “Fury” flies: a semi-autonomous fighter drone built in 556 days

Anduril's YFQ-44A “Fury” completed its first flight on October 31, 2025 in the US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, going from clean-sheet design to wheels-up in 556 days. The jet executed its mission plan on its own — managing flight controls and throttle without human command — pointing to a future of affordable, autonomous aircraft flown alongside crewed fighters.

By UAVHelpline Editorial
Anduril's Roadrunner-M: a reusable interceptor for the cheap-drone threat
2026-06-16

Anduril's Roadrunner-M: a reusable interceptor for the cheap-drone threat

Anduril is delivering Roadrunner-M, a counter-UAS interceptor that launches vertically, chases hostile drones at high subsonic speed, and — when it isn't needed to strike — lands itself to be reused. A $350 million Pentagon order covers 500 interceptors, on top of a $642 million counter-drone deal for the US Marine Corps.

By UAVHelpline Editorial