Unmanned Systems News
The latest news on unmanned systems, counter-UAS and the defence industry, from Europe and around the world.
Stealth combat drone: France gives Dassault Aviation the go-ahead for a Rafale companion
The occasion was the FAS anniversary in Saint-Dizier, where Sébastien Lecornu announced a stealth combat drone from Dassault Aviation. After 2030 it is to complement the Rafale F5 and build on experience from nEUROn.
Ground drone Atlas CCV: BAE Systems Australia unveils autonomous 8×8 vehicle
Keeping soldiers out of the danger zone and complementing crewed infantry fighting vehicles and tanks at lower cost: with this ground drone, BAE Systems Australia is betting on autonomy off-road as well as on the road.
Ground drone for the US Army: American Rheinmetall Vehicles wins award in S-MET programme
Eight prototypes in 2025, followed by comparative tests against a competing system: this is how things proceed for the ground drone from American Rheinmetall Vehicles and Textron Systems in the US Army's S-MET programme.
Attack drone S-70 Okhotnik-B: Russia shoots down its own “super drone” over Ukraine
At first it looked like a downed Su-25, then photos and videos showed a Russian S-70 Okhotnik-B attack drone. The wreck lies on Ukrainian-controlled territory – the cause of the loss of control remains unclear.
FPV drones on a cable: Russia increasingly deploys wire-guided drones
What began in February as a wreckage find and was still seen as an experiment in summer now worries Ukrainian drone experts: wire-guided FPV drones are immune to jammers, deliver better images and hit extremely accurately.
Camcopter S-100 for EMSA: Schiebel supported coastguard over the English Channel and North Sea
Belgian and French maritime authorities received support from the air: on behalf of EMSA, Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 flew from Gris-Nez – from search and rescue missions to emissions monitoring.
Quantum Systems and ARX Robotics found the UXS Alliance
With the UXS Alliance, Quantum Systems and ARX Robotics want to bring together companies working on unmanned systems in all domains. It will be based in Berlin, centred on a software framework that connects systems regardless of manufacturer.
Quantum Systems Series B: Notion Capital and Porsche SE join as new lead investors
With Notion Capital and Porsche SE leading the investors, Quantum Systems has closed a further Series B round. In total, the Munich-based company's Series B funding now amounts to more than 100 million euros.
Akinci combat drone receives Aselsan's Tolun IIR glide bomb
The Bayraktar Akinci combat drone gains another Turkish precision weapon in Aselsan's Tolun IIR. In a test firing on 17 September it hit a target 20 kilometres away, while Baykar announced the more powerful Akinci C.
Bayraktar TB2 S5 retired: Türkiye bids farewell to first drone of its type after 10,000 flight hours
After 750 missions and 10,000 flight hours, the Turkish military has retired its first Bayraktar TB2. The aircraft with tail number S5 is not quite finished, however: manufacturer Baykar will keep using it for training and test flights.
Counter-UAS exercise: Ukraine joins NATO's “C-UAS TIE24” in the Netherlands for the first time
More than 60 sensors, effectors, jammers and drones in live testing: at the counter-UAS exercise “C-UAS TIE24”, NATO checked whether commercial systems work together – and Ukraine contributed its combat experience for the first time.
Drone war in Ukraine: Magyar expects a “truly unmanned war” within six to eight months
At the Yalta European Strategy Forum, commander Robert Brovdi, known as Magyar, spoke about his “Birds of Madyar”, the costs of the drone war and a future without pilots. He addressed two messages directly to Ukraine's partners.
AI-controlled drone swarm: Airbus, Quantum Systems and Spleenlab demonstrate autonomous swarm technology
A drone swarm of Vector, Scorpion and Airbus drones flew under the control of a mission AI at the Airbus Drone Center near Manching. The results of the Bundeswehr study KITU 2 are also to support major programmes such as MGCS and FCAS.