Unmanned Systems: Air, Ground & Maritime
Unmanned systems across all domains: aerial, ground and maritime drones in defence and security.
Reconnaissance drones for Armenia: Washington delivers Shield AI's V-BAT to Yerevan
For the first time, the US is officially announcing a major arms deal with Armenia: the agreement on V-BAT reconnaissance drones is worth around 11 million US dollars. It became public after J.D. Vance's visit to Yerevan.
Drone control on the ground: Panasonic Toughbook shows rugged notebooks and tablets at Xponential Europe
What happens in the air depends on the IT on the ground: for drone control, Panasonic Toughbook is showing notebooks and tablets in Düsseldorf as ground control stations and analysis platforms – built for dust, rain, extreme temperatures and sensitive data.
Ground drones in Ukraine: more than 7,000 combat and logistics missions in January alone
Delivering ammunition, evacuating the wounded, securing supplies: Ukraine routinely sends ground drones into high-risk zones. More production and procurement are planned for 2026, and 13 models are already available on Brave1 Market.
Underwater drone Blue Whale: German Navy takes delivery of first system from TKMS Atlas Elektronik and IAI
On 25 February, Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack accepted the first Blue Whale. The underwater drone is to perform reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare; after only a few months of procurement, the move into series production is now next.
Drone manufacturer Schiebel plans Schiebel UK: expansion into the British defence sector
Momentum comes from the Peregrine programme with Thales UK and the Royal Navy: drone manufacturer Schiebel intends to set up its own company in the United Kingdom, manufacture there and bring the Camcopter S-300 to market.
Interceptor drones within a year: five NATO countries launch the LEAP programme
Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom want to jointly develop low-cost interceptor drones and autonomous platforms. Behind LEAP lies the question of how cheap drones can be defeated without expensive missiles.
Loitering munition FV-014: Rheinmetall demonstrates system to a potential NATO customer in Cochstedt
Up to 100 kilometres of range, 70 minutes of flight time and constant operator control: Rheinmetall has shown its FV-014 loitering munition at the DLR test centre in Cochstedt and sees this as a further milestone.
Military drones at “Steadfast Dart 2026”: Baykar TB3 launches from “TCG Anadolu” in freezing cold
First time in an amphibious operation and first time in a NATO exercise: at “Steadfast Dart 2026” in the Baltic Sea, the Turkish Navy deployed three Bayraktar TB3 military drones from the deck of “TCG Anadolu”. The major exercise involves around 10,000 personnel from 13 nations.
Unmanned systems in the CCA programme: US Air Force selects Shield AI as mission autonomy provider
The Hivemind autonomy software is already flying in Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury, with flight demonstrations expected in the coming months. Now the US Air Force has selected Shield AI for the TMRR phase of its programme for unmanned systems in air combat.
Underwater drones put to the test: Belgian and Slovenian VSW teams train at the Lakes of l’Eau d’Heure
One week, two navies, one goal: learning from each other. During joint training in the province of Hainaut, special forces from Belgium and Slovenia tested autonomous underwater drones – and the Belgian team operated a Slovenian mine clearance drone for the first time.
Drone warfare at Hedgehog 2025: Ukrainian pilots knock out entire NATO battalions
Ten Ukrainian drone pilots, 17 armoured vehicles destroyed in simulation within half a day: the exercise in Estonia shows how drone warfare makes the battlefield transparent – and why the result has alarmed NATO.
Camcopter S-100 for Greece: Hellenic Navy equips new FDI frigates with Schiebel drones
Three new Belharra-class frigates, a land-based training system and the first trained crews by spring 2026: with the Camcopter S-100, the Greek navy is bringing Austrian reconnaissance technology on board.
R&D hub in Ukraine: Stark also announces a southern European office at the Munich Security Conference
Two expansion steps at once: on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Stark announces an R&D hub in Ukraine with room for more than 200 specialists, as well as an office in southern Europe. Local production capacity is to follow.