– Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger confirmed plans to deliver mobile drone defense systems to Ukraine before the end of 2025. Continue reading
Author Archives: The Editor
Successful First Flight for French MALE Drone AAROK from Turgis Gaillard
AAROK, Turgis Gaillard‘s Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drone prototype, successfully completed its first flight from Blois-Le Breuil airfield. This new milestone demonstrates the progress of the program, essential for meeting the needs of the French and allied armed forces. Continue reading
GA-ASI and AeroVironment Complete First-Ever Air Launch of Switchblade 600 from MQ-9A UAS
– General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and AeroVironment collaborated on the air launch of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition (LM) from a GA-ASI Block 5 MQ-9A unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The flight testing took place from July 22-24 at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds Test Range. Continue reading
UK Signs Groundbreaking Tech Sharing Agreement with Ukraine to Deliver Drones
A ‘First of its kind’ industrial partnership allows the UK and Ukraine to share detailed designs for cutting-edge air defence drones and other equipment. The UK will manufacture and jointly develop cutting-edge military equipment with Ukrainian industry through a groundbreaking new technology sharing agreement which will support British jobs and strengthen both UK and Ukrainian national security. Continue reading
AeroVironment Announces AV_Halo Unified Software Platform
– AeroVironment, Inc. has announced AV_Halo, a hardware-agnostic software platform that unifies the company’s suite of mission-ready software tools — to include multi-domain command and control (C2), AI-enhanced intelligence analysis, synthetic training, and autonomous targeting — into a single open-standards software ecosystem capable of integrating with any other battle management systems. Continue reading
Smartshooter Unveils SMASH 3000 for Heavy Machine Guns
– SMARTSHOOTER, a designer, developer, and manufacturer of innovative fire control systems, is introducing a new configuration of its combat-proven SMASH 3000: adaptation onto a Heavy Machine Gun (HMG). The new solution will be presented for the first time at the DSEI 2025 exhibition in London. Continue reading
Spain Procures Nine SIRTAP Tactical UAS, Designed and Manufactured by Airbus in Spain
Spain’s first SIRTAP unmanned aerial system prototype is now complete and slated to begin ground testing, in an ambitious schedule lasting a good portion of 2026, before the first delivery by 2027. Airbus Defence and Space, which manufactures the system, released a short video on Sep. 4, 2025, showing the aircraft receiving a paint job at its facility in Getafe in Spain. Continue reading
Republic F-84 Thunderjet – Four Distinct Developments, All Designated F-84
Republic began with the F-84 as a straight-wing monoplane on tricycle undercarriage with a jet engine in response to a General Operational Requirement in the final year of WW2. While a straight-wing model was eventually produced for frontline service in the Korean War, it was outclassed by the MiG-15’s it faced. What seemed like a simple idea, change to a swept-wing design, that development proved more extensive than expected. Continue reading