In a historic achievement, Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have successfully executed a force integrated air-to-air autonomous weapon engagement from an MQ-28 Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Continue reading
Category Archives: Weapons Systems
Russian Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drones now Armed with Air-to-Air Missiles
Russia has fielded a new version of the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone armed with a single R-60 air-to-air missile. In principle, the heat-seeking R-60 would give the one-way attacker a way to engage Ukrainian fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and creates a deterrent threat, but the effectiveness of this combination is unclear. Continue reading
Bayraktar Kizilelma Unmanned Fighter Executes Beyond Visual Range Simulated Air-to-Air Strike
Turkey’s Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned fighter scored the first recorded beyond visual range air-to-air kill by a jet-powered UAV during a Black Sea test on 30 November 2025. In the test conducted with the participation of two F-16 fighter jets of the Turkish Air Force, KIZILELMA locked onto the target F-16 using the national AESA Radar MURAD, and achieved a direct hit in its simulated fire test with the national air-to-air missile GÖKDOĞAN. Continue reading
MBDA Gets $413M Laser Directed Energy Weapon for UK Royal Navy
– MBDA has been awarded £316 million (USD 413M) contract to deliver new DragonFire systems to the Royal Navy from 2027, after achieving UK first in latest testing by shooting down high-speed drones with new laser system. Continue reading
US Army Issues RFI for Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) C-UAS
The Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) Directed Energy Project Office (DEPO) is seeking information on potential sources that could provide the necessary technical skills, facilities, tooling, and personnel to produce a Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon system to protect semi-fixed and maneuver forces against Groups 1-3 UASs. This weapon system is designated as the Army Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL). Continue reading
Russia’s New Truck-Mounted Laser Weapon
At the Interpolitex 2025 exhibition in Moscow, the Shvabe optoelectronics group, part of the Rostec defense industry corporation, presented for the first time a mobile truck-mounted anti-drone laser system. This event marked a new step in the race to develop directed energy weapons between Russia and Western powers. Continue reading
Railgun Returns: General Atomics Unveils a Reinvented Electromagnetic Weapon
– General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) is reviving the railgun program with a new generation of electromagnetic weapons capable of firing hypersonic tungsten-pellet payloads, positioning it as a potential modern air defense solution for saturation attacks and high-speed threats. Continue reading
MQ-20 Avenger Depicted with Laser Weapon in its Nose
– General Atomics recently showed what it says is a rendering of an MQ-20 Avenger drone armed with a laser directed energy weapon. The laser beam is depicted projecting through a fully rotating nose cone turret fitted in place of its normal nose section. Continue reading