A cutting-edge UK laser defense asset has been successfully tested against simulated enemy aircraft – which, in a reflection of the swiftly changing nature of conflict these days, cast drones in the supporting role of the doomed invader.
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Increased supplies of so-called suicide drones will be among the munitions included in the $1.3 billion US aid package to Ukraine announced Wednesday – aerial reinforcements that officials said will include both Switchblade and still enigmatic Phoenix Ghost loitering UAVs.
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Defense and security UAV specialist group Red Cat Holdings says its cutting-edge Teal Drones affiliate has obtained a further $1.2 million to develop a new, portable UAV as standard issue equipment for soldiers, under the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) program.
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In what appears to be an example of new thinking arising at the right time to meet to shifting aerial demands – especially under the influence of Ukraine’s defense of the Russian invasion – San Diego-based company Firestorm Labs is preparing to offer entirely modular drones whose 3D-printing manufacturing process aims to offer considerable flexibility and speed of production in fulfilling defense and security users’ needs.
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It isn’t every day that a tech start-up comes out of stealth mode in the midst of a war threatening the very existence of its host country, but Kyiv-based One Way Aerospace is doing just that by unveiling its work to provide Ukraine with a range of affordable yet effective drone munition systems.
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HevenDrones is pursuing its efforts to produce longer-lasting, sustainable alternatives to lithium battery-powered UAV flights with today’s introduction of its first hydrogen-fueled H2D55 drone.
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Drone tech group Red Cat Holdings has announced its defense and security UAV specialist, Teal, has partnered with Tomohawk Robotics to further enhance the unifying control system of the multiple craft platform known as 4-Ship.
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California startup Realtime Robotics is introducing a portable, relatively heavy-lift drone called Hera that the company says beats rivals as a situational awareness asset for first responders, as well as a munitions delivery device for security and defense forces. As such it also sounds like something likely to find numerous takers in Ukraine just now.
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US security and defense company AeroVironment is upping its assistance to forces in Ukraine battling Russia’s invasion by donating more than 100 of its Quantrix Recon drones for intelligence gathering and monitoring movement of enemy troops.
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Utah-based security UAV specialist Teal Drones has been selected to develop a prototype craft in a final stage of the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2) Program, which aims to create a powerful but portable small craft for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
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French startup Dronisos has won much applause for lighting up the skies with its choreography of hundreds of drones in light shows, but now it’s gaining attention from defense groups eager to put the company’s command of mass UAV navigation to work in drone swarms flying security missions.
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Less than a week after Ukraine officials called on private citizens to put their drones to use in defending cities from invading Russian forces, signs are accumulating that consumer UAVs are increasingly taking to the air – and flowing in from abroad – for operation in the conflict.
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Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has called upon citizens who own drones to use them in support of the country’s armed forces in their battle to prevent the invading Russian Army from capturing the capital, Kyiv.
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Two French companies are getting closer to perfecting an asset that will allow naval forces to launch small UAVs from the surface of – or beneath – the bodies of water they’re patrolling.
The French maritime defense company, Naval Group, has teamed up with the Toulouse-based drone startup Diodon to adapt a specialized, compact UAV for water deployment by navy, coast guard, and other forces policing the seas. The partners have already worked together in use scenarios with a current version of the craft, and plan on testing the next-generation upgrade of the vehicle next year.
There have, of course, been several projects initiated elsewhere to develop drones capable of making the transition from water to air (and in some cases, back into the drink again and again). The Naval Group-Diodon tandem, however, is close to deploying a specialized UAV that can be launched from submarines or boats, and almost immediately begin performing airborne missions with all the tech and flight capacities of exclusively aerial high-performance quadcopters.
A major difference between Diodon’s new HP30 iteration and other liquid-to-air craft under development is its expandable components. The body and foldable wings are surrounded by a tough but collapsible skin that is inflated before deployment. That approach makes the craft lighter and more compact in storage, and far more buoyant when rising to or floating on surfaces of water. The encasing is also highly puncture-resistance and entirely air-tight.
Diodon’s drones are intended for detection, patrol, reconnaissance, surveillance, and engagement with criminal or hostile targets under watch by official forces in France and the 18 other nations Naval Drone works with. The HP30 has a range of 8 km, maximum flight time of 30 minutes at top speeds of 55 km/h, and resists winds of up to 25 knots per hour. Setup to launch time is a minute or less.
Diodon officials say ongoing tests of the earlier model HP20 have been successful at depths of several meters under water, with trials of the HP30 intending to launch the craft farther down from submarines.
The US Air Force is clearly serious about combatting the growing threat of small drones deployed for terrorism or hostile military purposes. It has not only developed a weapon capable of taking out scores of drones simultaneously, but it has even named that mighty asset after a fearsome, hammer-wielding Norse god-dash-superhero.
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The US military has ordered the development of tiny microdrones, whose shape and flapping wing movements will replicate insect flight. The super-small craft will provide incredible stealth in information gathering, and surveillance missions intended to really bug enemies.
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