UAS

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

U.S.-based AeroVironment and Ubiqconn Technology of Taipei have signed an MOU to develop a common UAV controller for a variety of drones operated by the Taiwanese military.

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has revealed a one-way attack drone entirely additively manufactured and robotically assembled by partner Divergent Technologies.

Rohde & Schwarz is getting into the increasingly contested market for laser-based counter-drone system.

German advanced air mobility startup ERC System has unveiled a new heavy-lift cargo drone aimed at military resupply and critical logistics missions.

A French Air Force Dassault Rafale downed a drone that entered Latvian airspace, marking the second shootdown of a UAS in the Baltic states in recent weeks.

Swarm Aero has picked Honeywell Aerospace to provide the powerplant for its Group 5 UAS it is targeting for the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 replacement.

Growing demand for high-end uncrewed aircraft is prompting MTU Aero Engines to explore at least a partial reset of its design philosophy in an effort to establish itself as a major propulsion provider for such systems.

Palladyne AI has signed an exclusive agreement to manufacture and market IAI’s Harpy, Harop and Mini Harpy loitering munitions to the U.S. Defense Department.

The Pentagon’s strategy to acquire 340,000 drones by the end of next year requires industry to scale production up while driving prices down.

The U.S. Army’s new Amazon.com-like website for drone acquisition is challenging industry business models and supply chains.

Existing infrastructure to support electric aircraft in the U.S. is limited and airports face challenges installing the foundations, a report says.

A German developer of a military rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft system has completed two first flights in just three days.

SOFWerx plans to assess the capabilities of uncrewed aircraft with hybrid-electric propulsion and channel wings for vertical takeoff and landing.

A European Defense Fund (EDF)-supported anti-submarine warfare project is to make use of Schiebel’s new S-300 rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft system.

Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) has validated a jointly developed drone visual navigation and positioning system.

Honda eVTOL flies; helping to avoid contrails; bio-based carbon fiber advances; Korea’s engine independence bid; and Airbus’ Canadian tech hub.

A Russian one-way attack drone hit a residential building in Romania, injuring two people.

Roughly 100 days after the APAC AAM Leadership Summit at the Singapore Airshow, the region’s focus has shifted from big promises to “boring yet indispensable groundwork."

Canada is fast-tracking the acquisition and testing process for multidomain and autonomous surveillance systems compatible with harsh arctic conditions.

Electric seaplane family plan; battery team for hybrid regional; U.S. quantum computing boost; and folding-wing eVTOL UAS.

For Russia and Ukraine, the battle of electronic warfare tools versus drones is a seemingly neverending cycle of evolution.

China on May 23 completed the first flight test of its domestically developed F406 turbofan for small- and medium-sized uncrewed aircraft systems.

Dyzne Technologies has unveiled a new expendable drone, the Blitz, and a shipping container-based launch system to deploy “high-volume” swarms of UAVs.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.