DIU Offers $100M in Prizes for Voice-Controlled AI-Enabled Drone Swarm ‘Orchestrator’
The Pentagon’s embassy in Silicon Valley, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), is offering up to $100 million dollars in prizes for companies to prototype new user-friendly “orchestrator” control software for whole formations of unmanned air, ground, and water vehicles.
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France orders Airbus VSR700 uncrewed aerial system
Marignane, France, 14 January 2026 – The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) has awarded a contract to Airbus Helicopters and Naval Group for the production of six VSR700 uncrewed aerial systems. The VSR700s will be operated from 2028 by the French Navy.
“We are honored that the French Ministry for the Armed Forces has decided to launch the next phase of the VSR700 programme with serial production for France and future export customers within the frame of the agreement signed at the Paris Air Show in 2025. Airbus Helicopters is fully committed to delivering this much-needed operational capability. Our teams are focused on providing the French Navy with a reliable, high-performance tool that enhances their sovereignty and mission success,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “To ensure the success of this next chapter, we have established a new industrial setup specifically designed for serial production. This structure allows us to adapt to the specificities of the UAS market and to scale efficiently while maintaining the highest standards of aeronautical safety and performance,” he added
The VSR700 will be delivered in an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) configuration comprising a surveillance radar, an electro optical system and an AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver. Naval Group will ensure its integration into the overall architecture of the ships and its interconnection with the combat system thanks to the Steeris® Mission System.
The VSR700 is a dual use uncrewed aerial system, based on the crewed Cabri G2 from Hélicoptères Guimbal. The naval military version was developed and tested in the frame of the French Navy and DGA SDAM (Système de drone aérien de la Marine) programme, in cooperation with Naval Group. The VSR700 and its mission system have been extensively tested over land and at sea. Often deployed in complement of a crewed helicopter, the VSR700 can be used to extend a vessel’s intelligence gathering capabilities and conduct long endurance surveillance missions.
The VSR700 can accommodate a variety of long-range, high-performance sensors. Although it will be used in an ISR configuration by the French Navy, the VSR700 is a multirole UAS that can be used for a variety of missions including logistics and armed scout both in a maritime and a land environment. It can also be used for civil missions including firefighting and disaster relief. Airbus has also demonstrated the VSR700’s ability to team with crewed helicopters using the HTeaming solution.
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Larger Saildrone USVs are also under consideration to carry Lockheed Martin weaponry, such as the Mk 70 Vertical Launching System. Read More ----oooo00O00oooo---- |
Epirus’ Leonidas Demonstrates Successful Use of High-Power Microwave to Defeat Fiber-Optic Controlled UAS
By The Editor on Jan 16, 2026 07:45 am
– Epirus has released video footage showing its Leonidas VehicleKit (VK) high-power microwave (HPM) platform successfully disabling a fiber-optic guided unmanned aerial system (UAS) during a December 2025 live-fire technology demonstration at a U.S. government testing site. The event marks the first known instance of weaponized electromagnetic interference defeating a fiber-optic guided drone. Fiber-optic first-person-view […]
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DHS Science and Technology Directorate – Review of 2025
By The Editor on Jan 16, 2026 07:42 am
Over the past year, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) advanced critical Department of Homeland Security (DHS) missions by delivering innovative technologies, analytic tools, and scientific expertise across border security, law enforcement, infrastructure protection, and emergency readiness. Strengthening Border Security S&T expanded situational awareness and interdiction capabilities at the border through advanced analytics, sensing, and […]
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Joint Interagency Task Force Announces First Replicator 2 Purchase to Counter Homeland Drone Threats
By The Editor on Jan 16, 2026 07:33 am
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401) announced Jan. 11 its first acquisition under the Replicator 2 initiative, awarding a contract for two DroneHunter F700 systems, expected to be delivered by April. The acquisition enhances the task force’s ability to counter the growing threat posed by small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and marks a key […]
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EagleNXT Establishing US Drone Manufacturing Center and Consolidating Operations in Texas
By The Editor on Jan 16, 2026 07:15 am
– AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. has announced the relocation of its global headquarters from Wichita, Kansas, to Allen, Texas, located in the northeast Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex. The move marks a significant milestone as EagleNXT positions itself for accelerated growth in the rapidly expanding unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry. The new Allen headquarters will serve […]
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Nine F-111F’s Flew 6,400 Miles for REVENGE
By The Editor on Jan 16, 2026 07:00 am
On April 14, 1986, Karma 52 checked in over the Mediterranean, its radar altimeter steady just a few hundred feet above the sea. The F-111F was part of an 18-ship U.S. Air Force strike package bound to hit the literal beating heart of Libya—each jet armed with two 2,000-pound Pave Way II laser-guided bombs. Ten […]
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