Dual Use

New partnership with JIATF-401 and Northern Plains UAS Test Site could help the military identify promising counter-UAS systems for further testing and procurement. By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill In the first collaboration of its type in the nation, the University of North Dakota, in cooperation with the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site… Read more: University of North Dakota to Help Pentagon Evaluate Counter-Drone Technologies

New Army testing events give drone manufacturers access to realistic GPS jamming and communications interference, with three sessions scheduled for 2027. The U.S. Army is expanding opportunities for commercial drone companies to test their technology under realistic electronic warfare conditions. The program allows developers to evaluate how their systems perform when GPS signals fail or… Read more: Can Commercial Drones Survive Electronic Warfare? U.S. Army Expands Testing Opportunities

New national consortium aims to reduce production costs and speed commercialization of advanced batteries, including those used in drones. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new national consortium to improve domestic battery manufacturing. The initiative could help address a key challenge for the U.S. drone industry: building a reliable and competitive domestic… Read more: DOE Launches Battery Manufacturing Initiative to Strengthen U.S. Supply Chain

Successful battlefield evacuation highlights an emerging use for unmanned aircraft as Ukrainian manufacturers develop dedicated aerial medical evacuation systems. Ukrainian forces have reported a successful evacuation of a wounded soldier using a heavy-lift drone. The operation demonstrates a potential new application for unmanned aircraft in situations where ground rescue is too dangerous or impossible. Ukraine’s… Read more: Ukraine Uses Heavy-Lift Drone to Evacuate Wounded Soldier in First Documented Rescue

How ZeroTier is helping operators maintain reliable, encrypted communications across commercial drone and counter-UAS applications. By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Operating a drone-based inspection to determine the structural integrity of an underground tunnel and maintaining a counter-UAS system to protect a piece of critical infrastructure might seem like completely different – even opposite –… Read more: Secure Connectivity: The Common Challenge for Drone Fleets and Counter-Drone Systems

Phase III raises production requirements and technical expectations, while a separate competition for reusable bomber drones faces a schedule change. The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program is preparing for its next major competition, with plans to purchase approximately 60,000 one-way attack drones under a $450 million Phase III initiative. The program has also postponed Gauntlet 2.5,… Read more: Pentagon Details $450 Million Drone Dominance Competition as Gauntlet 2.5 Moves to November

Robinson Unmanned’s contract to supply the Nepali Army adds to recent international orders for U.S.-made military drone systems. Robinson Unmanned has announced a contract to supply its SPIRIT small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to the Nepali Army. The agreement falls under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Ascent AeroSystems, Robinson Unmanned’s contracting entity for… Read more: U.S. Drone Manufacturers Expand International Defense Sales as Nepal Orders SPIRIT

Small drone manufacturer finds its market niche By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill In business, sometimes getting in on the ground floor of an emerging trend is the key to success – even for a company whose business is manufacturing flying vehicles. For Ben Harris, founder and CEO of Casselberry, Florida-based Harris Aerial, getting in… Read more: Finding a Niche in American Drone Manufacturing: The Harris Aerial Story

Prism A-ISR combines AI detection, multispectral imaging and edge processing for airborne surveillance and defense applications Teledyne FLIR OEM has launched Prism A-ISR, a new software module designed to provide AI-enabled air-to-ground detection and tracking for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and other airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms. The company announced the software on… Read more: Teledyne FLIR Launches AI-Enabled Air-to-Ground Tracking Software for UAS

New Conditional Approval allows the Italian-made K500L and its docking station to remain eligible for FCC equipment authorization, subject to onshoring and continued vetting requirements The Federal Communications Commission has granted a new exemption from its Covered List for a foreign-made drone system. The decision provides another example of how the agency’s Conditional Approval process… Read more: FCC Grants Covered List Exemption for Dronus K500L Drone System

Utopia Compression brings AI-based passive sensing, navigation and autonomy solutions developed for defense applications to BVLOS, counter-UAS and other commercial drone operations By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Utopia Compression, an advanced technology company with more than two decades of experience providing services to the defense sector, is looking to branch out by providing artificial… Read more: Defense-Proven Drone Technology Moves Into the Commercial Market

9,000-square-meter Delft headquarters expands radar development, production and support as global demand for drone detection grows Robin Radar Systems has opened a new 9,000-square-meter headquarters in Delft, Netherlands, tripling its operational capacity. The facility will support radar research, engineering, production, testing and customer service. The expansion follows the opening of a larger Robin Radar operations… Read more: Robin Radar Triples Capacity With New Counter-UAS Radar Facility

U.S. and international manufacturers invited to compete, with up to $250 million more budgeted for development and scaled production The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has launched a $100 million competition to identify low-cost intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft that can be produced and deployed at scale. The Low Cost ISR (LC-ISR) Challenge opened September 29,… Read more: DIU Launches $100 Million Challenge for Low-Cost ISR Aircraft

UK company helps operators detect, track and classify airborne threats; US manufacturing is planned for 2026 OpenWorks Engineering has opened a US regional headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia. The UK-based company also plans to open a manufacturing facility in Detroit, Michigan, before the end of 2026. The expansion gives OpenWorks a larger presence in a market… Read more: Counter-Drone Optics Maker Opens US Headquarters, Plans Detroit Factory

Vulcan Elements already makes rare earth magnets in North Carolina and is building a larger plant. Public figures do not yet show when supply could match the Army’s production goal. The U.S. Army has selected Vulcan Elements to supply rare earth magnets for its SkyFoundry drone initiative, Axios reported Wednesday. The magnets will support production… Read more: Army Drone Magnet Deal Raises a Bigger Question: When Can the Supply Chain Be Fully Domestic?

James Slider says U.S. drone leadership will depend on domestic production of motors, batteries, electronics and other critical components By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Building a system capable of supplying the U.S. military with unmanned aerial systems to meet the challenges of the 21stcentury will take a massive effort, to bring to American shores… Read more: Building American Drones Means Building the Parts, PDW CEO Says

Blue UAS manufacturer Inspired Flight sees an open payload ecosystem as a way to extend aircraft value and give operators more choices As the U.S. commercial drone market adjusts to new restrictions on foreign-made technology, operators face a difficult question: how can they invest in a platform today without limiting the missions they can perform… Read more: Open Platform Strategy Offers Flexibility as the U.S. Drone Market Shifts: DRONELIFE Exclusive Interview

New 56,000-square-foot Virginia facility launches a planned nationwide UAS manufacturing networ Heven AeroTech has opened a 56,000-square-foot production facility in Winchester, Virginia. The site is the company’s first manufacturing operation on the East Coast. The facility launches a planned national network for producing hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft systems. It also expands Heven AeroTech’s existing manufacturing base… Read more: Heven AeroTech Stands Up Hydrogen Drone Factory in 90 Days

Second-generation SiCore technology pairs higher energy density with a path to volume productio Amprius Technologies has introduced a silicon-anode battery cell designed for long-endurance uncrewed aircraft. The company says its second-generation SiCore cell delivers 500 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) at a 1C continuous discharge rate. The company expects to make the cell commercially available in… Read more: Amprius Targets Longer Drone Flights With New 500 Wh/kg Battery Cell

Maryland defense manufacturer targets large-scale U.S. production of two attritable drone platforms beginning in 2027 First Breach Inc. has completed the first flight of a proprietary drone prototype, marking a step in the company’s expansion from ammunition manufacturing into unmanned aircraft systems. The milestone comes days after First Breach began trading on the Nasdaq Capital… Read more: First Breach Completes First Drone Flight as Company Begins Nasdaq Trading