Dual Use

The pandemic exposed weaknesses in global manufacturing that many companies had never been forced to confront. While the immediate crisis has passed, the pressures facing drone manufacturers today, from component restrictions to supply chain uncertainty, demand many of the same responses. In this guest commentary, ACSL Global CTO Chris Raabe reflects on how the industry’s… Read more: Six Years After the Pandemic, the Hard Lessons Still Matter: An Op-Ed from ACSL Global CTO Chris Raabe

New licensing requirements for controlled drones and components could create additional challenges for manufacturers already adapting to changing U.S. regulations. China has announced new export control measures affecting certain drones, drone components, and related technologies destined for the United States, adding another layer of uncertainty to global drone supply chains. In Announcement No. 34 of… Read more: China Tightens Drone Export Controls, Adding New Pressure to U.S. Supply Chains

Event 38’s E455 becomes the first fixed-wing VTOL platform integrated with TB2 Aerospace’s modular DROPS system Event 38 Unmanned Systems and TB2 Aerospace have announced a partnership to integrate TB2’s Drone Recharging Operational Payload System (DROPS) with Event 38’s E455 fixed-wing VTOL unmanned aircraft. While the announcement focuses on a new product integration, it also… Read more: One Drone, Many Missions: Event 38 and TB2 Advance Modular Payload Systems

Halo is the commercial variant of Archer’s jointly developed dual-use platform, launching with Japan’s Marubeni Aerospace as first strategic partner. Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) unveiled Halo, the commercial variant of a jointly developed dual-use platform built with Anduril Industries to serve both defense and commercial markets. The Archer Halo autonomous VTOL was announced July 22,… Read more: Archer Unveils Halo, the Commercial Autonomous VTOL Built With Anduril

Defense publication argues drone threats must become a routine security challenge, not an exceptional one The U.S. Department of War’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has released a new guide that offers more than another overview of counter-drone technology. Small Drones, Big Problems: A First Principles Approach to Countering-UAS signals a broader shift in how… Read more: Is the ‘Happy Time’ for Drones Coming to an End? New Government Guide Signals a Shift in Counter-UAS Strategy

Agency extends trusted drone exemptions while seeking comment on broader commercial restrictions for certain foreign-made systems The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking another step in its effort to reshape the U.S. drone market. The agency announced Tuesday that it is seeking public comment on whether to prohibit the import, marketing, or sale of certain… Read more: FCC Eyes Next Step in Drone Supply Chain Overhaul With Proposed Sales Ban on Military-Grade Foreign Drones

DARPA challenges innovators to create muscular drones By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Heavy-lift drones, the workhorses of the drone ecosystem, face a significant obstacle to their widespread adoption for military and commercial uses: their payload-to-weight ratio is low, typically far below one-to-one for multirotor UAVs. Hoping to solve this problem, the Defense Advanced Research… Read more: DARPA Launches $6.5 Million Challenge to Reinvent Heavy-Lift Drones

Small infrastructure company offers new twist on drone shelters By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill For people in the commercial drone industry, most of their attention is quite naturally turned to the sky. But a small, private company is hoping to shift some of that focus of UAV operators in the opposite direction – in… Read more: Underground Drone Bases? SYNDÉO Bets the Future of Autonomous Flight Starts Below Ground

New Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager will consolidate acquisition, standards, budgeting, and industry engagement for drone and autonomous programs The U.S. Department of War announced on July 1 a major reorganization of its unmanned systems enterprise, creating a new Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS) that will oversee the Department’s drone and autonomous systems… Read more: Department of War Creates Central Office to Oversee U.S. Military Unmanned Systems

Rather than focusing primarily on buying new drones, the House Armed Services Committee is proposing the standards, training, doctrine, and sustainment needed to make unmanned systems a permanent part of the U.S. military. For much of the past five years, congressional action on military drones has focused on procurement, supply chain security, and reducing dependence… Read more: House FY27 NDAA Signals Drones Have Become Core Military Infrastructure

Texas-based company expands offshore cargo operations while preparing for the next phase of U.S. BVLOS regulations By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill While many drone service providers like to tout their latest innovations and brag on the abilities of their aircraft to handle a variety of missions, Austin-based Skyways Aviation has spent the better part… Read more: How Skyways Quietly Built a Global Heavy-Lift Drone Business

Recent Chinese export controls targeting Red Cat may have limited immediate impact, but they underscore why U.S. drone manufacturers are under pressure to understand every layer of their supply chains. China’s decision to place drone manufacturer Red Cat Holdings and their subsidiary, Teal Drones on its export control list may not immediately disrupt production. But… Read more: China’s Export Restrictions on Red Cat Highlight a Bigger Challenge for U.S. Drone Manufacturing

As the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program moves from competition to procurement, emerging drone companies are taking center stage The Department of War announced this week that its Drone Dominance Program has received its first order and launched Gauntlet II, marking a new phase for an initiative designed to rapidly field low-cost military drones while expanding… Read more: Beyond the Primes: Drone Dominance’s First Order Highlights a New Generation of Defense Drone Manufacturers

PDW works to develop advanced drone communications systems By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill As modern warfare increasingly relies on the use of drones for surveillance, targeting and attacks, militaries across the world are beginning to recognize the vital importance of maintaining communications links with UAVs that are operating in highly communication-contested environments. Ensuring that… Read more: DRONELIFE Exclusive Interview: Inside PDW’s Strategy to Build Drones That Can Operate When GPS and Communications Fail

New thermal imaging module combines SXGA resolution with compact size and U.S. manufacturing Teledyne FLIR OEM has announced the Boson SX8, a new longwave infrared (LWIR) thermal camera module designed for defense, industrial, and uncrewed systems applications. According to the company, the Boson SX8 is the first NDAA-compliant, volume-production uncooled thermal camera module to combine… Read more: New Boson SX8 Brings High-Resolution Thermal Imaging to NDAA-Compliant Drone Payloads

MODUS and IRON WAVE aim to help military forces counter drone threats and deploy robotic systems ahead of frontline troop Ondas Holdings has unveiled two new autonomous defense systems designed to address some of the most significant challenges facing modern military forces: the rapid growth of drone threats and the increasing use of robotic systems… Read more: Ondas Unveils New Autonomous Counter-Drone and Robotic Combat Systems

Proposed legislation would require national security review of certain foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that would apply a familiar national security review process to humanoid and quadruped robots, signaling a broader U.S. approach to evaluating connected autonomous systems. The Guarding the U.S. against Adversarial Robotics Dominance (GUARD)… Read more: Congress Introduces GUARD Act, Extending FCC Covered List Framework to Robotics

Northeast National Security Conference examines how the U.S. can strengthen its defense industrial base Supply chain security has become a central issue for the drone industry. As the U.S. government pushes to expand domestic drone manufacturing, reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, and secure access to critical technologies, manufacturers are facing new questions about sourcing, production… Read more: Building a Resilient Supply Chain: Regional Security Leaders Focus on Industrial Readiness

Remarks at the Northeast National Security Conference highlight growing demand for rapid, commercially informed defense solutions The 2026 Northeast National Security Conference, hosted by the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, brought together defense contractors, government agencies, technology companies, investors, and researchers to discuss emerging national security challenges and opportunities. The conference focuses on strengthening innovation and… Read more: Defense Leaders Call for Faster Paths from Innovation to the Field

Drone-mounted system helps military users detect and locate drone operators, control stations, jammers, and other RF emitters in contested environments. Sky Spy and Evolve Dynamics have announced a partnership to integrate airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities across Evolve Dynamics’ unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), following a recent demonstration with the French Armed Forces. The companies tested… Read more: Finding the Person Behind the Drone: Sky Spy Demonstrates Airborne Detection System with French Military