autonomous system Archives

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christian Gillham, a mortarman and team leader with 3rd Littoral Combat Team, 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, flies a first-person view unmanned aircraft system for a long-range simulated strike during the Marine Corps Attack Drone Competition at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, Aug. 11, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Barker)

Marine Corps bets on techy, but human-centric ground warfare for next 15 years

The service released a new strategic blueprint called Ground Combat Element 2040.

Aug 27, 2026 By Drew F. Lawrence

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zackary Cowher, Cyber Capabilities Developer Technician for Multi-Domain Command – Europe, uploads configuration files to an autonomous land-based vehicle equipped with a tethered UAS quadcopter during Arcane Thunder 26 at Fort Irwin, California, April 18, 2026. (Photo by Master Sgt. John Healy)

U.S. military gearing up for unmanned ground vehicle demo

The event, dubbed GroundBreaker 1, is slated for mid-October at Camp Grafton, North Dakota.

Aug 24, 2026 By Jon Harper

U.S. Army Green Berets assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), survey the terrain during military mountaineering training as part of Exercise Diesel 26 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, Feb. 24, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Rhianna Ballenger)

SOCOM planning to test new mission autonomy software for unmanned systems program

The command plans to hold multiple events to assess industry solutions in the coming months, according to a special notice.

Aug 18, 2026 By Jon Harper

A rendering of the Epirus HAVOC system. (Illustration courtesy of Epirus)

Marine Corps awards Epirus $11M for high-powered microwave program, company says

After Marine Corps testing, Epirus hopes the service will adopt HAVOC “more widespread” and has prepared its facilities for low-rate production amid business with the Army and…

Aug 10, 2026 By Drew F. Lawrence

A plane flies over The Pentagon (front) with the US Capitol (C, background) in Washington, DC, on January 11, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Navy considers relocating robotic and autonomous systems staff amid broader portfolio restructuring

The review of the potential relocation of personnel comes as the Navy is creating a new role to oversee the RAS portfolio.

Aug 6, 2026 By Jon Harper

Rachel Kinard, Air Force Test Pilot School director of research, and Lt. Col. Philip Downing, 370th Flight Test Squadron commander, depart for a HAVE HEAT test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, California, April 16, 2026. Leveraging Lockheed Martin’s Infrared Search and Track Legion Pod, during the HAVE HEAT program, the X-62 VISTA platform demonstrated the ability of AI agents to ingest live infrared sensor data, directing the X-62 to autonomously intercept an airborne target in real time. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)

Air Force expands autonomous flight tests with live, AI-enabled intercepts

During one of the latest Air Force experiments, the X-62 VISTA conducted 27 autonomous air intercepts across eight flights.

Aug 5, 2026 By Mikayla Easley

Illustration of Mayhem 10 drones. (Image courtesy of AV)

AV and Applied Intuition team up to bring collaborative autonomy to new Mayhem 10 drone

“Our Acuity ISR/Strike software brings collaborative autonomy to Mayhem 10, rapidly delivering next-generation capabilities through platform-agnostic software with operator oversight,” said Jason Brown, general manager of Applied…

Jul 29, 2026 By Drew F. Lawrence

A Boeing Defence Australia’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a production representative test aircraft, performs a flyover during Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 over Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, June 25, 2026. (U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Adrien Tran)

After Valiant Shield exercise, PACAF commander says he’s ‘impressed’ with Australia’s Ghost Bat drone program

The MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone recently flew with manned fighter aircraft during a recent multinational exercise in the Pacific.

Jul 27, 2026 By Jon Harper

Anduril unveils Thunder attack helicopter, a new loyal wingman drone

Anduril believes Thunder could serve as a loyal wingman platform for the Army's helicopter fleet, including the AH-64 Apache and the next-gen MV-75 Cheyenne II.

Jul 20, 2026 By Mikayla Easley

A target is hit by a first-person view small unmanned aircraft system strike during an FPV sUAS live fire demonstration at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 29, 2026. I Marine Expeditionary Force, in partnership with Defense Innovation Unit, evaluated fiber-optic drones for use in signal-degraded environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Bustamante)

In its next chapter, DIU aims to reduce the military’s ‘cost per kill’

In an exclusive interview with DefenseScoop, Owen West shared new details about his vision to reshape DIU’s operational structure to fit its modern mission.

Jul 15, 2026 By Brandi Vincent