uav Archives

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon, July 10, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Isaac Llanez Delgado)

Hegseth directive on ‘unleashing U.S. military drone dominance’ includes deadlines for major overhauls

Hegseth referred to uncrewed systems as “the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation.”

Jul 10, 2025 By Jon Harper

Sgt. Lucero Martinez, an unmanned aircraft systems operator, assigned to Detachment 1, Delta Company, 545th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, helps launch an unmanned aircraft system during a UAS exercise on June 12, 2025 at Camp Gruber Training Center, Oklahoma. The exercise, hosted by the 45th IBCT and featured numerous UAS and counter-UAS systems, focused on preparing infantry Soldiers to react to UAS threats. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Spc. Cambrie Cannon)

What Trump’s order on ‘unleashing American drone dominance’ means for the U.S. military

DefenseScoop asked national security experts to weigh in on the directive.

Jul 8, 2025 By Brandi Vincent

A Ukrainian Armed Forces drone operator who gave the name Tarik, of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade, prepares an American made Puma surveillance drone for a flight test to scout Russian targets and correct artillery fire against Russian positions on July 24, 2024, in the direction of Marinka, Ukraine. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

A final rundown of the drones committed to Ukraine by the Biden administration

As Joe Biden’s presidency nears its end, here’s a rundown of the various drones that Washington has acknowledged committing to Ukraine.

Jan 14, 2025 By Jon Harper

Chinese Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) Wing Loong II military UAV drone showcased at the Paris Air Show 2017. (Getty Images)

China’s drone modernization efforts close to ‘matching US standards,’ Pentagon report says

Beijing is moving forward on its “comprehensive” UAV modernization efforts, as indicated by a number of increasingly modern systems designed for operations across theater and echelon levels,…

Dec 18, 2024 By Mikayla Easley

Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, is guided by Col. J. Frederick Dente, V Corps chief of staff, during a visit to Camp Kościuszko, Poland, Sep. 8, 2022. (Photo by Spc. Dean Johnson)

Army drones have ‘good chance’ of being picked for Replicator, acquisition chief says

“The idea of the whole DOD, you know, needing to push the envelope and go faster on unmanned capability, I think is a good thing. Replicator is…

Dec 5, 2023 By Jon Harper

An Aerovel Flexrotor unmanned aerial vehicle launches from the deck of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) in the Gulf of Oman, in an image released Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs)

US Navy task forces use slew of drones in recent operation to keep tabs on Iranian military assets

The Navy is pursuing a variety of robotic platforms as it moves toward a hybrid fleet of crewed and uncrewed systems.

Oct 6, 2023 By Jon Harper

Point of Origin: What Comes Next in a World of Advanced Tech Gone Global?

This "useful fiction" story by the authors of Ghost Fleet and Burn-In helps readers visualize how new unmanned technologies, and especially their proliferation to a wide array…

Sep 13, 2022 By August Cole P.W. Singer