unmanned aerial systems Archives

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hosts a drone demonstration at the Pentagon, July 10, 2025. The event was hosted to portray the Secretary of Defense’s initiative of Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alondra Y. Lopez Gonzalez)

Pentagon could award just 3 vendors for biggest phase of Drone Dominance Program

The Pentagon anticipates buying 150,000 drones in the final phase of the initiative.

2 days ago By Jon Harper

YFQ-42 aircraft sit on the flightline at a California test location as part of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft flight test campaign. (Courtesy Air Force photo)

Air Force begins testing mission autonomy package for CCA prototypes

General Atomics and Anduril are working with Collins Aerospace and Shield AI, respectively, to integrate mission autonomy software onto their CCA prototypes and conduct semi-autonomous flights.

3 days ago By Mikayla Easley

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 22, 2022) The large unmanned surface vessel Nomad, front, medium displacement unmanned vessel Sea Hunter, right, and large unmanned surface vessel Ranger transit the Pacific Ocean to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler R. Fraser)

Navy exploring options to solve its ‘unmanned dilemma’

The service’s new warfighting directions rely heavily on the integration of surface, undersea, and aerial drone swarms across the fleet.

4 days ago By Brandi Vincent

A YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft takes off during flight testing at a California test location. (Courtesy photo)

Marine Corps brings General Atomics into CCA program for autonomy development

The Marines will use General Atomics’ YFQ-42A aircraft to evaluate how the service’s future loyal wingman drones will integrate with and fly alongside crewed fighter jets.

5 days ago By Mikayla Easley

A U.S. Marine with III Marine Expeditionary Force familiarizes himself with maneuvering drones during the Marine Corps Attack Drone Competition on Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 7, 2025. During a two-week period, the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team trained and certified 3rd Marine Division Marines as attack drone operators, attack drone instructor, and payload specialist instructors, increasing the Division’s lethality and capacity of trained and certified attack drone operators and instructors. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joaquin Dela Torre)

Marine Corps seeks troops with small drone and AI expertise for warfighting lab fellowship

The solicitation for nominations was released Friday via a MARADMIN message.

6 days ago By Jon Harper

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Henry David Volpe, an automotive maintenance technician with 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Combat Readiness Regiment, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, poses for a photo with the HANX drone he designed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jan. 23, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alfonso Livrieri)

Marine awarded for designing the Corps’ first fully NDAA-compliant 3D-printed drone at $700 a pop

Marine Sgt. Henry David Volpe, an automotive maintenance technician with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, was credited as having led…

Feb 4, 2026 By Drew F. Lawrence

A Neros Archer first-person view drone takes off from the ground during a service level training exercise at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, Jan. 27, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Keegan Jones)

Pentagon names 25 vendors to compete for $150M in delivery orders during first phase of its Drone Dominance Program, ‘the Gauntlet’

The much-anticipated announcement marks the first of a four-phase approach to fielding one-way attack drones and a crucial nexus for the military’s sprint to adopt and widely…

Feb 3, 2026 By Drew F. Lawrence