Air16:36 UTC
Fleet Of At Least 500 Collaborative Combat Aircraft By 2032 Now In USAF’s Plans
500 CCAs is a step up from recently stated USAF plans, and the service also now wants 500 more new drones to succeed its MQ-9s.
News
Defence-tech coverage, by category and date
Stories collected from verified industry feeds, categorised deterministically and linked back to the companies they name. Headlines and summaries belong to the publishers named on each row.
Showing 31–60 of 347 stories
This week30
- Air16:00 UTC
AFSOC gunship launches new Havoc Spear cruise missiles at targets in Africa during combat operations
The system was pursued via a U.S. Special Operations Command CRADA with Leidos.
- Air15:28 UTC
Textron, Merlin offer unmanned Cessna Skycourier for Pacific island resupply
“We can’t devote C-130s and C-17s to do a lot of these little shuttle missions,” said retired Maj. Gen. Kyle Kremer, a Merlin advisor.
- Air14:51 UTC
Air Force plans to field 500 CCA drones by 2032
General Atomics’ platform is now known as the FQ-42A Vengeance, while Anduril’s has been officially designated the FQ-44A Fury, SECAF Troy Meink said Monday.
- Air14:33 UTC
U.S. Nuclear Control Mission Could Dramatically Evolve Under Looking Glass-Next
Branded Content: Modernizing command, control, and communications network is critical for the future nuclear era.
- Air13:34 UTC
Directed Energy for Counter-Drone Laser Effector
DroneShield today announced the expansion of its open counter-drone architecture to include AIM Defence’s Fractl high-power laser effector, extending its … mehr...
- Air13:12 UTC
Drone maker unveils ‘low-cost’ alternative to MQ-9 Reaper
Swarm Aero said its Gamera design will deliver more capabilities than the MQ-9 Reaper at a fraction of the cost.
- Air13:00 UTC
Swarm Aero debuts Gamera drone in bid to succeed Reaper
“What we’ve done cuts against the conventional wisdom,” Swarm co-founder and chief revenue officer Oliver Palmer told Breaking Defense. “And what we’ve done instead is create a very simple, non-stealthy aircraft that’s optimized for extreme range.”
- Air12:39 UTC
EIAS 2026 – New Russian cruise missiles on show
The Sukhoi Su-57E performed at EIAS26 on all three days of the show. Every morning the export version of the
- Air10:05 UTC
Lockheed Plans to Fly ‘Vectis’ CCA by End of 2027, Already Working on More Aircraft
Lockheed Martin’s proposed autonomous drone, called Vectis, is still on track to fly a prototype by the end of 2027, an official from the company’s Skunk Works division said Sept. 10, and the firm already started work on four more Vectis aircraft.
- Air10:01 UTC
Everything We Just Learned About The Vectis Collaborative Combat Aircraft From The Skunk Works
We have new details on Lockheed's tailless CCA, including about its exotic "submerged" air inlet and how its design puts a premium on survivability.
- Air10:01 UTC
Lockheed boosts bet on Skunk Works’ Vectis stealth drone
Lockheed now plans to build five Vectis prototypes, with the first on track to fly in 2027.
- Air10:00 UTC
Lockheed’s Skunk Works plans to build four more of its multirole combat drones
The firm’s top secret research arm shared new Vectis images, but few key details.
- Air08:20 UTC
► DroneShield and AIM Defence collaborate on directed energy in counter-drone architecture
Collaboration with AIM Defence brings high-power laser technology into DroneShield’s layered counter-drone ecosystem, expanding customer engagement options through an open
- Air08:03 UTC
Could the next UAS market boom take place beyond the battlefield?
While the headlines remain dominated by the use of drones for combat operations in Ukraine and other conflicts, there are emerging use cases where the technology could usefully feed back into areas and missions outside the war zone.
- Air07:23 UTC
Australian Air Force Declares IOC For LRASM And JASSM-ER Air-Launched Strike Missiles
The RAAF announced Initial Operational Capability for two new air-launched, long-ranged anti-ship and land attack-missiles.
- Air02:37 UTC
Former AFCENT Commander Reflects on Lessons of Epic Fury
Operation Epic Fury marked the U.S. military's largest air campaign in a generation, with strikes on 13,000 targets in Iran before the first in a series of shaky ceasefires began in April. Now, even as hostilities continue to flare up, Lt. Gen. Derek C. France sees several clear lessons that highlight the challenges of major combat operations today, compared to decades of counterterrorist operations in the Middle East.
- Air21:34 UTC
First-Ever Kill Of A Drone Boat By Another Drone Boat Claimed By Ukraine
The machine gun attack of one drone boat on another is the latest milestone in uncrewed surface vessel warfare.
- Air22:24 UTC
Adversaries Using Claude AI To Target Americans And Develop Missiles Is A Sign Of What’s To Come
A new report from Anthropic presents a stark picture of how malign actors are using commercially available U.S. AI services despite safeguards.
- Air19:41 UTC
Concurrent attacks across multiple domains force rethinking of air-and-missile-defense
While overall effectiveness is high, damage to US bases and assets in the Iran conflict shows gaps in air-and-missile-defense.
- Air18:17 UTC
Air Force Tests Ground Stations for Commanding CCAs, Eyes Contract Next Summer
The Air Force announced Aug. 13 it recently tested prototypes for a portable ground station for commanding and controlling semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and a spokesperson now says the plan is to award a contract for the effort next summer.
- Air17:41 UTC
Support for Patriot air-and-missile defense is a case study for the industrial base
[Sponsored] Manufacturing scale, global sustainment, and next-gen tech are becoming inseparable.
- Air17:38 UTC
Pentagon looks to AI to identify space and missile threats
The Pentagon is seeking artificial intelligence that can cut through the confusion of missile defense.
- Air17:13 UTC
France Accelerates Rafale F5 Upgrade After Collapse Of FCAS Next-Gen Fighter Project
France is investing in a new Rafale configuration, along with drone wingmen, that aim to carry French tactical aviation deep into the 2030s.
- Air16:26 UTC
Canada, Ukraine to jointly produce defense tech, part of ‘100-year partnership’
Ottawa also pledged to invest approximately $350 million to purchase air defense interceptors via the Joint Ukraine Multinational Program, also known as JUMPSTART.
- Air16:15 UTC
Air Force BMT Puts Finishing Touches on 1st Airbase Training Range—and Plans for More
Under a late summer sun, Air Force basic trainees practice safely rearming a retired F-16 Fighting Falcon at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, with mock AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Nearby, a bulldozer levels the ground where the rest of this first new airbase training range will sit.
- Air15:04 UTC
CEO of Ukraine’s Fire Point: Freyja anti-ballistic missile program seeks ‘best players’
Iryna Terekh said that when working with European companies, she prefers those that “work and think in Ukrainian speed and [with a] Ukrainian mindset.”
- Air14:01 UTC
What we’re watching for at AFA 2026
Breaking Defense’s Aaron Mehta and Michael Marrow preview anticipated developments at this year’s AFA conference.
- Air13:50 UTC
German military eyes cruise missiles from Covenant, a surprise vendor setting up shop
The German military is in talks with Covenant over the company's Anthem cruise missile, the country’s defense ministry said on Friday.
- Air10:19 UTC
GA-ASI’s Uncrewed Combat Aviation Portfolio Answers Call for High-End Warfare Capability
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the company that introduced the world to unmanned warfare, has systematically transformed its aircraft lineup to address the defining requirements of modern high-technology warfare: range, persistence, payload, survivability, and scale against advanced adversaries. The...