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Ukraine’s Defense Procurement Agency has signed contracts for ‘tens of thousands’ of interceptor drones, according to director Arsen Zhumadilov speaking in an interview published on July 14th. The U.S. decision to supply more Patriot air defence missile batteries to Ukraine is vital to protect against Russian missiles. But stopping the massive drone onslaught is a job for far more numerous interceptor drones. The Numbers Game The strength of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones lies in their vast numbers. The low-cost drones fly at around 120 mph, with similar performance to a WW1 aircraft, and are just as easy to shoot down....

The U.S. Army’s ‘Leonidas’ Uses Directed Energy to Instantly Fry Entire Drone Swarms

The Navy has a perplexing mystery on its hands. For several weeks in 2019, unknown objects stalked U.S. warships off the coast of southern California. While the bizarre "drone" encounters remain unsolved, the incidents occurred in an area with a long history of UFO sightings, including two of the most credible encounters on record. According to documents reviewed by The Drive, the first reports of unidentified objects hovering and flying near Navy vessels sparked a sweeping, high-level investigation. The Navy, working with the FBI and Coast Guard, now appears to have ruled out civilian activity or U.S. military operations as...

The Pentagon has announced sweeping new changes intended to surge the fielding of small drones, including weaponized types, across the entire U.S. military. Most notably, certain types of smaller uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) will now be treated as “consumables,” more akin to hand grenades and other kinds of ammunition, than aircraft, which has broad ramifications. Lower-level commanders will now also be able to procure smaller UASs directly, as well as authorize subordinates to operate them. The new policies rolled out today represent a huge shift that could not come soon enough for the U.S. military, which has continued to move...

PALMDALE - Northrop Grumman Corp. will build three unmanned X-47B aircraft and their associated systems under a $1 billion contract awarded Wednesday. The contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is part of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems demonstration program, intended to produce the technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering munitions. The three vehicles will be assembled at Northrop's facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. Company officials, however, do not foresee a large increase in employment at the site due to this contract, said Jim Hart, Northrop spokesman. The X-47B is expected to begin...

....autonomous airplane that would launch and recover on Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and conduct strike and other missions — without the hands-on controls of an onboard pilot... FULL STORY

House Republicans are calling on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to expedite a national security review of Chinese drone manufacturers like Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited (DJI Technologies) pursuant to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. In a letter to ODNI signed by representatives Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Rick Crawford, R-Ark.; and John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the lawmakers requested timely execution of the review as drone technology quickly accelerates. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month prioritizing the accelerated integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into U.S. national airspace. But before that fully...

Toll Aviation has signed a deal to bring a new AI-based uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to Australia. V-BAT, made by US-based company Shield AI, is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS that its manufacturer says can meet “a broad array of civil and defence mission requirements” through its capacity for multi-mission payload sets.

A new fleet of shark-monitoring drones will be sent to New York coastlines in response to a frightening spate of bites and sightings near Long Island this week, state officials said Friday. The state is fighting shark attacks with dozens more of the battery-powered devices — which track the man-eaters from above — after five people reported being bitten in waters off Long Island during a two-day period, state park officials said. “We are now more vigilant than ever,” said George Gorman, the state’s park director in Long Island. “We have drones in the sky that watch over the waters....

Executive Order on Protecting The United States From Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems National Security & Defense Issued on: January 18, 2021 Share: All News By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that additional actions are necessary to ensure the security of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) owned, operated, and controlled by the Federal Government; to secure the integrity of American infrastructure, including America’s National Airspace System (NAS); to protect our law enforcement and warfighters; and to maintain...

The Air Force's 89th Airlift Wing is reviewing a report after people traveling aboard Air Force One on Sunday saw an object that appeared to be a drone as the plane was landing at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. "We were making the approach, but not yet in the final landing run. I saw a thing with a kind of X shape and part of it was yellow. That's all I can say," a witness told CNN. "This was a brief moment, obviously, but not flashing by," the witness said. "I had long enough to do a double take, then...

Drone technology offers the potential to change our world... But the technology also has a dark side. It can be used to spy on us, to threaten our critical infrastructure, or to attack crowds and public places. For years, the Department of Homeland Security has worried about the dangers of unmanned aerial systems, and we have sought the legal authority to protect Americans against corrupted aerial devices. Today I have a pressing message for Congress: Time is running out. As secretary of homeland security, I can tell you that threat is outpacing our ability to respond. Without congressional action, the...

FORT HUACHUCA — A new major will take command of the Marine Corps detachment on Fort Huachuca Friday. When Maj. Daniel E. Lindblom hands over command to Maj. Michael B. Manna, it will mark another milestone: He is retiring after 20 years of service. Lindblom said he’s enjoyed his time at Fort Huachuca. “It's difficult to identify a particular high point. What I have enjoyed most is the support that our detachment has received from both the base and the city of Sierra Vista. Whether it was our relocation to our new barracks, fundraising for our annual birthday ball or...

Save PHOENIX — An Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) used for public safety flew above the capitol grounds in Phoenix on Wednesday, Jan. 17, during the 13th annual Aerospace Days at the Capitol. Hosted by the Aerospace States Association and Aerospace Arizona, the goal of the event was to educate legislators on the commercial uses of UAS, including agriculture, ranching, mining operations, inspecting large aircraft, and real estate. Demonstrations and displays regarding UAS uses, legislation, regulation, safety and technical issues, adorned the capitol lawn as legislators and citizens learned about the uses and economic impact of the aerospace industry, specifically as...

The world's best-selling drone-maker is adding a privacy mode to its aircraft to prevent flight data being shared to the internet. The announcement comes a fortnight after it emerged that the US Army had prohibited its troops from using the Chinese firm's equipment because of unspecified cyber-security concerns. DJI told the BBC that it had already been working on the new facility, but had speeded up development after the ban. The mode should be launched next month. DJI previously faced security fears in 2016 after a member of its staff told reporters that the firm had repeatedly shared customer data...

The Pentagon has given US military bases permission to shoot down or otherwise destroy consumer drones flying overhead and nearby. A spokesman revealed that guidance was issued on 4 August. He said the exact terms of the policy were classified. The move comes days after the US Army ordered its own troops to stop using drones made by Chinese manufacturer DJI because of alleged "cyber-vulnerabilities". It became illegal to fly personal drones within 400ft (122m) of the US's 133 military facilities in April. The Federal Aviation Administration announced at the time that those who disobeyed the order would face financial...

The Trump administration is asking Congress to give the federal government sweeping powers to track, hack and destroy any type of drone over domestic soil with a new exception to laws governing surveillance, computer privacy and aircraft protection, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The draft bill’s language would authorize the government to summarily track, seize control of and use force to destroy any unmanned aircraft it determines may pose a security threat to an area designated for special protection. The government would have to respect “privacy, civil rights and civil liberties” when exercising that power,...

http://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

On Monday, the FAA will launch its online registry for drone operators with the aim of collecting personal information from the owners of these unmanned aircraft. But according to a report from Forbes, all those names and addresses will eventually be publicly available. Which seems... kinda scary? Over at Forbes, John Goglia says he’s been poking the FAA for answers ever since the FAQ about registration went up. Of particular concern are two contradictory statements from the FAA and DOT. The FAA says only their agency and a contractor will have access to the personal information collected. The DOT says...

If you own a drone, you must register it with the Federal Aviation Administration's Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) registry. A federal law effective December 21, 2015 requires unmanned aircraft registration, and you are subject to civil and criminal penalties if you do not register. More info and FAQ at the link