Divergent Technologies and Mach Industries designed, built, and flew Venom, a new autonomous strike aircraft, in just 71 days. Divergent 3D-printed the airframe as large monolithic assemblies, including wings, fuselage sections, and control surfaces, eliminating traditional tooling and dramatically reducing part count. Mach Industries led system architecture and integration, adding to four products it has taken from concept to flight test in the past 18 months.

As the US military pushes for "affordable mass," the bottleneck isn't just designing better drones, it's manufacturing them fast enough and cheap enough to field in the thousands. Divergent says its additive production system can scale to thousands of airframes per year without building legacy factory infrastructure. Mach recently secured a production contract, though details remain undisclosed. Venom's specs (range, payload, unit cost) haven't been released, but the production speed alone validates a manufacturing approach that could reshape how quickly the Pentagon turns drone concepts into fielded weapons. Pentagon leadership ties it directly to the "Drone Dominance" strategy and affordable mass production.

DARPA's LongShot program, now officially designated X-68A, completed full-scale wind tunnel tests, parachute recovery trials, and weapons-release demonstrations as it moves toward first flight from an F-15 before the end of 2026. Built by General Atomics, the air-launched drone carries AIM-120 AMRAAMs in an internal bay and is powered by a Williams WJ38-15 turbojet (the same engine in the Taurus cruise missile, suggesting high subsonic speed). The concept: launch the drone forward into higher-risk airspace so it can fire its own missiles, extending the reach of the launch platform while keeping it further from threats.

Leonardo will deliver its SONUS passive acoustic detection system to the British Army's 5th Regiment Royal Artillery under an £18.3 million contract, with the UK accelerating procurement by five years under Project SERPENS. SONUS detects acoustic pressure waves from gunfire, mortars, and explosions to pinpoint both point of origin and point of impact without emitting any electronic signature, keeping operators invisible to enemy detection. The system is 50% smaller and 70% lighter than its predecessor, deploys in under three minutes, and builds on Leonardo's HALO platform. Thirteen armed forces currently operate HALO variants, including six NATO nations.

Liquid Robotics will supply 20 autonomous surface vehicles to Japan under a $25 million Foreign Military Sales contract awarded by the US Department of Defense. The sole-source deal covers control software, payload integration, and launch/recovery equipment, with work running through February 2028. Though the contract doesn't name the specific platform, Liquid Robotics builds one USV: the Wave Glider, an autonomous vessel propelled by ocean waves with solar-powered sensors, capable of operating for months without fuel or crew. Japan tested the system during Talisman Sabre 2025 and has since earmarked $640 million for SHIELD, a coastal defense network integrating unmanned air, surface, and underwater assets across its southwestern island chain.

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