In First, Two CCAs Fly Air Combat Maneuvers Using Autonomy Software
Two of the US Air Force’s FQ-44A Fury drones have flown air combat maneuvers together under the control of autonomy software, a first for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. During a test on October 26 at the Nevada Test and Training Range, the two Anduril-built aircraft flew in formation and carried out beyond-visual-range air-to-air maneuvers against a virtual threat, directed by Shield AI’s Hivemind software. No pilot was airborne. An operator on the ground gave the pair high-level directions, and the software coordinated how the two aircraft flew. Shield AI, which announced the flight on November 9, says the test was successful.
The Read: This builds on the October 8 test in which an F-22 pilot directed a single FQ-44A from the cockpit. Shield AI describes the new flight as a full tactical air-to-air engagement, with the software coordinating two aircraft rather than one. Air Force officials have discussed ratios of one crewed fighter to between two and five CCAs, and more recently up to eight, which depends on software that can manage a formation with minimal input from the pilot. Shield AI says the next steps are larger teams, “teams of teams,” and moving aircraft between teams in flight. Live weapons firings will come later, with no date announced.
A YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Combat Aircraft taxis on the runway during testing \\ U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Renee Blundon via Shield AI
\\ Signal Watch
LUCAS Drones To Be Built In Containerized Robotic Micro Factories Designed To Be Forward Deployed \\ TWZ
California robotics startup Machina has received a $9 million, 18-month contract from the Pentagon’s Organic Industrial Base Modernization Challenge to build metal airframes for LUCAS, the US military’s low-cost one-way attack drone derived from Iran’s Shahed-136. Under the contract, Machina will develop and qualify a LUCAS-class airframe, then set up two pilot “Edge Factories” at deployed locations. Each factory consists of one or two containerized RoboCraftsman cells, in which robotic arms form flat metal sheets into aircraft parts directly from a digital design, without part-specific tooling. CEO Ed Mehr says each cell can produce a LUCAS airframe in two to five days, depending on size. Machina has already flown a half-scale LUCAS airframe made with the system at Edwards Air Force Base. The company is not working with SpektreWorks, which designed and built the LUCAS drones already in US service, and the award is the largest in Machina’s history.
A Machina RoboCraftsman robotic cell forming a LUCAS drone airframe \\ Source: Machina.
\\ Quick Links
Land & Aviation
F-35B Releases Meteor BVRAAM for the First Time \\ The Aviationist
Rafael’s new Super Ice cruise missile packs 1,000-pound warhead \\ AeroTime
US Air Force to arm C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft with FAMM-P cruise missiles to supplement bomber mission \\ Army Recognition
U.S. Air Force unveils 2026 plan to sustain combat operations when key systems are disrupted \\ Defence Industry Europe
Japan develops its own UGVs, up to 10 tons, for its military \\ Defence Blog
Drones & Counter-Drone
Our Best Look Yet at China’s GJ-11 UCAV \\ The Aviationist
Plans To Fly Talon Blue CCA Drone From British Carrier Confirmed By Northrop Grumman \\ TWZ
Japan Intercepts Chinese WZ-7 High-Altitude Drones Flying Through Miyako Strait \\ The Aviationist
MQ-58 Valkyrie Drones Now Cost $6M-$8M Each \\ TWZ
The expanding role of unmanned helicopters: ANAVIA’s HT-100 \\ Defence Industry Europe
Space, Naval & Strategy
General Atomics Ranger UUV to Support Large Payloads, UAVs \\ Naval News
German company STARK says its uncrewed Vanta 24 Baltic patrol vessel can carry anti-ship missiles \\ Defence Industry Europe
“We’re rolling out an early program called the Navy Innovation Unit right now, where we’re taking 15 reservists who are already within our lifelines, who have jobs in high-caliber Silicon Valley organizations, putting them against our harder problems, and then matching them with 10 folks to start who are directly from the private sector — founders and CEOs who are high agency, they are AI natives who understand the challenges of architecture, understand the challenges of reindustrialization — and bringing them in as lieutenant commanders or commanders, O4s and O5s, in the service directly and say … ‘we’re going to give you a chance to go run wild within our systems and help us get better.”
\\ Beyond the Beam
California startup aims to turn cow manure into sustainable jet fuel \\ AeroTime
Advanced coating can alter a drone's radar signature \\ TechXplore
Scientists find way to shape fragile materials for next-gen devices at room temperature \\ Interesting Engineering
A closer look at the GJ-11 from the top \\ Source: PLA Video screenshot
\\ Opportunity Intel
DoD pushes out 3 loans totaling $450M to bolster US space companies \\ Breaking Defense
DISA shops for modernized identity prototype to support shift to zero-trust security \\ DefenseScoop
U.S. special forces want a helmet display with drone control \\ Defence Blog
US Air Force seeks anti-drone nets for F-35 shelters at Tyndall \\ AeroTime
EU sets out $3.4B defense budget for 2027, boosts Ukraine spending \\ Breaking Defense
NATO opens C-UAS marketplace to expedite counter-drone procurement \\ Army Technology
U.S. National Defense Strategy calls for ‘supercharging’ America’s defense industrial base \\ Defence Industry Europe
Europe must shoulder more of its own defence, says minister \\ UKDJ
Never miss a story. The best defense tech news, curated weekly directly to your inbox.
Hit reply anytime
I read every message and would love to hear what's working, what's missing, or what you want to see more of.
