AUTOWAR25 Morning Edition
Russia sent 140 attack drones at Ukraine overnight, about half of them jet-powered, while a drone attack on Russia's Voronezh killed two men and likely hitting a petrochemical plant and an aircraft factory. Iran is still pressing its claim that it downed a U.S. LUCAS attack drone, Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield are back to full speed for its drones, and Project Agincourt pledges to scale unmanned capabilities across the joint force. Russia's digital ministry is also telling data centers to go underground and add drone defenses after Ukrainian strikes.
1. Russia launches 140 attack drones at Ukraine overnight, half of them jet-powered, plus four missiles; Ukraine says it downed 112 drones
In "Russian attacks across Ukraine kill 2, injure 35 over past day, as repeated strikes hit Zaporizhzhia" (Kyiv Independent, Oct. 26), Ukraine's Air Force reports 140 attack drones, a Kh-31P anti-radar missile and three Kh-59/69 guided missiles overnight.
- The Air Force says it shot down all three Kh-59/69 missiles and 112 drones.
- About 70 of the drones were jet-powered, BBC Ukrainian and DW report from the Air Force data.
- Zaporizhzhia was hit repeatedly, with eight people injured there over the past day.
- Russian attacks killed at least two people and wounded 35 across Ukraine over the past day, local authorities said.
2. A massive drone attack on Voronezh kills two men, the governor says, and likely hits a petrochemical plant, an Ilyushin aircraft factory and a bridge
In "Drone attack on Russia's Voronezh region kills two men, governor says" (Reuters, Oct. 26), Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev reports deaths and fires at several industrial sites in the city after an overnight drone attack.
- Militarnyi reports the Voronezhsintezkauchuk synthetic-rubber plant, which OSINT Varta links to defense supply chains, was likely hit.
- Local monitors say the Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Company, part of Ilyushin, was also likely struck; it builds the Il-96-400M and parts for other aircraft.
- The Northern Bridge across the Voronezh Reservoir was reportedly struck and closed to traffic.
- Gusev confirmed fires at several industrial facilities but didn't name them; the damage is unknown.
3. Iran's army says it shot down a U.S. LUCAS one-way attack drone over Bandar Abbas and circulates debris photos; CENTCOM hasn't addressed the claim
In "Iranian army says it shot down US drone over Bandar Abbas, Tasnim reports" (Reuters, Oct. 25), Iran's army says its unified air defense network destroyed a U.S. LUCAS drone over the southern port near the Strait of Hormuz.
- The claim comes from Iran's army via the semi-official Tasnim news agency (claim, not independently verified).
- Photos of what Iranian outlets say is the wreckage, including propellers and engine parts laid out on tarps, circulated widely on X on Sunday.
- CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper flew over the Strait of Hormuz on Oct. 25; CENTCOM's account of the visit doesn't mention the drone claim.
- LUCAS is the low-cost U.S. one-way attack drone the Army is training units to employ.
4. Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield are back to full speed for its drones; Elon Musk says Ukraine broke Starlink's terms with drone strikes, and Kyiv says that was impossible
President Zelensky said Oct. 24 that "the speeds are now where they need to be," and Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Starshield was again working above 400 km/h, the Kyiv Independent reports, ending more than a week of limits that disrupted front-line drone work.
- Musk on X: Ukraine's "military violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes to kill people. That loophole was closed last week."
- Zelensky adviser Serhii Beskrestnov: since February, terminals in Ukraine stop working above 70–90 km/h and Starlink is off over Russia, so "we physically cannot use commercial Starlink for deep strikes," Defence Blog reports.
- Moving terminals must be registered and routed through Starshield, which Musk says "is controlled by the US government."
- ISW says Ukrainian officials confirmed unrestricted access on Oct. 24. This follows Sen. Blumenthal's probe into the restrictions, with answers due from the Pentagon by Nov. 5.
5. Project Agincourt marks the 611th anniversary of the battle it's named for, pledging to "rapidly adapt, field, and scale unmanned capabilities across the joint force"
Project Agincourt's official account posted Oct. 25: "611 years later, @SecWar's Project Agincourt is fusing operators with innovators to rapidly adapt, field, and scale unmanned capabilities across the joint force—transforming how we fight and win."
- The post marks Henry V's 1415 victory at Agincourt, where "the longbow changed warfare."
- It follows Secretary Hegseth's one-word "AUTOWARCOM" post on Oct. 24, quoting Owen West's summary of the plan for an Autonomous Warfare Command.
- The Oct. 21 war.gov release says the model measures success by how fast an operational problem gets a fielded, scalable solution.
- The roadmap letter was signed by Owen West and Senior Chief Max Strasiser.
6. After Ukrainian drones hit five Russian data centers, Russia's digital ministry tells operators to go underground, hide from the air and add drone defenses
In "Russian ministry recommends underground data centers following Ukrainian drone strikes" (Kyiv Independent, Oct. 26, citing Kommersant), Russia's Digital Development Ministry sets drone-protection rules for existing, planned and under-construction data centers.
- Sites are split into three tiers; the top tier covers strategic sites whose loss could disrupt key state functions for an hour or more, and placement underground is one of the criteria.
- Existing sites should cut their visibility from the air and add layered defenses: reinforced structures, electronic warfare and counter-drone systems.
- It follows Ukrainian drone strikes on three Yandex data centers, a Sberbank site under construction and a VK data center between Oct. 8 and Oct. 18.
- Kommersant says the rules also call for backups of critical services and coordination with the Defense Ministry and Rosgvardia.
7. Project Meridian's "Future of Warfare" group met at Maritime Big Play in San Diego last week, the Pentagon's technology office says, under a 120-day sprint ordered by the Secretary of War
The Department of War's chief technology office (OUSW(R&E)) posted Oct. 24 that "the disruptive minds of Project Meridian" received briefings from department leaders and held working sessions at the Navy's Maritime Big Play, a day after Secretary Pete Hegseth said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is co-leading the effort.
- The office: "The fight of 2040 is being shaped TODAY," and the Secretary's "120-day sprint mandate is driving bold thinking about the future of combat."
- Hegseth (DoW), personal X account, Oct. 23: the department "will dominate all domains of future fights"; Gingrich had spent an afternoon at the Pentagon on drones and autonomous vehicles.
- Hegseth reposted the technology office's update on Oct. 24.
- The Pentagon still hasn't published Project Meridian's membership, scope or budget.
8. Owen West says Drone Dominance "will soon expand in domain and size" as DIU lines up orders for 60,000 small attack drones from nine companies
Owen West (DoW), personal X account, wrote Oct. 24: "The U.S. invented drones. Yet our military failed to cheapen and scale for troops doing the fighting and dying. Drone Dominance will soon expand in domain and size."
- West: FPVs "were a fitting start to ensure grunts have an option beyond close contact and an endless air permission queue."
- DIU's Gauntlet II leaderboard sets up 30,000 drones in Deep Strike and 30,000 in Close Quarters Battle, per Defence Blog.
- Neros placed in both categories and says it is "delivering 14,000 drones and explosive payloads."
- West did not say which domains come next or when.
9. DARPA's RACER robot team at Fort Knox drove and searched on its own from a satellite-imagery tip to a simulated strike, with a human approving every engagement
In "DARPA tests autonomous vehicles that team up to find enemy targets" (Defence Blog, Oct. 25), DARPA describes the Oct. 15 end-to-end test of four uncrewed ground vehicles running autonomy software from its RACER program at Fort Knox's St. Vith Range.
- DARPA's Dr. Jason Gregory: "We can drop a ten-digit grid on a traversable mobility corridor" and the vehicles drive it "comparable to a human."
- The lead vehicle carried a boxed drone that could scout a target or, armed, attack it from the air.
- Each detection goes to an operator as an image; nothing fires without human approval.
- DARPA is now adding kinetic and non-kinetic payloads; EUCOM asked for the test.
10. A French Atlantique 2 and a U.S. Navy P-8A patrol the Black Sea after drone attacks on at least seven merchant ships off Romania and Bulgaria this month
In "France sends patrol planes to Black Sea after ship attacks" (Defence Blog, Oct. 25), France confirms its Atlantique 2 is supporting rescue efforts under NATO arrangements, and Bulgaria's prime minister says the P-8A began patrolling at Sofia's request.
- Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev: allies responded "very quickly" after attacks in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.
- Romanian President Nicușor Dan blamed Russia for the drone strike that capsized the cargo ship Khoryv off Constanța on Oct. 23; one crew member died and three are missing.
- Romanian F-16s shot down two Russian Geran drones heading for merchant ships on Oct. 17, Romanian authorities said.
- Militarnyi reported Oct. 25 that France's Atlantique 2 has been operating in the region for two weeks as part of NATO missions.
11. A drone attack injures five people and damages an industrial plant in Russia's Perm region in the Urals, the regional governor says
In "Drone attack injures five people, damages industrial facility in Russia's Perm region, governor says" (Reuters, Oct. 25), Perm Krai's governor reports a drone strike on an industrial site.
- Five people were injured, the governor said.
- Reports on X identify the site as the AVISMA titanium works in Berezniki, a major supplier of titanium for Russian military aircraft and missiles; Reuters' headline doesn't name it.
- Perm Krai lies in the Urals, far beyond the Russian regions Ukraine's drones usually hit near the border.
- Ukraine had not commented on the target as of Sunday afternoon.
Sources: Reuters · @Reuters post12. DIU and the Navy's DRPM RAS open SWAP-USV Sprint 2, a prize challenge for drone boats armed with hard-kill counter-air weapons, with proposals due Nov. 30
In "We are scaling distributed maritime air defense" (Oct. 23), the Navy's Direct Reporting Program Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems says it has launched SWAP Sprint 2 with DIU and DRPM UxS, and DIU's solicitation seeks production-ready USVs paired with mature counter-air effectors that can be fielded forward within 120 days.
- Four weapon tracks: Hellfire/JAGM, APKWS rockets, remote weapon stations with Stinger, machine guns or high-power lasers, and other mature effectors.
- Thresholds: 200 nautical miles of range, a 10-knot cruise and engagements beyond 3 nautical miles against Group 1–3 drones and helicopters, under human-in-the-loop control.
- Up to $40 million in prizes for Sprint 2, with $200 million budgeted for follow-on prototype or production deals; in-water testing is planned for early 2027 at Little Creek, Va.
- Project AVO (Autonomous Vehicle Orchestrator) is the primary command-and-control software.
13. Türkiye's navy runs TURNAs-2026, an uncrewed maritime exercise with 25 air, surface and underwater drones; an Aksungur drone drops sonobuoys and a Barkan robot joins a beach raid
Türkiye's Naval Forces Command says TURNAs-2026, running Oct. 19–27 in the Gulf of Antalya and eastern Mediterranean, puts uncrewed air, surface, underwater and amphibious systems into the same scenarios as crewed forces, Defence Blog reports.
- Nine UAVs, seven UUVs and nine USVs, including one-way attack boats, join 18 ships, 11 aircraft and 41 systems from 17 Turkish companies, per the Defense Ministry via Anadolu.
- Turkish Aerospace says its Aksungur long-endurance drone flew a mission with Aselsan's aselBUOY 100P sonobuoys for anti-submarine work.
- HAVELSAN's Barkan ground robot moved with troops in an amphibious raid and urban combat, then evacuated simulated wounded.
- Aselsan says it is building an AI center with the navy to train detection models on underwater acoustic data.
14. Japan's defense minister says the military's two-year-old AI policy can't keep up and needs review, including on leaving decisions to AI
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told the upper house budget committee that the 2024 basic policy on AI use by the Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces needs review because the technology has moved faster than the rules, Defence Blog reports, citing the Nikkei.
- Koizumi: "I feel there is a need to review it." He gave no timeline.
- He said any review would address the question of leaving decisions to AI on its own.
- The 2024 policy names seven priority areas, including target detection, command and control and unmanned assets, and requires human involvement.
- Tokyo cites a shrinking population and SDF manpower shortages as a reason to lean on AI.
Sources: Defence Blog · @Defence_blog post15. AUKUS partners run more than 40 crewed, uncrewed and autonomous systems off Southern California in Maritime Big Play Pacific, "from seafloor to space"
In "U.S., Australia, U.K. Launch Maritime Demonstration to Enhance Interoperability" (war.gov, Oct. 22), the Pentagon says the demonstration runs Oct. 5–26 and is testing how the three nations jointly operate uncrewed maritime systems and share maritime data in real time.
- Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies Michael Dodd: "It's certainly all autonomous systems ... in the domains from seafloor to space."
- Dodd says the goal is to "deter major conflicts by creating a disparity of technological capability."
- Maritime Big Play was the first project under AUKUS Pillar 2's new model and led to its first signature project, announced in May: payloads and enabling systems for uncrewed undersea vehicles.
- Missions named include seabed infrastructure protection, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare and contested littoral maneuver.
Sources: war.gov · Royal Navy16. JIATF-401 lays out its first-year counter-drone model: one buyer for the military and interagency, a drones.mil marketplace and layered "systems of systems"
In "JIATF-401 leads a new era in counter-sUAS defense" (Army Acquisition Support Center, Oct. 22), the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 describes how it buys and fields counter-drone systems for the services and federal partners.
- Col. Tony Lindh leads the task force's rapid acquisition work, using the drones.mil marketplace to move vetted systems to units quickly.
- The task force favors layered sensors, effectors and command-and-control over single-point solutions.
- Interagency partners, including CBP, the FAA, the FBI and DHS, are embedded with the task force to handle domestic authorities.
Sources: asc.army.mil17. The Army is putting cyber and jamming payloads on small drones for its 11th Cyber Battalion to deliver "tailored cyber effects"
In "Army unit experimenting with small drones for 'tailored cyber effects'" (Breaking Defense, Oct. 22), Col. David Bergmann, the Army's project manager for cyber warfare, describes tests of the Radiofrequency Delivery Effects Platform (RDEP) on small drones.
- RDEP lets operators load exploits onto cards and deliver "digital bullets" to blind or gain access to adversary systems.
- The tests mix government-built and commercial payloads for spectrum monitoring and non-kinetic effects at the tactical edge.
- The results will shape standard equipment for the 11th Cyber Battalion and a forthcoming 12th Cyber Battalion.
Sources: Breaking Defense · @BreakingDefense post18. Britain's Royal Navy opens a tender to buy American-made Skydio X10D reconnaissance drones, the quadcopter the U.S. Army ordered by the thousands
In "Royal Navy moves to buy U.S.-made Skydio X10D drones" (Defence Blog, Oct. 25), a Navy Commercial notice on the UK Defence Sourcing Portal puts the buy at an estimated £120,000 (about $160,700).
- Bids are due Nov. 19, with a contract running to March 31, 2027; it doesn't say how many drones or which unit.
- The X10D uses onboard AI to fly around obstacles in darkness, hops channels under jamming and holds position without GPS.
- It's been on the Pentagon's Blue UAS list since May 2024; the Army ordered more than 2,500 for over $52 million in March.
- Spain and Norway have also bought the drone.
Sources: Defence Blog · @Defence_blog post19. Türkiye debuts the jet-powered Ayaz one-way attack drone and flies 20 Kargu drones as a data-sharing swarm at its Ateş Serbest live-fire demonstration
In "Unmanned systems take center stage at Turkish Ateş Serbest military demonstration" (Breaking Defense, Oct. 26), reporting from Ankara describes unmanned systems leading the "Free Fire" exercise held earlier this month.
- Turkish Aerospace's turbojet Ayaz and its Super Simsek both made dive attacks with live warheads for the first time, a company official said.
- Twenty STM Kargu drones hit targets at once, sharing real-time data with each other and the operator before splitting into two groups.
- A Puhu drone carried medical aid and a Palem robot vehicle did casualty evacuation; Aselsan's Ejderha microwave and Gokberk laser systems shot down drones.
- Breaking Defense, like other outlets, accepted travel and accommodations from Türkiye's Defense Ministry.
Sources: Breaking Defense · @BreakingDefense post20. Kyiv's air defense crews say Russia's jet-powered Gerans fly too fast and too high for many of their guns and interceptor drones
In "With Kyiv's air defense crews as they race to keep up with Russia's jet-powered drones" (Kyiv Independent, Oct. 26), reporters spend two days with the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade outside the capital.
- Some jet-powered drones fly about 600 km/h and at 5 to 6 km altitude; the unit's Sting interceptors top out around 320 km/h.
- Soldiers say some newer Gerans carry cameras and mesh radios so operators can watch live video and redirect them in flight.
- Some targets cross a crew's sector in as little as 20 seconds; machine gunners say they have about five seconds to engage.
- Brave1 said Oct. 18 that seven Ukrainian interceptor types had downed jet drones and more than 1,000 had been ordered.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · @KyivIndependent post21. France tested its HELMA-P anti-drone laser on the deck of the carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Gulf of Oman, the French Navy's magazine reports
In "France Tests HELMA-P Laser Anti-Drone System Aboard Charles de Gaulle Aircraft Carrier" (Militarnyi, Oct. 26, citing Cols Bleus via Zone Militaire), the CILAS laser was trialed June 4–8 during the La Fayette 26 mission.
- Installing the system on the flight deck took about four hours; it has a camera turret, LIDAR, laser emitter, cooling unit and control console.
- HELMA-P was first tested at sea on the frigate Forbin in 2023 and guarded the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- It is built to destroy small drones within seconds under France's L2AD laser program.
- The U.S. carrier George H.W. Bush tested the LOCUST laser in October 2025.
Sources: Militarnyi · @militarnyi post22. Myanmar resistance fighters destroy several Chinese-made ZSL-92 armored vehicles with FPV drones, an analyst reports
In "Myanmar rebels destroy Chinese-made armored vehicles with FPV drones" (Defence Blog, Oct. 26), open-source analyst Jesus Roman attributes the strikes to the Monywa Scout group in Sagaing Region.
- The exact number, date and place of the losses weren't disclosed.
- The ZSL-92 is a six-wheeled Chinese infantry vehicle with a 25 mm cannon.
- ACLED counted more than 2,100 resistance drone strikes in Myanmar by mid-2025, mostly with converted commercial drones.
- On Sept. 10, fighters hit a Yak-130 jet at Tada-U Air Base with an FPV drone.
Sources: Defence Blog · @Defence_blog post23. Ukraine's F-Drones is building the F-Jet 80, a jet-powered AI-guided interceptor meant to catch Russia's jet Gerans for $5,000 to $7,000 apiece
In "Ukrainian Company F-Drones Develops Low-Cost F-Jet 80 Interceptor to Counter Shaheds" (Militarnyi, Oct. 25, following a New York Times report), the company says its compact jet engine produces 8 to 10 kgf of thrust.
- Engineers plan to add AI to help the interceptor detect and pursue aerial targets.
- The target price is $5,000 to $7,000 so it can be mass-produced.
- A company engineer says the drone has already intercepted and destroyed several targets.
- Russia now builds about 4,000 jet-powered Geran-4/5s a month, twice its piston Geran-2 output, Militarnyi reports.
Sources: Militarnyi · @militarnyi post24. ISW: the Houthis have fired at least 12 missiles and two drones at Saudi Arabia since Oct. 24
The Institute for the Study of War posted Oct. 25 that the strikes are part of a Houthi campaign meant to impose economic and political costs on Saudi Arabia.
- ISW counts at least 12 missiles and two drones since Oct. 24.
- ISW says the campaign aims to compel Saudi Arabia to give in to the Houthis.
Sources: @TheStudyofWar post25. Ukraine's PUF launches Ban-One, a 370 km/h interceptor drone it says hunts Shahed-type drones
In "PUF unveils Ban-One interceptor with a peak speed of 370 km/h" (Militarnyi special project, Oct. 26), the Ukrainian maker says it designed the drone for speed above all.
- The company says it engages targets at 190–345 km/h and carries up to a 400 g payload.
- It has a modular fiberglass airframe with analog or digital video and day or thermal cameras.
- It has a NATO Stock Number and can be ordered now; it will soon be on Brave1 Market.
- Performance figures are the company's; range and endurance are available only on request.
Sources: Militarnyi special project · @militarnyi post
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How AUTOWAR25 ranks
Every edition, we scan official channels, news, industry, research, and social posts for the 25 most important developments in autonomous warfare: drones, counter-drone systems, uncrewed vessels and vehicles, and military AI.
Stories rank by source first:
- Official means governments, militaries, and their leaders speaking on the record.
- Premium/Press means established news outlets.
- Industry/Research means companies, think tanks, and published research.
- Social means notable posts from analysts, reporters, and practitioners.
Within each group, newer stories rank higher and engagement breaks ties. A company press release stays out of the top 10 until someone else reports on it. Ongoing marks a developing story, and Carryover marks one from a previous edition that's still moving. Claims from warring parties are labeled as claims, and anything we couldn't independently confirm is marked unverified.
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