AUTOWAR25 Morning Edition
The Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Dan Caine, named AI, which he calls "super intelligence," one of his three strategic priorities, and the Navy's drone-boat chief said uncrewed craft in the Iran war have topped 1,000 hours, exposing hard lessons in sustainment and electronic warfare. Russia hit Ukraine overnight with a ballistic missile and 88 drones, a day after two drones were shot down near Baghdad's Green Zone. The U.S. and South Korean air chiefs signed a letter of intent on autonomous collaborative platforms, and the XQ-67A flight and DIU's on-base driverless-vehicle pilots round out the top stories.
1. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine names AI, which he calls "super intelligence," as one of his three strategic priorities, ahead of ongoing operations
In "Caine Says Super Intelligence Is a Strategic Priority" (DoW News, Oct. 27), Gen. Dan Caine tells the NDTA-U.S. Transportation Command fall meeting in Grapevine, Texas, that his priorities are "No. 1 ... a budget. ... No. 2 is [super intelligence], and No. 3 is ongoing operations."
- Caine says SI will be essential for winning tactical engagements, logistics and sustainment, and command and control.
- He expects the volume of kinetic and cyber actions between the U.S. and an adversary to be "significant" enough to need machine help.
- He stresses training leaders, systems and models while keeping humans appropriately involved, and says the military must match the private sector's "speed and tempo."
- "Super intelligence" is the term a Sept. 29 executive order directs agencies to use in place of "artificial intelligence," Defence Blog notes.
2. The Navy's drone-boat chief says some uncrewed craft in the Iran war have topped 1,000 hours, and the fight is teaching hard lessons on sustainment and electronic warfare
In "Iran War Teaching Navy to Prioritize Sustainment, EW in Future Maritime Robots" (National Defense, Oct. 27), Christopher Miller, the Navy's direct reporting portfolio manager for robotic and autonomous systems, tells the Ironclad Maritime Summit that sustainment must be planned sooner.
- "I've got craft out there that are pushing over 1,000 hours now that were never intended for that," Miller says.
- Uncrewed systems need alternatives to GPS; "We have learned some hard lessons in the Centcom [area of responsibility]" about operating under electronic warfare, he says.
- Rear Adm. Melvin Smith, commander of the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Warfighting Development Center, says manpower-heavy drones are "untenable in the long term" for expeditionary use.
- Lessons from theater are already going into the next gear sent for the same missions, Smith says.
Sources: National Defense · @NationalDefense post3. Two drones are shot down near Baghdad's Green Zone as the U.S. Embassy's air defenses activate, Iraqi officials say
Iraq's Security Media Cell says a loud blast heard across Baghdad on Tuesday afternoon came from the interception of a drone near the fortified Green Zone, and Iraqi security sources tell Reuters the U.S. Embassy's air defenses detected two drones approaching the perimeter and shot them down.
- Security Media Cell head Lt. Gen. Saad Maan tells Kurdistan24 the drone carried no explosives, calling it "a failed attempt" rather than an attack, with no casualties or damage.
- Debris was recovered at two locations, and a technical team is investigating where the drones were launched.
- Security sources tell The New Arab the embassy's C-RAM system brought down two surveillance drones; officials did not confirm which system was used.
- No group has claimed responsibility; the embassy has faced repeated rocket and drone attacks by Iran-backed militias since the Iran war began in February.
4. Russia launches a ballistic missile and 88 drones at Ukraine overnight; air defenses down or jam 71, including 31 jet-powered Shaheds
Ukraine's Air Force says Russia attacked from 6 p.m. Oct. 27 with an Iskander-M/S-400 missile from Taganrog and 88 Shahed (38 jet-powered), Gerbera and decoy drones plus S8000 Banderol/Dan-T missiles, Ukrainska Pravda and Ukrinform report.
- As of 8 a.m., 71 drones were shot down or suppressed, including 31 of the jet-powered Shaheds.
- Hits were recorded at eight locations and debris fell at two; several drones were still in the air.
- Aviation, missile units, electronic warfare, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups repelled the attack, the Air Force says.
- This follows Monday night's attack of 280 drones and ballistic missiles centered on Kyiv.
5. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach and South Korea's air chief sign a letter of intent to cooperate on autonomous collaborative platforms
Gen. Ken Wilsbach posted Oct. 27 that he and ROK Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Son Sug Rag "signed a letter of intent to advance U.S.-ROK collaboration on autonomous platforms" at the Sacheon ADEX air show.
- Yonhap reports the Oct. 22 letter covers manned-unmanned teaming, including interoperability and mission-data sharing.
- Korean outlets say the two air forces plan to work together from the early development stage of unmanned aircraft that team with crewed fighters.
- Neither side has released the text of the letter or named specific programs.
6. AFRL and Air Combat Command fly the XQ-67A autonomous collaborative platform with new mission systems and beyond-line-of-sight links over Nevada
In "Air Force Research Laboratory completes flight of XQ-67A, advancing autonomous technology" (AFRL, Oct. 27), the lab says it and ACC's Experimental Operations Unit flew the XQ-67A in the Nevada Test and Training Range under the Demon APE project.
- The flight integrated new sensors, mission computers and power and thermal management hardware.
- Beyond-line-of-sight datalinks and live, virtual and constructive simulation showed management of uncrewed platforms across distributed theaters, AFRL says.
- "By pairing AFRL's rapid prototyping with ACC's operational test units, the Air Force is shortening the timeline between concept and warfighter capability," says Col. Matthew Caspers.
- The General Atomics-built XQ-67A is a testbed feeding the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort.
7. DIU picks Fort Benning and Fort Hood for on-base driverless-vehicle pilots and advances five teams to Phase III of its $30 million ROADS challenge
The Defense Innovation Unit said Oct. 27 that Fort Benning and Fort Hood will host the next phase of the Robotic Operations for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment (ROADS) prize challenge, which brings commercial driverless-car technology to the department's non-tactical vehicle fleet.
- Advancing to Phase III: Forterra with May Mobility, Applied Intuition, Perrone Robotics, Overland AI with Gatik, and Bot Auto, DIU says.
- Phase III is a 3–4+ month on-installation pilot with small fleets, with up to $10 million available to selected companies, according to the solicitation.
- DIU says ROADS will set the operational, safety and installation processes to move commercial autonomy "toward repeatable deployment" across the department.
- The $30 million challenge, run with the Army, targets a fleet of more than 150,000 non-tactical vehicles.
Sources: @DIU_x post · diu.mil (ROADS launch)8. Russia hits Kyiv with ballistic missiles and 280 attack drones overnight, striking a university campus, the Southern Bridge and medical facilities
Ukraine's Air Force says Russia launched Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles and 280 Shahed, Gerbera and decoy drones from 6 p.m. Oct. 26, with Kyiv the main target, and that 255 drones and two missiles were shot down or jammed by 9 a.m., the Kyiv Independent and Ukrinform report.
- 69 of the Shahed-type drones were jet-powered; 56 of those were downed, the Air Force says.
- Hits were recorded at 25 locations and debris fell at 16; several drones were still in the air at the time of the report.
- At least one person was killed and 15 injured in Kyiv, including a paramedic and a university student, the State Emergency Service says.
- President Zelensky says Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles and calls the strike on the Southern Bridge "a serious escalation" against Ukraine's logistics.
9. U.S. Marines fly live-warhead Neros Archer one-way attack drones into targets at Camp Fuji, Japan, for the first time
In "Marines Test Neros Archer at CATC Camp Fuji for First Time" (DVIDS), Battalion Landing Team 1/1 of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit flies the first-person-view strike drone in its live kinetic variant on Oct. 20 at the foot of Mount Fuji.
- Both flights, including an anti-armor ambush scenario, destroyed their targets with no unexploded drones left on the range, Defence Blog reports from the release.
- "Neros Archer is the current Marine Corps' program of record for one-way attack drones flown by a first-person view pilot," says Camp Fuji Gunner CWO2 Stephen Bilbo.
- The pilots were junior Marines trained in a three-week course, per the battalion.
- It follows the Marines' first live-fire FPV training in South Korea in July and August, with strikes out to about 20 km.
10. Saudi air defenses shoot down four Houthi drones and three ballistic missiles aimed at the kingdom, the Saudi-led coalition says
In statements carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki says four drones launched toward the Southern Region and three missiles aimed at the Eastern Province were intercepted, with no casualties.
- Saudi Civil Defense issued alerts around 3 a.m. local time for the Eastern Province and Al-Kharj before giving the all-clear.
- The coalition also reported downing three drones over Riyadh and the southern region on Monday evening, Al Jazeera reports.
- A Houthi attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport this month killed at least 13 people.
- There was no immediate Houthi comment.
11. 1st Armored Division soldiers fold a Skydio X10 drone and a VMAX electronic warfare system into Combined Resolve 27-01 training at Hohenfels
U.S. Army Europe and Africa posted Oct. 27: "During Combined Resolve 27-01 at Hohenfels, Soldiers from 1st Armored Division integrated a Skydio X10 unmanned aircraft system and VMAX electronic warfare system into training scenarios."
- The post, headed "Eyes up. Signals on.," shows soldiers with the small drone and electronic warfare gear in the field.
- Combined Resolve is the multinational rotation run by the 7th Army Training Command in Germany.
- The Army has not released details on how the systems were used in the scenarios.
Sources: @USArmyEURAF post12. SOUTHCOM's commander says autonomous systems are "not just for testing anymore" and wants a river-reconnaissance mix of drone boats, aircraft and underwater vehicles for the counter-drug fight
In "EXCLUSIVE: SOUTHCOM chief seeks unmanned river solution as he embraces autonomy" (Breaking Defense, Oct. 26), Gen. Francis Donovan says he wants a "tailorable mix of unmanned surface, air and sub surface autonomous platforms" to map how criminal networks use South and Central American rivers.
- Saronic Corsair drone boats moved to Guantanamo Bay are now deployed on both sides of the Panama Canal, assisting local forces and canal security, Donovan says.
- SOUTHCOM's Autonomous Warfare Command (SAWC) runs a training and test site at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay that is open to allies, agencies and industry: "We are open for business."
- Autonomous systems "will be used to take the fight to the enemy," he says.
- The interview took place Oct. 13.
Sources: Breaking Defense13. The Navy and Marine Corps demo a Maven Smart System air-defense dashboard that puts incoming threats and available defenses on one screen
In "Navy, Marine Corps demonstrate prototype air-defense decision tool at WTI" (Department of the Navy release), the Maven Smart System Regional Air Defense Commander Dashboard C2 Tool is shown Oct. 5 at Weapons and Tactics Instructor course 1-27 at MCAS Yuma.
- The Navy's Overmatch Rapid Capability Cell built the prototype inside the existing Palantir-built Maven environment in under two months, Defence Blog reports.
- Project Dynamis and Task Force Maven led the Marine side, with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing as sponsor.
- "Ready-to-use C2 tools are critical," says 3rd MAW assistant wing commander Brig. Gen. Dolberry Jr.
14. The Pentagon's technology office warns that "any narco terrorist drone" entering U.S. airspace "will be completely DESTROYED"
The Department of War's chief technology office (OUSW(R&E)) posted Oct. 27: "Any narco terrorist drone that attempts to invade American skies will be completely DESTROYED. DEFEND THE HOMELAND."
- The post drew more than 750 likes within hours and was reposted by Patrick Weaver, deputy chief of staff to the Secretary of War.
- The office did not name a program, unit or incident tied to the warning.
- Secretary Hegseth the same day reposted SOUTHCOM's meeting of defense leaders from 19 Western Hemisphere nations in the Dominican Republic.
Sources: @DoWCTO post15. 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.
16. 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.
- DIU posted updated FAQs on Oct. 26, including how to obtain the Category 1 technical data package; The Defense Post also covered the sprint.
17. 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.
- Saronic says it fielded three Corsair drone boats across the three nations, including a pier resupply run with communications partly denied, Defence Blog reports Oct. 27.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. MacDill Air Force Base trains with JIATF-401 on two drone interceptors: the net-firing Paladin and the ramming Bumblebee V2
In "A new sting in drone defense: Bumblebee V2 arrives at MacDill" (6th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs, Oct. 23), the base shows 6th Security Forces Squadron defenders training Oct. 8 with Joint Interagency Task Force 401 on counter-drone interceptors.
- Paladin, a six-rotor drone from Zone 5 Technologies, fires net rounds that tangle a target's rotors, avoiding bullets or fragments over the base, Defence Blog reports.
- The Bumblebee V2 brings down hostile drones by direct collision and is described as a low-cost option for layered base defense.
- The Air Force hasn't said how many systems took part, whether live intercepts happened or whether it will buy Paladin.
- MacDill hosts CENTCOM and SOCOM headquarters.
22. The Army picks AWS and World Wide Technology for a $2.6 million Project Griffin pilot to build autonomous, agentic cyber defense
In "U.S. Army launches Project Griffin to automate cyber defense" (Defence Blog, Oct. 27), the Army says it chose the two companies Oct. 23 to build a platform that can find and stop network threats with little human involvement.
- Griffin is one of three fast-tracked efforts under Project ARDS (Army Rapid Defensive of Cyber Systems).
- "We will swiftly implement SI-enabled cyber tools to detect, divert and deceive threat actors," says Brandon Pugh, principal cyber advisor to the Army secretary.
- Project Manager, Cyber Warfare runs the pilot; the Army didn't say how the money is split or how long the pilot lasts.
Sources: Defence Blog · @Defence_blog post23. Quantum-Systems shows its Reliant long-range VTOL drone armed with 82 mm mortar rounds and 40 mm grenades
In "German drone maker unveils armed version of its Reliant spy drone" (Defence Blog, Oct. 28), Quantum-Systems Inc. CEO Dave Sharpin shares images of the reconnaissance drone carrying mixed munitions on its wing hardpoints, crediting partner Orbital.
- Reliant is a Group 2 hybrid-electric VTOL drone with a 3.9 m wingspan and more than 10 hours of endurance.
- The armed configuration grows out of a version built for U.S. customers with hardpoints that can drop munitions or smaller drones.
- The company has also shown Reliant as a carrier for Neros' Archer FPV attack drone.
- Quantum-Systems has offered Reliant to the German military and U.S. buyers.
24. Skyborne's Cerberus MI, a reusable drone that fires 40 mm grenades or shotgun rounds and flies home to reload, joins the Blue UAS Cleared List
In "Shotgun-armed drone gets Pentagon green light" (Defence Blog, Oct. 27), Skyborne Technologies says its 18 kg Group 2 Cerberus MI can now be bought and flown across the U.S. military without a policy exception.
- It carries a HAVOC 40 mm grenade launcher or CHAOS 12-gauge shotgun and flies about 35 minutes armed.
- EXITUS AI targeting software computes firing solutions from more than 300 meters, with a human deciding to fire.
- Skyborne pitches it as a reusable alternative to one-way attack drones on the Blue UAS list.
Sources: Defence Blog · @Defence_blog post25. A Ukrainian ground-robot unit commander says strike UGVs saved about 2,500 lives in the "Vivaldi" operation, carrying out more than 200 strikes
Analyst David Kirichenko posted Oct. 27 a quote from The Defender's interview "How 'Makar' is building the NC13 ground strike drone unit and what role it played in 'Vivaldi'": "Thanks to striking UGVs in Vivaldi, about 2,500 lives were saved."
- The quote says the robotic systems carried out more than 200 strikes and 94 assault and sabotage operations "without risk to Ukrainian troops."
- The figures come from the unit commander and haven't been independently verified.
- Samuel Bendett reposted the post.
Sources: @DVKirichenko post · The Defender interview
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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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