AUTOWAR25 No. 19A · Morning Edition
South Korea stood up a Defense Drone Headquarters to steer drone and counter-drone development across its services, with plans to buy more than 20,000 low-cost combat drones. Ukraine's military intelligence published a teardown of Russia's enlarged Gerbera-2, a 1,200 km drone with anti-jam navigation and a camera built to spot interceptors. The Marine Corps is still seeking heavy-fuel cargo drones for a winter fly-off, and a NATO capability chief says alliance drone defense is now a sprint.
1. South Korea stands up a Defense Drone Headquarters to run drone and counter-drone development across all services, with plans to buy more than 20,000 low-cost combat drones
South Korea's Ministry of National Defense launched the Defense Drone Headquarters on Monday in Pocheon, north of Seoul, replacing the Drone Operations Command as a "drone control tower" for strategy, development, testing and acquisition support.
- Vice Defense Minister Lee Doo-hee presented the unit flag to headquarters chief Kim Deuk-bong; the old command's operational units move to the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, with the Joint Chiefs coordinating operations.
- The ministry plans to rapidly acquire more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable combat drones and speed up K-LUCAS, its long-range loitering munition program, Yonhap reports.
- Seoul is introducing a fast-track certification system modeled on the U.S. Blue UAS list and localizing batteries and motors to cut reliance on China.
- The headquarters will have about 100 personnel, down from roughly 280 at the former command headquarters, the Korea Herald reports.
2. Ukraine's military intelligence tears down Russia's enlarged Gerbera-2: 1,200 km range, a 25 kg warhead load, and a camera built to spot incoming interceptor drones
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (HUR) says Russia has started using an upgraded Gerbera-2 strike-reconnaissance drone with a 3-meter wingspan and a 63-liter fuel tank that gives it a 1,200 km range.
- The drone carries a 10 kg OFZBCh-10 fragmentation-incendiary warhead plus bags of incendiary gel, for a total combat load of 25 kg, HUR says.
- Avionics include a 12-channel Kometa anti-jam satellite receiver, a Chinese-made mesh modem and a new "Sosiska" video module on a Chinese single-board computer.
- A dual-lens camera is set up to detect incoming Ukrainian interceptor drones; foreign electronics come mainly from U.S. and Chinese makers.
- An armed Gerbera-2 was recovered on Poland's Baltic coast in September, NV reports, showing its reach beyond Ukraine.
3. The Marine Corps wants heavy-fuel cargo drones that carry 100 pounds 40 nautical miles out and back, with one operator flying up to four
The Navy's Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems has invited U.S. companies to a Huntsville, Alabama, demonstration from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, 2027, for the Marine Corps' Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS) Increment II.
- Requirements include 100 lb out to 40 nm and back, or 150 lb out to 10 nm, heavy-fuel or hybrid power, and cruise of at least 50 knots.
- One operator should control up to four aircraft, with natural-language voice commands and navigation without GPS.
- Applications are due Nov. 30 and participants will be notified by Dec. 18; a prototype Other Transaction award is possible.
- Increment II is meant to replace the TRV-150C used in TRUAS today.
Sources: Defence Blog · SAM.gov notice NAWCAD-SN-26-TRUASII (posted Oct. 30)4. Latvia launches its homegrown BLAZE interceptor drone at an airspace intruder near the Russian border, then self-destructs it when the target leaves
Latvia's National Armed Forces (NBS) say they used the Latvian-made BLAZE interceptor drone against an unidentified object that entered Latvian airspace over the Krāslava and Ludza districts on Sunday evening.
- An orange alert was issued for the two districts around 19:00 local time; the object left Latvian airspace toward Russia at about 19:16 without being intercepted, LETA reports.
- At 19:19, near the Latvia–Russia border, NBS activated BLAZE's self-destruct mechanism to avoid any risk of a border violation, and an explosion was heard, the military said.
- Some social posts claimed a shoot-down; the NBS account and LETA do not say the intruder was hit.
- It is the first publicly reported operational use of a Latvian interceptor drone against an airspace intrusion.
5. A NATO capability chief says alliance drone defense is now "a sprint," with more than 30 countries and 100 companies testing layered C-UAS and AI targeting in Latvia
Maj. Gen. Arnoud Stallmann, NATO's assistant chief of staff for multi-domain capability, told the Jerusalem Post's Defense & Tech that drone incursions on the eastern flank have forced the alliance to compress innovation cycles from decades to months.
- NATO FUSE in Latvia on Oct. 29–30 combined the Digital Backbone eXperimentation (DiBaX), the Layered Counter-UAS Initiative (LCI-X) and Next Generation Targeting.
- Stallmann said more than 30 countries and over 100 companies took part, and funding is already allocated for this year and next.
- He called for lower-cost intercept options instead of fighter jets and missile interceptors against small drones.
- NATO is exploring a common command architecture that national and industry systems can plug into across borders.
6. Russia launches 193 drones at Ukraine overnight, 75 of them jet-powered Shaheds, forcing emergency power cuts in Kyiv
Ukraine's Air Force says Russia launched 193 strike drones from 6 p.m. Sunday, including Shahed-type drones, Gerberas and Parodiya decoys, and that 154 were shot down or suppressed by 8 a.m. Monday.
- Of the Shahed-type drones, 75 were jet-powered; 58 jet drones were among those downed, the Air Force said.
- Hits were recorded at 26 locations, with debris at nine more; one person was killed in Izium and dozens were injured in the Kharkiv and Odesa regions, Kyiv Post reports.
- Emergency power outages were introduced in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, and more than 60,000 consumers in Dnipropetrovsk lost electricity, RBC-Ukraine reports.
- Defenders used aircraft, missile units, electronic warfare, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups.
7. Ukrainian drones reportedly hit a major oil pipeline station in Russia's Samara region, a day after the Kstovo refinery strike
Ukrainian monitoring channels say drones struck the Samara Linear Production and Dispatch Station in Prosvet, about 835 km from Ukraine's border, overnight on Nov. 2; residents filmed smoke over the area.
- Ukraine's General Staff has described the station as a pipeline node that blends oil from western Siberia into export-grade fuel; it was also hit on Oct. 7.
- The Kyiv Independent says it could not independently verify the target or damage.
- Senior Ukrainian officials told the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv never agreed to pause strikes on Russian oil sites on Oct. 31.
- The Moscow Times also reports the strike on the oil transport hub.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · The Moscow Times8. The Saudi-led coalition says it struck Houthi resources used to build up ballistic missiles and drones, then intercepted a Houthi drone and missile
Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said Sunday's operation targeted resources the Houthis use "to bolster their military capabilities, particularly ballistic missiles and drones," and threats to Yemen, Saudi Arabia and southern Red Sea shipping.
- The coalition's Joint Forces Command launched the operation in response to Houthi attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, Al-Maliki said.
- Later Sunday, he said air defenses intercepted a drone and a ballistic missile launched toward the kingdom's southern region.
- The coalition released strike footage and said it would keep taking military measures.
- Target locations and damage were not independently confirmed.
Sources: Arab News · Saudi Press Agency9. A Russian drone strike near a school dormitory housing displaced families in Koziatyn kills a 13-year-old girl and a woman
A Russian drone hit the grounds between a vocational-school dormitory and an educational building in Koziatyn, Vinnytsia Oblast, on Nov. 1, regional authorities said.
- Six other people were injured, including four children; a five-year-old was reported in critical condition.
- The dormitory housed internally displaced people.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · Ukrainska Pravda10. FlightGlobal: the coming Autonomous Warfare Command leaves open who controls the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft
A FlightGlobal analysis by Lizzie Rix published Monday says AUTOWARCOM could reshape control of the Air Force's CCA program as the Department of War accelerates autonomous warfare.
- The open questions are CCA authority, acquisition and which responsibilities stay with the Air Force, the piece says.
- AUTOWARCOM is planned as a four-star functional combatant command with its own budget and acquisition authorities, targeted for Oct. 1, 2027, under the Sept. 30 Project Agincourt memo.
- The Air Force has ordered General Atomics' FQ-42A and Anduril's FQ-44A into production for CCA Increment 1, aiming for at least 500 by 2032.
Sources: DoW Project Agincourt memo (PDF) · FlightGlobal11. Saab unveils the CB90 CX, an optionally crewed combat boat built for uncrewed operation from day one, with anti-ship, air-defense and ISR versions
Saab has unveiled CB90 Capability X, an 18-meter optionally crewed version of its Combat Boat 90, with Sweden as launch customer and the first boat in final acceptance trials, Naval News reports.
- All CB90 CX boats are prepared for uncrewed operation, run by Saab's Autonomous Ocean Core software from a remote station or through AI functions.
- Configurations: ISR with a Sea Giraffe 1X radar on an 11-meter mast, anti-ship with MBDA Marte ER missiles, and short-range air defense with Rheinmetall's Seasnake 30 gun against drones and loitering munitions.
- Saab is also developing drone-launch options (tube-launched and quadcopters) and torpedoes.
- Payload rises from about 3 tonnes to well beyond 5 tonnes; Saab is doubling production capacity at Docksta.
12. Naval Group shows off SEAQUEST-S, an armed frigate-launched uncrewed boat with a rocket launcher, in a live demo ahead of Euronaval
During the Euronaval 2026 press tour, Naval Group subsidiary Sirehna gave a live demonstration of SEAQUEST-S, a 9.3-meter multi-role combat USV designed to launch from frigates using their existing launch and recovery systems.
- The boat on display carried a single RAMPART-type launcher module configured for 15 rockets; payload options include missiles, small torpedoes, depth charges and containers of loitering munitions.
- It reaches 35 knots, has a 220 nm range (expendable up to 530 nm) and runs in remote-controlled or autonomous modes.
- Naval Group's STEERIS mission system lets one operator in a frigate's combat information center plan and supervise drone missions.
Sources: Naval News13. Anduril says it is ready to pitch its Fury collaborative combat aircraft to India, including possible local production
An Anduril official told India's IDRW that the company would formally pitch the Fury, built as the U.S. Air Force's YFQ-44A, to Indian Air Force headquarters if India shows interest, and is exploring local production in several countries.
- Any export would need U.S. government approval, and an Indian version could need changes to mission systems, software and sensors, plus integration of Astra Mk1/Mk2 missiles.
- The company says it is in talks with Australia, Germany and other European countries; 94% of the YFQ-44A's components are commercially available, per the official.
- India's only active CCA effort, HAL's CATS Warrior, is self-funded and not yet cleared for Ministry of Defence funding, IDRW notes.
Sources: IDRW · Plano Brazil14. Taiwan detains the chairman of drone maker Align over Chinese-made chips found in drones sold to the military
Taichung prosecutors detained Align Corp. chairman Tu Ta-sen and deputy general manager Huang Wen-li on suspicion of violating the National Security Act, after army inspectors found chips marked "CN" in Align drones at acceptance.
- Prosecutors say at least two military contracts worth NT$8 million or more involved drones with Chinese-made chips.
- The Interior Ministry says the immigration agency will block delivery of 30 Align drones bought through a reseller.
- It is the third such prosecution of a Taiwanese drone supplier since August.
- Defense Minister Wellington Koo says the military is still checking its inventory.
Sources: Taiwan Drones weekly roundup15. RSF drones hit a power station and oil pumping station at Haya in eastern Sudan, the second strike there in three days
Rapid Support Forces drones targeted the Haya electrical transformer station and a nearby oil pumping station on Oct. 31, setting fires and damaging both, Sudan Tribune reports.
- The pumping station sits on the pipeline carrying crude to the Bashayer port on the Red Sea.
- More than 13 electricity distribution stations in seven states have been badly damaged in the drone campaign, causing wide outages.
- Sudan's government accuses Ethiopia of letting the drones launch from its territory; Ethiopia denies it.
Sources: Sudan Tribune · Arab News16. Taiwan taps a retired air force lieutenant general to run its Global UAV Academy and folds the foreign ministry's drone-diplomacy task force into it
Lee Ting-sheng, Taiwan's deputy representative to the Philippines and a retired air force lieutenant general, will return to become CEO of the Global Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Academy (GUAVA), the Taipei Times reports, citing a source.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Drone Diplomacy Task Force will merge into the privately funded GUAVA, which the source said frees it from public-sector limits on commercial deals, technology transfer and joint production.
- At GUAVA's opening last week, a former Czech parliament speaker said Czech firms including AVEC Systems, JISER and Farpoint want to assemble drones in Taiwan, the Taipei Times reported Oct. 31.
Sources: Taipei Times · Taipei Times (Czech assembly)17. Romania's Border Police makes counter-drone equipment a priority in about €200 million of 2026 investments
Inspector General Cornel Laurian Stoica named counter-drone equipment, a bigger drone fleet and new patrol vessels as priorities, AdriaDefense reports from his interview with Aleph News.
- The €200 million covers all of the agency's investments, not a dedicated counter-drone budget.
- Eight patrol vessels are proposed through the EU's SAFE program.
- More than 40 border cameras have been upgraded, some with AI-supported threat identification.
- No counter-drone supplier, contract value or delivery date was named.
Sources: AdriaDefense18. A Ukrainian interceptor drone kills a Shahed in footage filmed from two drones at once
The interceptor drone company of Ukraine's Raid 413th Regiment released video of its interceptor destroying a Russian Shahed-type drone, recorded both by the interceptor and by a drone from a neighboring unit, Defense Express reports.
- The two-camera view shows a mid-air interception from separate perspectives, a rare look at how drone-on-drone air defense works.
- Interceptor drones are a cheaper answer to Shahed-type drones than missiles, though success depends on detection and tracking, the outlet notes.
Sources: Defense Express19. U.S. soldiers and airmen in Germany train on RD-SUADS, a counter-drone system that fits on one cargo pallet
Soldiers and airmen at Grafenwoehr Training Area trained on Trust Automation's RD-SUADS, a self-powered system to detect, track, identify and defeat small drones at bases and forward sites.
- It fits on a single 463L cargo pallet and can run on its own for four days.
- An earlier assessment reported engagements at 2–6 km and a 75–80% defeat rate, according to press coverage.
Sources: Defence Blog · cUAS Hub20. An uncrewed MQ-9B carrying Saab's LoyalEye radar tracks fighters, airliners and ships in airborne early warning tests
GA-ASI and Saab say flight tests at GA-ASI's Desert Horizon facility validated detection, tracking and classification of airborne targets, including instrumented fighter jets and commercial aircraft.
- The system tracked airborne and maritime targets at long range at the same time, the companies say.
- It is part of an evaluation that began with the pod's first flight in May 2026.
- The pitch is uncrewed airborne early warning for distributed battle management.
21. FIU and Brookhaven researchers detect small drones from the magnetic field their motors leak, with no radar
A passive sensor picks up extremely-low-frequency magnetic emissions from drones' brushless motors and uses a neural network to tell drone types apart.
- Outdoor tests reached 98.52% detection accuracy at up to 15 m and 83.5% accuracy across four drone classes.
- The system transmits nothing, so it is hard to detect, and costs a few hundred dollars, DroneXL reports.
- Brookhaven National Laboratory's Soumyajit Mandal worked with the FIU team.
22. Ondas pitches its counter-drone portfolio at FEMA's new $250 million C-UAS grant round, now open to all 50 states
Ondas says its Aerial Security portfolio is positioned for FEMA's Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Grant Program, whose second $250 million phase extends eligibility to all 50 states, five territories and D.C.
- The first $250 million went to jurisdictions hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup and America 250 events; the 2028 Olympics and torch relay are priorities for the new round.
- Ondas will join a Nov. 9 drone-security grant forum hosted by the White House Task Force on the 2028 Olympics, DRONERESPONDERS and the Commercial Drone Alliance.
- Its offering includes Sentrycs cyber-over-RF takeover, Dronebuster handheld jammers and the DefenseOS command-and-control layer.
Sources: UAS Vision (Ondas release)23. Taiwan's AerosoarX signs with Rajant and SiMa.ai to build an AI-enabled FPV drone and argues for production spread across countries
AerosoarX, founded in April by Taiwan National Drone Industry Association chair Max Lo, signed memorandums with Rajant for mesh networking and SiMa.ai for onboard AI processing.
- Lo said SiMa.ai's Modalix was the only processor that met his 50 TOPS target within the drone's power budget.
- The company aims for production readiness of a 15-inch AI-enabled FPV drone in November.
- Lo named Phase III of the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program as a 2027 target.
- He argued for assembly in several countries so a blockade can't stop production.
Sources: Taiwan Drones weekly roundup24. AURA M will show its ENBATA long-endurance maritime surveillance drone at Euronaval, which opens Nov. 3
AURA AERO's defense arm says ENBATA is a sovereign long-endurance drone for maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue.
- Its open architecture takes maritime radars, electro-optical sensors, AIS receivers and sonobuoys.
- It is the company's first Euronaval, held Nov. 3–6 at Paris Nord Villepinte.
Sources: Commando Magazine25. India's HoverIt launches a Divyastra deep-strike loitering munition from a Mahindra Thar on a dirt track
Lucknow-based HoverIt has passed 55 flight trials across its Divyastra family of loitering munitions, including launches from a pickup on a dirt track with no runway or rocket boosters, according to a post with video.
- Divyastra Mk1 completed Indian Army field demonstrations at Jodhpur in June 2026, the post says.
- The jet-powered Mk3 made its first flight on Aug. 11 with a DG Propulsion engine, the Times of India reported, with an indicative range of 300–400 km.
Sources: @DefenseNewsIN on X · Times of India
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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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