AUTOWAR25 No. 20P · Afternoon Edition
Shield AI showed the first full-scale prototype of X-BAT, its jet-powered, tail-sitting stealth combat drone backed by $200 million in Navy funding. France launched a government-industry pact to field naval drones faster, while Naval Group and Turkey's MKE unveiled drone-carrying warship and USV designs at Euronaval. In the U.S., the Army tested five vendors' autonomous minefield-breaching drones, and the Navy set a January demo of cargo drones for the Marines.
1. Shield AI shows the first full-scale X-BAT prototype, its jet-powered, tail-sitting stealth combat drone backed by $200 million in Navy funding
Shield AI released video of X-BAT 001, the first of two full-scale prototypes of its vertical takeoff and landing combat drone, as it moves from Frisco, Texas, to the company's flight test site in Newton, Kansas, TWZ reports.
- The prototype has the F110 engine and full propulsion path, with a thrust-vectoring nozzle derived from the 1990s AVEN F-16 test program.
- The Navy has put $200 million into the effort under its Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program, run by the Navy's Rapid Capabilities Office with DIU; Shield AI matched it.
- Testing starts on its launch-and-recovery trailer, then crane-suspended flight in Kansas, before untethered flights; Shield AI's Hivemind software will fly it.
- The company aims to fly a fully missionized X-BAT in 2028 and start series production in 2029.
Sources: TWZ2. France launches a government-industry "pact" to field naval drones faster, and orders seabed, mine-hunting and uncrewed combat underwater vehicles
Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin announced the naval drone pact on the first day of Euronaval, modeled on France's push to field aerial drones, Defense News reports.
- France will buy a second 6,000-meter-rated ROV Deep Sea drone from LD Travocean and eight A18 countermine robots from Exail.
- The navy will also buy a second uncrewed combat underwater vehicle from Naval Group, over 10 meters long and more than 10,000 kg, built to stay at sea for weeks.
- Seabed control and protection of undersea cables and pipelines are central aims.
- A separate deal with Naval Group and MBDA doubles Aster missile cells on FDI frigates from 16 to 32.
Sources: Defense News3. The Army runs five vendors' autonomous breaching drones through minefield drills at Fort Hood, with a downselect planned for early 2027
Army engineers tested five companies' drones last week for the XM123 Autonomous Breaching System, which aims to keep soldiers out of minefields, Inside Defense reports.
- The effort marked its one-year point on Oct. 29 at its fifth industry touch point.
- Vendors brought drop munitions, one-way strike concepts and mothership drones that can clear buried mines.
- Results will shape a downselect and possible contract awards in early 2027.
Sources: Inside Defense4. The Navy's robotic and autonomous systems office plans a January demo of cargo drones for the Marine Corps' tactical resupply mission
The Navy's Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Robotic and Autonomous Systems will hold the demonstration starting the week of Jan. 25 in Huntsville, Alabama, according to a Friday notice, Inside Defense reports.
- It will evaluate aircraft and enabling technology for the Marine Corps' Unmanned Logistics System-Air (ULS-A) distribution mission.
- The Marines want an organic aerial drone to move supplies to small, dispersed units.
Sources: Inside Defense5. Troops at the southern border train with the Bumblebee V2 interceptor drone, which knocks smuggling drones out of the sky by collision
U.S. Northern Command's Joint Task Force-Southern Border, Airmen and contractors trained on the Bumblebee V2 counter-drone interceptor near Chaparral, New Mexico, on Oct. 21, according to NORTHCOM material reported by Unmanned Airspace.
- Bumblebee V2 is a first-person-view quadcopter built to physically intercept small hostile drones; a DOD photo shows a test drone it brought down.
- The training aims to expand interoperability and test interdiction of illegal drone activity at the border.
- Bumblebee maker Perennial Autonomy holds a $500 million JIATF-401 ceiling contract; NORTHCOM earlier tested the drone at Falcon Peak 26.2 in September, Defence Blog reported.
6. Iran releases footage of what it says are the two U.S. LUCAS drones it downed near the Strait of Hormuz, as video circulates of an intact LUCAS being moved by boat
After the IRGC claimed two LUCAS shootdowns over Bandar Khamir on Tuesday, Iranian state media released footage and photos of what it says are the downed drones, Press TV reports.
- Separate video circulating online shows an apparently intact LUCAS being moved by boat in the Persian Gulf; posts say it was brought down by electronic warfare, which is unconfirmed.
- If authentic, an intact airframe would be an intelligence prize for Iran; the U.S. has not commented.
- Iran's army claimed a LUCAS over Bandar Abbas in October and another in July.
7. OpenAI hires former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as its first Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization
OpenAI said Monday that Driscoll, the 26th Secretary of the Army, will advise its leadership and outside partners on how advanced AI can strengthen national and cyber security, with a focus on U.S. allies, Reuters and CNBC report.
- The role is newly created; he will also help OpenAI teams understand the operational needs of national security institutions, building on OpenAI's Daybreak cyber-resilience program, CNBC reports.
- "I'm joining OpenAI to help the U.S. and our allies put this technology to work responsibly, for the people who keep us safe," Driscoll said.
- As Army secretary he pushed to expand allied access to drone and counter-drone technology, according to an earlier Army announcement.
- He stepped down earlier this year after months of reported tensions with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
8. Saab unveils its own family of AI agents for air combat, flight-tested on a Gripen E and built to fly with a pilot or from an uncrewed aircraft
Saab says its in-house AI agents handle tactical decision-making and were tested on a Gripen E fighter, mostly in beyond-visual-range combat, Breaking Defense reports.
- A new AI Fighter Jet Pilot Academy will "create, train and evaluate" the agents, which can work alongside a pilot in the cockpit or run their own uncrewed aircraft.
- Saab plans to use the technology in its A1, A2 and A3 uncrewed aircraft, on the path to a loyal wingman drone.
- Training compute comes from Sferical AI, an Nvidia DGX SuperPOD effort Saab helped found; one simulated hour equals about a billion human flight hours, Saab's Peter Nilsson said.
- It follows 2025 flights in which Helsing's Centaur AI flew a Gripen through BVR maneuvers.
Sources: Breaking Defense9. Naval Group unveils SCX26, a stealthy 8,000-ton destroyer concept built as a drone mothership with an onboard drone workshop
The SCX26, unveiled at Euronaval, is a research concept with a large internal mission bay for aerial, surface and underwater drones that Naval Group describes as a small onboard drone factory, TWZ reports.
- The 558-foot ship has split superstructures carrying a new UHF radar and Sea Fire-derived AESA radar.
- Weapons include up to 96 Sylver VLS missiles, an electromagnetic gun and a proposed 100 kW laser.
- An AI-enabled, data-centric combat system would coordinate uncrewed systems; crew is about 150.
- Naval Group also showed mass-launcher boxes for drones on an FDI frigate.
Sources: TWZ10. Turkey's MKE debuts an armed PIRANA uncrewed surface vessel that carries eight tube-launched drones and controls kamikaze boat swarms
MKE revealed the PIRANA Armed USV at its Euronaval debut, with three times the weight and ten times the payload of earlier variants, Naval News reports.
- It acts as a command-and-control node with RF, SATCOM and LTE links for swarming attacks by PIRANA kamikaze boats carrying 100 kg warheads.
- The payload bay holds 1,000 kg; the Euronaval model showed eight tube-launched UAVs.
- Range is 400 nautical miles at more than 35 knots, for patrol, EW and communications roles.
- The design draws on trials with the Turkish Navy.
Sources: Naval News11. Russia fires 289 drones and about 60 missiles at Ukraine overnight; Ukraine's Air Force says 257 drones and 49 cruise missiles were downed
The attack began at 6 p.m. on Nov. 2 and mainly targeted the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with Shaheds (120 of them jet-powered), Gerbera and Parodiya decoys, plus 59 cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, the Air Force said.
- Air defenses downed or suppressed 257 drones, including 89 jet-powered Shaheds, and 49 cruise missiles by 9 a.m.
- Hits were recorded at 23 locations; in Dnipro a heat and power plant was struck and 15 people were injured.
- In Kharkiv, guided bombs hit a medical facility and at least 73 people were injured.
12. KNDS and SeaOwl team up on a fast uncrewed surface vessel armed as a naval loitering munition
KNDS and SeaOwl Technology Solutions signed a cooperation agreement at Euronaval to develop and test a USV carrying a qualified KNDS warhead for offensive and defensive missions, KNDS said.
- The craft is rated at 35 knots with a 30 kg payload and a combat range of up to 200 km, with reduced radar and optical signatures.
- It navigates autonomously, but the decision to engage and fire stays with a remote operator, the company said.
- This is a company announcement; no customer was named.
Sources: KNDS release13. MBDA and UAE firm SIRBAI agree to explore AI targeting and swarming for MBDA's UAE-built loitering munition
The memorandum of understanding, signed at Euronaval, covers feasibility studies, technical requirements and demonstrations for integrating SIRBAI's AI into MBDA's Diamond-Shaped loitering munition, the companies said.
- Proposed functions include automatic target detection and swarm intelligence, with human supervision.
- It could lead to follow-on agreements; SIRBAI calls it UAE-Europe industrial cooperation.
- This is a company announcement.
Sources: Zawya (release) · SIRBAI on X14. South Korea's defense technology institute warns the country's counter-drone systems can't keep up with swarms of cheap attack drones
A report from the state-run Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement says fielded systems are limited against swarms of medium-sized attack drones like those used in the U.S.-Iran war, The Korea Herald reports.
- The problem is cost: cheap drones can drain expensive interceptors; the report cites CSIS estimates that U.S. Patriot stocks fell about 65% from February to late July.
- Jamming-based systems are weak against autonomous drones; lasers struggle with weather, as when the Cheongwang laser downed only two of four targets on Oct. 1.
- It calls for layered defense with EW, interceptor drones, lasers and high-power microwave weapons.
- Authors are researchers Jung Yoon-sik, Kim Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-won.
Sources: The Korea Herald15. ParaZero unveils TillOnAIR, a reusable net-capture interceptor drone guided from the ground to catch fiber-optic and autonomous drones
The system pairs a ground control unit, a quadcopter interceptor and ParaZero's DefendAir net launcher to detect, engage and capture hostile drones without jamming or a warhead, NextGen Defense reports.
- Detection and guidance run on the ground, so the interceptor needs no GPS, camera or seeker.
- It protects a 50 to 100 meter radius, weighs about 15 kg and sets up in about 20 minutes; only the net pod is replaced after a catch.
- One ground station can direct several interceptors; demos for Israeli military and security groups are planned this month.
Sources: NextGen Defense16. The FBI's National Counter-UAS Training Center graduates its largest class yet: 32 police officers from 30 agencies in seven states
The FBI Critical Incident Response Group said its National Counter-UAS Training Center (NCUTC) graduated its first class of fiscal 2027 on Nov. 2.
- It was the center's largest class so far, CIRG said.
- Graduates came from 30 agencies across seven states.
Sources: FBI CIRG on X17. Russia is fitting drones and missiles with bigger anti-jam antenna arrays, up to 32 elements on Shaheds, to beat Ukraine's electronic warfare
Russia's Kometa navigation modules use arrays of patch antennas to keep satellite navigation working through jamming; 16-element arrays are in use at scale and 20-element arrays are entering serial production, Ukraine's military intelligence says, Defense News reports.
- Shaheds with 32-element antennas have been found attacking Kyiv, said Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Zelenskyy.
- "It is easier for the enemy to increase the number of elements on an antenna than it is for us to add electronic warfare sites," he said.
- Ukrainian units say multi-band jamming (L1 plus L2/L5) and networked GPS spoofing can still defeat them.
- Russian firms ordered more than 100,000 Kometa modules this year, HUR says.
Sources: Defense News18. Perseus Defense releases video of its two-foot Harpe interceptor, aimed at under $10,000 a shot, knocking a drone out of the sky
CEO Jason Cornelius posted the eight-second clip on Nov. 2, calling it the first drone kill by an "attritable" missile, Defence Blog reports.
- Harpe is about 61 cm long with a stated 2 km range; the company targets a price below $10,000 per shot.
- The "first" label is the company's own; laser-guided rockets have also downed drones, Defence Blog notes.
- In September Perseus fired its Mk-III, which it says cost about $2,500 each to build, at Falcon Peak 26.2, a NORTHCOM, NORAD and JIATF-401 counter-drone experiment.
- The Texas startup went through Y Combinator in 2025 and has raised $6.5 million in seed funding.
Sources: Defence Blog19. As Euronaval opens with a record 700 exhibitors, former French admirals warn navies that are slow to adopt drones "die"
"If you're too slow, you die," retired Rear Adm. Guillaume Merveilleux du Vignaux told The National, as Paris's Euronaval show opens this week with 700 companies, up 70% from 2024.
- Vice Adm. Didier Maleterre, former French commander in Abu Dhabi, describes a coming "hybrid fleet" of crewed warships with drone ships and submarines, driven by threats at chokepoints like Hormuz and the Red Sea.
- A crewed frigate costs about €200,000 a day to deploy, officers in Toulon said, versus far less for drones.
- Systems on show include Naval Group's Seaquest boats with Rampart missiles, Exail's Drix and submarine-launched aerial drones.
- Merveilleux du Vignaux cautions that large uncrewed platforms will struggle in rough seas without people aboard.
Sources: The National20. Zodiac Milpro, the military inflatable-boat maker, unveils its first uncrewed surface vessel, the 40-knot Equinox 930, at Euronaval
The 9.3-meter, 5.5-tonne Equinox 930 carries more than 800 kg of payload, tops 40 knots and has a range of more than 600 nautical miles, Mer et Marine reports.
- Its Vessel Control System handles remote control, waypoint programming and platform monitoring, and is built to work with different autonomy software.
- A configurable mission bay and 360-degree optronic surveillance target ISR and protection missions.
- It is built for automatic launch and recovery by davit and can move by road, in a 40-foot ISO container, from a ship or by air.
Sources: Mer et Marine (French)21. Ukrainian drones set fire to the Yaroslavl refinery, one of Russia's largest, as Moscow claims it downed 856 drones overnight
Yaroslavl governor Mikhail Yevrayev said air defenses repelled a 124-drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS refinery, about 250 km northeast of Moscow, but its infrastructure was damaged and two employees were injured, Reuters reports.
- The Russian military said it downed 856 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight; that figure is Moscow's claim.
- YANOS processes about 15 million tons of crude a year; Ukraine last hit it on Sept. 17, damaging its AVT-3 unit, Ukraine's General Staff said.
22. The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Mecca region
Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki announced the interception on Nov. 3, a day after two drones were destroyed over the Riyadh region, the Saudi Press Agency reports.
- The statement gave no further details, including who launched the drone.
- Anadolu describes it as part of an escalation with the Houthis, who have claimed drone attacks on Dammam.
- The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a new security alert on Nov. 2.
23. Kalashnikov demonstrates a layered counter-drone system linking radar, Krona missiles and an automated turret through AI decision support
The Nov. 2 test, run in dense fog, combined radar, the Krona anti-aircraft missile system and the Kalitka-KA automated turret, Russian defense media reported, according to Unmanned Airspace.
- Kalashnikov claims Kalitka-KA systems alone destroyed more than 200 drones over three months in one sector; the claim is the company's.
- Its longer-range Zveroboy launcher carries nine Kraken interceptor drones.
- TASS says the Uzor AI system can simulate drone attacks to test how well a site is protected.
Sources: Unmanned Airspace24. The IDF starts installing anti-drone nets at Gaza border posts to stop explosive and fiber-optic drones
The Israel Defense Forces launched a pilot to put protective netting over three Gaza border positions against explosive and fiber-optic suicide drones, the Tazpit Press Service reports.
- Nets are meant to catch drones or set them off early; fiber-optic drones can't be jammed.
- The aim is to get ahead of a tactic Hezbollah has used widely in Lebanon.
- Remaining southern outposts are to be covered within months, building on thousands of square meters of netting in the north.
Sources: World Israel News (TPS)25. Israeli firm Airwayz says its OVERWATCH software tied together more than 45 sensors, effectors and C2 systems in a NATO counter-drone drill
As drones crowd low-altitude airspace, Airwayz is selling command-and-control software that fuses radar, camera and RF data into one picture rather than building its own sensors, The Jerusalem Post reports.
- In a recent NATO exercise, OVERWATCH integrated more than 45 sensors, effectors and C2 systems, the company said.
- It is aimed at militaries, police and infrastructure operators without airspace specialists.
- "You need to make sense of the information you get," said Airwayz's Rosen.
Sources: The Jerusalem 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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