AUTOWAR25 No. 24P · Afternoon Edition
Ukraine's Defense Ministry scales GPS-free multi-drone control after one battalion doubled frontline cargo deliveries, and DARPA's Triage Challenge finals put autonomous drones and ground robots to work finding casualties in smoke and rubble. Iran claims a new system downed a U.S. MQ-9 as CENTCOM's commander says MQ-1s and MQ-9s were turned into kamikaze drones, while Russia and the U.S. move to block binding autonomous-weapons rules ahead of next week's Geneva review conference.
1. Ukraine's Defense Ministry and Brave1 scale multi-drone control after the Da Vinci Wolves battalion doubles frontline cargo deliveries with one operator flying a GPS-free group of drones
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said it and the Brave1 cluster are scaling "multi-drone control," in which drones take off one after another and fly autonomously to a designated point without GPS, already in use for frontline logistics.
- The operator marks an area on the map and the system calculates collision-free routes for the whole group.
- Drones keep their orientation under electronic warfare through secure communications; the operator takes manual control only in the final minutes.
- The 108th Separate Assault Battalion "Da Vinci Wolves" of the 59th Brigade doubled its cargo deliveries within a month of using it.
- Ukrainian outlets identify the system as Pasika ("Apiary") from Sine Engineering, with one operator running up to five drones.
2. DARPA's Triage Challenge Systems Finals get underway at Disaster City, Texas, with autonomous drones and ground robots finding and assessing casualties in darkness, smoke and rubble
DARPA said on X on Saturday that its Triage Challenge Systems Competition Finals are underway at Disaster City in College Station, Texas, where teams field autonomous aerial and ground systems to locate casualties, assess injuries and help medics prioritize care.
- UAVs and UGVs must find casualties, flag life-threatening injuries and capture vital signs from standoff distance in darkness, smoke, fire, buildings and rubble.
- Lane 1 scores four gates; teams passing them at full autonomy advance to human-machine teaming lanes with medics and a championship round.
- A 15-point bonus goes to machines that run autonomously for at least 60% of a scenario.
- The competition runs Nov. 5–13 with awards Nov. 13; finalists compete for up to $1 million–$1.5 million.
3. U.S. Army air defenders in Poland test the FD-1 FPV interceptor from SGT Stout vehicles as a cheaper kinetic layer against massed Group 1–3 drones
The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command said the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment ran Operation "Audacious Fury" at Poland's Ustka Training Area from Nov. 2 to 6 to assess the FD-1 interceptor as lower-tier, cost-effective magazine depth against Group 1–3 and massed drone threats.
- Battalion commander Lt. Col. John Verwiel said the goal is to stay "on the right side of the cost-curve" and save exquisite munitions for threats that need them.
- The Tactics, Integration and Employment Battery built TTPs and a training-and-certification table to turn soldiers with no FPV experience into skilled interceptor pilots.
- Air defenders launched FD-1s from the SGT Stout air defense vehicle and flew them over the Baltic Sea; TIE Battery will train other U.S. Army Europe and Africa units.
- The FD-1, from Mountain Horse Solutions, reportedly exceeds 265 km/h with Pixel-Lock terminal guidance and more than 20 km range with an external antenna.
Sources: Defence Industry Europe · Army Recognition4. The Army opens its first G-TEAD Accelerated Capability Event with SETAF-Africa, offering up to $1 million in prizes for a palletized counter-drone fly-away kit, with entries due Nov. 17
The Army Pathway for Innovation and Technology launched "G-TEAD SETAF-AF ACE 27-01: C-UAS Fly Away Kit Powered by xTech," seeking TRL 6+ counter-drone kits to protect early-entry command posts and expeditionary sites in Africa against Group 1–3 drones.
- Up to 15 finalists get $25,000 each and a slot at a spring 2027 soldier demonstration in Tan-Tan, Morocco; up to five winners get another $50,000.
- Winners can access prototype Other Transaction Agreements worth up to $5 million and may join U.S. Africa Command's African Lion exercise.
- Categories cover a consolidated kit, detection and identification, kinetic defeat, non-kinetic defeat and passive protection; kits should fit one air-cargo pallet or transit case.
- White papers and five-minute videos are due through the xTech portal by 5 p.m. ET Nov. 17.
5. UK minister Luke Pollard says the 700 km/h Skyhammer jet interceptor has been integrated with elements of the RAF's ORCUS counter-drone system in trials
Answering a parliamentary written question, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said Cambridge Aerospace's Skyhammer has been successfully integrated with elements of the ORCUS counter-uncrewed air system, with further command-and-control and sensor integration continuing.
- Skyhammer is a tube-launched turbojet interceptor built to counter Shahed-type drones, with a company-stated range of about 30 km, top speed near 700 km/h and a 2 kg payload.
- It takes target tracks from an external C2 system, then uses onboard guidance with an electro-optical seeker for the terminal engagement.
- ORCUS, built by Leonardo UK under the RAF's Project Synergia, fuses radar, RF detection and EO sensors with electronic countermeasures.
- The MoD announced in April it would buy Skyhammer for UK forces and Gulf partners; Defense Express notes ORCUS went to Kuwait this year.
6. Iran's army claims a "new system" downed a U.S. MQ-9 over Qeshm as CENTCOM's Adm. Brad Cooper says MQ-1s and MQ-9s were turned into kamikaze drones and CENTCOM stands up Task Force Iron Gate
New on Saturday: Al Jazeera reports Iran's army said it destroyed a U.S. MQ-9 over Qeshm Island with an unnamed new system, while Dawn reports CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on a CENTCOM podcast that U.S. forces "turned our highly advanced multimillion-dollar MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones into kamikaze drones."
- IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi mocked Cooper's podcast remark; the IRGC separately claimed a 16th MQ-1 downed. The U.S. has not confirmed any losses.
- CENTCOM said Cooper set up Task Force Iron Gate on Nov. 7, about 20 staff in Tampa, to stop advanced weapons and dual-use technology moving across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea.
- President Trump called Friday's U.S. strikes on a Qeshm air-defense site "minor"; CENTCOM said things were "relatively calm."
- UKMTO counted at least 11 ships attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the week to Nov. 6, three of them sunk.
7. The Finnish Navy plans an Unmanned Systems Company in its Coastal Brigade in early 2027 after Patria runs a remotely controlled USV-and-drone swarm demo at Upinniemi
At a Finnish Navy technology demonstration in Upinniemi on Nov. 5, Patria ran a multi-domain swarm of an autonomy-kitted surface vessel, a fixed-wing UAV and a Patria ONE quadcopter under one mission-management system, and the Navy said it will create a dedicated Unmanned Systems Company in the Coastal Brigade in early 2027.
- The systems completed their mission while controlled remotely from two separate locations in Finland, Patria said.
- Patria's autonomy kit is designed to install on sufficiently modern vessels without extensive platform changes.
- The quadcopter launched from the aft deck of a Jehu-class vessel, showing integration with existing naval craft.
- Patria says the systems support surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting and can be configured for one-way attack with warheads.
Sources: Global Defense Insight8. The Guardian: Russia and the U.S. move to block a negotiating mandate for binding rules on autonomous weapons ahead of the Nov. 16–20 CCW review conference in Geneva
Guardian diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour reports that a group of states led by Russia and the United States, with Israel among others, is pushing against a timetable for a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons at the seventh CCW review conference, expected to draw 128 countries to Geneva Nov. 16–20.
- An Ireland-led group of about 50 states proposed a time-limited expert group to negotiate rules over three 2027 sessions totaling 25 days; the ICRC says more than 70 states back negotiations.
- The U.S. largely favors national controls under existing international humanitarian law; the UK did not back the Irish statement.
- France backs a mandate that bans fully autonomous weapons and regulates systems with autonomous functions; Pope Leo XIV urged a ban.
- A U.S. working paper for the conference (CCW/CONF.VII/WP.2) is posted on the UN documents site.
9. CBC News: Canada weighs whether to join the autonomous arms race as DND says no decision has been made on Collaborative Combat Aircraft and a Canadian startup pitches its Scout CCA
CBC News' Jennifer Yoon reports that Canadian defence firms, experts and officials are debating how far Canada should invest in AI-enabled weapons, with the Department of National Defence saying the RCAF is examining collaborative combat aircraft but has made no procurement decision.
- DND said Canada supports autonomous functions only within "a responsible chain of human command and control."
- Dominion's Scout CCA would fly ahead of a crewed fighter, three or four per jet, with any use of force requiring human approval, executives said.
- Former RCAF commander Yvan Blondin expects such drones to be integral to militaries by the 2030s.
- The piece cites Anduril's YFQ-44A missile shot in July and an F-22 pilot directing a CCA in October.
Sources: CBC News10. Poland's €3.5 billion SAN counter-drone program faces delivery questions as reports point to 2027 for first systems and PGZ insists it is on schedule
AdriaDefense reports Polish media said Nov. 6 that the first operational SAN counter-drone systems may not reach the armed forces until 2027 amid software integration problems, while state-owned PGZ says the program is on the schedule agreed with the Armament Agency.
- The Defense Ministry now expects factory acceptance tests of three fire platoons before the end of 2026, with deliveries starting in 2027.
- Earlier contract information had pointed to the first three platoons by end-2026.
- SAN, led by PGZ with Kongsberg, combines radars, EW, guns, missiles and interceptor drones; the Jan. 30 contract covers 18 battery modules worth about PLN 15 billion.
- Factory testing does not mean a battery is delivered or combat-ready.
Sources: AdriaDefense11. Aviation Week: Europe's CCA makers are spending ahead of governments, as Airbus maps Valkyrie trials to 2029 Eurofighter teaming and the UK funds £300 million toward a 2030 capability
Aviation Week's Tony Osborne reports from the International Fighter Conference in Munich that Airbus, Leonardo and BAE are pushing collaborative combat aircraft largely at their own expense while Germany, Italy and Poland have yet to commit major funding.
- Airbus flew the first of two Kratos Valkyries in Sweden in September and plans autonomous ops from an adapted business jet in 2027, weapons release in 2028 and Eurofighter teaming in 2029.
- Airbus offers a tablet interface that commands CCAs through a Litening 5 pod over Link 16 and a low-probability-of-intercept waveform; its U760 Ravenstorm targets 2032.
- The RAF has a program office for Storm Fighter with a competition expected in coming months; the Netherlands bought one GA FQ-42 and one Anduril FQ-44 to evaluate.
- RUSI's Justin Bronk warned that adding missile rails to a missile-limited force could reduce effective combat power.
Sources: Aviation Week12. DefenseScoop: GPS Innovation Alliance warns that expanding U.S. military jamming and spoofing tests for counter-drone defenses are endangering civilian aviation
DefenseScoop's Brandi Vincent reports that GPS Innovation Alliance executive director Lisa Dyer told an NDTA meeting that domestic military EW testing, including counter-drone testbeds that fuse lasers, microwaves and jamming, is spilling over onto civilian GPS users.
- Dyer cited an NTSB preliminary report on a May 14 air-ambulance crash near Ruidoso, N.M., that recorded a GPS loss tied to active EW testing at White Sands; the cause is undetermined.
- She said the FAA–NASA safety database shows test cases where NOTAMs were not issued, and the alliance recommends larger test ranges.
- She also flagged an FCC proposal to allow jamming around more than 6,000 correctional facilities, driven partly by contraband-delivery drones.
- The Army said it could not comment while the incident is under investigation.
Sources: DefenseScoop13. Japan scrambles fighters as Chinese WZ-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drones fly twice in one day through the Okinawa–Miyako gap
The Aviationist reports Japan's Joint Staff tracked a Chinese WZ-7 jet-powered reconnaissance drone twice on Nov. 2 flying from the East China Sea between Okinawa and Miyako Island into the Pacific and back, the second and third WZ-7 appearances in the region within a month.
- JASDF Southwestern Air Defense Force fighters scrambled in response; it is unclear whether one or two airframes flew.
- China's Global Times called the flights "completely normal" and suggested support to the Liaoning carrier group in the western Pacific.
- Japan scrambled 442 times against Chinese and Russian aircraft from April to September, up nearly 70% year over year.
- Chinese state media have cast the WZ-7 as central to PLA surveillance and targeting.
Sources: The Aviationist · Japan MoD on X14. Ukraine says it downed or suppressed 149 of 172 Russian attack drones overnight, 137 of them jet-powered Shaheds, plus four missiles in a combined strike aimed at Kyiv
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 172 attack drones, including 137 jet-powered Shaheds plus Gerbera and Parodiya decoys, alongside Iskander-M, Zircon, KN-23 and S-400 missiles from 6 p.m. Nov. 6, with the Kyiv region the main target.
- As of 9 a.m. Nov. 7, air defenses had shot down or suppressed four missiles and 149 drones; hits were recorded at 24 locations.
- Aviation, missile units, electronic warfare, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups repelled the attack.
- Missiles struck Kyiv's Northern Bridge; five people, including a 14-year-old, were injured in the capital.
- Russia's Defense Ministry separately claimed 411 Ukrainian drones downed overnight over ten regions, Crimea and two seas.
Sources: Ukrinform · Ukrainska Pravda15. Satellite imagery shows likely fire damage at four Sudanese power substations hit in drone attacks blamed on the RSF, as strikes reportedly reach 17 substations in a week
Misbar's editorial team compared Sentinel-2 images before and after drone attacks between Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 and found dark spots consistent with fires at the Al-Rawma, New Halfa, Shendi and Al-Dabba substations in Kassala, River Nile and Northern states.
- Sudan's government blames the Rapid Support Forces and has complained to the UN Security Council and African Union that Ethiopia lets the RSF launch drones from its territory.
- Drone attacks reportedly hit 17 substations across 10 states in a single week.
- Sudan Tribune reported the Al-Dabba substation went out of service.
- Accusations against Ethiopia are the Sudanese government's claims.
Sources: Misbar16. AFP: Sea-drone makers from Taiwan, the U.S. and Singapore compete at a Tainan expo as Taiwan plans 1,320 one-way attack USVs and passes a US$7.4 billion drone bill
AFP reports from the Taiwan Marine Tech and Unmanned Robotics Expo in Tainan that USV and UUV makers are chasing Taiwan's surging drone budget after parliament passed a NT$240 billion (US$7.4 billion) drone defence bill.
- Taiwan's military wants more than 1,400 coastal surveillance drones, over 200,000 coastal attack drones and 1,320 one-way attack USVs.
- Florida-based Maritime Tactical Systems says Taiwan's coast guard will buy 25 of its USVs, built in the U.S. and Taiwan.
- STR8 Industries demonstrated its Taiwan-built Ghostwake USV; Singapore's BeeX reports UUV demand surging since Hormuz mining.
- Analysts flag integration and non-Starlink communications as hurdles.
Sources: AFP17. Russia's EDgun shows the Kokoshnik, a hand-launched interceptor drone claimed to lock on to aerial targets automatically out to 1.2 km
Rossiyskaya Gazeta published test video of EDgun's Kokoshnik, a small hand-launched anti-drone drone that Russian sources say carries a 0.4 kg warhead and acquires targets automatically within 1.2 km.
- Claimed speed is about 300 km/h now, with 450 km/h planned.
- Milblogger Boris Rozhin (Colonel Cassad) also publicized the presentation.
- Performance figures are developer and Russian media claims, not independently confirmed.
- It mirrors Ukraine's push for cheap, portable interceptors such as Palka.
Sources: Rossiyskaya Gazeta · RobotWar18. Ukraine's December1 fields the DroneSensor Providence scanner, which intercepts Russian FPV video feeds and cues EW jammers out to 30 km
UNITED24 Media, citing Militarnyi, reports that December1's DroneSensor Providence scans 600–8,500 MHz to detect drone links, including Geran mesh networks, intercept live analog FPV video and pass targeting data to EW units.
- The scanner streams intercepted feeds to Ukraine's Vezha video platform and the DELTA situational-awareness system.
- It pairs with December1's Damba EW system to jam control links once a threat is classified.
- The firm says it makes hundreds of units a month and aims for thousands a month by 2027.
- Frontline testing on the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Sumy directions located an FPV ground station that was then hit, the developer says.
Sources: UNITED24 Media19. Saronic launches another 52-foot Mirage autonomous surface vessel in Galveston, its mid-size hull with 2,500-nautical-mile range and a 3,500-pound payload
Defense WarRoom's Elliot Bracken reports Saronic put another Mirage autonomous surface vessel in the water at Galveston, Texas, after CEO Dino Mavrookas announced it on X on Nov. 6, filling the gap between its 24-foot Corsair and 180-foot Marauder.
- Company specs list a top speed above 35 knots, range beyond 2,500 nautical miles and 3,500 pounds of payload.
- Mirage runs Saronic's Echelon C2 software and shared autonomy stack built on passive perception.
- No hull number, trial schedule, customer or production contract has been disclosed.
- Mavrookas tied the launch to the U.S.–China shipbuilding capacity gap.
Sources: Defense WarRoom20. AIRO wins its first U.S. government order for RQ-35 and RQ-70 reconnaissance drones after the RQ-35 joined the Blue UAS list
The Defense Post reports that AIRO Group Holdings received its first U.S. government order covering both its RQ-35 and longer-endurance RQ-70 unmanned aircraft for a specific mission requirement.
- The customer and quantity were not disclosed.
- The RQ-35 was added to the DCMA Blue UAS list in July 2026, clearing it for U.S. government buys.
- The RQ-35 already flies with NATO and allied forces; the RQ-70 targets longer-range ISR and endurance.
Sources: The Defense Post21. Ukraine's Vluchnyk develops Palka, a hand-launched drone interceptor fired from a launcher gun that tracks targets autonomously after operator confirmation
Ukrainian developer Vluchnyk is building Palka, a portable interceptor launched by hand from a dedicated launcher gun that tracks and strikes targets autonomously once an operator confirms them.
- Planned speed is 280–320 km/h with a 5 km pursuit range and a 400-gram warhead.
- Development and combat testing are planned for December 2026.
- Figures are developer targets, not yet proven in combat.
Sources: The Defender · EMPR22. France's CMN unveils a drone-mothership landing craft and a new corvette design at Euronaval
Naval News video coverage from Euronaval 2026 shows French shipbuilder CMN, marking its 80th anniversary, unveiling two new designs: a heavier corvette and a landing craft configured as a drone mothership.
- The landing-craft design is pitched to carry and deploy uncrewed systems.
- CMN is celebrating its 80th anniversary at the show.
- Detailed payload and drone-capacity figures were not in the post.
Sources: Naval News on X23. Modern War Institute: as the Army connects NGC2 apps, it needs explicit rules for which software may turn another tool's AI recommendation into an action
In a Modern War Institute essay, Burak Oktenli argues that as the Army's Next Generation Command and Control ecosystem links commercial, government and soldier-built apps, the authority to act must be tested separately from data interoperability.
- His hypothetical: an AI planning tool suggests a new route and a movement app turns it into a revised convoy schedule without clear authorization.
- He lists integration failures to test: valid signatures on outdated approvals, duplicate queued requests after comms return, lost limits after upgrades.
- The Army announced initial NGC2 application awards for I Corps in October.
- "Software can support" mission command, he writes, but "cannot inherit a soldier's professional judgment."
Sources: Modern War Institute24. HSToday column: The new U.S. counter-UAS rule protects an operator's decision not to mitigate, but readiness depends on validated sensors and evidence reaching that operator
In a Homeland Security Today column, Brandon W. Graham notes the counter-UAS rule in effect since July 1 bars commanders from ordering a certified operator to start mitigation the operator judges unjustified, and argues agencies must back that decision with validated detection and clear handoffs.
- The rule requires a credible-threat finding before mitigation, proportional least-disruptive means, and a named person for real-time awareness of authorized aviation.
- Graham urges site-specific validation: range, coverage gaps and what a lost track does and does not mean.
- He warns that uncertainty gets stripped out as tracks are summarized on the way to the operator.
- After-action reviews should separate justified restraint from information that never arrived.
Sources: Homeland Security Today25. New arXiv paper: an obstacle-aware method picks which UAV in a mixed team should launch to intercept a moving target first, and finds it is often neither the nearest nor the fastest
In "Selecting the best UAV pursuer for minimum time moving target interception among obstacles," M. M. Rizvi (Federation University Australia) and Masuda Akter (University of Chittagong) present a bound-and-select algorithm that chooses the interceptor among drones with different speeds, turn radii and launch delays.
- A closed-form lower bound prunes pursuers that cannot beat the best verified time, so the result matches solving every vehicle.
- On 20 random scenarios, picking the nearest pursuer was wrong in 9 and the fastest in 14, with mean time penalties of 74% and 113%.
- Pruning cut CPU time by about 85% for eight-pursuer teams.
- A Bangladesh case study intercepts an intruder flying toward Dhaka while avoiding three restricted airspaces.
Sources: arXiv
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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 with new information. Repeat stories keep a First reported date and edition instead of a separate label. Claims from warring parties are labeled as claims, and anything we couldn't independently confirm is marked unverified.
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