AUTOWAR25 No. 25P · Afternoon Edition
Ukraine's Defense Ministry says its ground robots completed a record 31,398 logistics and evacuation missions in October, and a one-pound flapping-wing drone registered as a bird on rival counter-drone sensors at an Air Force test event. France's Naval Group will build a combat underwater drone demonstrator, Ukraine's National Guard fields a car-sized robot that evacuates three wounded soldiers, and the Czech government weighs letting infrastructure operators shoot down drones.
1. Ukraine's Defense Ministry says ground robots completed a record 31,398 logistics and evacuation missions in October, more than four times January's count
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said units of its Defence Forces carried out a record 31,398 logistics and evacuation missions with unmanned ground vehicles in October, the first month above 30,000.
- Monthly missions rose from 7,511 in January to 28,491 in September and 31,398 in October, more than fourfold.
- Every mission was recorded in the DELTA combat system and verified by Brave1 specialists.
- Units earn ePoints for verified missions, redeemable on the Brave1 Market.
- Amphibious ground robots now have their own Brave1 Market category, with three products already listed.
Sources: Ukraine MoD · Ukrinform2. A one-pound, wing-flapping Ornadyne O1 drone registered as a bird on rival companies' counter-drone sensors at the Air Force's "Game of Drones" event at Edwards
The Defense Contract Management Agency said Ornadyne's O1 ornithopter flew at Game of Drones 26-3 at Edwards Air Force Base on Sept. 17, where co-founder Geourg Kivijian said sensors fielded by other companies "could not establish our drone" and "it registered as a bird."
- The O1 flaps semi-rigid wings instead of spinning propellers, weighs about 1 pound and, per a company fact sheet, flies up to 10 km for more than an hour with a small camera.
- Ornadyne says it can change the drone's color, wingspan, proportions and silhouette to match bird species native to a region.
- Game of Drones is run quarterly by the 412th Test Wing's Experimental Test Force and DCMA's Blue List team, which clears commercial drones for military purchase.
- No order or Blue List addition has been announced; the result rests on the company's account of one evaluation.
3. Naval Group will build an operational Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle demonstrator for the French Navy, with sea trials planned from 2028
Naval News' Florent de Saint Victor reports Naval Group will build an operational UCUV demonstrator for the French Navy under a contract signed at Euronaval 2026 and announced by the DGA, the Defence Innovation Agency and Naval Group.
- The vehicle will be more than 10 meters long and designed for air transport on aircraft such as the A400M.
- It will use Naval Group's Steeris OnBoard autonomy under human supervision.
- Weapons choices remain undecided, and the industrial content is described as French or almost entirely French.
- Naval News understands most of the funding is not yet secured, with a final allocation expected in 2027.
Sources: Naval News4. Ukraine's National Guard receives a car-sized diesel ground robot that hauls 1.5 tons or evacuates three wounded soldiers with no crew aboard
Euromaidan Press reports the Argos unmanned-systems company of the National Guard's 2nd Shostka Regiment has received a heavy ground robot that carries up to 1.5 tons of ammunition and supplies or pulls out three wounded soldiers at once, according to the National Guard.
- It is built at vehicle scale with a diesel engine and full drive; operator "Odinson" said it looks "more like a full-fledged car."
- Heavy ground robots fielded this fall top out around 500 kilograms a load, so the new machine roughly triples that.
- Casualty evacuation is its main purpose; the National Guard said it will soon show the robot hauling cargo over difficult terrain.
- Ukraine's Defense Ministry says ground robots ran a record 31,398 logistics and evacuation missions in October.
Sources: Euromaidan Press5. Ukraine's Ukrspetsdronprom unveils the RP7 Chomga, a $5,000–$7,000 fixed-wing drone that can carry three FPV strike drones or three interceptors and laser-designate targets for autonomous terminal attacks
Ukrainska Pravda's Yurii Denysiuk reports Ukrspetsdronprom has unveiled the RP7 Chomga, a modular fixed-wing UAV for reconnaissance, strike and special missions that the maker says is fully flight-ready and in talks with units for combat trials.
- As a carrier it holds up to three RP7-10 SkyLoki FPV drones with 1 kg warheads; in air-defense mode it carries three RP7-Zenit interceptors integrated with the SineLink system.
- Its M-Fly variant laser-designates targets out to 3 km for FPV drones with optical seekers to strike autonomously.
- It carries up to 15 kg, cruises at 75 km/h for up to 90 minutes, and runs on SkyLoki jam-resistant analog control or Starlink with LTE.
- As a one-way attack drone with a 15 kg warhead, range is 100–125 km; Ukraine's Arms Monitor also flagged the launch.
6. Czech government to consider letting critical-infrastructure operators stop and, as a last resort, destroy drones over airports, energy hubs and nuclear plants
ČTK reports a proposal from the Czech interior and transport ministries, due before the government on Monday, would let operators of critical infrastructure apply for protected zones where trained employees could stop drones and, in extreme cases, destroy them.
- Only police and soldiers can now eliminate drones; the ministries say their response time is limited given the number of sites.
- Intelligence services, the Prison Service, the security-forces inspectorate and firefighters during rescue work would also gain powers.
- Operators must warn the drone pilot first where possible, and the draft creates a right, not a duty, to buy detection or elimination gear.
- The agriculture ministry and others object, including to the rule that only an operator's own staff may act.
Sources: ČeskéNoviny (Czech) · Militarnyi7. Ukraine's General Staff says forces struck four Russian drone command posts in a day, including a Rubicon unit site in Berdiansk
Ukraine's General Staff said Defence Forces units hit four Russian drone command posts over the past day in occupied Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk regions and in Russia's Bryansk region.
- The Berdiansk target was a temporary deployment site and UAV command post of a Rubicon unit.
- Other posts were hit near Oleshky in Kherson region, Bilytske in Donetsk region and the Aleksandrovsk area of Russia's Bryansk region.
- Russian losses are still being assessed; the account is Ukraine's own and unverified.
Sources: General Staff on X · Ukrinform8. Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi missiles aimed at Riyadh and other regions as falling debris damages an Aramco building in the capital's financial district
The Associated Press reports Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles targeting the capital and other regions on Sunday, with falling debris damaging an Aramco building in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District.
- The Saudi-led coalition said air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles aimed at Riyadh and other regions, and a ballistic missile overnight in the south; it blamed the Houthis.
- The Energy Ministry said falling shrapnel caused minor damage to the building, with no casualties.
- It follows Saudi airstrikes Saturday near Sanaa that Houthi officials said killed at least 27 people.
Sources: AP via ABC News9. Russian channels claim Ukraine sent 28 ground robots, 18 of them armed with AT4 launchers, against positions near Lyman; Kyiv has not confirmed
Defence24's Bartłomiej Wypartowicz reports that pro-Russian channels circulated footage of what they say was a Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps assault near Lyman with 28 ground robots, the account dates it to Oct. 28; the number and outcome are unconfirmed.
- The Russian account says 18 vehicles carried two AT4 launchers each, two carried Mk 19 grenade launchers and eight were kamikaze platforms.
- Russian sources say their forces repelled the assault; the Conflict Intelligence Team linked the footage to the Lyman sector.
- As of Nov. 6, Ukraine had not publicly confirmed the operation, so the number of vehicles and the outcome rest on Russian claims.
Sources: Defence24 · Defense Express10. Russian airports, ports and power companies tender for machine-gun turrets to defend against Ukrainian drones
RBC-Ukraine, citing Siberia.Realities, reports Surgut Airport, the port of Ust-Luga and energy companies have announced tenders or purchases of machine-gun turrets to protect facilities from Ukrainian drones.
- Surgut Airport seeks a twin-machine-gun turret with a thermal sight and remote monitor for 909,000 rubles; the port of Ust-Luga seeks three for 8.9 million rubles.
- Kolymaenergo bought a turret for a Degtyaryov light machine gun for mobile fire groups guarding the Kolyma hydroelectric plant.
- Rosatom's Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant announced plans this month to buy a turret mount.
- Russian companies were allowed in May to buy electronic warfare, interceptor drones, turrets and artillery against drones.
Sources: RBC-Ukraine11. Ukrainian drones damage the Mius River bridge on the R-280 highway toward Crimea and a power substation in Russia's Rostov Oblast, governor says
The Kyiv Independent's Abbey Fenbert reports Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said Ukrainian drone strikes damaged the Mius River bridge on the R-280 highway and a power substation.
- Slyusar said traffic on the road leading to the bridge is completely closed after drone damage.
- A transformer at the Sulin power substation was also damaged.
- Monitoring channel Exilenova-Plus said an FP-2 drone hit the bridge; the Kyiv Independent could not verify that.
- The Kyiv Independent places the strike within Ukraine's "middle strike" campaign against Russian logistics.
Sources: Kyiv Independent12. Poland's Łukasiewicz–PIAP sends its HUNTeR and IBIS TRANSPORT ground robots to ALPEX 2026, the European Defence Agency's military experiment in Switzerland on logistics and casualty evacuation
Defence Blog's Dylan Malyasov reports that Polish research institute Łukasiewicz–PIAP is testing two uncrewed ground vehicles at ALPEX 2026, run by the European Defence Agency with the Swiss Armed Forces under the EU's OPEX operational-experimentation program.
- Trials cover tactical resupply, evacuating wounded soldiers, reconnaissance and multinational interoperability of robotic systems.
- The six-wheeled hybrid HUNTeR, built with WB Group's AREX, weighs over 4 tonnes and reaches 50 km/h; its armed version carries a .50-caliber remote weapon station.
- IBIS TRANSPORT is based on PIAP's tracked IBIS bomb-disposal robot.
- The campaign at Switzerland's Bure training area follows EU OPEX campaigns in Italy in 2025 and Portugal this autumn.
Sources: Defence Blog13. Explosive-laden drones strike a Colombian Army base in Santa Rosa del Sur, killing three soldiers, and Colombia's defense minister blames the ELN
Infobae reports that drones fitted with explosives hit the Colombian Army's military cantonment in Santa Rosa del Sur, Bolívar, around midday Nov. 7.
- The Army's latest count, per Infobae, was three dead and 47 injured, 16 of them seriously.
- Defense Minister Gen. (ret.) Jorge Eduardo Mora attributed the attack to the ELN, calling it likely retaliation for the capture of alias "Carrito," a Guamocó front leader.
- President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered intensified operations against those responsible.
- The defense minister called it a grave violation of human rights and international humanitarian law; the justice minister called it a criminal act.
Sources: Infobae (Spanish) · AP14. Ukrainian drones set Rosneft's Saratov refinery ablaze in a wide overnight strike on Russian regions, as Russia claims 411 drones downed
The Kyiv Independent's Volodymyr Ivanyshyn and Yuliia Taradiuk report Ukrainian forces hit sites in Russia's Oryol, Saratov and Rostov regions overnight Nov. 7, with monitoring channels saying the Saratov Oil Refinery caught fire.
- Saratov's governor said several residential buildings were damaged by the drone attack, with no casualties.
- Ukraine's General Staff said Neptune missiles hit the Proton-Elektrotex optoelectronics plant in Oryol.
- Rostov's governor said more than 50 drones were destroyed in six districts; a large fire was reported near the Almaz military factory.
- Russia's Defense Ministry claimed 411 Ukrainian drones downed over ten regions, Crimea and two seas; claims are unverified.
Sources: Kyiv Independent · Kyiv Post15. A Russian drone strikes Ukrainian rescuers clearing a destroyed shelter in Komyshuvakha, where a Nov. 2 bombing killed 55 people
Ukraine's State Emergency Service said a Russian drone struck rescue workers on the morning of Nov. 8 as they surveyed and dismantled a destroyed shelter in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia district.
- No rescuers were injured, but specialized equipment was damaged, the SES said.
- Crews were still working at the site of the Nov. 2 strike, when guided bombs and then a FAB-3000 hit a school gym and its basement shelter.
- That attack killed 55 people, according to the latest reports.
Sources: Shelter (citing Ukraine SES)16. The Army renames its cooks "tactical field feeding specialists," citing a battlefield of drones, sensors and long-range fires that puts logistics troops in the crosshairs
Stars and Stripes' John Vandiver reports the Army changed the 92G culinary specialist title to tactical field feeding specialist because "the character of war has changed," in the words of Quartermaster School commandant Col. Stacy Moore-Callaway.
- Moore-Callaway said the Army must shift every soldier's mindset "towards survivability and true lethality."
- Drawing on Russia-Ukraine lessons, the Army warns large stationary logistics sites are vulnerable and must become more mobile.
- The change is part of a food modernization push that frees cooks from garrison duties to train for combat, with more installation dining run by contractors.
Sources: Stars and Stripes17. Shield AI and Leonardo agree to integrate Hivemind autonomy into the Proteus unmanned helicopter developed for the Royal Navy
Defense Express reports Shield AI announced an agreement with Italy's Leonardo to integrate its Hivemind combat AI into the Proteus unmanned helicopter, which flew for the first time earlier this year.
- Proteus is meant for reconnaissance and logistics missions and potentially anti-submarine warfare, under the Royal Navy's CCD Phase 3B technology demonstrator program.
- Shield AI says Hivemind lets partners develop, integrate and update their own autonomous systems on specific platforms.
- Defense Express notes Hivemind is already on or planned for a wide range of platforms, from drones to F-16s.
- Shield AI is also working with Destinus on Ruta cruise missiles; whether Ukraine has received Hivemind-equipped Ruta missiles is unknown.
Sources: Defense Express18. France's Kahe Nautic unveils the K600, a 15 kg, €5,900 semi-submersible drone with a 100 kg payload, at Euronaval
Army Recognition's Jérôme Brahy reports French maker Kahe Nautic unveiled the K600 semi-submersible drone at Euronaval 2026 for surveillance, inspection and coastal infrastructure protection.
- It runs on two electric thrusters, reaches 6 to 8 knots, dives to 10 meters and lasts up to 10 hours at low speed.
- It supports remote control, waypoint navigation, autonomous operation and coordinated multi-drone missions.
- The K600 is at technology readiness level 4, with a 300-unit pre-series and TRL 7 targeted for September 2027.
- No French armed forces contract for the complete drone has been confirmed.
Sources: Army Recognition19. Defense Express: Ukraine reportedly uses balloons to carry small strike drones deep behind Russian lines before release
Defense Express reports Ukrainian forces are using balloons for several air operations, including an unconventional method of carrying strike drones toward targets deep in Russian-controlled territory before releasing them.
- Carried by balloon, a drone does not spend its own endurance on the transit leg, extending its effective reach.
- Defense Express says balloons may also complicate Russian detection and interception because they need no continuous powered flight.
- Balloons were recently spotted in the Moscow region, far beyond the front line.
- The report gives no unit, date or numbers and rests on circulating video.
Sources: Defense Express20. Ukraine's Arms Monitor brief: WINFLY and Taiwan's FORTMOSA team up on a drone-carrying autonomous boat, and Phantom Defense readies Mangal net protection for ground robots
Ukraine's Arms Monitor analyst Olena Kryzhanivska reports in the weekly drone brief that Ukrainian firm WINFLY is working with Taiwan's FORTMOSA on an uncrewed surface vessel that carries aerial drones, and that Phantom Defense is preparing mass production of the Mangal active protection system for ground robots.
- WINFLY handles USV technology, control software and the link to the aerial drones; FORTMOSA designs the hull and builds the prototype.
- The boat will have an autopilot for long missions and an autonomy system that takes over if the signal is lost.
- Mangal automatically detects incoming FPV drones and nets them before they reach an uncrewed ground vehicle.
- Earlier Mangal versions were manual: the operator had to spot the FPV and press a button to fire the net.
Sources: Ukraine's Arms Monitor21. Marines demonstrate a Small Form Factor CAC2S air command-and-control node on Polaris light vehicles for dispersed, low-signature operations
Defence Blog's Emily Ryan Miller reports Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps showed an operational demonstration of the Common Aviation Command and Control System Small Form Factor, fitted to Polaris light tactical vehicles.
- A display board described "a distributed network of rapidly maneuverable, low-signature, task-adaptive C2 nodes" for denied and degraded environments.
- CAC2S fuses radar tracks, data links and communications into a single air picture to direct aircraft and manage airspace.
- The smaller version supports Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, where dispersed units must relocate quickly to avoid drones and long-range fires.
Sources: Defence Blog22. Ukraine says it downed or suppressed 137 of 164 Russian attack drones overnight, 112 of them jet-powered Shaheds, as strikes cut power to more than 600,000 customers in Dnipropetrovsk
Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 164 Shahed-type, Gerbera and Parodiya decoy drones, 112 of them jet-powered, plus three Kh-59/69 guided missiles from the Sea of Azov, starting at 6 p.m. Nov. 7.
- As of 8 a.m., air defenses had shot down or suppressed 137 drones, including 88 jet-powered Shaheds; hits were recorded at 23 locations and debris fell at six.
- Aviation, missile units, electronic warfare, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups repelled the attack.
- Kyiv Post reports one person was killed in Odesa and more than 600,000 customers lost power in Dnipropetrovsk region.
- Russia's Defense Ministry separately claimed 142 Ukrainian drones intercepted overnight.
23. New arXiv paper: a certified method for choosing which UAV in a team should launch to intercept a moving target among no-fly obstacles
Researchers M. M. Rizvi of Federation University Australia and Masuda Akter of the University of Chittagong present an obstacle-aware framework that picks which UAV in a heterogeneous team should be launched to intercept a moving target first.
- It accounts for each UAV's speed, turning radius and launch delay, and returns the same choice as solving every UAV while skipping many.
- In 20 random simulated scenarios, picking the nearest UAV was wrong 9 times and the fastest 14 times.
- A simulated case study over Bangladesh has the Dhaka-based vehicle intercept an intruder in 8.91 minutes.
- All results are simulations; the authors say per-UAV path optimization is heuristic, not certified optimal.
Sources: arXiv24. Owen West (DoW), personal X account: lawmakers threaten to starve a budget with "urgent investments" in robots, AI and space unless the War Secretary resigns
Owen West, writing on his personal X account, said the War Secretary "builds a budget with urgent investments in three generational military revolutions: robots, SI and space," calling congressional threats to withhold funding unless Hegseth resigns "circular logic."
- The post is opinion on a personal account, not an official department statement.
- It comes days after midterm elections shifted control of Congress.
- West did not cite specific budget lines.
Sources: Owen West on X25. Russian forces set up mannequin decoys of air-defense mobile fire teams along roads in occupied territory, analysts say to counter AI-enabled drones
Militarnyi reports the Exilenova+ Telegram channel published footage of improvised positions on roads in occupied territory where mannequins in military gear simulate Russian air-defense mobile fire teams.
- Exilenova+ analysts say it is likely an attempt to counter drones that independently detect and automatically engage targets.
- Ukraine stepped up drone strikes on Russian rear logistics this spring, and Russia deployed mobile fire teams in response.
- Ukrainian drone units have struck such teams, including in May on routes between Donetsk and Crimea.
- The footage comes from a Telegram channel and the decoy purpose is analysts' assessment.
Sources: Militarnyi
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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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