AUTOWAR25 No. 29A · Morning Edition
Zelensky says Starshield speed limits are back across the front, slowing the interceptors Ukraine needs against Russia's jet-powered drones. Northrop Grumman confirms it will work toward flying its Talon Blue combat drone from a British carrier in 2027, the Philippine Marines receive two U.S. drone boats, and Taiwan readies a tender for 1,320 one-way attack sea drones.
1. Zelensky says Starshield speed limits are back across the front, slowing the interceptors Ukraine uses to catch Russia's jet-powered drones
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 12 that Ukraine's military has faced systematic speed restrictions on Starshield, the militarized Starlink, for several days, capping its use at 161 km/h (100 mph), the Kyiv Independent's Yuliia Taradiuk reports.
- Zelensky says the cap makes it much harder to intercept Russian jet-powered drones, and some Russian strikes got through because interceptors could not reach the speed needed.
- He called the limits systematic, not "random errors," and said Kyiv is working out the circumstances with the United States.
- A corps-level commander in Donetsk Oblast told the outlet the cap also makes Ukraine's middle-strike drones easier for Russia to intercept or evade.
- SpaceX had not commented; a similar cap was imposed without warning in mid-October.
Sources: Kyiv Independent2. Northrop Grumman confirms it will work with the Royal Navy toward flying its Talon Blue combat drone from a British carrier in 2027, as the statement of intent is signed
New: Northrop Grumman told TWZ's Joseph Trevithick it looks forward to "working with the Royal Navy over the next 12 months" on a carrier demonstration of Talon Blue (YFQ-48A), as First Sea Lord Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins signs a statement of intent aboard HMS Prince of Wales on Thursday.
- The agreement prepares the Talon demonstrator for trials under Project Vanquish, aiming for a 2027 demonstration in U.K. waters that includes a carrier launch.
- Northrop called Thursday's signing "an important step in demonstrating relevant British naval capabilities."
- Talon Blue's first flight was announced only last month.
- Jenkins: "Not by waiting years for a perfect solution, but by working with industry."
Sources: TWZ3. The Philippine Marine Corps receives two MARTAC T38 Devil Ray drone boats from the U.S., the third American USV handover to Manila since 2024
Two T38 Devil Ray uncrewed surface vessels were handed to the Philippine Marine Corps at Subic Bay last week through Washington's latest drone transfer, Naval News' Aaron-Matthew Lariosa reports.
- The Philippine Navy's USV unit already operates one T38, four MANTIS T12 and four Triton autonomous USVs.
- The Devil Ray can sail up to 2,400 nautical miles and carry ISR, strike or electronic warfare payloads, or launch a smaller MANTIS T12.
- "Receiving a capability is one thing, developing it, sustaining it, and making it operationally effective is another," said PMC Deputy Commandant Brig. Gen. Bayani Curaming.
- The Marines are refocusing on maritime domain awareness at First Island Chain chokepoints facing the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.
Sources: Naval News4. Taiwan's navy prepares to open bidding on 1,320 one-way attack drone boats, as researchers warn the buy leaves surveillance, mine warfare and island resupply uncovered
Taiwan's navy is expected to open bidding by the end of 2026 on the first batch of 1,320 expendable strike sea drones worth nearly NT$30 billion, but Taiwanese think tanks warn the program leaves three missions uncovered, Storm Media's Walter Liu reports.
- More than 10 Taiwanese and foreign companies have shown interest.
- Researchers say Taiwan also needs sea drones for gray-zone surveillance, mine laying and clearing, and resupplying outlying islands.
- An ITRI analyst notes waves in the strait top 2 meters about 40% of the time in monsoon season, hard on small USVs' sensors and stability.
Sources: Storm Media5. Soldiers in Hawaii test six companies' ground robots for jungle resupply and casualty evacuation, and the Army plans these tests every quarter
New: Stars and Stripes' Wyatt Olson reports six companies are competing for cash awards and possible Army contracts at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, and the Army's G-TEAD directorate says such accelerated capability events with U.S. Army Pacific will now run quarterly.
- U.S. Army Pacific asked for systems to move supplies, ammo and wounded troops; robots are graded on endurance, ease of use and vulnerability to electronic warfare.
- Col. Chris Hill: soldier feedback goes "directly to the company," not to engineers in Huntsville or D.C.
- Stridar's battery-powered Siderunner carries 500 pounds for about 15 hours and costs $45,000 with software; Dataspeed's Tweedle hits 60 mph.
- BlueSky Innovations' tracked jEKYLL can tow up to 22,000 pounds.
Sources: Stars and Stripes6. SeaOwl and KNDS unveil Tracus, a box-launched kamikaze drone boat with a 30 kg warhead for anti-ship and anti-swarm missions, at Euronaval
French maritime robotics firm SeaOwl and KNDS signed a cooperation agreement at Euronaval 2026 in Paris to develop and field Tracus, a kamikaze uncrewed surface vessel, Naval News reports.
- KNDS's 30 kg fragmentation warhead is designed to punch through 20 mm steel and open a breach up to 3 meters wide.
- A box launcher drops it into the water from up to 7 meters in seconds, from almost any surface combatant.
- Specs: 35 knots and up to 200 km range; a blast charge variant targets incoming drone swarms or small boats.
- Navigation is highly autonomous, but a remote operator makes the final engagement decision and can abort and recover it.
Sources: Naval News7. Russia pitches its Shahed-class Garpiya-A1 one-way attack drone to foreign buyers, claiming 1,000 km range and offering local production
State exporter Rosoboronexport displayed the export Garpiya-A1 (E) at the International Collective Security Forum in Moscow on Nov. 10, Defense WarRoom's Thomas Kerval reports.
- Made by Almaz-Antey, it is marketed to hit fixed targets up to 1,000 km away with a warhead over 50 kg.
- Rosoboronexport claims accuracy within 4 m; that figure has not been independently verified.
- Serial production of the export variant began in August; the exporter says it is open to localizing production in friendly countries.
- The forum ran alongside the CSTO leaders' summit in Moscow.
Sources: Defense WarRoom8. An unnamed Middle East buyer orders $405 million of LOCUST X3 anti-drone lasers, aimed at Shahed-type drones
AeroVironment won a $405 million direct commercial sales order for LOCUST X3 lasers from an unnamed Middle East customer, The Defence Blog's Emily Ryan Miller reports.
- The LOCUST X3 is a 30-kilowatt laser for Group 1 to 3 drones, from quadcopters to about 600 kg.
- The company named Shahed-series one-way attack drones as the threat it is meant to counter.
- No buyer, quantity or delivery schedule was disclosed; an in-country maintenance depot is planned.
- It is the second international LOCUST sale, after a first foreign buyer in September.
Sources: The Defence Blog9. Pakistan's Air Force shows off new loitering munitions and a jet-powered decoy drone, signaling a shift to drone-led warfare
A Pakistan Air Force video released Nov. 8 revealed an improved YIHA-III (a Baykar Sivrisinek variant), Lightning-1 and Lightning-2 loitering munitions, the Arrow-1 and an unnamed jet-powered decoy or munition, Quwa's Bilal Khan reports.
- Serial numbers in the video suggest the PAF has at least 556 Sivrisinek/YIHA-III airframes.
- The PAF says the Chinese-licensed Lightning series was used in long-range strikes on Afghanistan in September 2026.
- The jet-powered drone, launched by rocket booster from a rail, resembles Turkey's Şimşek family and could serve as a decoy, electronic attack, reconnaissance or strike weapon.
- Quwa reads the inductions as a move toward manned-unmanned teaming.
Sources: Quwa10. Saudi air defenses intercept Houthi cruise missiles and drones aimed at Riyadh, Mecca and other regions for a second straight day
The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed three cruise missiles headed for the Riyadh region, two drones aimed at Mecca and southern areas, and two missiles aimed west on Nov. 11, Reuters reports via Al-Monitor.
- Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree denied targeting Mecca and claimed an attack on a pumping station at Yanbu, which Saudi Arabia did not confirm.
- It was the second straight day of interceptions over Riyadh.
- Fighting has intensified since September; a Houthi attack on Riyadh's airport last month killed 13.
Sources: Al-Monitor (Reuters)11. NATO's transformation chief says the alliance hid Ukrainian forces and Ukrainian-made drone boats in its drills as a "red team" to force NATO to adapt faster
Adm. Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, told Breaking Defense that NATO has hidden Ukrainian forces and Ukrainian-made uncrewed surface vessels in exercises as the red team against NATO's blue force, to "trigger an adaptation cycle" in the alliance.
- Ukraine's Defense Ministry has said its red team beat NATO members at sea in five of five scenarios at REPMUS 2025 off Portugal, reportedly using uncrewed surface vessels.
- Vandier: amphibious operations now face naval and aerial drones alike, so "you cannot envisage any kind of operations without counter-drone" defenses.
- NATO's "Fight Club" at the Joint Warfare Centre builds vignettes to test, for example, how many drones in a swarm it takes to overwhelm a navy.
Sources: Breaking Defense12. The Army begins testing self-driving cars and vans at Fort Benning and Fort Hood, aiming to replace part of the Pentagon's 150,000-vehicle non-tactical fleet
Five autonomous vehicles from the Army–Defense Innovation Unit ROADS prize challenge arrived at Fort Benning Nov. 4 to test self-driving passenger shuttles on post, part of a push to replace some of the department's non-tactical vehicles, the Army and Task & Purpose report.
- Fort Benning will run six vehicles, four electric and two hybrid, from Applied Intuition, Forterra/May Mobility and Perrone Robotics.
- Human drivers first map approved paved routes for two to three weeks; phased demonstrations run through late 2026, with safety drivers before any driverless runs.
- ROADS, launched in May, offers up to $30 million in prizes; the department runs more than 150,000 non-tactical vehicles.
- Army chief of staff CTO Alex Miller told Task & Purpose the goal is to free soldiers from "driving water and MREs around post."
Sources: U.S. Army · Task & Purpose13. Ukrainian units have ordered more than 1.5 million drones worth over $2 billion through the DOT-Chain Defence online marketplace, the Defense Ministry says
Since DOT-Chain Defence opened in July 2025, Ukrainian combat units have bought more than 1.5 million drones worth over $2 billion from a catalog of more than 1,800 items from 300 Ukrainian makers, the Defense Ministry said, as reported by Euromaidan Press.
- Top sellers: fiber-optic and radio FPV drones, interceptor drones, and heavy bomber and fixed-wing drones, then ground robots, EW systems and drone munitions.
- In-stock items reach units in about eight days on average; pre-orders take about a month and a half.
- Units choose and order the gear themselves with state funds, pushing weapon choice down to the users.
Sources: Euromaidan Press14. The Royal Navy orders Saab Sea Giraffe 1X radars for Kraken K3 Scout drone boats in a £15 million deal, giving its uncrewed surface vessels a counter-drone air picture
The Royal Navy has awarded Saab a £15 million contract for several Sea Giraffe 1X radars to be integrated on Kraken Technology Group's K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel for maritime surveillance and counter-drone early warning, Unmanned Airspace reports.
- The pairing was shown at the commissioning of the Royal Navy's first Autonomous Squadron, part of its Hybrid Fleet.
- It falls under Project BEEHIVE, the Navy's payload-integration effort for uncrewed surface vessels.
- Capt. Adam Ballard, deputy commander of the Surface Flotilla: it will give an air picture for early detection of hostile air tracks "for subsequent engagement."
Sources: Unmanned Airspace15. U.S. Africa Command will test an autonomous Cessna Caravan air ambulance in Morocco, flying a full casualty-evacuation mission with an AI copilot
AFRICOM is set to demonstrate autonomous casualty evacuation in Morocco with a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan flown by Merlin Labs' AI "copilot," under its Autonomous CASEVAC Industry Technology Challenge, TWZ's Joseph Trevithick reports.
- The demo covers the full mission: tasking, flight planning, autonomous departure, flight to an austere casualty collection site and the return.
- It is scheduled for early fiscal 2027, which began Oct. 1.
- AFRICOM awarded a small $500,000 contract for the demonstration.
- TWZ notes autonomous CASEVAC could matter for dispersed island operations in the Pacific too.
Sources: TWZ16. CSET's "The PLA's Push for Military Robotics" analyzes 2,000+ Chinese military robotics solicitations, from robot dogs to undersea demolition and satellite capture
A new CSET issue brief by Sam Bresnick, "The PLA's Push for Military Robotics," analyzes more than 2,000 open-source People's Liberation Army robotics requests for proposal published from October 2022 to December 2025 across the ground, maritime and space domains.
- Quadrupeds (from firms such as Unitree and DEEP Robotics) far outnumber humanoids, though humanoid and exoskeleton requests rose in 2025.
- Most requests are for human-controlled systems, but many seek SLAM, autonomous path planning and GPS-denied navigation.
- Eye-catching asks include laser ordnance disposal, attaching explosives to undersea targets and capturing satellites on orbit.
- Mostly small contracts suggest R&D and learning rather than mass fielding, with commercial firms feeding in through military-civil fusion.
Sources: CSET17. China's GJ-11 stealth combat drone enters PLA Air Force service at the "system level" after its first live precision-guided bomb drop
The PLA Air Force has disclosed that the Hongdu GJ-11 uncrewed combat air vehicle conducted its first live precision-guided munition drop as the aircraft enters service at the "system level," Aviation Week's Chen Chuanren reports.
- What's new: the PLAAF now describes the GJ-11 as entering service, not just in testing.
- Earlier state TV footage showed the drone teamed with J-20 and J-16 fighters and its internal weapons bays.
Sources: Aviation Week18. India's Army begins field trials of jet-powered kamikaze drones from 11 Indian firms, its first buy of high-speed one-way attack drones with 540 units planned
The Indian Army is starting field trials at Pokhran, Rajasthan, of indigenous jet-powered kamikaze drones from 11 shortlisted companies in a program estimated at Rs 2,000 crore, Chakra News reports.
- The Army plans 540 units under Fast Track Procurement, its first program for high-speed kamikaze attack drones.
- About 60 firms answered the July RFI; 18 bid and 11 qualified, including Bharat Forge with VEDA Aeronautics, Adani Defence, Tonbo and Munitions India.
- The drones should fly around 450 km/h, versus 150–200 km/h for propeller loitering munitions.
- Vendors must show a full package, including transport vehicles and mission-planning vehicles.
Sources: Chakra News19. Helsing launches Clarity, a military AI platform of hundreds of AI agents pitched as a sovereign European alternative to Palantir
German defense tech firm Helsing on Nov. 11 unveiled Clarity, which uses hundreds of specialized AI agents to analyze satellite imagery, drone video, signals and reports in parallel and prepare targeting information, the Kyiv Independent's Jakub Laichter reports.
- Human operators approve every target and handover to weapons, Helsing said.
- It promises militaries control of their data, models and operations, running on customer-owned infrastructure.
- NATO already uses Palantir's Maven Smart System; Ukraine's Avengers Labs holds more than 5 million annotated battlefield frames.
Sources: Kyiv Independent20. Ukraine's SBU says its drone pilots hit the Russian Baltic Fleet missile ship Naro-Fominsk during the overnight drone attack on the Ust-Luga port
The Security Service of Ukraine said its drone pilots struck the Buyan-M-class small missile ship Naro-Fominsk, a Kalibr and Oniks carrier commissioned in 2022, on the night of Nov. 10–11 during the operation against oil infrastructure at Ust-Luga, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
- The SBU said the strike on the ship was planned in advance.
- It said it is still verifying reports that Russian combat helicopters were destroyed during the overnight operation.
- No independent damage assessment has been published.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda21. Zaluzhnyi says drones have brought naval warfare its biggest change since the torpedo, pitching Ukraine's "hybrid mosquito fleet" to allies
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK and former commander-in-chief, told the Atlantic Future Forum aboard HMS Prince of Wales in Oslo that ship tonnage and gun caliber no longer define sea power, Euromaidan Press reports.
- He said Ukrainian uncrewed boats destroyed at least a third of Russia's pre-war Black Sea Fleet and pushed it back to Novorossiysk.
- Ukraine's "hybrid mosquito fleet" concept could help allies defend coastal waters, he said.
- Of 131 Russian hits on civilian ships, he said 55 were on NATO-flagged vessels.
Sources: Euromaidan Press22. A PLA brigade makes counter-drone training mandatory after a thermal-camera drone spotted troops hidden under jungle cover in an exercise
A brigade of the PLA's 75th Group Army introduced compulsory counter-drone training after a thermal-imaging drone found soldiers under jungle vegetation and cued artillery in an exercise, Unmanned Airspace reports, citing China Military Online.
- The brigade added new manuals, tactical drills and dedicated counter-drone training facilities.
- Training covers detecting and disrupting drones, using specialized equipment and coordinated infantry responses.
- Former U.S. Army attaché Dennis Blasko told the South China Morning Post unit-level experiments risk duplication without standard procedures.
Sources: Unmanned Airspace23. The Air Force seeks gear to run DroneShield counter-drone kits at Joint Base San Antonio
The 502nd Contracting Squadron posted a brand-name-only request for quotes on Nov. 10 for equipment to operate DroneShield Immediate Response Kits at Joint Base San Antonio, with offers due Nov. 17, The Defence Blog's Colton Jones reports.
- Each kit pairs a DroneGun Mk4 rifle-style jammer with an RfPatrol Mk2 body-worn detector.
- The buy is set aside for small businesses, so resellers rather than DroneShield are expected to bid.
- The notice does not list quantities or which units will use the kits.
Sources: The Defence Blog24. Ukrainian missile and drone maker Fire Point asks for Starshield coverage 200–300 km beyond Ukraine's borders to hunt ballistic missile launchers
Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh told Breaking Defense's Jonas Olsson that extending Starshield licenses 200 to 300 km into Russia "could dramatically impact" how Ukraine counters ballistic missile attacks, ahead of talks on renewing Kyiv's contract.
- Coverage is now limited to Ukrainian territory, including occupied areas, Terekh said.
- Most ballistic launchers fire from the short range just across the border, she said.
- Ukraine's Starshield contract expires in mid-2027, a senior official said.
Sources: Breaking Defense25. Drones hit Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, about 2,500 km from Ukraine, for the third time since summer
Drones attacked Gazprom Neft's Omsk refinery, Russia's largest, on the evening of Nov. 11, with explosions continuing for more than two hours, Ukrainska Pravda reports, citing The Moscow Times and local residents.
- The refinery sits about 2,500 km from Ukraine's border.
- Mobile internet was restricted and Omsk airport halted flights, the governor's spokesperson said.
- Drones previously hit the refinery on July 6 and Oct. 8.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda
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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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