AUTOWAR25 No. 29P · Afternoon Edition
The Army says it will fly its small attack drones until they break and buy new ones rather than stockpile them, and the Navy's Pacific submarine commander says three undersea drone programs are nearing operational use. Ukrainian officials call the renewed Starshield speed cap deliberate U.S. pressure, and Britain puts AI software across its commandos and buys motherships for uncrewed mine hunters.
1. The Army will fly its small attack drones "until they break" and buy new ones instead of stockpiling them, as 10,000 of the first 30,000 Drone Dominance drones arrive
Army Materiel Command's small-drone manufacturing lead, Jon Strzelec, told Breaking Defense the service will "manufacture to deliver, not to stock," replacing small drones rather than sustaining them because countermeasures make them obsolete so fast.
- Strzelec said Russia can counter a new Ukrainian drone within 72 hours, so swapping cards and reflashing software costs more than building a new one.
- The Army was receiving 10,000 of the first 30,000 small drones from Drone Dominance Gauntlet 1, bound for unit training.
- Soldiers are told to train hard with them: "if you crash 10 of them until you can get [number] 11 through, do it."
- Larger Group 2 drones (21 to 55 lbs) used for surveillance or delivery will likely still be sustained.
Sources: Breaking Defense2. The Navy's Pacific submarine commander says the Orca, CAMP and Dragonfish undersea drones are all progressing toward "meaningful operational employment"
Rear Adm. Chris Cavanaugh, commander of submarine forces for U.S. Pacific Fleet, told the Naval Submarine League Symposium that three Navy uncrewed underwater vehicle programs are progressing toward operational use, Inside Defense's Nick Wilson reports.
- The three: the Orca extra-large UUV, the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform (CAMP) and the Dragonfish large-displacement UUV.
- Cavanaugh: "Those are all progressing towards meaningful operational employment."
- The symposium in Arlington, Va., runs Nov. 12–13 with Submarine Force leaders and a robotics and autonomous systems portfolio session on the agenda.
Sources: Inside Defense3. Ukrainian officials tell the FT the new Starshield speed cap is deliberate U.S. pressure tied to peace talks, as the European Commission tells SpaceX to restore service
Senior Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times they believe the 161 km/h (100 mph) cap on Starshield links over the front was imposed to pressure Kyiv during peace talks, and the European Commission called the outages "unacceptable" if confirmed, Ukrainska Pravda and Euromaidan Press report.
- Commission spokesperson Tom Regnier: Starshield service "must be urgently restored."
- A presidential adviser said the cap again cut links to helicopters and jet interceptors that hunt Russian drones, Euromaidan Press reports.
- Overnight into Nov. 12, 73 of the 123 Shahed-type drones Russia launched were jet-powered.
- Zelensky also raised the disruptions with NATO's Mark Rutte; SpaceX has not commented.
4. The Royal Navy signs a multimillion-pound deal to put Arondite's Cobalt AI software across UK Commando Force, tying its sensors and autonomous platforms into one system
The UK Ministry of Defence says the Royal Navy will deploy Arondite's Cobalt mission orchestration software across UK Commando Force to integrate its sensors, autonomous platforms and data feeds and speed up decisions in contested environments.
- Announced at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo; the deal value is described only as multimillion-pound.
- UK Commando Force gets a £100 million capability uplift for High North amphibious operations under the Defence Investment Plan.
- The platform will be opened to Norwegian units for joint testing under the JEF's new Northern Navies Initiative.
- Arondite is also investing £35 million to open in Norway.
Sources: GOV.UK (Ministry of Defence)5. Britain will buy three Norwegian P1118 ships as motherships for the Royal Navy's uncrewed mine-hunting systems, and names a £90 million Atlantic Net undersea surveillance award
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Norway's Tore O. Sandvik confirmed the UK will join Norway's P1118 Standardised Vessel Programme for three Offshore Support Vessels that will carry uncrewed mine-hunting systems, the Royal Navy says.
- The first ship arrives in 2031, with an option for three more; £90 million was added in the Defence Investment Plan.
- The Royal Navy cites Iran's mining of the Strait of Hormuz as sharpening the sea-mine threat.
- The same release names Atlantic Net, a £90 million Ministry of Defence contract to Ocean Infinity combining autonomous and uncrewed systems with sensors to watch for underwater threats in the North Atlantic.
Sources: Royal Navy · Forces News6. Ukrainian Marines fly an explosive ground robot across the Dnipro by aerial drone and drive it into a Russian drone team's building, a first, the unit says
Ukraine's 426th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment says a Perun aerial drone dropped a ground robot carrying a 7 kg warhead on the Russian-held bank of the Dnipro, where it drove to a Russian drone operators' building and was detonated, UNITED24 Media reports.
- The unit calls it the first air-delivered ground robot landed on the occupied east bank.
- The robot kept full communications after landing; its camera and overhead drones spotted more Russian positions for FPV strikes.
- The Ukrainian Navy says the mission was filmed and no Ukrainian personnel were lost.
Sources: UNITED24 Media7. Taiwan begins launch trials of the nine-meter Black Whale extra-large underwater drone, built by Lungteh Shipbuilding with Britain's MSubs and Marine AI
Taiwan began first launch trials of the Black Whale extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle at Su'ao Harbor in Yilan County on Nov. 11 without a prior official announcement, Army Recognition reports, citing Taiwanese outlet PeoPo.
- Lungteh Shipbuilding developed it with MSubs and Marine AI as an experimental platform for autonomous navigation and modular underwater payloads.
- Possible roles include maritime surveillance, underwater reconnaissance and mine countermeasures.
- Propulsion, speed, depth and endurance are undisclosed, and no Taiwanese Navy buy or deployment timeline has been announced.
- First shown at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September 2025.
Sources: Army Recognition8. The FBI plans to more than triple counter-drone mitigation training for state and local police as SAFER SKIES Act authorities take effect
FBI officials told a Nov. 9 forum that the National Counter-UAS Training Center will run 10 classes of 32 this year, about 320 trainees, up from fewer than 100 graduates last year, DroneLife reports.
- The expansion follows the SAFER SKIES Act, which lets accredited state, local, tribal and territorial agencies seek drone-mitigation authority.
- Agencies must finish FBI accreditation before sending officers to mitigation training.
- The forum was co-hosted by the White House Task Force on the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Sources: DroneLife9. The Czech Republic may send Ukraine up to 16 L-39NG Skyfox light jets, a cheaper way to hunt Russia's Shahed-type drones than fighters
Czech Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček raised an expanded deal in Kyiv covering four Skyfox jets already agreed plus 12 more under discussion, which TWZ's Thomas Newdick says could give Ukraine another tool against Russian attack drones.
- No final agreement on the extra 12 aircraft was announced.
- The L-39NG is a modernized version of the Cold War-era L-39 Albatros trainer.
- Euromaidan Press notes the jets are cheaper to fly than F-16s as Russia's jet-powered drones multiply.
Sources: TWZ · Euromaidan Press10. Poland's defense ministry hires SATIM for AI software that automatically analyzes military radar satellite imagery, building on its German SPOCK-1 work
SATIM, a Polish maker of AI tools for synthetic aperture radar imagery, won a Ministry of National Defence contract for automated satellite-image analysis supporting Poland's MikroSAR program, Defense News' Jaroslaw Adamowski reports.
- MikroSAR is being built by ICEYE and PGZ's WZL-1 and is the first piece of Poland's planned military space capability.
- SATIM already supports Rheinmetall on Germany's SPOCK-1 satellite reconnaissance program.
- Contract value was not disclosed.
Sources: Defense News11. The Army awards Safe Pro $2.5 million to run AI threat-detection software on Anduril Ghost-X drones that scout for mines and FPV ambushes ahead of Abrams tanks
The Army awarded Safe Pro Group a $2.5 million prime contract to run its Ground Truth Air software on Ghost-X drones to protect Abrams tanks, The Defence Blog's Emily Ryan Miller reports.
- The onboard software scans live video for more than 150 threat types, including landmines, cluster munitions and ambush FPV drones.
- Detections are sent to ATAK and Anduril's Lattice.
- Awarded through a Commercial Solutions Opening; duration, drone numbers and units weren't disclosed, nor accuracy figures.
Sources: The Defence Blog12. Ukrainian-founded drone maker UFORCE raises $700 million at a $6 billion valuation to build drones and autonomous systems in the U.S. and Europe
UFORCE, a defense technology company founded in Ukraine and headquartered in London, raised a $700 million Series A co-led by Valor Equity Partners and the UK's National Wealth Fund, DroneLife's Miriam McNabb reports.
- Investors include the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund and Menlo Ventures.
- The money is for more production, R&D and factories closer to allied customers.
- UFORCE builds air, land and sea autonomous systems plus AI and command-and-control software.
Sources: DroneLife13. A Ukrainian assault regiment flies a wounded soldier off the front on a StarGate evacuation drone, the sixth such rescue
Soldiers of the 475th Separate Assault Regiment evacuated a comrade wounded by a Russian FPV drone on a StarGate heavy drone because terrain, mines and shelling ruled out ground evacuation, Ukrainska Pravda reports, citing maker SkyFall.
- The soldier could not walk and was dragged to the drone by a comrade.
- He reached a stabilization point and is being treated.
- SkyFall says StarGate drones have now evacuated six Ukrainian soldiers; video was supplied by the maker.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda14. "Drones are the fruit flies of warfare": a DCMA commander proposes forcing four drone generations a year so U.S. upgrades impose costly counters on adversaries
In a Breaking Defense op-ed, Col. Dustin Thomas, commander of DCMA's Special Programs Command, and Maj. Aubry J. Eaton argue the military should run experiments that push teams through four drone generations in 12 months while changing the threat every quarter.
- They point to Russia's Geran moving to a Chinese turbojet, which made much of Ukraine's propeller-drone defenses irrelevant.
- The goal: cheap software or hardware changes that force an adversary into expensive redesigns or factory overhauls.
- Thomas previously led DCMA's Unmanned Systems–Experimental Command and the Blue List program.
Sources: Breaking Defense15. Defense One launches its Futures podcast with "Robot Wars," on how the Army and NATO are changing buying, building and training for autonomy
Patrick Tucker's debut episode of Defense One Futures covers Army battlefield-robotics training at Fort Bragg and Clark Range and NATO's September autonomous maritime exercise.
- Guests include Maj. Gen. Jason Slider of the JFK Special Warfare Center and School and Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski.
- Also featured: NATO CMRE director Eric Poulique, CNA's Sam Bendett and ISW's George Barros.
Sources: Defense One16. Russia launches 143 strike drones at Ukraine in daytime attacks, 66 of them jet-powered; Ukraine says it downed or jammed 124
Ukraine's Air Force says that between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time on Nov. 12, Russia launched 143 strike drones, 66 of them jet-powered, plus S8000 Banderol/Dan-T missiles, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
- Air defenses shot down or jammed 124 drones, including 60 jet-powered ones, and two S8000 missiles.
- Several Russian drones remained in Ukrainian airspace at the time of the report.
Sources: Ukrainska Pravda17. 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: TWZ18. 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 News19. 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 Media20. 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 Stripes21. 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 News22. 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 WarRoom23. 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 Blog24. 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: Quwa25. 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)
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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.
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- 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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