Douglas A. Macgregor's Blog, page 11

Rafael unveils new high-speed L-Spike 4X loitering munition

JERUSALEM — The American arm of Israeli defense firm Rafael has unveiled the newest entrant to its Spike family of missiles, this one a high-speed, rocket-powered loitering munition dubbed L-Spike 4X Launched Effect.

The company says the new munition can be fired from its Spike NLOS launchers like more traditional Spike missiles, but the L-Spike 4X adds the capability to loiter over a target before striking like a kamikaze drone. The missile combines “high-speed transit, seeker precision and mission persistence for contested operational environments,” the company said in a statement.

Yoav Tourgeman, the CEO and President of Rafael said that “with L-SPIKE 4X we bring Spike’s missile pedigree into a new dimension — combining the speed and precision of a missile with the persistence of a Launched Effect.”

The new munition looks like a missile but with an optic in the nose and a cruciform wing design with wings four wings in the front and four in the rear. This design has commonalities with other loitering munitions and also has a similar wing design as the Spike NLOS, while being a different type of munition with a different body and forward portion. 

The company says that the new weapon, which is “intended for engagements at ranges of up to 40 km” or approximately 25 miles, is a missile with loitering capabilities “built in” and is not an unmanned aerial system that has a “retrofitted” warhead. 

Rafael USA said it will be offered in “two primary warhead configurations: Tandem HEAT and Multi-Purpose.” 

The missile can reach that 40km range in five minutes, which Rafael says is faster than “most electric loitering effects.” The weapon can also loiter over its target for up to 25 minutes. 

“The system is designed for operation in contested electromagnetic environments and GPS-denied environments and includes hardened communications to sustain control under interference,” the company said in a statement on Aug. 9. Drones and loitering munitions are increasingly facing the issue of GPS-denied environments and other types of jamming and spoofing.

The US Army has been testing launched effects over the last several years, including launching some from Black Hawks or from the ground. The US military has been increasing its procurement of various types of drones, loitering munitions and categories of launched effects as it seeks to expand its unmanned capabilities.

Rafael’s Spike family of missiles have been used by up to 45 countries, and are often used for anti-tank and similar types of missiles. 

Rafael also makes the Spike Firefly, which is a tactical loitering munition that has been used by the IDF. Unlike the new missile, the Firefly is a small munition that hovers using a series of blades similar to a helicopter.  

PEO Aviation has ‘doubled down’ on priorities amid ATI, looming acquisition shakeup

AUSA 2025 — Major programs from the Army’s aviation portfolio have been on the chopping block as part of its overarching transformation initiative, dubbed ATI. But between the ATI and the looming acquisition shakeup, the head of the Program Executive Office for Aviation told Breaking Defense that not only will the office’s mission remain the same, but he sees the changes as a way to double down on some of the service’s biggest priorities. 

“It comes down to the fundamental [fact] that our mission really hasn’t changed here at PEO Aviation. We design, deliver, support the very best modernized capabilities to soldiers, formations, our partners and allies. That’s not fundamentally changing,” PEO of Aviation Brig. Gen. David Phillips told Breaking Defense in a recent interview. 

“What has changed is that we’ve doubled down on the Army’s priorities, and I believe our Army senior leaders and Congress are helping us remove some of the barriers to acceleration,” he added.

The priorities, Phillips said, are the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, drones, launched effects and the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. The ATI put the helo FLRAA program at the top of the list of the service’s aviation priorities and as a result, the program, which is estimated to cost around $70 billion, is slated to potentially take funds away from other aviation programs. 

For example, the Army is halting buys of General Atomics’ Gray Eagle drone, shelving AH-64D Apaches, and stopping the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System competition. It’s also considering ending General Electric’s development of the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) and maybe reducing the quantity of HADES aircraft to fund FLRAA, Breaking Defense has previously reported. 

Phillips said he was unable to provide much context for the future of such programs, however he did say that his office is continuing to conduct testing on the ITEP initiative, which is slated to provide a new engine for UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apaches. Despite receiving money from the reconciliation bill, it’s still unclear if the service will move forward with the program. 

“So far we’ve been really successful with integration testing. We also have a lot of ground testing on the engine in altitude chambers. We’re continuing on with the resourcing we have available, and at the same time representing the course of action that Army senior leadership has,” Phillips said, adding that he sees an opportunity to complete the preliminary flight testing in fiscal 2026, at which point future procurement priorities will dictate where they go from there. 

In regards to the HADES program, meant to be the service’s next-gen high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, Army senior leaders told reporters in the spring that the service may buy six HADES aircraft instead of the originally intended 12 due to the rearranging of priorities spurred by the ATI. Phillips declined to comment on the status of the decision, but said it would ultimately depend on what the Army tells PEO Aviation to procure. 

Nonetheless, Phillips said he believes HADES is “probably one of the best examples of agile and adaptive acquisition” given the speed at which the program has been moving. Army officials have said they want to have an initial aircraft ready for the force by the end of 2026 or early 2027, and last month the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announced it received the second aircraft to be configured for the program. (SNC was awarded a 12-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity Army contract worth up to nearly $1 billion last year for the program.)

“We see real opportunity given the Army’s priorities and the Army’s very clear guidance, and the Secretary of War’s very clear guidance, on how to execute some of our priorities,” Phillips said, using a secondary name for the Secretary of Defense. “So really we look at 2026, [and] we’re very optimistic.”

Driscoll pushes Silicon Valley model for Army, Sikorsky goes unmanned at AUSA Day 1 [Video]

The annual Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference is officially moving out, as soldiers are wont to say. In this Day 1 wrap-up video, Breaking Defense’s Aaron Mehta and Lee Ferran hit a few highlights, including a keynote address by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll that may raise some eyebrows in corporate headquarters and the pilotless future of some Black Hawk helicopters.

Make sure to check out our AUSA landing page for all our stories, and our multimedia page for daily video roundups and photos from the conference.

Day 1 at the 2025 AUSA exposition [PHOTOS]

WASHINGTON — It’s that time of year again: Leaves are falling, a chill is in the air and ground vehicles are rolling into the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington. The US Army’s biggest annual trade show is entering uncharted territory as it opens its doors during a government shutdown. If the agenda goes as planned, expect to hear about acquisition reform, rushing new technology to the field and other changes taking shape at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s behest.

Not everything has changed. Industry still hopes to catch the eye of Army acquisition officials with an array of artillery, drones, trucks and more. Check out the sights of the first day of AUSA, and find full coverage of the show here.

A view of a show floor at the 2025 Association of the US Army’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC, Oct. 13, 2025. (Rachel Cohen/Breaking Defense)Oshkosh Defense debuts its Extreme Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle (X-MAV), an “autonomous-capable launcher solution that is engineered to support the future of long-range munitions,” Oct. 13, 2025, at the Association of the US Army’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC. (Rachel Cohen/Breaking Defense)

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Hanwha Aerospace are collaborating on a short takeoff-and-landing version of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. (Rachel Cohen/Breaking Defense)Rheinmetall brought its HX Common Tactical Truck, built in partnership with GM Defense, to the Association of the US Army’s Annual Meeting & Exposition, Oct. 13, 2025. (Rachel Cohen/Breaking Defense)Rafael’s Iron Beam is a 100kW-class laser weapon on track for operational use this year. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)BAE Systems is working with the US Army to mature its M109-52 Self-Propelled Howitzer prototype as the service looks to modernize its artillery inventory. (Aaron Mehta/Breaking Defense)Saab’s Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb is based on Boeing’s SDB and Lockheed Martin’s Multiple Launch Rocket System. (Rachel Cohen/Breaking Defense)

Army eyes larger all-source intelligence support to EW

AUSA 2025 — Electronic warfare has come to dominate the modern battlespace, and the Army is going to need greater all-source intelligence — using information from humans, signals, satellites and more — according to an army official. looking at greater all-source intelligence to support and inform electromagnetic warfare.

“We have to look at how all-source is supporting EW. We have to look at how HUMINT [human intelligence] is supporting EW through battle letter and through how their questions are flowing out to individuals that they’re interviewing,” Col. John Shemer, Army capability manager for intel sensors at the Intelligence Center of Excellence, said during a presentation at the annual AUSA conference. “We have to look at how counter intelligence is supporting EW, because they provide the baseline that is going to give all of our EW services … the protection that they need in order to be effective.”

Overall, Shemar said the Army needs to “look holistically internal[ly] to intelligence. In the past we would call it IEW. It’d be largely SIGINT [signals intelligence] related support to electromagnetic warfare. But when you look at the Department’s electromagnetic spectrum strategy. It’s more holistic than that.”

The service divested much of its electronic warfare capability after the Cold War. In the years since, the Army has sought not only to rebuild its arsenal, but its acumen in the spectrum against adversaries that are adept at maneuvering in the invisible domain, and it is now looking at more mature methods to inform its electronic warfare forces.

Signals intelligence and electronic warfare have been tightly coupled as there is a fine line between the two. But the battlefield of the future will be much more complex, and more sources will be needed to inform forces of their battlespace and what targets to jam. This will be important given that once forces decide to jam, they reveal their location to the enemy as well.

A potential example of all-source intel aiding the service, Shemer noted, is how geospatial intelligence could help inform units that what might look like an emitter on the battlefield based on its electromagnetic signature, could actually be something else.

“A GEOINT capability would detect that the emitter is not actually the target that you’re looking for. It’s not tank. It’s something else. It may look like a tank and smell like a tank, but through some geo technique, it is not a tank,” he said. “Then that flows through the all-source and that then informs the EW targeting layer that is going to go out and do their work on the battlefield.”

Army planning ’26 demo with ‘ultra long-range’ launched effect contenders

AUSA 2025 — The US Army is on the hunt for an air-launched unmanned platform that can soar out ahead 1,000 miles or more, and is looking to demo potential contenders next year, according to a senior service official.

“The idea with an ultra long-range launch effect is to extend the sensor capabilities of the Army and the Joint Force beyond what the organic platform itself can deliver,” said Andrew Evans, director for the Strategy & Transformation Office inside the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence shop (G-2).

While an acquisition plan is still in the works, the idea is to ultimately outfit spy planes like the future High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES).

“Imagine a scenario where you can bring a jet into an operational area, but you can’t get close enough to the threat … and then you send something in that can go even further, and now you have some penetrating capability,” he added. 

“Launched effects” can be a broad term but often refer to smaller drones that shoot out of something else mid-flight and can be used to collect information or strike targets. The service has been working on three ranges — short, medium and long — with tentative plans to also find a new ultra long-range option that can host payloads like Electro-Optical/Infrared and radio frequency sensors.

The tentative plan, according to Evans, is to host a demo of potential contenders somewhere in the April to late-September 2026. The location for that event has not yet been nailed down but will be on US soil. So far there are three or four contenders that might launch their capability from the ground for starters.

“In 2027 the idea would be to take the lessons that we learned in ‘26 and then put it on an aircraft … and then launch it,” Evans said.

Lockheed live-fires new vertical-launch JAGM for naval counter-drone role

AUSA 2025 — Lockheed Martin has test-fired its widely used Joint Air-to-Ground Missile from a new quad-pack launcher designed to fire the JAGM straight up, the company announced today.

Lockheed executives are optimistic their new JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL, pronounced “jackal”) will open up new sales in the rapidly growing counter-drone market, especially for naval forces, they said. At an average of $212,000 per missile (as of 2022 figures), JAGM is admittedly too expensive to efficiently counter large swarms of small drones, the execs acknowledged. But it’s still a lot cheaper than a Patriot, SM-6 or other high-performance interceptors, so they think it should readily find a niche, especially against mid-size drones. (Firing off a JAGM is also cheaper than repairing or outright replacing a naval patrol vessel, for example, after it was hit by a drone).

“JAGM [is] another arrow in the quiver for our customers,” said Casey Walsh, Lockheed’s director of multi-domain missile systems. “In this case, [we’re] targeting naval defense, ship defense for counter-UAS, as a primary market space for this JQL product.”

“There’s a lot of requirements floating around for counter-UAS needs on different US platforms,” added Lockheed’s launch systems director, Edward Dobeck. “Quite frankly, there has been a lot of interest in the international communities that have some of the smaller vessels,” which can’t carry full-size anti-missile systems.

JQL’s first live fire, at the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on Aug. 28, was only at a 45 degree angle and hit a stationary, decommissioned tank, Dobeck said. Another live fire is scheduled for November, this time against a drone in flight, and the company told reporters that it’s already in talks with potential customers.

“But in China Lake, where we are doing the November shot, it’ll be a UAV that we that we target,” Dobeck continued — and the launcher will fire straight up.

The Army has already successfully hit a drone with JAGM, along with several other types of missiles fired by AH-64 Apaches, in a recent demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina. That itself is a significant achievement for a missile originally designed first and foremost as a tank-killer.

But the horizontal launch rails used on helicopters and other ground-attack aircraft aren’t ideal for warships and ground vehicles, in part because they can only fire forward unless they’re mounted on bulky rotating turrets. Naval architects in particular prefer vertical launch systems (VLS), compact tubes that let a missile launch straight up and then rapidly veer off in any direction.

The tricky part of vertical launch is what to do with the missile’s flaming-hot exhaust, which can burn a hole in the deck if allowed to blast straight downward. Lockheed, however, has decades of experience with vertical launch systems of various sizes, notably the Navy’s mainstay Mk 41 VLS and the Army’s new Typhon MRC — both of which are built in the same Moorestown, NJ, factory as JAGM. The company uses ablative shielding, heat-resistant composites, and a form of fireproof plumbing called a “gas management system,” essentially a high-tech U-bend that diverts the hot exhaust so it shoots straight up alongside the missile itself.

Based on the test shots, Lockheed expects to make some software updates to improve JAGM’s counter-drone performance. But, it emphasizes, the missile will retain its full range of capabilities, including the ability to target moving ground vehicles and naval vessels with its dual seekers (one radar, one laser; Lockheed’s also flight-tested a third, infrared seeker). As long as the firing platform has an adequate targeting system — which isn’t guaranteed — the quad-pack JAGM should be able to take on everything from drones to tanks to ships.

PEO Aviation ‘can’t speak’ to long-term future of UH-60Ms, focusing on upgrades, maintenance

AUSA 2025 — Cuts spurred by the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) have raised questions and caused uncertainty throughout the entirety of the service, and its aviation portfolio, namely the Black Hawk program, has not been spared. 

As questions continue to swirl around the fate of the program, the head of the Program Executive Office for Aviation told Breaking Defense that though he’s not positive about how long the Black Hawk UH-60Ms will operate in the US Army, his current focus is on upgrading and maintaining the Sikorsky fleet. 

“I can’t speak to the long term future of the Mikes, [a common call sign for the Black Hawk UH-60M fleet], but what I’ll say is that they’re some of our newest, best platforms,” PEO of Aviation Brig. Gen. David Phillips told Breaking Defense in an interview. “What I offer is that we’re continuing to update Black Hawks with the integration of launched effects. That’s especially occurring in parallel with some of our UAS programs that we will bring into the field next summer, part of Project Convergence.” 

Questions regarding the fate of the Black Hawk in the Army began circulating after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unleashed the ATI in May. The ATI called for the Army to speed up its production of its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. When the program was first announced in 2022, the Army selected Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor as the FLRAA aircraft to eventually replace thousands — but not all — of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in a deal that could soar to $70 billion, as Breaking Defense previously reported.

But last year when service leaders revamped its aviation portfolio and canceled its next generation Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, it said the freed up funding would go in part toward a new UH-60M multi-year deal to carry out production past fiscal 2026. However, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and the service’s Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, told lawmakers in the spring that the contract is no longer a given.

The Army did not respond to a request for comment on whether the contract is still scheduled to be awarded in late 2026. The service has previously said that the next buy of Black Hawks will be its last, Aviation Week reported.

Jay Macklin, director of strategy and business development for Sikorsky Army and Air Force Systems, told reporters recently that the company is tracking the award, known as the multi-year XI, which they expect to be awarded in late 2026 and is for the production of UH-60Ms from 2027 to 2032. The original request for information for the award went out in July 2024, and was for a base order of 100-120 helicopters, with options for another 135-155 to begin in 2027. 

Regarding Phillips’ plans for the present, in addition to adding launched effects to the UH-60Ms, the service also plans to upgrade the UH-60M fleet by implementing an open systems architecture for information sharing as well as new “survivability” capabilities thanks to the increased number of sensors on the aircraft. The maintenance of the aircraft also maintains a priority, Phillips said.

“We’re continuing to maintain that modernized, lethal capability in the fleet. That survivability and lethality across our full portfolio is still very important — it’s really about the sustainability of these platforms. Our UH-60 Mikes are some of the greatest aircraft we’ve got, but over time they will continue to get older,” he added. “We’ll have Black Hawks in the fleet likely through the [20]40s and 50s.” 

The ambiguity surrounding the future of the Black Hawk fleet raises the possibility of the aircraft eventually becoming an unmanned platform. Sikorsky unveiled its plans to turn one of its older UH-60L models into a Group 5 UAS today, which it is calling the S70 UHawk. The funding for the new UAS, which is undergoing flight testing next year, is derived from internal company research and engineering efforts, Erskine “Ramsey” Bentley, director of strategy and business development for Sikorsky Advanced Programs, told reporters ahead of today’s announcement.

“Basically what we’ve done is we have taken a [UH-60L] model Black Hawk, and using our MATRIX autonomy system, have turned this aircraft into a UAS. Now, one of the unique things about the S70 UAS, or UHawk, as we call it, is we have completely removed the cockpit, the pilot and also the crew chief stations of the aircraft,” Bentley said. 

When asked if Sikorsky had plans to do the same for the UH-60M fleets, Igor Cherepinsky, the director of Sikorsky Innovations, said it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. 

“It all depends on the economics and price point,” he told reporters last week. “Right now we’re looking at [the UH-60Ls], but who knows” 

Phillips didn’t provide any comments on if he could foresee the same fate for the UH-60Ms. However, he said that “the effort has been going on for a while, and I believe that those internally funded efforts are very informative for the requirements for the market of autonomous platforms.”

Defending against the swarm with a mobile counter-UAS architecture

The counter-unmanned aerial systems (c-UAS) battlespace has reached a critical juncture. As recent conflicts have demonstrated, inexpensive commercial drones can deliver outsized effects against sophisticated military assets — shifting the balance of power from state actors to small, agile adversaries. This new reality has driven urgent demand for scalable, cost-effective c-UAS solutions capable of operating across both military and civilian domains.

Honeywell’s c-UAS system — a stationary and mobile UAS reveal and intercept system — embodies that evolution. Designed for on-the-move (OTM) operations, Honeywell’s c-UAS system integrates multiple sensors and effectors through a single-pane-of-glass interface, enabling operators to detect, identify, and defeat threats in real time. Its layered architecture combines non-kinetic effectors, such as cyber takeover and electronic jamming, with kinetic countermeasures to neutralize targets across diverse operational environments.

Engineered with a modular, open architecture, Honeywell’s c-UAS system allows rapid configuration to mission needs, while AI-enabled threat recognition and response recommendations accelerate decision-making. Built-in cybersecurity and encryption safeguard the system from interference, ensuring resilience in contested domains.

To explore the shifting c-UAS landscape and Honeywell’s role in shaping its future, Breaking Defense spoke with Steve Hadden, Vice President and General Manager of Services & Connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies.

Breaking Defense: What is the current state of the counter-UAS threat environment?

Steve Hadden, Vice President and General Manager of Services & Connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies.

Steve Hadden: The threat environment is flashing bright red. Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb underscored how rapidly the battlespace is evolving. Small, inexpensive drones are now capable of delivering disproportionate effects against sophisticated, high-value targets. This proliferation of aerial threat technology has forced ministries and departments of defense worldwide to act with urgency.

Each operational context presents unique challenges. In an active combat zone like Ukraine, the focus is on rapid, decisive neutralization. In a domestic or urban environment, the calculus changes — you must differentiate between hostile and benign air traffic while minimizing risk to civilians and critical infrastructure. Identifying whether an object approaching an Air Force base is a hostile system, a flock of birds, or a hobbyist aircraft requires a highly integrated sensor architecture and rapid, automated decision support.

The other pressing challenge is cost. Affordable, scalable interdiction must evolve in step with the exponential growth in drone activity. Across the globe, experimentation is accelerating, and we’re approaching a genuine inflection point in how militaries detect, classify, and defeat unmanned threats.

How essential is a multi-layered approach to counter-UAS?

It’s absolutely fundamental. No single effector or detection technology can address the full spectrum of unmanned threats. The only viable solution is a layered, integrated defense architecture operating through a common command-and-control environment that dynamically aligns sensors and effectors based on the nature of the threat.

For example, if a drone’s signature is recognized from a known library, the system can immediately employ a non-kinetic response — such as jamming or cyber takeover — to neutralize it safely. We’ve demonstrated multiple successful drone takeovers and controlled landings in live trials. Expanding that to simultaneous, multi-target scenarios is where we see near-term advancement.

The Honeywell counter-UAS system integrates multiple sensors and effectors through a single interface, enabling operators to detect, identify and defeat threats in real time. (Photo courtesy of Honeywell.)

Beyond non-kinetics, there’s the physical interdiction layer — drone-on-drone systems, netting, or precision kinetic engagement. And for swarms, wide-area or broadband jamming and high-power microwave (HPM) effects represent the final shield. Underpinning all of this is sensor fusion — combining radar, LiDAR, optical, and infrared data to form a coherent operational picture. It’s analogous to an air traffic control visualization, but dynamic, threat-informed, and mission-adaptive.

That layered concept aligns with Honeywell’s c-UAS On-The-Move (OTM) system. Can you elaborate?

Honeywell’s c-UAS system was designed precisely for that operational flexibility. It integrates multiple sensor modalities — radar, electro-optical, and infrared — within a modular, open architecture that allows for rapid integration of third-party effectors. We’ve partnered with leading innovators in drone interdiction, netting systems, and cyber defense to build a comprehensive, adaptive toolkit — a “Swiss Army knife” for counter-UAS operations.

For swarm defense, Honeywell’s c-UAS system can distinguish between a flock of birds and a coordinated swarm, determine threat intent, and initiate the appropriate countermeasure. Wide-area jamming is typically a last resort; ideally, operators employ HPM effectors capable of neutralizing entire formations. Our modular trailer design allows users to integrate indigenous or allied HPM systems — providing sovereign flexibility across defense ecosystems.

The on-the-move configuration enhances situational awareness. Through a unified mission command interface, operators receive a unified operational picture that fuses sensor data and recommends prioritized response actions. Human latency — the time between detection and decision — is minimized through AI-assisted automation, but ultimate control remains with a qualified operator. As threats evolve toward coordinated, multi-swarm engagements, AI and autonomy become indispensable in maintaining real-time responsiveness.

How is Honeywell investing to stay ahead of emerging drone threats?

Honeywell’s model is to leverage its deep commercial technology base to accelerate defense innovation — bringing mature, scalable, and cyber-hardened solutions to the mission set without waiting for government funding cycles.

We’ve invested heavily in our core command software, which serves as the digital backbone for integrating sensors, effectors, and AI analytics. We maintain dedicated testbeds to validate and stress-test upgrades in controlled environments, ensuring each release is field-proven before deployment.

Equally important, we’ve expanded our customer support infrastructure — deploying highly trained field engineers and digital sustainment teams to keep systems operational across any theater. That end-to-end lifecycle support — design, validation, deployment, sustainment — is what sets Honeywell apart in this space.

What’s next for Honeywell’s counter-UAS strategy?

We’re focused on the next evolution of swarm defense — developing and demonstrating omni-directional broadband jamming and mobile high-power microwave systems that can engage complex, multi-vector threats. Conducting those demonstrations safely requires specialized test environments, which we’re now scaling globally.

You’ll also see new configurations of Honeywell’s c-UAS system designed for land, maritime, and border-security missions. The core system is platform-agnostic — able to mount on a truck, a boat, or a fixed site — providing unmatched mobility and interoperability.

Ultimately, our vision is a modular, AI-driven, all-domain counter-UAS ecosystem that adapts in real time to the operational environment. Modularity and scalability aren’t just design features — they’re the foundation for long-term deterrence and mission assurance in the age of autonomous threats.

Shutdown will delay Air Force drone wingman’s first flight, Anduril executive says

WASHINGTON — An ongoing government shutdown will “certainly” set back a first flight of Anduril’s offering for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone wingman program, according to the company’s founder. 

Speaking with a group of reporters ahead of the annual AUSA conference in Washington, Palmer Luckey was asked when the company’s Fury drone, dubbed the YFQ-44A by the Air Force, would have its first test flight. General Atomics’ YFQ–42A, which is also competing for a production contract under the CCA program, first flew in August.

Luckey started his answer by expressing support for both the aircraft itself and the Air Force’s process, saying “My engineers tell me that if we push the button … [the drone] will take off, it’ll fly around, and it’ll come back home. The Air Force is going through a process of evaluation that is very, very reasonable, I think.”

Then he stated, “Obviously, now the problem is we’re into the shutdown.” Asked to clarify if that meant delay of the first flight, Luckey said “Certainly … a lot of stuff stops moving,” he continued, lamenting “that’s something that is kind of out of my control. I can’t fund the government.”

Anduril handed over the drone to the Air Force in the summer, according to Luckey, who said ground testing like fueling, taxiing and weapons integration is underway. 

Diem Salmon, Anduril’s vice president for air dominance and strike, previously attributed the missed summer target for first flight on continued software development for a “semi-autonomous” flight similar to Luckey’s description of a push of a button, though she said the company is still “well ahead of the program schedule” for the milestone. (For the YFQ-42A, General Atomics could have conducted a semi-autonomous first flight, but the company’s philosophy is that every inaugural sortie is piloted by a human being, Dave Alexander, the president of the company’s aeronautics unit, previously told Breaking Defense.)

Anduril and General Atomics have been facing off under the first round of the CCA program after the Air Force winnowed down a larger pool of vendors last year. Service officials maintain they can carry multiple contractors, including new entrants, into production for the first round, while awards for conceptual contracts for the CCA program’s second round are expected within months. 

Startup Shield AI was picked by the Air Force to provide autonomy for Anduril’s drone bid, and defense giant RTX was selected for a similar role on General Atomics’ platform, Breaking Defense previously reported.

The Air Force is currently working through how it wants to employ the drones, though the service’s nominee to be its next chief of staff, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, has raised the concept of operating the unmanned wingmen in independent squadrons separate from the aircraft they’ll be flying with. 

“We’re thinking that they’re not going to be embedded in current fighter squadrons, but rather they’re going to be their own squadrons, and they’ll be dispersed,” Wilsbach said during his confirmation hearing for the chief of staff role Oct. 9, adding that “there’ll be a strategic basing process” for placing the drones. 

“I don’t see why the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard and the active duty would not be considered” to operate the drones, he added. 

Ashley Roque contributed to this report.