🛩️ Anduril Drone Wingman Prototype Completes First Flight for U.S. Air Force

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

🤖 Tiny Aussie Startup Teams With Austal to Enable Autonomous Systems Across Royal Navy Fleet — Read More

🚛 No Troops, No Problem: Spain Debuts ‘Europe’s First’ Unmanned Military Convoy — Read More

🛩️ Anduril Drone Wingman Prototype Completes First Flight for U.S. Air Force — Read More

🪖 U.S. Army, Rheinmetall Launch Rapid Damage Assessment & Repair Program for Bradleys — Read More

🚀 ESA Poised for Historic Shift Into Defense Role — Read More

🎱 Plus 8 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🤖 Tiny Aussie Startup Teams With Austal to Enable Autonomous Systems Across Royal Navy Fleet — Read More

• Western Australia’s Greenroom Robotics, a 35-person startup, has partnered with major shipbuilder Austal to make all Royal Australian Navy vessels capable of installing autonomous navigation systems in as little as five days.

• Greenroom’s GAMA and Lookout+ systems use vision-based AI that fuses sensor and camera data to enable reduced crewing and autonomous operation, integrating with Austal’s Marinelink Prime system.

• The partnership builds on prior trials aboard an Armidale-class patrol boat and benefits from new AUKUS ITAR exemptions that have accelerated U.S. and U.K. tech collaboration. Greenroom plans to double its workforce by mid-2026 as it positions itself as the “Microsoft of the ocean.”

🚛 No Troops, No Problem: Spain Debuts ‘Europe’s First’ Unmanned Military Convoy — Read More

• Spain’s Sener Aerospace and Defence unveiled the Naviground system, Europe’s first AI-driven convoy coordination platform enabling driverless military logistics and synchronized cross-border operations.

• The technology connects with Indra’s Battle Management System and General Dynamics’ ASCOD armored vehicles, allowing crewed and uncrewed platforms to share data and maneuver in formation under NATO standards.

• Developed under the EU-funded COMMANDS project with partners from six nations, the system marks a major leap in autonomous battlefield mobility and last-mile logistics.

🛩️ Anduril Drone Wingman Prototype Completes First Flight for U.S. Air Force — Read More

• Anduril’s YFQ-44A prototype achieved its first flight under the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, joining General Atomics’ YFQ-42A as the second drone to reach flight testing.

• The AI-powered aircraft is designed to team with fighters like the F-22 and F-35 for strike, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare missions. Future tests will include weapons integration and multi-drone autonomous operations.

• The Air Force plans to award a production contract for CCA in 2026, marking a pivotal step toward operational manned-unmanned teaming at combat scale.

🪖 U.S. Army, Rheinmetall Launch Rapid Damage Assessment & Repair Program for Bradleys — Read More

• American Rheinmetall won an $31 million, 18-month contract to demonstrate forward-deployed repair and damage assessment capabilities for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

• The effort aims to restore damaged Bradleys closer to the front lines—bridging the gap between battlefield damage and full depot repair—while testing advanced maintenance processes and supply chain responsiveness.

• Rheinmetall said the initiative supports both U.S. readiness and Ukrainian operations by rapidly returning combat vehicles to service; the first refurbished units are expected by March 2027.

🚀 ESA Poised for Historic Shift Into Defense Role — Read More

• The European Space Agency will vote this month on Director Josef Aschbacher’s proposal to fund €1 billion in projects supporting EU defense space initiatives—marking ESA’s first formal step toward a security mission.

• The “European Resilience from Space” program would back a new constellation of electro-optical and radar ISR satellites as part of the EU’s broader Defence Readiness 2030 roadmap.

• ESA officials stressed the agency won’t operate military satellites directly but will coordinate technology development and data sharing to strengthen Europe’s autonomy in orbit.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• L3Harris, GA-ASI Partner on New MALE RPAS for NATO Customers — Read More

• USAF Executes Dynamic Operational Deployment to Greenland — Read More

• Indonesia to Acquire Airbus A400M Transport Aircraft — Read More

• UAE Tests Cable-Mesh “Cloak” to Conceal Assets from Radar — Read More

🌊 Maritime

• Cautious Optimism Follows Top Warship Builders’ Workforce, Productivity Wins — Read More

• Anduril Expands Ghost Shark Manufacturing in Australia — Read More

• U.S. Strike in Caribbean Kills 3 Suspected Drug Smugglers — Read More

📄 Policy

• Hegseth Maintains U.S. Position on Taiwan as China Urges Caution — Read More

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