💥 SOCOM Wants a Drone-Launched Fire-and-Forget Missile

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

💥 SOCOM Wants a Drone-Launched Fire-and-Forget Missile Read More

🛰️ Army Eyes CCA-Like “Drone Wingman” Capability Within a Couple of Years Read More

🚁 Vapor CLE is AV’s Latest Take on All-Electric VTOL Drone That Fits 26 Mission Payloads Read More

🌊 New Hybrid Underwater Drone Poised to Join Italy’s Next-Gen Mine Defense Read More

🧨 Trump Denies Pushing Zelensky to Cede All Donbas, Backs Freeze at Current Lines Read More

🎱 Plus 8 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

💥 SOCOM Wants a Drone-Launched Fire-and-Forget Missile Read More

• U.S. Special Operations Command’s SCBDS effort seeks a small, jam-proof, fire-and-forget missile that Group 2/3 drones can carry to enable multiple autonomous strikes. The Army SBIR frames advanced target recognition as core, with the munition small enough for UAVs between roughly 21 and 1,320 pounds maximum takeoff weight, giving special operators organic, on-call precision effects without relying on larger strike aircraft.

• Key specs include >4 km range, self-propulsion, and total system weight ≤5 lbs with ~2 lbs of useful kinetic payload. It should meet ~5-meter accuracy at ≥100 km/h even without GPS, reflecting lessons from Ukraine where intense jamming has degraded GPS-guided weapons and driven massive drone losses. Fire-and-forget autonomy is positioned as the antidote to contested PNT and RF denial.

• The SBIR underscores onboard guidance without post-launch links: no dependence on RF control or satellite PNT. Solutions are expected to blend low-SWaP IMU with computer-vision “pixel lock.” A phased path runs feasibility to prototyping and commercialization, with cited dual-use potential such as UAS-based infrastructure inspection, bridge assessments, and hazardous-substance detection enabled by the same vision/IMU tech stack.

🛰️ Army Eyes CCA-Like “Drone Wingman” Capability Within a Couple of Years Read More

• The Army is pursuing a Collaborative Combat Aircraft-like capability to complement launched effects and other autonomous systems, with a goal of fielding “in the next couple of years.” Leaders say ongoing experimentation will crystallize requirements, expanding an autonomous air portfolio that pairs uncrewed teammates with rotary-wing formations to deliver sensing, firepower, and survivability at scale for commanders.

• Officials emphasize “mass” via launched effects and CCA-style loyal wingmen to increase combat power while reducing aircrew exposure. The service is coordinating with other branches, allies, and theaters like INDOPACOM and Europe, and plans testing during its annual aviation experiment in Q2 of this fiscal year to gauge technology maturity and refine the demand signal.

• Options on the table include a Group 4 VTOL approach, with Boeing unveiling a tiltrotor concept, the Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft (CxR), as one potential path. While no vendors are named for an Army CCA, responses from industry are described as robust, and leaders suggest the final capability could blend features from multiple concepts rather than a single monolithic platform.

🚁 Vapor CLE is AV’s Latest Take on All-Electric VTOL Drone That Fits 26 Mission Payloads Read More

• AeroVironment’s Vapor Compact Long Endurance (CLE) is a Group 2 all-electric VTOL built on a modular open architecture, supporting more than 26 payloads spanning optical sensors, EW tools, comms relays, and even guided munitions like mortar rounds and grenades. Weighing just over 35 pounds—about 50% lighter than prior variants—the CLE targets flexible strike and ISR roles with rapid setup and rugged field performance.

• Endurance tops two hours—roughly double peers in its class—while AV_Halo Command enables global frequency support and encrypted links beyond 10 km. Although designed for full autonomy, operators can retain control via the tactical controller, giving small units a compact platform that stays on station longer with greater lift for mission-critical payloads and less kit to carry.

• NVIDIA Orin powers onboard AI alongside AV_Halo Vision, delivering real-time target detection and tracking. AV leaders say the design reflects direct operator feedback: more time over target, more lift, and survivability in tough environments. The result, they argue, is a combat-ready system that condenses capability into a smaller, more adaptable package for multi-role missions.

🌊 New Hybrid Underwater Drone Poised to Join Italy’s Next-Gen Mine Defense Read More

• Saipem’s Hydrone-D is a hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle tailored for mine countermeasures, operating beyond 600 meters depth. It can carry side-scan sonars and up to four explosive charges to identify and neutralize mines, while optical cameras and advanced imaging extend utility to seabed surveys, pipeline inspections, and ocean-floor data collection—broadening use cases beyond pure mine warfare.

• Shipborne crane launch and recovery support operations in harsh seas, while a compact 3.5 m by 1.5 m form factor reduces detectability. Navigation fuses an inertial system, doppler velocity log, and altimeter, with six-axis control helping the platform maintain precise position and attitude for delicate tasks like identification, classification, and neutralization in cluttered littorals.

• Real-time data moves via acoustic modems and tethered links, enabling continuous operator insight during missions. Debuted at Seafuture 2025 in La Spezia, Hydrone-D is slated to join the Italian Navy’s Generation Minehunters/Coastal initiative, signaling Italy’s push toward persistent, modular, and precise autonomous tools for modern maritime mine defense.

🧨 Trump Denies Pushing Zelensky to Cede All Donbas, Backs Freeze at Current Lines Read More

• President Trump rejected reports that he urged Ukraine to surrender the entire Donbas, saying the two leaders “never discussed” handing over the whole region. He instead endorsed stopping the war at current battle lines, arguing that dividing territory beyond existing positions involves “so many different permutations,” a stance that points toward a cease-fire rather than major new offensives.

• The comments followed reporting that his closed-door meeting with President Zelensky devolved into a heated “shouting match.” Trump maintained that the goal should be to “stop at the lines where they are,” presenting a simpler framework for immediate de-escalation while sidestepping highly complex negotiations over broader swaps or future borders.

• His position—deny ceding all Donbas but accept a freeze at present lines—clarifies the administration’s near-term posture as debate swirls over Western support and potential endgame scenarios. The remarks also underscore the political sensitivity of any settlement framing, with both leaders facing pressure at home and abroad over concessions and durability of a possible cease-fire.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Netherlands joins US collaborative combat aircraft programme for uncrewed fighters. Read More

• B-1 Bomber Task Force deploys to Misawa, Japan. Read More

• Army “absolutely needs” Shahed-like loitering munitions, says PACAF general. Read More

🔭 Space

• SpaceX/Starshield/Starlink signal operations raise dual-use questions. Read More

⚓ Maritime

• U.S. seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean. Read More

🧠 Land

• AM Hawkeye mobile howitzer debuts for rapid-deploy fire support. Read More

🌍 Policy & International

• Qatar’s new training facility is a “strategic move” for both nations — analysts. Read More

• Senate Democrats unveil military funding bill. Read More

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