🛠️ US Army Rolls Out Soldier-Built Tactical Drone With Rapid 20-Minute Build

📬 In Today’s Defense Brief

🛠️ US Army Rolls Out Soldier-Built Tactical Drone With Rapid 20-Minute Build Read More

🚢 Hanwha Releases 70-Person-Crew Surface Warship Concept With AI At The Helm Read More

🛞 M1E3 Abrams “Pre-Prototype” Slated For Delivery By December Read More

🎯 Army & DIU Pick Anduril To Advance Next-Gen Counter-UAS Fire-Control Read More

⚡ Rafael’s L-SPIKE 4X Blends Jet-Speed Dash With On-Station Loitering Read More

🎱 Plus 9 other news stories you may like

📰 Full Breakdown

🛠️ US Army Rolls Out Soldier-Built Tactical Drone With Rapid 20-Minute Build Read More

• The 101st Airborne’s RAID unveiled ABE 1.01, a modular UAS built at Fort Campbell with Blue UAS–vetted, U.S.-made components. Costing ~$750—far below typical $2,400 commercial systems—the airframe assembles in about 20 minutes for rapid field repair and mission swaps. Initially tuned for reconnaissance, leaders plan review for lethal payloads, including C4, to expand roles.

• RAID, conceived by Brig. Gen. Travis McIntosh, centralizes robotics, autonomy, and AI integration for air-assault operations with partners EagleWerx, Emerging Tech, and Force Integration. To build operator depth, the Purpose Built Attritable System Academy runs an eight-day, 40-hour course covering deployment, control, and maintenance, prioritizing safe, repeatable skills for infantry and other specialties.

• Training emphasizes reconnaissance and kinetic effects in controlled settings while soliciting bottom-up feedback to iterate the platform. Looking ahead, RAID intends to broaden beyond small UAS into loitering munitions, launched effects, and AI-enabled ground robots. McIntosh says the roadmap will flex with commander and soldier input, blending in-house manufacture with Army-delivered autonomy solutions.

🚢 Hanwha Releases 70-Person Crew Surface Warship Concept With AI At The Helm Read More

• Hanwha Ocean’s concept introduces a wave-piercing hull and tumblehome geometry to cut through heavy seas while shrinking radar signature. Layered weapons are staged for threats ranging from ballistic missiles to suicide drones. Although similar in overall size to predecessors, the design pivots on AI-driven automation to streamline operations, enabling a 70-person crew to manage propulsion, power, and combat functions.

• Built from “giga-class” steel co-developed with POSCO, the ship targets higher impact resistance with reduced weight. A smart bridge aims to accelerate decision-making and improve situational awareness, while ergonomic layouts address endurance and crew fatigue during extended missions. A modular mission bay supports integration of unmanned systems to strengthen both environmental navigation and multi-domain defense.

• Framed as a flagship for South Korea’s naval industry, the concept debuted at the Next-Generation Smart Ship Technology Research Conference in Seoul. Hanwha positions it as a foundation for future Republic of Korea Navy vessels over the next three decades, highlighting a “digital fleet” vision that blends survivability, lethality, automation, and lifecycle efficiency for export-minded customers.

🛞 M1E3 Abrams Next-Gen Tank “Pre-Prototype” To Be Delivered By End Of Year Read More

• Army leaders pressed PEO GCS and GDLS to accelerate timelines, yielding a promised M1E3 “pre-prototype” by December and a platoon next year for soldier feedback. Emphasis on “commercialization” swaps bespoke systems for available components: Caterpillar will supply the powerplant and SAPA the transmission. The hybrid—not fully electric—approach seeks roughly 40% better fuel efficiency versus today’s gas-turbine Abrams.

• Target gross weight is ~60 tons, down from ~78 tons on SEPv3, while integrating an active protection system optimized for the new design. The Army is also evaluating an autoloader and potential changes to the main gun, along with options like GDLS’s PERCH launcher for Switchblade loitering munitions—reflecting a push for modular, open architectures and layered anti-drone defenses.

• Rapid fielding focuses on continuous iteration: armor brigades will inform gunnery, autoloader ergonomics, crew layout, and survivability, avoiding late-cycle surprises. Officials acknowledge broader debates about heavy armor’s future, but argue early prototypes will clarify design trades and operational value. The aim is faster learning cycles, not perfection on first build, to keep pace with evolving threats.

🎯 Army, DIU Select Anduril to Advance Next-Generation Counter-UAS Fire Control Capabilities Read More

• After a competitive evaluation in realistic conditions, the Army’s PEO Missiles & Space—working with DIU—chose Anduril’s fire-control solution to counter rapidly evolving UAS threats. Officials said the event was designed to identify tech that materially improves how formations detect, decide, and engage drones across a layered defense.

• Selection triggers close collaboration to refine software and interfaces and to integrate the capability within the Army’s broader C-UAS architecture. The goal is faster, more reliable cueing between sensors and effectors, raising engagement quality while reducing operator burden and time-to-fire in complex airspaces.

• Program leaders emphasized near-term operational impact: the architecture-first approach is intended to scale across units and installations, protecting maneuver forces and critical infrastructure. The Army framed the outcome as proof that competitive prototyping accelerates delivery of tangible warfighter advantages in a contested domain.

⚡ Rafael L-SPIKE 4X Takes Loitering Munitions to Jet-Speed Levels Read More

• Rafael’s L-SPIKE 4X is a missile-grade “launched effect” purpose-built to combine rapid-strike speed with on-station persistence. Compatible with legacy SPIKE NLOS launchers across air, land, and sea, it reaches targets out to 40 km. Offered with Tandem HEAT for armor and a Multi-Purpose warhead, it aims to expand options without new launch infrastructure.

• A jet propulsion system supports dual profiles: a high-speed dash that can cover maximum range in about five minutes, and a loiter mode providing up to 25 minutes of persistence. Hardened communications and design for GPS-denied, contested electromagnetic environments prioritize control and survivability under interference.

• An AI-enabled autonomy suite assists with automatic target recognition and image acquisition while keeping a human firmly in the loop. One operator can supervise up to four weapons simultaneously, enabling coordinated multi-axis pressure and faster engagement cycles while preserving positive control throughout the mission.

🌏 Other Important News

✈️ Air

• Army Begins Talent Panels To Cut 6,500 Manned Aviation Jobs Read More

• L3Harris & IAI Pitch “Blue Sky Warden” For Israel’s Light-Attack Bid Read More

• Air Force Spikes Plans To Stand A Command Focused On Competing With China Read More

• Air Force Reverses Course On “Integrated Capabilities Command,” Creates Chief Modernization Officer Instead Read More

• AeroVironment To Deploy Counter-Drone Tech At Grand Forks AFB Read More

🛡️ Land & Robotics

• AM General Reinvents Hawkeye 105mm Mobile Howitzer With Soft-Recoil Tech Read More

• Army Lays Groundwork For Possible MV-75 (FLRAA) Early Production Decision Read More

🛰️ Space

• Army To Prioritize Counterspace Tech In Future Budget Requests Read More

🏛️ Strategy & Policy

• Gen. George: Army’s New Western Hemisphere Command To Stand Up In Weeks Read More

Thanks for reading today’s Defense Brief. If you found it useful, consider forwarding it to a friend or colleague who'd appreciate staying sharp on defense tech and military news.