Unmanned

BAE Systems has won a contract worth up to US$400 million to design a low-cost, autonomous robotic combat drone that can partner with piloted warplanes under the US Air Force's Skyborg program.

As part of the US Navy's Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) competition, Lockheed Martin has been selected as the main contractor to study how to provide the Navy with large, autonomous ships that can operate for extended periods without a crew.

The age of the unmanned combat jet is a step closer after Boeing Australia announced that its Loyal Wingman aircraft has fired up its commercial turbofan engine for the first time in anticipation of its first test flight.

Elbit Systems UK's autonomous Seagull Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) has completed Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) sea trials off the British coast in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence, with the USA's L3Harris providing sonar systems.

Having introduced a massive heavy-lift drone at the end of October, Volocopter is now looking to show what the aircraft can do through a new partnership with John Deere, with the two developing a version customized for spraying crops.

The Australian Army has demonstrated a pair of M113 modified into autonomous fighting vehicles that it will use to study how robots will impact the battlefield of the future.

The team at Volocopter has sent its 18-rotor aircraft into the skies over Stuttgart as part of its first urban demonstration flight in a European city center.

BAE Systems will demonstrate an unmanned surface vessel fully integrating with the combat systems of a Royal Navy warship for the first time.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has announced that it plans to send the first American unmanned rover to the Moon in July 2021. The miniature four-wheeled robot will ride aboard the Peregrine lander along with 14 other scientific payloads and will carry a miniature art gallery on its journey.

At a recent live-fire exercise in Tapa, Estonia, the latest version of Milrem Robotics and ST Engineering's ground combat robot showed off its ability to operate under Beyond Line Of Sight (BLVOS) control while equipped with the ADDER DM Remote Weapon Station.

Raytheon is developing what is billed as a universal remote for the US Navy that will allow a single unit to control a wide range of unmanned vehicles, saving space onboard ships as well as making pilot training easier.

After trying and failing last year, Offshore Sensing has now succeeded in sailing an unmanned vessel across the Atlantic. The Sailbuoy Met was deployed from Newfoundland on June 7, 2018 and reached the coast of Ireland on August 26, a distance of 3,000 km.