During October 2025, several countries and organisations signalled their intention to acquire loyal wingman uncrewed aircraft systems — designated by the US Air Force as Collaborative Combat Aircraft — or to study the capability further, while various new uncrewed helicopters were showcased.
In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.
At DSEI 2025, Red Cat outlines its expansion from UAVs into uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), positioning itself as a multi-domain defence provider spanning land, sea, and air.
The requirement notice outlines the need for a fixed-wing, short take-off and landing autonomous collaborative platform, as part of the UK Royal Navy’s route towards fielding a hybrid air wing.
Boeing Australia’s MQ-28A Ghost Bat stands as the oldest “loyal wingman” currently in development, with potential European opportunity on the horizon for the uncrewed aerial vehicle.
The Hero-120 loitering munition has a 4.5 kg multi-purpose warhead designed to engage armoured targets. It is manufactured in the US by Mistral in partnership with Israel’s Uvision.
The country’s industrial defence transformation since 2022 has ramped up rapidly, offering Europe and NATO lessons in agility, innovation and rapid procurement. But how easily can, or should, such wartime innovation be copied?
The US Navy has been seeking suppliers to design and build diverse types of aerial, surface and underwater autonomous capabilities, as well as solutions to support their operation.
The Mk/E missile will equip Italy’s FREMM EVO class frigates while MBDA’s Italian arm unveiled two of its new family of loitering munitions to respond to the needs of the Italian Army.
A contract of $5 billion was awarded to Raytheon by the US Army, while a $982 million contract award for uncrewed systems was scooped to Mistral Group.
The UCAV, designed by Helsing’s subsidiary Grob Aircraft, will start ground tests in the coming months and is aiming to have a production-ready version by 2029.
The USCG will use part of this funding to acquire SkyDio X10D short-range uncrewed aircraft systems, VideoRay Defender remotely operated vehicles and Qinetiq Squad Packable Utility and mini-SPUR robots.