The first month of 2026 has seen activity in the MALE, rotary-wing, and loitering munition UAV markets, with significant investments and commitments from Germany, Turkey, the UAE and the US. At the same time, questions over loitering munition performance in Ukraine highlight the growing scrutiny alongside rising demand.
While an estimated $37.99bn is still to be awarded across the Asia-Pacific uncrewed aerial vehicle market, the balance of potential future spending is unevenly split between various countries, with significant opportunities to be found in the collaborative combat aircraft space.
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 European Commission and Milrem Robotics have signed a grant agreement for iMUGS2, following on from the original iMUGS collaboration to develop modular and scalable architecture for crewed and uncrewed systems.
Future US counter-uncrewed aerial system solutions are likely to require a flexible, multi-layered approach to tackle a broad spectrum of new threats as they emerge.
Drawing on its endurance and substantial payload capacity, the Hermes 900 would provide a boost to Singapore’s ISR capabilities, particularly in the maritime domain.
The new modular vessel is expected to be developed for both commercial and defence use, with a heavy focus on production speed and mission flexibility.
Multiple autonomous systems and technologies were on display at this year’s Indo Pacific, but questions remain over how the Australian Department of Defence will balance the books.