What's next for the Pentagon after the Replicator programme?
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Urban Aeronautics has announced that its Cormorant UAS prototype has successfully performed its first autonomous pattern flight over uneven terrain, the company announced on 14 November.
Cormorant is being developed to operate close to the ground and inside obstructed terrain by using an autopilot technology that relies primarily on inertial and ground reference. This is more complex than autopilot systems for traditional fixed and rotor-wing UAS that fly through open, unobstructed airspace.
According to the company’s founder, Rafi Yoeli, this flight ‘paves the way forward for the immediate evolution of Cormorant from prototype to near-term production’ for a number of applications and markets.
The next phase of development will include flight tests to improve the smoothness of transitions through the various flight modes - take-off, climb, acceleration, cruise, deceleration, descent, turns, hover and touchdown - in addition to increasing speed and manoeuvrability.
Yoeli said: ‘This is the most exciting time in the company’s history and we look forward to accelerating our progress now that the technology is fully proven.’
Although the Replicator initiative has made several accomplishments, there are still multiple gaps to plug across the US Department of Defense (DoD) and its services.
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.