SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions

Teledyne FLIR – which is already under contract and delivering its Rogue 1 loitering munition to customers in the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and US Marine Corps (USMC) communities – published a white paper on 6 May suggesting that recoverable and reusable loitering munitions can reduce capital expenditure and training cycles while optimizing mission success.

The white paper – titled “Use it, don’t lose it: The case for recoverable and reusable loitering munitions” – highlights how commercially available and military-grade loitering munitions continue to grow in popularity around the world and in particular in Ukraine, where these munitions continue to display what the company terms “significant effects” at the tactical edge.

As the white paper explains, Ukraine saw more than 3,000 “drone strikes” in March 2025, a huge increase from the 53 strikes reported in the first month of the war in February 2022.

The paper also warns, however, that many of these so-called “‘one-way attack” and “first-person-view” uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) responsible for these strike operations can often suffer from what Teledyne FLIR terms “major operational disadvantages” on the modern battle-field, especially when it comes to “cost, training, use case DEV/OPS, lethal effect, and precision.”

“Recoverable and reusable loitering munitions solutions are set to significantly alter the modern battlespace as ground units seek to dominate the ‘atmospheric littoral’ – an emerging term de-scribing 0-200 ft. airspace above ground level,” the white paper asserts.

A Teledyne FLIR official described to Shephard, how the Rogue 1 munition benefited from a “state-of-the-art mechanical fuze” that enables the operator to safely disarm and recover the platform during or after flight.

“Once the air frame has safely landed, a visual indicator signals when it is safe for the warfight-er to approach and recover the air frame and if necessary, redeploy it,” as the company official described the process; the official also confirmed that the fuze is MIL-STD-1911- and MIL-STD-1316-compliant.

USSOCOM continues to pursue multiple efforts to equip Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel with a wide range of loitering munitions.

To that end, at the annual International SOF (ISOF) Range Day in April 2025, a wide range of industry participants showcased their solutions.

According to the Teledyne FLIR official, Rogue 1 successfully flew two fire missions against mobile targets provided by Marathon Movers as well as opposite static vehicle targets.

“We continue to have quite a bit of international interest, which has been developing for several years,” the official confirmed, adding that industry participants were “very interested in how it was we have been successful convincing safety and certification boards to allow us to arm, disarm, and recover the Rogue 1.”

Other loitering munitions that flew at the ISOF showcase event included UVision’s Hero 120 and Rafael’s Firefly.