US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Swift Engineering has successfully demonstrated the first fully autonomous flight of its Swift020 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS in Kobe, Japan, the company announced on 1 August.
The system’s X-blade technology allows it to take off and land vertically and transition to fixed-wing forward flight without additional launch and recovery equipment.
The Swift020 UAS is a family of systems designed to support linear infrastructure, oil and gas, maritime, emergency services, delivery, agriculture, scientific research, surveillance and security markets.
Andrew Streett, VP of technology and chief scientist at Swift Engineering, said: ‘This was a collaboration with the Osaka Aviation Bureau, the city and port of Kobe, which cumulated in the Swift020 flying over a ‘densely inhabited district’ a standard used in Japan to describe an area of 4,000 people per 1sq km. The teamwork between multiple agencies was key to the success of this demonstration.
‘This is a preemptive success before the release of the regulations for drone use in Japan.’
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.