Unmanned Warfare

General Robotics, the Israeli designer of Light Weight RCWS Systems and tactical robotics, displays advanced integrations of the company’s systems over platforms from several manufacturers. The systems are displayed by several leading integrators participating in the IDEX defense exhibition and NAVDEX naval expo opening today in Abu Dhabi.

IAI has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract by the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) to rapidly develop and deliver “ROC-X,” a version of the POINT BLANK hybrid-missile system, designed to increase the organic precision strike lethality of small tactical teams. The Point Blank weapon has already been tested in Israel, and IAI plans to deliver the first ROC-X prototypes and training to DoD for Operational Testing and Evaluation in FY-23.

Defense-Update impressions from the main foreign exhibits at Vietnam Defence 2022.

The drone attack on the Russian Navy's main Black Sea port of Sevastopol on 28 October represents a new phase in the modern drone war. According to Russian MOD, the attack involved nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven unmanned strike boats. The Russians admit damage to one of their vessels and to one of the port barriers.

Rheinmetall Defense has introduced another variant of its Skyranger air defense weapon system, the Skyranger 30 HEL - a mobile, hybrid solution mounting the company's 30mm AHEAD with a laser onboard. As a hybrid solution, the Skyranger 30 HEL is designed to thwart the full range of current and future airborne threats. The interplay of a 30mm automatic cannon, guided missiles, and a high-energy laser (HEL) results in a mix of effectors unique in this combination. The Skyranger HEL was presented in public for the first time at a counter-drone event held last year by the Swiss procurement agency armasuisse in Bure, Switzerland.

Among many types of loitering missiles and attack drones displayed by the Houthis at the recent parade in Sanaa was the local version of the Iranian Shahed 136 - the Wa'id, new models of Samad and Qhasef, loitering missiles, Rased weaponized mini-drones, VTOL variant of Mersad-2, and the Masir hexacopter weaponized drone that was also demonstrated in formation flight.

General Robotics' new SHARK Remotely Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) addresses the need for SOF to operate their weapons on small boats, moving at high speed and agility. Designed to be mounted on smaller boats and handle recoil loads with less weight and energy, SHARK is optimized for manned and unmanned fast boats.

Israel's Air & Space Force (IAF) has recently reactivated the 144th squadron at Hatzor air force base, a new unit destined to operate the Orbiter 4 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) under a new multi-domain force sharing IAF, ground, and intelligence forces assets. These platforms will provide the aerial layer of Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) 'Storm Clouds' program.

The Spanish electronics consortium Indra announced it will lead the CROWN research and development project to develop and equip European fighters and other aircraft with a combined, software-defined radar, communications, and electronic defense enabling future aircraft to dominate the radioelectronic space.

New Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFV) are equipped with turrets that not only mount the main weapon systems but add many new features, including optronics, battle management, active protection, guided missiles, and drones. Our podcast discusses the trends and future of such systems.

General Atomics has recently conducted a flight demonstration of two Avenger unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), each equipped with Lockheed Martin’s Legion Pod IRST21, an Infra-Red Search & Track pod designed to detect aerial targets at long range, without using radar.

General Robotics brings the new Dogo Mk II tactical robot to DSEI 2019. The new robot is designed to assist SWAT teams and close-quarters combat, inside buildings and underground, The new version features a faster Point & Shoot interface, enabling accurate designation of lethal or non-lethal means simply by clicking on the screen.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), introduced today an 'Autonomous Collaborative Platform' (ACP) called Gambit. “Gambit will usher in a new era, where UAS work collaboratively with manned aircraft to detect, identify and target adversaries at range and scale across the battlespace.” GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said.

Today, Chinese aerospace company ALIT unveiled a new type of loitering weapon at the Thailand Defense and Security 2022 exhibition. The canister-launched version on show in Bangkok has a larger and heavier warhead. The ALIT display at D&S2022 outlines two versions of the weapon. The FH901 has a takeoff weight of 9 kg and carries a warhead of 3.5 kg.