Is This the new Chinese H-20 Bomber? Or a photoshop?

Stealth Saga #59

Sixth Generation Fighters:

The USAF's NGAD appears to be on track - if it follows the same course as the LRSB/B-21 - to make a selection in 2023.

The USN's Next Generation Fighter appears to have either been cancelled or gone black.

A think tank created a forum for Australia, Japan and the US to discuss requirements for the next gen fighters.

Mike Griffin is deeply skeptical of lasers on aircraft.

The Franco-German FCAS has started the demonstrator phase.

The Germans are considering the ethics of the FCAS program.

Japan has decided to build their own next gen fighter rather than participate in foreign systems.

Japan wants their next gen fighter to carry a lot more missiles than the F-35.

Japan may consider exporting its next gen fighter due to its high costs.

Japan has picked American companies to work with on its next gen fighter, but will take the lead on the project.  They will not be joining the British led Tempest project.

Loyal Wingmen:

The USAF has started its Loyal Wingman program officially, called Skyborg.

Australia's loyal wingman drone has made progress.

Su-57:

A video suggests the Su-57 finally launched a missile from its small, side bay.

The Russians have been  testing an unmanned flight mode for the Su-57.

The Russians are also claiming the Su-57 has met almsot all testing goals.

B-2:

F-117:

The F-117 conducted missions over the pacific ocean twice off the coast of California.

F-22:

F-22s intercepted a Russian aircraft.  What happened next depends on who is telling the story.

An F-22 has crashed in Florida.

F-22s participated in an elephant walk in Hawaii.

F-22s in Alaska participated in an elephant walk.

F-35:

Trump is not happy parts of the F-35 are made overseas.

The F-35 is having some parts problems after removing the Turks from the program.

The Pentagon issued a contract for 78 F-35s from Lockheed.  48 F-35As, 14 F-35Bs and 16 F-35Cs.

The Pentagon is looking at how to extend the life of the OLEDs on the F-35 helmets.

In light of COVID-19, how is the testing continuing at Edwards AFB?

F-35 manufacturing will not meet its goals due to covid-19 impacts.

Some still are not happy about the F-35 program.

The total SSDs left for the F-35 have been reduced from 43 to 6, but the bulkhead cracking is still one of them.

USAF and Israeli F-35s exercised together.

A USAF F-35 crashed in Florida.

USAF F-35As returning to Hill AFB from the Middle East are coming back with unique nicknames.

Two F-35As flew to Eielson AFB.

The US military is considering removing the F-35 from Britain over the Huawei 5G plans.

The USMC does not have enough pilots to fly their F-35Bs.

The USMC won't cut their F-35 procurements for now, but that may change.  They are debating that.

USMC's F-35C equipped VMFA-314 has been declared safe for flight.

An Australian firm will produce cannon ammo for the F-35.

The US approved a support package for South Korean F-35s.

Collins will deliver the Tactical Combat Training Increment II for the F-35.

META:

Northrop is developing a gateway for networking 5th gen fighters.

Terminator Times #70

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones):

DARPA's AlphaDogFight final demo is imminent.

The USAF is planning when to buy Loyal Wingmen drones.

The USAF has taken over a remote Mojave airstrip and turned it into a drone air base.

The USMC has realized they were asking for too much with the MUX drone and are going to redo the program.

A comparison of the F-35 and the XQ-58A Valkyrie.

Attritable UAVs have defense contractors rethinking their approaches with the probable lost of the lucrative MRO contracts.

Elon Musk told USAF fighter pilots the era of the manned fighter has passed and that the F-35 should have an unmanned competitor.

The USN exercised a clause in the contract for the MQ-25A to get 3 more by 2024 and Boeing is refusing to add extra capabilities to keep costs low.

How the MQ-8C is helping the USN with its surveillance gaps.

Argentina has produced the Asteri RUAS 160 VTOL UAV.

Australia has accepted the new engine for the CamCopter VTOL drones.

Australia has selected four companies to compete to replace its Shadow 200 UAVs.

The British have stood up a group to develop swarming drones.

China showcased its BZK-005 UAV.

Russia has integrated the Orlan-10 UAV into its 2s5 artillery units.

South Korea is considering its KUS-FS UAV for ground command operations.

South Korea expects their RQ-4 to begin initial operations by year's end.

Taiwan has decided not to buy the MQ-9B VTOL UAV.

Turkish UAVs are playing an important role in the battle of Idlib in Syria.

Turkish drones killed 19 Syrian government soldiers.

Turkey sold UAVs to Tunisia.

(above) Ukraine unveiled its Thunder suicide drone.

Ukraine has unveiled the RAM suicide drone.

Boeing is leveraging its relationships with Australian business to work on its Loyal Wingman tech.

General Atomics has unveiled its Defender Loyal Wingman to protect tankers and other like assets.

General Dynamics' first production quality MQ-9B has started flight tests.

Meet Northrop's XRQ-72A Great Horned Owl.

UAVOS & KACST unveiled the Saker-1B UAV and demonstrated progressive flight control.

UMS Skeldar has unveiled an enhanced V-150 VTOL UAV.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Bolos & Ogres & Terminators, oh my!):

Britain's DSTL has ordered its first autonomous UGVs.

IrvinGQ has developed an airdrop platform for the MilRem UGV.

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (Ro Boats):

GeoSpectrum has developed a scaled down traps sonar for USVs.

Zycroft has updated its Dolphin USV.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (Robo subs):

DARPA is expanding its Manta Ray autonomous UUV program.

The USN is combining two UUV programs.

The USN conducted an exercise with UUVs equipped with SONAR and suggests that is the future of ASW operations.

China's latest Haiyi underwater gliders have been deployed to the Indian Ocean.

A Chinese Destroyer Fired a Laser on a US Navy Aircraft

A Chinese destroyer lased a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that was operating over international waters about 380 miles west of Guam, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

The laser could not be seen by a human eye but was captured by sensors on the airplane, which is a variant of the Boeing 737 that has been upgraded with sensors and systems to support tracking surface and undersea targets.

The incident, which PACFLT called “unsafe and unprofessional,” took place on Feb. 17 and was just announced by the Navy.

Weapons-grade lasers could potentially cause serious harm to aircrew and mariners, as well as ship and aircraft systems, PACFLT noted in its statement.

The destroyer involved appears to be Hohhot, a Type 052D or Luyang III-class destroyer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy. This destroyer, pennant number 161, is among the newer Chinese destroyers and entered the fleet last year, according to news reports.

The PACFLT statement says the lasing violates both bilateral and multilateral agreements between the U.S. Navy and PLAN, including a 2014 agreement that specifically notes that the use of lasers could cause harm to personnel or damage to equipment.

link.

Terminator Times #69

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones):

The US has ended a secretive UAV program with Turkey over Turkey's actions in Syria.

DARPA is starting an infrastructureless launch and recovery system program for UAVs.

The Valkyrie has had a successful 4th flight and expanded its flight envelope.

Kratos has started XQ-58A production despite the delay in the production contract by the USAF.

Details of the USAF RQ-170's first trip to South Korea emerge.

A USAF General thinks the Reaper would be the ideal SOCCOM overwatch aircraft.

The USAF is abruptly ending Reaper procurements.

And CENTCOM wants more Reapers.

The USAF has stated UAVs could start replacing manned fighters in mid 2020s.

The USMC is seeking medium and long endurance ISTAR UAVs.

The first USN Tritons arrive in the west Pacific.

The USN demoed flying EA-18G Growlers as unmanned aerial vehicles by another Growler.

The Australian/Boeing Loyal Wingman ATS is progressing.

Australia will buy a 2nd Triton.

The Bahamas have bought UAVs.

The British are planning a large UAV demo off the HMS Prince of Wales.

China unveiled a 3 engine variant of the Tengen TB001.

Egypt has deployed its Wing Loong II drones to western bases.

The French Neuron UAV is informing the FCAS 6th gen fighter effort.

The Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia with drones again.

Indonesia approved the plan to procure ScanEagle UAVs.

Israel's drone sector is changing.

Morocco has received 3 Harfang UAVs from France.

Portugal has added VTOL UAV capabilities to its OPV ships.

Russia has ordered an updated Forpost UAV.

Russia accused Turkey of illegally sending its drones into Idlib, Syria.

South Korea has set up a new squadron to operate its Global Hawks.

South Korea is developing UAV engines.

Syria shot down two drones near Hmeimim airbase.

A Turkish drone was shot down in Idlib.

BAe's PHASA 35 has flown for the first time.

BGJX unveiled more details about its JH-1 Dragon VTOL UAV.

CIAC is attempting to pitch its UAV to the Colombian military.

Controp is working on a a quad copter for surveillance.

Edge unveiled its Garmousha VTOL UAV.

Elbit will demo the Hermes 900 for civilian applications for the UK.

General Atomics received more funding for Reapers, $7.8M.

General Atomics will extend its partnership with Cobham in Australia.

General Atomics demonstrated laser comm to orbit for a OAV.

General Atomics unveiled the Defender UCAV: it looks like the Avenger's big brother and suspiciously like the Avenger twist I posited here.

IAI introduces the Heron II.

IAI signed an MOU with Indian companies to locally produce UAVs.

Leidos completed the purchase of Dynetics.

Watch a Lockheed drone recovery go very wrong.

Piaggio's administrator has called for bids for the purchase of the drone company.

PT Len is developing UAV mission payloads.

Safran is working on fixing the Patroller UAV after a crash.

ST Engineering unveiled its Veloce VTOL UAVs.

UAVOS continues to work on VTOL UAVs.

UAVOS will demo maritime search and rescue with its ISR350-5 VTOL UAV.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Bolos & Ogres, & Terminators, oh my!):

The artillery branch of the US Army is seeking autonomous ammo haulers for the artillery.

Autonomous supply vehicles may increase safety for the US Army convoys.

Milrem is showcasing its updated Themis UAV.

ST Engineering has a new remote weapon station for UGVs.

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (ro-boats):

DARPA lays out its goals for NOMARS.

The USN is working on resiliency for its USVs.

The USN is starting initial low rate production of the CUSV as part of the Unmanned Influence Sweep System.

Britain has procured a MANTIS T12 USV.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (robo subs):

DOT&E states the Knifefish needs more development.

Huntington Ingalls is prepping for US Navy demand in UUVs.  They bought Hydroid.

Northrop will integrate its sonar systems on L3 Harris UUVs.

Software Bots:

The Pentagon has established ethical guidelines for AI work.

META:

Former democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang called for a ban on autonomous weapons.

DARPA is pushing forward with its Assured Autonomy program.

Stealth Saga #57

6th Generation Fighters:

Rolls Royce will develop a new engine for the British led Tempest fighter.

TF-X:

Turkey has invited Malaysia to join its program.

Su-57:

Another article on the first production Su-57 crash.

PAK-DA:

Supposedly (in russian), a contract was signed in 2017.  Testing of three prototypes is supposed to happen starting this fall (2020).  Development is supposed to continue through 2026.  State testing is supposed to take place between 2026 to 2028.

Chinese Stealth Aircraft:

Chinese aviation watchers are expecting to see new aircraft this year.

5GAT:

The USAFA and Sierra Nevada designed and built the 5GAT 5th gen target drone.  It might be useable as a Loyal Wingman.

XQ-58A:

DARPA's Valkyrie has had a successful 4th flight and expanded its flight envelope.

RQ-170:

Details of the RQ-170's first trip to South Korea get shown.

B-21: 

The USAF has released renderings of the B-21.  One of which I am very late to post.

B-2:

A B-2 overflew the Rose Bowl.

F-22:

An F-22 at Langley AFB had a landing gear failure.

The new Demo pilot for the F-22 does an interview.

F-35:

2019 was a very good year for the F-35 program.  134 F-35s were delivered.

OTOH, the F-35 has 873 deficiencies.  Including issues with its gun.

The F-35 program will be ditching ALIS for a new software called ODIN.

The F-35 now has a multi aircraft infrared search and track capability.

F-35 can now feed ground interceptors targeting info.

The Pentagon and Lockheed have signed a new sustainment contract.

A new rotor design is being tested for the F-35's engine.

Congress will only allow the USAF to use early F-35As as aggressors once there is some sort of plan.

The USAF released an RFI for the Stand in Attack Weapon for the F-35A.

The monster F-35A elephant walk by the USAF at Hill AFB gets another profile.

The USAF's 158th is training in Florida.

USMC F-35Cs will leave NAS Lemoore for MCAS Miramar.

Lt Col Bann is the first pilot to reach 1,000 hours in the F-35.

The USN is weighing what it takes to get the F-35C on the USS Kennedy.

The Australians have transferred their F-35 pilot training to Australia from the US.

British F-35s will get a DAS upgrade.

British F-35Bs went to Nellis AFB for Red Flag and diverted on the way.

British F-35Bs are conducting sea trials on the USS Queen Elizabeth.

Lockheed has started building Denmark's first F-35.

The Israelis have inaugurated their second F-35I squadron.

An Israeli F-35I appeared on a tracking website again.

Norway is deploying its F-35s to Iceland.

Poland should sign a deal for 32 F-35s shortly.  And they did.  32 birds for $4.6B.

Singapore has requested the F-35B.  The US State Department approved buying 12.

The majority of the parts made in Turkey for the F-35 will be moved to other locations by March.

Lockheed expects F-35 production to rise to 180 annually.

Russia Tested its Already Existing Iskander IRBM...and it Broke the INF Limits "accidentally"

During a planned live-firing exercise by Russia, one of its Iskander-M ballistic missile flew beyond 600km and landed outside its designated target area. The missile is said to have been fired from Kapustin Yar for the Makat firing range in Kazakhstan. However, the missile ended up in the Bayganinsky district. The SS-26 Stone or “Iskander” is a road-mobile short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with a range of up to 500 km. Using a common transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) and support vehicles, the system can also fire the 9M728 (R-500, SSC-7) and 9M729 cruise missiles. Russia began development of the SS-26 in the late 1980s to replace the OTR-23 “Oka” SRBM.

link.

source in russian.

A Russian Satellite Appears to be Stalking an American KH-11 Spysat

Publicly available data suggests that a Russian inspector satellite has shifted its position in orbit to bring it relatively close to a U.S. KH-11 spy satellite. Russia has a number of what it calls "space apparatus inspectors" in orbit, which the U.S. government and others warn the Kremlin could use to gather intelligence on other satellites or function as "killer satellites," using various means to damage, disable, or destroy those targets.

link.

Official B-21 Rendering

Terminator Times #68

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones):

The US government has banned the procurement and use of Chinese made UAVs.

DARPA's X-61A Gremlins made a first flight.  However, the prototype crashed when the recovery parachute failed to deploy.  DARPA is moving onto aerial recovery.

A USAF MQ-9 Reaper was ferried itself to Holloman AFB instead of being shipped and assembled.

A drone strike by the USAF killed an Iranian QUDS Force commander.  Israel claims the strike happened  due to an intercepted communication.   That has been cast in doubt.

The USAFA and Sierra Nevada designed and built the 5GAT 5th gen target drone.  It might be useable as a Loyal Wingman.

The USAF's X-58A Valkyrie flew its 4th test.  It expanded its flight envelope.

The US Coast Guard will outfit all its national security cutters with ScanEagles by end of year.

Brazil will operate ScanEagles from its naval ships.

British efforts to deploy its first swarming drone squadron have been delayed.

In Cambodia, a Chinese made drone crashed.  It's a bit of a mystery as to who owns it.

China is expanding its use of small UAVs.

China's CASC is expanding its UAV production.

China's army may be using the Harwar’s Zhanfu H16-V12 UAV.

China flew the world's first 3 engine large fixed wing drone.

A Houthi attack using missiles and drones killed more than 100.

Indonesia unveiled its Black Eagle MALE UAV.

The Philippines air force has its first Hermes 900 enter service.

Russia is pursuing a quad tilt-rotor drone for its navy.

The Russian Altius - U UAV will have sat communications.

A Turkish made Karayel UAV was shot down over Yemen.

Turkey TEI is delivering indigenous UAV engines.

Bell's V-280 being tested for the US Army's Blackhawk replacement program can now fly autonomously.

Boeing has partnered with Tactical Robotics.

General Atomics will demo the Gray Eagle UAV as a ballistic missile spotter.

Leonardo's Falco Xplorer has taken flight.

Robotic Research unveiled a UAV/UGV hybrid.

Telephonics claims to have won the competition for the MUX UAV's AEW sensor.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Bolos and Ogres and Terminators, oh my!):

The US Army selected Qinitiq for the RCV-L and Textron (Howe & Howe) for the RCV-M.

The French army has received its first NERVA LG UGVs.

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (Ro-boats):

The US Navy thinks getting USVs into the line is more important than whether they count as part of the battle force.  However, the USVs won't count towards the 355 ship fleet.

There is a debate suggesting the robo ships are really years away.

The US Navy is working to teach USVs to talk to one another.

A Sea Hunter USV will exercise with a carrier battle group.

Northrop tested the AQS-24B on the CUSV outfitted for MCM.

Textron thinks the CUSV will be great for USMC logistics.

Textron's CUSV is ready for production.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (robo subs):

The US Navy will start searching for a new medium class UUV.

L3Harris has providing IVER4 UUVs for the US Navy.

META:

China and America talking past each other on "AI" breeds distrust.

Could killer robots reduce collateral damage?

The US Army is looking at welding automation for its next gen combat vehicles.

Russian Mercenaries in Libya are not Working for the Russian Government says Pinocchio Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked on Saturday whether mercenaries known as the Wagner Group, were fighting in Libya, said that if there are Russians in Libya, they are not representing the Russian state, nor are they paid by the state.

link.

Flight Ops on the CV17 Shandong

Terminator Times #67

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones):

A USAF Reaper overflew the Aviation Nation gathering.

The USMC's MUX UAV is now a EW asset and is being shaped by integration with naval aviation.

The US Navy needs unmanned ISR, tankers for its carriers to counter Russia and China.

The US Navy needs to replace its ScanEagles to fight China.

The US Navy has bought 3 more MQ-4C Tritons.

The Brazilians detail their ScanEagle acquisition.

France gave Lockheed a contract to support its Reapers.

NATO finally got its Global Hawk.

Russia's Forpost-R will have two Russians sensors on it.

Russia is looking to deploy its UAVs in Kyrgyzstan.  

South Korea's first RQ-4B Global Hawk finally arrived.

The Spanish Air Force received its first Predators.

Tunisia is buying AeroVironment's UAVs.

Turkey's gun toting quad copters get profiled again.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Bolos, and Ogres and Terminators, oh my):

Russia unveiled its updated Marker UGV.

META:

The US Navy is looking to slash its total manned ships in favor of pushing its unmanned capabilities.

Russia has Declared its Hypersonic Avangard Nuclear Weapon Operational

Russian state news media and credible western news outlets such as the BBC World News are reporting that Russia has operationally deployed its new, “highly maneuverable”, ICBM-launched Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle to an active military base somewhere in the Ural Mountains of western Russia.

The reports are significant since the Russian claims of maneuverability for the Avangard HGV may make interception of the missile system impossible with known anti-missile defense systems and countermeasures.

The Avangard is boosted into flight using an ICBM launch platform such as Russia’s SS-19 Stiletto (also known as the UR-100UTTkh). The Avangard HGV separates from its ICBM boost platform after reaching an apogee or maximum altitude of approximately 100 km. After separation from the launch ICBM platform the unpowered Avangard reenters the atmosphere at hypersonic speed. This flight profile is no different than existing ICBM deployed hypersonic weapons used by the U.S. and other nations. What is claimed to set the Avangard apart from existing reentry vehicles is its maneuverability. Russia claims the Avangard is as fast as an ICBM warhead on reentry but also as maneuverable as a low-speed cruise missile. It is this claim of maneuverability at hypersonic speeds that is alleged to make Avangard “impossible” to intercept by known anti-missile defense systems.

link.

2nd link.

Stealth Saga #56

6th Generation Fighters:

Leonardo has developed new radar tech for the Tempest.

Airbus wants to absorb the British Tempest project into FCAS.

The US Navy is still mulling over the 6th gen planes.  It is unsure if the next gen fighter will actually fly from its carrier decks.

The USAF NGAD received almost $1B.

The Navy's FA-XX/Next Gen Fighter had its funding slashed.

The Japanese unveiled its latest version of the Next Generation Fighter.  It is far, far bigger than the F-22.

KF-X:

(again) the KF-X will get the Meteor missile.

TFX:

Turkey says Britain has agreed to accelerate the TFX program.

J-XY:

The Chinese are developing a 5th gen fighter for the new carrier decks, probably derived from the FC-31/J-31.

Su-57:

Is this missile intended for the side bay of the Su-57?

An Su-57 has flown 16 times with the new engine.  Testing continues.

The Su-57 supposedly was redeployed to Syria for testing.

An Su-57 crashed.  It was the first serial production aircraft.  This is a serious blow to the Russian efforts.

A report claims the Algerians are buying 14 Su-57s.  Or not.

B-21:

The contract for the B-21 has been structured to allow for buying more B-21s, faster, should the need arise without renegotiating.

An Australian think tank proposed buying B-21 bombers from the US.  There is little chance of that.

F-117:

A video of an F-117 at the Reagan library makes for interesting observations.

An F-117 has been spotted acting as a stealthy aggressor against F-15s and F-22s at Nellis AFB.

AGM-129:

The saga of the first stealth cruise missile.

LRSO:

Congress may have just cancelled the conventionally armed stealthy LRSO cruise missile.

F-22:

Lockheed got a $7B contract for F-22 sustainment.

F-35:

Congress has blocked the creation of an F-35A aggressor squadron.

Congress approved the buy of 62 F-35As, 16 F-35Bs and

JSOW integration was days away.

F-35 deliveries were halted for quality control issues.

F-35s can call for artillery fire to suppress air defenses if necessary.

The 588th FW's F-35s are headed back to the Middle East for another combat deployment.

Outgoing F-35A demo pilot "Dojo" gets interviewed.

Hill AFB is getting its last F-35As.

The F-35B sporting USS America reaches Japan.

Congress has told the USN to get the USS Kennedy, the newest carrier, ready for the F-35C immediately.

Lockheed has been given contract to deliver 15 F-35As to Australia.

Australia has approved procuring 24 more F-35.

British F-35Bs have launched from the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Denmark wants more F-35s.

Lockheed is pressing for 75 F-35Is to be sold to Israel.

Lockheed is working on an Israel F-35I specific upgrade.

South Korea has declared IOC for its F-35As.

Lockheed has been given the first contracts for long lead items for the full rate production of the F-35A and for special tooling for the F-35.

Pratt & Whitney just got a $500M contract mod for the F135 engine for the F-35 and another, smaller $50-odd million contract for the engine as well.

In the Falcon Strike Exercise in 2015, a PLAAF J-11 Clubbed Thai Gripens like Baby Seals

A talk was given at China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University on Dec. 9. The speaker was reported to be Li Zhonghua who is said to have participated in Exercise Falcon Strike 2015 in Thailand. One of the slides showed the score during each day of the exercise and during the first day, the Thais flying the Gripen were beaten 16-0.

link.

Russian Aircraft Carrier Kuznetsov Caught Fire Again

One person was killed and about a dozen injured when Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov caught fire at a Murmansk shipyard renovating the warship, international media outlets have reported.

A source told the Russian government-owned TASS news agency that one body was found at the site of the fire, 12 people were being treated for injuries, and two more people remained unaccounted for. Those that were being treated for injuries were mostly suffering from inhaling toxic fumes from the fire, including burning diesel fuel.

The fire may have started due to violations of safety protocol while workers conducted welding on the ship, TASS reported. Russian government-owned outlet Sputnik cited the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Alexei Rakhmanov, as saying the fire broke out during welding work near the first energy compartment, when a spark fell into a hold space where fuel was handled.

link.

2nd link.

3rd link.

Terminator Times #66

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones):

The USAF lost a drone over Libya just after Italy did.  Is there a new jamming/hacking system in play?

The USAF AFRL tested a low cost ISR drone flying it for 2.5 days.

The rival Shadow replacement drones for the US Army are being sent to combat units for tests.

A grenade launcher armed tricopter will be used in an upcoming US Army exercise.

The US Navy's Ohio class SSGNs were intended to be drone command posts.

The US Navy will prototype the MQ-8C with weapons.

The MQ-8C is getting a new radar from Northrop.

A US Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk suffered major damage at takeoff in the Middle East.

In support of the Australian Loyal Wingman program, Boeing has started flying surrogates

Australia is considering buying the MQ-9B.

A Chinese Soar Dragon UAV shadowed and monitored USN ships recently.

Pictures of a sigint version of the GJ-2 drone seems to have emerged from China.

A whole bunch of Chinese drones were spotted at Malan AB by spysat.

British Watchkeepers are being deployed to Cyprus.

Iran is heavily dependent on UAVs for its air power.

Israel asked the US to withhold drones from the military aid to Lebanon.

Italy lost a MQ-9A Reaper in Libya.

The Japanese Coast Guard will phase out its Chinese made drones starting in 2020.

Kazakstan will start producing Elbit UAVs in 2020. 

Morocco's recently approved Apache helicopter buy will have manned/unmanned teaming.

The first NATO RQ-4D Global Hawk has been delivered.  This is the first of 5.  It has been sent to Italy.

Russians are wargaming with drones.

Serbia has bought the CH-92A UAV from China.

Turkey's UAVs in Libya are suffering from a high attrition rate.

Turkey is getting quadcopter drones with automatic weapons.

Turkish drones escorting drill ships will fly from Turkish Cyprus.

Yemeni Houthis shot down a Wing Loong drone.

AeroVironment is trying to play catchup with new Switchblade suicide drones.

Bell has flown its APT-70 cargo drone with actual cargo.

Elbit has launched its Magni quad copter.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Bolos, Ogres and Terminators, oh my!):

The US Army has developed a universal kit for offroad self driving vehicles.

The US Army is looking for unmanned medevac vehicles.

More on the FLIR win of the CRS-H robot contract with the US Army.

The USMC wants to use autonomous robotic CRABS to clear obstacles for amphibious assaults.

Qatari Barzan Holdings showed off its multimission UGV in Japan.

Russia is testing UGVs to kill UGVs.

Critical Solutions International showed off its amphibious UGVs.

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (Ro-boats):

DARPA has unveiled its NOMARS USV project.

The US Navy is wargaming how to use the LUSV in the future.

The Acting US SecNavy has put forward that unmanned vessels will count to the 355 ship navy vessel count.

Congress wants to slow the US Navy's purchase of USVs becaue it thinks the Navy doesn't know what it wants.

Thales UK has demonstrated an offboard EW package on a USV during a NATO trial.

3d Printing:

The USMC is deploying 3d printers to allow for replacement parts to be made onsite instead of ordering them.

The Australian Navy is also testing deployable 3d printing tech.

Software Bots:

The SecArmy sees a huge role for AI in its long range kill chain.

A report to Congress on AI and national security.

AI command and control must leave room for people.

The US military needs better data to use AI.