Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

High-Speed Spindles Unlock Five-Axis Machining Innovation with Smaller Tools

For any shop working in aerospace, defense, electronics, or mold-making, especially those handling small diameter tooling, tight tolerances, or exotic materials, the case for high-speed spindle upgrades is increasingly clear. Read on to learn more.

Articles

Robotics, Automation & Control

Leonardo DRS Expands Production Capacity to Advance Naval Power, Sensors, and AI-Driven Mission Systems

Leonardo DRS has opened a new naval power and propulsion manufacturing and testing facility in Charleston, South Carolina, expanding its role in delivering next generation electric propulsion, integrated power systems, and high energy payload support for U.S. Navy surface and undersea platforms. Read on to learn all about it.

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Robotics, Automation & Control

Meeting the Demands of Defense Production and Sustainment Through Additive Manufacturing

When a chilled water pump failed aboard a U.S. guided missile destroyer, maintainers ran into an all-too-familiar problem. The six-blade cooling rotor...

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Robotics, Automation & Control

European Researchers Leverage AI in Manufacturing Rocket Parts

Artificial Intelligence (AI), promises many benefits in all domains, and rocketry is no different. The European Space Agency’s Future Launchers Preparatory Program(FLPP) is...

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Unmanned Systems

APFIT Invests $50 Million into US-Made Drone Battery Production for Air Force, Army, Navy, and SOCOM

The Defense Department’s APFIT program has committed up to $50 million to Packet Digital to fast-track production of advanced batteries...

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Electronics & Computers

USNORTHCOM's Counter-UAS Fly-Away Kit Achieves Operational Certification

An 11-person team from U.S. Northern Command deployed to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota at the end of October to provide counter-small uncrewed aerial system...

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AR/AI

Algorithms for Autonomous Marine Vehicles

Autonomous cars have hit the roads, and drones fly in the skies. But what about the water? Marine vehicles have a host of challenges that make maritime autonomy extremely difficult. That’s why...

Podcasts

Robotics, Automation & Control

Autonomous Drones Harness Wind for ISR and Counter UAS

Rob Creighton, Windlift Founder & CEO, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how Windlift's autonomous tethered drone system leverages wind to power a wide variety of defense applications.

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Unmanned Systems

Anduril Completes First Semi-Autonomous Flight of CCA Prototype

Anduril Industries has started flight testing its prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the YFQ-44A, at an Air Force research facility in California.

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Unmanned Systems

A New AI-Piloted VTOL Fighter Jet for Contested Environments

Shield AI unveiled its new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) fighter jet, X-BAT, during an event held in Washington D.C. last week.

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

AUSA 2025: The Army's New Anti-Vehicle Terrain Shaping Munition is Ready for Deployment

Textron Systems recently delivered the first XM204 Top Attack Munition to the U.S. Army in support of its European operations. XM204 is an anti-vehicle...

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Weapons Systems

Scaling Precision: Designing and Manufacturing the Army's Next-Generation Strike Missile

As the U.S. Army transitions into a new era of modernization, its Precision Strike Missile program is a powerful example of how innovation at scale can...

Podcasts

RF & Microwave Electronics

AI-Powered Military Communications at the Tactical Edge

On this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast, Fuse Integration CEO Sumner Lee is the guest to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining how military communications and networks are leveraged in contested environments.

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Unmanned Systems

Meet Arc: Inversion's New Autonomous Space Vehicle for Logistics and Hypersonic Testing

Inversion, the California-based defense and space manufacturing startup, has unveiled its new flagship space vehicle designed for cargo delivery...

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Defense

A New Quantum Materials Research System

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have a powerful new tool to accelerate discovery in quantum materials for advanced electronics. The laboratory recently completed installation of...

Articles

Software

Quality by Design: Imperatives for Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing

This article will provide pragmatic insights and best practices for balancing the connector design, manufacturing and testing requirements that are needed to meet evolving demands for product reliability and durability.

Articles

Aerospace

When Innovation Outpaces Infrastructure: R&D’s New Reality in Aerospace

Aerospace research and development is at a turning point. Emerging technologies promise faster and more efficient systems, but also expose deep limitations in aging infrastructure, siloed processes, and manual workflows. The growing disconnect between technological advances and the physical and organizational infrastructures that support them creates a bottleneck to industry progress. Read on to learn what this means.

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AR/AI

How the US Army is Advancing Research in Robotics, AI and Autonomy

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) researchers recently highlighted some of the groundbreaking work they're performing...

Articles

Robotics, Automation & Control

Swarm Robotics: A Requiem for the Assembly Line

Aircraft manufacturing is on the cusp of its most profound transformation since the dawn of powered flight. The assembly line — a staple of industrial production for over a century — is about to be replaced by a far more efficient and cost-effective alternative: Swarm Robotics. Read on to learn more about it.

Application Briefs

RF & Microwave Electronics

The Marines New Installation Counter UAS System

The U.S. Marine Corps awarded a 10-year, $642 million program of record to Anduril Industries to develop and sustain their new Installation-Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (I-CsUAS) technology. I-CsUAS is a platform powered by machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to protect Marine Corps installations globally by detecting, identifying, tracking and defeating small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Read on to learn more.

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Regulations/Standards

What is the Defense Innovation Unit’s New Blue Manufacturing Program?

For nearly a decade, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has identified, prototyped and scaled commercial technologies that deliver advantages to warfighters. To meet...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

A New Additive Manufacturing Strategy for the UK Defense Industry

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense (MoD) published a new 17-page strategy outlining their vision for the wider use of advanced manufacturing and specifically additive...

Articles

Materials

These Speedy Cold Spray Machines Can 3D Print Vehicle Parts in War Zones

As “point of need” additive manufacturing emerges as a priority for the Department of Defense, Australian 3D printing provider SPEE3D is one of several companies demonstrating that its machines can rapidly produce castings, brackets, valves, mountings and other common replacement parts and devices that warfighters often need in an on-demand schedule when deployed near or directly within combat zones. Read on to learn more.

Podcasts

Propulsion

How Pratt & Whitney Uses a Robot to Help Build Jet Engines

Kevin Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Aftermarket Global Operations, Pratt & Whitney, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast.

Briefs

Robotics, Automation & Control

AI-Trained Vehicles Can Adjust to Extreme Turbulence on the Fly

Researchers at Caltech took an important step toward using reinforcement learning to adaptively learn how turbulent wind can change over time, and then uses that knowledge to control a UAV based on what it is experiencing in real time.

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Unmanned Systems

New Drones and Software Selected for DoD's Replicator 1.2

In a Nov. 13 announcement, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced additional capabilities selected for accelerated fielding as part of the Replicator initiative. This...

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Robotics, Automation & Control

This Robot Dog Detects Nuclear Material and Chemical Weapons

Buckley Space Force Base is home to one of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) only two chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles (QUGV).

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

Top Aerospace OEMs Taking Action to Prevent Unapproved Parts From Entering Supply Chain

The Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition released its report recommending specific actions the aerospace industry should take to help prevent...

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Manned Systems

Army Receives New Robot Combat Vehicle Prototypes

Three of the four defense industry teams selected to submit test vehicles for the U.S. Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle competition have completed deliveries of their prototypes since August,...