An interceptor that works costs more than the thing it destroys, and there are fewer of them than anyone would like. That exchange ratio has become the organizing problem of modern weapons development. A one-way attack drone assembled for a few tens of thousands of dollars can force the launch of a missile costing several million, and no magazine survives that trade for long.
This section covers the effectors and the software around them. Missiles and munitions, unmanned systems, air and missile defense, electronic warfare, cyber, lasers and high-power microwave, autonomy, propulsion, and the mission software that decides how quickly any of it can be changed.
Demonstrations are treated as demonstrations. A laser that shot down a drone on a range in good weather is not a fielded capability, and coverage says which one it is.
Production rate matters as much as performance. A weapon nobody can build at scale is a briefing slide.
Air & Missile Defense Systems · Analysis · August 2026. Primary source: US Department of War daily contracts bulletin. Inventory figures are think-tank estimates, not disclosed stockpile numbers. The Army’s first PAC-2 buy in thirty years was fully obligated on day one
The U.S. Air Force on Dec. 22, 2025 assigned the YFQ-48A Mission Design Series to Northrop Grumman’s Project Talon, a semi-autonomous prototype aircraft. The service described Talon as a “strong contender” for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft effort, as Increment 2 concept work
U.S. Navy officials confirmed a first at-sea launch of a LUCAS one-way attack drone from the Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara in the Arabian Gulf. The test used a rocket-assisted launch from the ship’s flight deck. The flight took place
Defense officials confirm the Army will field its first full Sentinel A4 deployment around Washington, D.C. The radar is the AN/MPQ-64A4 variant. It targets low-altitude threats, with emphasis on cruise missiles and drones. The plan surfaced during a Redstone Arsenal event near
The U.S. Army is tying a new Patriot interceptor effort to a launcher shift toward a more vertical firing profile. The stated goal is an “over-the-shoulder” shot, where a battery can engage a threat that already crossed overhead. Senior leaders heard the
Video from Redstone Arsenal shows an Army hypersonics director telling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the Dark Eagle weapon can reach about 3,500 kilometers. Another officer, filmed near the launcher, described its warhead as “under 30 pounds” and said the payload is
The U.S. Marine Corps has backed live evaluations of the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, known as LUCAS, at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The Army described LUCAS as a one-way attack aircraft and said the work supports the
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has begun using the Sapsan ballistic missile in combat. He spoke to journalists on Dec. 9 and declined to discuss targets or the number of shots fired. “Ukraine is already using the Neptune, the long-range Neptune, the
General Dynamics Land Systems and AeroVironment have tested a turret-mounted launcher that lets an M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 fire Switchblade loitering munitions during a U.S. Army demonstration in Texas. The companies said the kit, called Precision Effects and Reconnaissance Canister-Housed, launched a Switchblade
The MQ-28A Ghost Bat has carried out its first live air-to-air missile shot. During a Dec. 8 test event at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia, it fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. Officials say the missile successfully engaged and
Missiles / Drones / Directed Energy carries the effectors: cruise and ballistic weapons, loitering munitions, unmanned systems, and the lasers and high-power microwave now being fielded against them. What all of it is aimed at, and what shoots it down, is in Air & Missile Defense Systems.
