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.
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
At least five drones were reported over Île Longue on December 4, with some reporting placing the sighting around 7:30 p.m. local time. French officials said the overflight violated a prohibited zone. The site sits on the Crozon Peninsula in western France
A photo that began circulating online in early December shows a Ukrainian F-16AM carrying two seven-shot 70mm rocket pods that match the LAU-131 family, mounted under the wings. A targeting pod appears on the intake station on the right side. The weapons
The U.S. Air Force is soliciting industry white papers for a new Counter-Air Missile Program, or CAMP. The service wants a missile with a unit price under $500,000 and the ability to build it in the low thousands per year. The presolicitation
The U.S. Army plans to move from buying roughly tens of thousands of drones a year to acquiring at least one million in the next two to three years and then more than one million every year by 2028. Secretary of the
Berlin – Germany’s naval laser demonstrator has moved from sea to shore. The Rheinmetall–MBDA system transferred to the Bundeswehr’s Laser Competence Centre at WTD 91 in Meppen after a year of trials on the air-defense frigate Sachsen. Company materials note “fully operational
As of 28 October 2025, Castelion holds U.S. Navy and U.S. Army awards to integrate its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon on operational platforms, with live-fire events in scope. A Navy study conducted in 2024 defined strict size and weight limits for an air-carried
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.
