Taiwan’s legislature has approved a programme worth up to NT$240 billion ($7.5 billion) over six years to develop and procure domestically produced unmanned systems. The legislation covers aerial, maritime and ground platforms, requires the defence ministry to prioritise Taiwanese products, and calls for new testing infrastructure and greater coordination of the national drone industry.
This programme is to be understood through the development of Taiwan’s recent acquisitions of new drone systems, see for instance last week’s newsletter on the acquisition of 2000 drones from Anduril. The six-year horizon will provide domestic companies and military units a clear and predictable demand to potentially scale up production capacity and reinforce supply chains. The act covers three types of unmanned systems which a focus on coastal protection.
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The US Army has awarded AeroVironment a $464.8 million production contract for the Enduring High Energy Laser programme. The agreement covers dozens of 30 kW LOCUST laser systems intended primarily to defeat Group 1–3 drones and represents the first production contract for a directed-energy weapon in US military history. The platform-agnostic LOCUST X3 can also be integrated onto vehicles such as the JLTV.
This contract signals the start of a broader adoption of high energy lasers which were until a few years ago, considered a highly experimental concept. The recent more usage of these systems by US forces however displayed a higher degree of confidence in deploying such systems in the field supported by a regular production of units despite some setbacks in the past. In any case, a large deployment of these kind of systems will offer the U.S. Army a new tool to counter drone threats.
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he US Navy has released new requirements for its future carrier-based Collaborative Combat Aircraft, seeking an autonomous combat drone capable of operating from existing Ford- and Nimitz-class carriers. The service wants two prototypes capable of carrier qualification within three years, a unit price of no more than $30 million, and the ability to carry up to four 2,500-pound weapons externally.
Carrier compatibility makes the Navy’s CCA requirement considerably more demanding than most land-based loyal-wingman programmes. The aircraft will need to combine autonomy, significant payload and range with catapult launches, arrested recoveries and the severe space constraints of a carrier deck. The $30 million target also illustrates how the definition of “affordable” combat drones is changing as requirements become more ambitious. If successful, the programme could eventually alter the composition of US carrier air wings by adding significant unmanned strike capacity without expanding the number of crewed fighters.
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Auterion and Ukrainian manufacturer Airlogix have begun serial production in Germany of more than 5,000 medium- and long-range strike drones for Ukraine. The approximately €300 million German-funded programme includes two systems, reportedly Seth-X and Anubis, with the longer-range variant capable of reaching around 1,500 kilometres. Deliveries are expected to be completed by mid-2027.
The programme is a strong example of the emerging European-Ukrainian defence-production model: Ukrainian hardware and battlefield experience are being combined with Western software, financing and manufacturing infrastructure. At roughly €60,000 per system if the reported contract value and quantity are compared directly, the programme also illustrates the increasingly blurred boundary between drones and low-cost cruise missiles. More importantly, producing thousands rather than dozens provides the scale required for sustained deep-strike operations and begins to establish a European industrial capacity for affordable precision weapons.
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Anduril is expanding production of its Dive-LD autonomous undersea vehicle at its 150,000-square-foot Rhode Island facility and plans to bring a second production line for the larger Dive-XL online by the end of 2026. The company aims to bring the existing Dive-LD line to maximum capacity by the end of 2027 as demand for autonomous underwater systems increases.
Undersea autonomy is moving through the same industrial transition already visible in aerial drones: militaries increasingly need systems that can be produced in meaningful numbers rather than bespoke experimental vehicles. Anduril’s decision to establish dedicated production lines before demand reaches traditional naval-platform volumes reflects an expectation that large autonomous underwater fleets will become a significant procurement category. The strategic implication is equally important—affordable AUVs could distribute surveillance, mine warfare and other missions across many platforms while reducing reliance on a small number of expensive crewed submarines.
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Easy Aerial raises $20 million to expand drone production and international business
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Tekever acquires Flowcopter to add heavy-lift propulsion technology
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Japan seeks 17 MQ-9B drones in proposed $1.83 billion programme
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Poland’s PGZ plans joint production of unmanned ground vehicles with Ukrainian company
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Heven AeroTech opens new drone manufacturing facility in Virginia
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NEC partner on defence drones in Japan
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Ukraine tests four interceptor designs against jet-powered Geran drones
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Black Hawk helicopter launches swarm of ALTIUS-700 drones
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Hermeus selects Anduril autonomy technology for Quarterhorse unmanned aircraft
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US Air Force seeks MQ-9 Reaper successor costing around $10 million per aircraft
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China tests large WZ-X stealth unmanned aircraft
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US Army moves TITAN AI targeting system into production with Palantir and Anduril awards
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Ukrainian Bulava and Leleka drones demonstrate reconnaissance-strike teaming
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UK launches programme for autonomous vehicle-mounted laser against drone swarms
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Auriga Space completes first field launch of containerised electromagnetic counter-UAS system
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MARA develops Spike autonomous system to counter FPV drones
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Shield AI expands Tracker integration with L3Harris VAMPIRE
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RAF receives Saab Giraffe 1X radars for counter-drone defence
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Lithuania fast-tracks interceptor-drone and passive-radar procurement
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Russian UAVs begin using net guns against Ukrainian interceptor drones
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Global counter-UAS spending surpasses $53 billion in first eight months of 2026
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Virginia Tech and US Army open dedicated counter-UAS research and testing centre
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Destinus, OMT and Cubedin develop containerised naval counter-UAS module
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US Navy tests robotic at-sea refuelling for T38 unmanned surface vessel
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SubSea Craft unveils modular payload cassettes for MARS unmanned surface vessel
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Denmark develops low-cost unmanned underwater vehicle for Ukraine
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US Navy certifies Rolls-Royce MTU engines for autonomous ships
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