European autonomous-systems company TEKEVER announced the first close of a $580 million Series D, valuing the company at $6.4 billion. The round was led by UC Investments and Baillie Gifford and will support international expansion, industrial capacity, technology development and acquisitions. The financing follows TEKEVER’s selection for the British Army’s CORVUS programme, worth up to £400 million over ten years.
The size of the round illustrates how quickly European defence technology companies are moving beyond the startup phase. TEKEVER combines operational experience in Ukraine with sovereign European production and increasingly large government programmes, making it attractive to institutional investors rather than only specialist defence funds. The larger implication is industrial: substantial private capital gives emerging drone manufacturers the means to expand production, acquire technologies and compete internationally without following the decades-long growth cycle of traditional defence primes.
🔗 Source
Ukraine is currently neutralising around 55% of Russian jet-powered Shahed-type drones, compared with more than 90% of conventional Shaheds, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said more than 2,730 jet-powered drones had been launched during September, with over 1,500 shot down or suppressed. Ukraine is testing and scaling several new interceptor systems specifically designed for the faster threat.
The figures provide an unusually useful measure of how the drone–counter-drone competition is evolving. Russia’s move toward faster jet-powered systems temporarily reduced the effectiveness of Ukraine’s established defences, forcing another rapid adaptation cycle. Ukraine is now responding with purpose-built high-speed interceptors rather than relying primarily on conventional missiles. If interception rates continue rising while the cost per engagement remains low, interceptor drones could become a distinct and permanent layer between electronic warfare, gun systems and expensive surface-to-air missiles.
🔗 Source
Former Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has announced Army of Robots, a new defence-technology initiative intended to accelerate battlefield robotics. Modelled partly on the Army of Drones programme, it will combine investment in defence-tech companies, internal technology projects, R&D, military testing and rapid scaling of systems that prove effective in combat.
Ukraine is attempting to apply the development model that transformed its drone sector to ground robotics. The important element is not any single robot but the proposed ecosystem connecting funding, developers, military units and rapid battlefield experimentation. Ground systems remain much less mature than UAVs because terrain, communications and mobility create harder autonomy problems. A structured programme built around operational feedback could accelerate that transition considerably and provide valuable evidence about which missions—logistics, evacuation, reconnaissance, engineering or combat—are genuinely suitable for large-scale robotic substitution.
🔗 Source
The US and Royal navies successfully launched a Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo from the British XV Excalibur unmanned underwater vehicle during testing at BUTEC in Scotland. Conducted under AUKUS Pillar II, the test demonstrated mechanical, electrical and software compatibility between a US weapon and a British autonomous underwater platform.
Large UUVs are progressing from ISR and experimentation toward becoming genuine weapons platforms. Integrating a heavyweight torpedo is particularly significant because it gives an autonomous vehicle an offensive capability comparable to a crewed submarine in a specific mission set. The next challenge will be command, targeting and rules governing weapon employment rather than simply launching the torpedo. AUKUS cooperation could also accelerate interoperability between different autonomous underwater vehicles and allied weapons, creating modular undersea fleets in which payloads are less dependent on a specific platform.
🔗 Source
Yemen’s Houthis have developed an increasingly domestic capability to assemble missiles and drones using commercially available and dual-use equipment and components of Chinese origin, according to reporting cited by Militarnyi. Intercepted shipments reportedly included engines, electronics, guidance equipment, machine tools and missile-related components. There is no evidence that the Chinese manufacturers knew the Houthis were the ultimate users.
The development illustrates how the proliferation problem is shifting from finished weapons to distributed supply chains for components and manufacturing equipment. Motors, electronics, composites, CNC machines and navigation hardware are far more difficult to control than complete military systems because many have legitimate civilian applications. A local production capability also makes interdiction of Iranian weapon shipments less decisive. For counter-UAS planners, this suggests that relatively sophisticated attack drones may increasingly emerge from actors without a traditional aerospace industry if they can combine commercial components with transferred designs and production expertise.
🔗 Source
Ukraine and Finland sign Drone Deal to launch joint unmanned-system production
🔗 Source
SkyFall and Calian partner to train drone operators for NATO and allied countries
🔗 Source
Militech Group launches contract production of composite parts for Ukraine’s defence industry
🔗 Source
Investigation examines ownership and operations behind new Israeli-designed drone factory in Serbia
🔗 Source
Spin Craft develops indigenous 500cc twin-cylinder UAV engine in India
🔗 Source
US Army selects Vulcan Elements to supply domestic rare-earth magnets for SkyFoundry drone production
🔗 Source
US Air Force begins independent military operations of the FQ-44A Fury unmanned fighter
🔗 Source
XTEND receives Phase III award for USSOCOM Modular Kinetic Lethal Drone programme
🔗 Source
EdgeForce emerges as L1 bidder for Indian Army manned-unmanned teaming requirement
🔗 Source
Aerosonde becomes first UAS to conduct vertiport-to-vertiport flights in commercial airspace under Virginia programme
🔗 Source
Fire Point adapts racing-drone component for Ukraine’s long-range FP-1 strike drone
🔗 Source
SkyStriker loitering munition conducts precision strike during India-US Yudh Abhyas 2026
🔗 Source
Aero Vodochody demonstrates L-39 Skyfox in Drone Hunter counter-UAS configuration
🔗 Source
Ukrainian SPYS interceptor records engagement against Russia’s jet-powered Geran-5
🔗 Source
US Army demonstrates M-LIDS counter-UAS system during Yudh Abhyas in India
🔗 Source
Ukrainian Unwave electronic-warfare system participates in US Drone Dominance trials
🔗 Source
Ptashka Drones equips FPVs with microphones and new Multizhdun ambush capability
🔗 Source
KNDS and Aerix Systems partner to industrialise AXS-μ1 interceptor for the TARGAS counter-UAS ecosystem
🔗 Source
Netherlands and EOS move toward operational Apollo high-energy laser counter-drone system
🔗 Source
AvionX unveils autonomous M.O.D.I multi-target drone interceptor concept
🔗 Source
Ukraine and France accelerate joint development of interceptors against jet-powered drones
🔗 Source
F-15E Strike Eagles return from Middle East deployment carrying 45 Shahed drone kill markings
🔗 Source
Washington National Guard integrates drones with mortar targeting and fire correction
🔗 Source
Drone attack halts operations at Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery
🔗 Source
Drones strike Russia’s Iskra plant involved in Kh-59 missile production
🔗 Source
