Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
Aurora's DA-42 Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) was used for aerial support in a project to locate and track great white sharks off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, the company announced on 9 November.
The company partnered with marine conservation organisation OCEARCH for this project. Centaur was flown in a predetermined flight pattern over the expedition area to help scientists on an OCEARCH vessel identify, target and track the location of sharks in real time.
The Centaur was remotely operated by a pilot onboard the OCEARCH vessel, scanning the mission area using a FLIR 230 infrared sensor. The sensor was used to pick up heat signatures and movements in the water, and its imagery was downlinked and displayed in real time on the shipboard ground control station.
A total of five great white sharks were tagged over the three-week expedition.
John Langford, Aurora chairman and CEO, said: 'We are thrilled about our new partnership with OCEARCH and Centaur’s ability to expand on the process for identifying sharks. The expedition allowed us to demonstrate the technological and operational capabilities of Centaur, and more importantly, the value and benefits of utilising optionally-piloted aircraft for a variety of missions which now includes maritime.'
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
The new Amorphous software is a universal controller that would allow a single operator to control a swarm of “thousands” of uncrewed systems, from drones to underwater platforms.
India UAV supplier ideaForge has launched the Netra 5 and Switch V2 drones at Aero India 2025, boasting of enhanced endurance, AI-driven autonomy and improved operational capabilities.
The UAV market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with innovations in technology and battlefield applications driving demand across military sectors. From the battlefields of Ukraine to NATO exercises and beyond, drones are transforming how wars are fought and supported.
Launched at AUSA in October, the company’s multi-stream video codec is attempting to bring a new lease of life to drone technology through its AI accelerator.
Quantum-Systems has been upgrading its UAS family, with new versions of the Vector, Reliant and Twister drones set for release throughout 2025.