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.
Urban Aeronautics has announced that its Cormorant UAS prototype has successfully performed its first autonomous pattern flight over uneven terrain, the company announced on 14 November.
Cormorant is being developed to operate close to the ground and inside obstructed terrain by using an autopilot technology that relies primarily on inertial and ground reference. This is more complex than autopilot systems for traditional fixed and rotor-wing UAS that fly through open, unobstructed airspace.
According to the company’s founder, Rafi Yoeli, this flight ‘paves the way forward for the immediate evolution of Cormorant from prototype to near-term production’ for a number of applications and markets.
The next phase of development will include flight tests to improve the smoothness of transitions through the various flight modes - take-off, climb, acceleration, cruise, deceleration, descent, turns, hover and touchdown - in addition to increasing speed and manoeuvrability.
Yoeli said: ‘This is the most exciting time in the company’s history and we look forward to accelerating our progress now that the technology is fully proven.’
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.