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.
ECA Group will develop an ultra-deep autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) under a contract worth €2 million from Ifremer, the company announced on 24 January. The AUV will be dedicated to survey and inspection.
After a development period of three years, the AUV, which will be capable of reaching 6000m water depth, is expected to accomplish its first dives in 2019.
The new AUV will be deployed from French and international oceanographic research vessels in missions involving other deep water intervention vehicles, starting with Ifremer’s Victor 6000 remotely operated underwater vehicle and Nautile manned submersible.
Claude Cazaoulou, director of sales and business development from ECA Group Robotics Division in Toulon, said: ‘For future commercialization by ECA Group of this AUV branded A6K, the system specifications are particularly interesting for missions such as deep sea mining survey, oil/gas pipeline inspections, rescue missions and mineral resource exploration.’
Ifremer is the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea. ECA was selected for the contract as part of a project to establish the Cooperative Off-Shore Robotics Alliance (CORAL Alliance) with selected industrial partners. The alliance will aim to promote innovation and competitiveness in an integrated concept, linking ocean science to marine industry.
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.