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.
General Dynamics Mission Systems has used the Oceans 2016 event in Monterey, California, to highlight the capabilities of the Bluefin Robotics Hovering-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (H-AUV).
The H-AUV is designed to map, identify and locate structural issues on a ship's hull without the need to dry-dock the ship. It has application for large ocean going petroleum and chemical tankers, cargo ships, cruise ships and military surface and sub-surface vessels.
The system operates autonomously and navigates along piers, bridges and hulls. It streams, records and stores high-resolution images for use by for shipboard or shore-based operators. It can also carry out undersea observation for academic and archaeological research, underwater law enforcement investigations and port and harbour security.
Matt Graziano, director of autonomous undersea systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems, said: ‘Inspecting ship hulls and other underwater surfaces can be a manpower- and cost-intensive part of a ship's observation and maintenance. This H-AUV also reduces the risk to divers when inspecting potential threats attached to a ship's hull or other structure.’
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.