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.
Orbital's Insitu ScanEagle UAS propulsion system has passed the FAR 33.49 reciprocating aircraft engine endurance test, the company announced on 11 February.
In doing so the propulsion system has become the first heavy fuel engine in its class to successfully complete the FAR 33.49 endurance test for reciprocating aircraft engines.
This test was not essential for unmanned aircraft, but Orbital and Insitu agreed to include the test as part of their development and validation testing programme for the ScanEagle engine.
The FAR 33.49 test took place the Orbital development centre in Perth, Western Australia.
This achievement is part of the development plan for the Orbital UAS business. Orbital has been working with Insitu since July 2013 as part of an initial design, development and validation contract for propulsion systems for Insitu UAS.
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.