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.
Raytheon is providing its enhanced Coyote UAS to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for hurricane research missions, the company announced on 20 January.
The UAS will be used for hurricane tracking and modelling, giving researches the ability to collect data from inside storms that build in the Atlantic Ocean.
The expendable Coyote can be tube-launched from a host vehicle in the air or on ground.
NOAA plans to expand on work it conducted in 2014 when it successfully deployed a Coyote from a hurricane hunter into the eye of Hurricane Edouard.
Thomas Bussing, vice president, advanced missile systems product line, Raytheon Missile Systems, said: ‘We've made significant improvements to Coyote. It can now fly for up to one hour and 50 miles away from the launch aircraft. Raytheon technology is playing a key role in enhancing safety for hurricane researchers, and helping to deliver vital information about potentially deadly storms to the American people. Ultimately, that will save lives.’
Joe Cione, a hurricane researcher at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and chief scientist of the Coyote program, said: ‘This successful flight gives us additional confidence that we will be able to use this unique platform to collect critical continuous observations at altitudes in the storm environment that would otherwise be impossible.’
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.