DARPA Unveils X-76 HSVTOL Aircraft for Special Operations
DARPA unveiled X-76 HSVTOL, being developed as a demonstrator for USSOCOM’s SPRINT programme in cooperation with Bell, aimed at 400+ knots cruise speed.
darpa News
Air
Engine and Transmission
Air
Unmanned Systems
DARPA’s LongShot UAV Gets X-68A Designation Prior to Flight
LongShot, aiming to introduce air-to-air missile tractor UAVs that can be air-launched, received the X-68 designation shortly before the start of flight tests.
Air
Logistics
Simulator / AI / Drill/ Software
Unmanned Systems
Expo and Air Show
AW139 Helicopter Completes First Autonomous Flight
In May, Honeywell and Near Earth Autonomy flew a Leonardo AW139 without a pilot for the first time in Arizona. This was part of the USMC’s logistics program.
Ammunition
France Develops Guided 12.7 mm Round for Sniper Rifles
French Institute of Saint-Louis is developing an optically guided 12.7x99 mm round with aerodynamic steering to improve snipers’ scores at longer ranges.
Navy / Maritime
Unmanned Systems
DARPA Launches USX-1 Defiant Unmanned Surface Vessel
USN’s new Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) prototype, USX-1 Defiant, was launched within the scope of the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) programme.
Air
Unmanned Systems
UH-60M Helicopter Set to Receive Autonomy Kit
DARPA has awarded a contract to Sikorsky for integrating the MATRIX autonomous flight kit on a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter.
Air
Aurora Flight Sciences to Design Liberty Lifter Seaplane
DARPA selects Aurora Flight Sciences to design an amphibious heavy cargo plane, edging out the General Atomics proposal.
Navy / Maritime
Unmanned Systems
Northrop Grumman Unveils Manta-Ray UUV Prepared for DARPA
Northrop Grumman announced the completion of the assembly of the first large-scale, underwater unmanned vehicle (UUV), Manta Ray, to perform in oceans.
Air
Simulator / AI / Drill/ Software
Unmanned Systems
USAF Conducts Tests with AI-Piloted Fighter Jet
An X-62A VISTA experimental aircraft flown by AI had been pitted against a manned F-16 in various dogfight scenarios.
Air
DARPA Selected Bell for X-Plane Programme
DARPA selected Bell Textron to compete for high-speed vertical take-off and landing (HSVTOL) technology in the (SPRINT) X-Plane program.
Weapon / Missile
Boeing to test DARPA’s Glide Breaker Prototype
DARPA has awarded Boeing a $70.6 million contract to develop and test technologies for the Glide Breaker hypersonic interceptor prototype.
Unmanned Systems
GA’s LongShot UAV to Start Flight Tests in December
General Atomics’ (GA) Longshot UAV will begin flight tests in December, the company announced.
Navy / Maritime
Air
Logistics
DARPA Selects Liberty Lifter X-Plane Performer Teams
Two teams will design DARPA’s Liberty Lifter Seaplane Wing-in-Ground Effect full-scale demonstrator.
Air
Investment
DARPA Selects Aurora for Phase 2 of Active Flow Control
DARPA enters a new phase in creating an aircraft with no exterior moving parts with Aurora Flight Sciences. DARPA Selects it for Phase 2 of Active Flow Control.
Air
Unmanned Systems
Unmanned Blackhawk Conducted Autonomous Flight
Several aviation companies have initiated studies on an uninhabited flight of crewed aircraft. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidy, is also one of them.
Country
Unmanned Systems
U.S. to charge Military Platforms Wireless: Power
DARPA is working on energy distribution by leveraging wireless power beaming to create a dynamic, adaptive, light-speed wireless energy web.
Global Defence Trend Brief
- 09:00 NATO pushes allies to fill US air and naval capability gaps - Washington is pressing European allies and Canada to provide more manned and unmanned aircraft plus...
- 09:00 AI-driven drone swarms rise as a new NATO planning priority - NATO officials are warning that AI-enabled drone swarms could reshape warfare within five years, pus...
- 09:00 Counter-drone demand expands beyond battlefields into critical infrastructure - Growing drone incursions around airports, ports, oil facilities and data centres are accelerating de...
- 09:00 Europe’s loyal wingman race becomes a core airpower trend - Collaborative combat aircraft took centre stage at Berlin Airshow 2026 as European companies and air...
- 09:00 Ukraine’s drone combat know-how is becoming an export asset in Asia - Ukrainian drone firms are marketing battlefield-proven systems and swarm concepts in Japan, Taiwan a...
- 09:00 NATO accelerates live testing of counter-drone technologies - Alliance members and industry partners are expanding field trials of drone detection and interceptio...
- 09:00 Hypersonic threats keep driving demand for persistent tracking networks - The spread of hypersonic weapons continues to push Western defence planners toward integrated radar...
- 09:00 Military space resilience shifts toward larger distributed constellations - Armed forces are increasingly favouring proliferated satellite constellations over a small number of...
- 09:00 Autonomous maritime systems gain importance in surveillance and strike planning - Navies are broadening interest in autonomous surface and underwater systems for persistent ISR, infr...
- 09:00 Industrial surge capacity is becoming a decisive defence metric - Across missiles, drones and air defence, governments are placing more weight on production scalabili...
