President Trump Announces Major Defence Contract with Qatar
U.S. President Donald Trump announced defence contracts worth $42 billion and an investment worth $10 billion on the Al Udeid Air Base were signed with Qatar.
MQ-9B News
Bilateral Relations
Unmanned Systems
U.K. Ditches Watchkeeper UAV for New Options
The U.K. MoD has decided to retire the 14-year-old Watchkeeper UAV from service as an “outdated military capability”.
Unmanned Systems
India Ditches UCAV Development, Goes for MQ-9B
India has opted for U.S.-made MQ-9B to acquire UCAV platforms quickly and temporarily abandoned local development.
Navy / Maritime
Unmanned Systems
Expo and Air Show
FIA2024: General Atomics Displays EMALS for UAVs
General Atomics Electromagnetics is displaying its electromagnetic launch systems (EMALS) compatible with UAVs at FIA2024 organised in the U.K.
Navy / Maritime
China to Build the Fourth Aircraft Carrier
China's PLA Navy political commissar Yuan Huazhi announced the development of the fourth aircraft carrier after Type 003 Fujian.
Unmanned Systems
India Acquires MQ-9B Armed UAV
India will acquire MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Armed Aircraft from General Atomics, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency announced.
Unmanned Systems
Gray Eagle 25M UCAV Makes Maiden Flight
The newest version of the U.S.’s MQ-1 Predator line of UCAVs, Gray Eagle 25M or GE-25M, made its maiden flight on the 5th of December, 2023.
Unmanned Systems
Bilateral Relations
Taiwan to Receive 4 MQ-9B SkyGuardians Worth $ 217.6 Million
DSCA announced that Taiwan will acquire four MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAVs through Foreign Military Sale and pay USD 217.6 million. General Atomics is the producer.
Air
Unmanned Systems
Poland to Lease General Atomics’ MQ-9A UAVs
Poland will lease several MQ-9A unmanned air vehicles from General Atomics as an interim solution before it acquires the MQ-9B.
Navy / Maritime
Ammunition
Expo and Air Show
G.A. Unveils MQ-9B STOL UAV
GA-ASI unveiled a new MQ-9B UAV variant at INDO PACIFIC 2022 expo in Australia; The MQ-9B STOL designed to operate from amphibious vessel decks.
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...
