Drones, the Air Littoral, and the Looming Irrelevance of the USAF

[Kirkhill]

AUKUS in the air

The Boeing Australia MQ-28 Ghost Bat CCA can be handed off from RAAF to USAF and RAF fighter control.

Common Standard Opens Up CCA Sharing Between Australia, U.S. | Aviation Week

U.S. and Australian fighter pilots will have the technical ability to take turns flying the same MQ-28, a Boeing official says.

aviationweek.com

 

[Kirkhill]

AUKUS in the air

The Boeing Australia MQ-28 Ghost Bat CCA can be handed off from RAAF to USAF and RAF fighter control.

Common Standard Opens Up CCA Sharing Between Australia, U.S. | Aviation Week

U.S. and Australian fighter pilots will have the technical ability to take turns flying the same MQ-28, a Boeing official says.

aviationweek.com

The MQ-28 has already demonstrated the ability to launch the AIM-120 AMRAAM, in similar fashion to the German Cobra 600 launching an IRIS-T.

 

[Kirkhill]

Lockheed bought Divergent and invested 25 MUSD.

12 months later they had a 3D printed, robot assembled, UAV. Software included.

Lockheed Skunk Works built new drone using 3D printing

Lockheed Martin's secretive Skunk Works division has built a drone from scratch in under a year using 3D-printing technology, demonstrating a manufacturing approach that the company says could fundamentally change how quickly the U.S. defense industry can develop and field

defence-blog.com

 

[Kirkhill]

More on the Ghost Bat

Newer, bigger

Boeing unveils bigger Ghost Bat drone with enhanced combat powers

Boeing's Ghost Bat Block 3 also has beyond line of sight (BLOS) communication links which will enable the drone to be operated from far-off.

interestingengineering.com

 

[HavokFour]

So one of the owners of Fire Point believes a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAS armed with a 30mm cannon might be a solution to the glide bomb problem.

Ideally something can can loiter up to 24 hours at 23,000ft.

Makes you wonder if they're dropping hints that something is already in the works.

Fire Point Co-Owner Calls For Ukraine To Get Cannon-Armed UAS | Aviation Week

Ukraine still needs a MALE uncrewed aircraft system to loiter in domestic airspace and shoot down incoming Russian attack drones and glide bombs, a co-owner of Ukrainian attack drone and missile-maker Fire Point says.

aviationweek.com

 

[FJAG]

This is an interesting development. The byproduct of Chinese entertainment of mass drone formation flying?

Exclusive: Downed US pilot reported seeing Iranian drones swarm in ‘jellyfish’ formation​

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/politics/iran-drones-f-15-pilot-intelligence

One would think such curtains would have to have a way to deal with the relatively short battery life of drones.

 

[HavokFour]

The Ghost Bat makes another appearance.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2070673461588943094

 

[GR66]

A Russian solution to the FPV threat to vehicles...

Russia patents a spinning umbrella to shield armored vehicles

A spinning umbrella built to save armored vehicles from a kamikaze drone sounds like something out of a cartoon, but Russia's military has patented exactly that. The Combined Arms Order of Zhukov Academy, one of the Russian Armed Forces' premier

defence-blog.com

Looks like a very clunky solution to me. There are 40mm grenade launcher net rounds available. I'd think a series of launchers on the vehicle similar to smoke grenades on tanks with the firing controlled by onboard sensors would be a better solution.

 

[Czech_pivo]

The size and use of drones is becoming unthinkable.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[torg003]

There are a lot of birds that rely on eating insects like mosquitos. Wipe out mosquitos and you will likely wipe out a large number of small birds as well.

 

[GR66]

IWI has a system that helps improve the effectiveness of your standard infantry rifle against small FPV type drones.

IWI’s rifle upgrade is drawing interest from armies near Russia and Ukraine

A rifle that decides, mid-trigger-pull, when to let the round go, not the shooter, is now fielded or in procurement across an estimated 10 to 15 European countries, according to Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). The system, called ARBEL, does not

defence-blog.com

AI summary of the system:

AI ASSISTED
The IWI Arbel system is an advanced, computer-based intelligent fire-control upgrade for small arms that features an electronic trigger mechanism, a specialized "Arbel" firing mode, and a rechargeable battery pack. Developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), it is designed to increase hit probability and operator lethality under combat stress.

Core Technology & Features

• • Smart Firing Mode: In "Arbel" mode, the first shot acts normally via a mechanical pull. If the trigger is held down, the internal computer uses motion sensors to track user stability and automatically releases follow-up rounds only when the weapon is aligned with the target.
  • Anti-Drone Capability: The precision timing helps soldiers intercept fast, low-altitude small drones and moving targets within short windows of opportunity.
    
  • Fatigue Compensation: It helps reduce common shooting errors caused by heavy physical stress, muscle tremors, and fatigue.
  • Power and Battery: Powered by an integrated, field-replaceable battery that lasts up to 50 to 60 hours of operational standby/use.

Compatible Weapon Platforms

• • Light Machine Guns: Integrates into the IWI Negev LMG via a modified pistol grip module.
  • Assault Rifles: Built into platforms like the IWI Arad, Carmel, Tavor, and X95, as well as standard AR-15 variants via lower receiver integration.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I played with a civilian version of that system, using an optical camera to select the target, you could manually enter wind, elevation to compensate, pull the trigger and the gun would fire when the image in the scope lined up with the image in the system and with corrections. That was something like 2015 or so.