Congress

Pentagon’s $54.6B autonomy request hinges on bill Senate appropriators have ruled out

Almost all of the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group’s request sits in a reconciliation bill Senate appropriators have ruled out. A four-star command is planned anyway.

FeatureOct 11, 2026

Maritime

US used Corsair sea drones in combat for first time at Bandar Abbas; control details undisclosed

Central Command called the July 12 Corsair attack a first. The public record shows fast fielding, and little about autonomy, defenses or who commands the boats.

FeatureOct 10, 2026

Land

Simulated drone strike ‘kills’ 42 paratroopers as Army weighs how to fight in a kill zone

Evidence from Ukraine and from the Army’s own training centers agrees on the drone-swept zone. The officials who redesigned brigades for it are gone.

FeatureOct 10, 2026

AI & Autonomy

Ordered rewrite of Pentagon autonomous weapons rules runs late as AI targeting draws scrutiny

A presidential order to rewrite Directive 3000.09 is five weeks overdue. The AI that shaped this year’s targeting sits in software the directive may not cover.

FeatureOct 10, 2026

Air

Pentagon fielded $35,000 LUCAS attack drone in seven months and used it against Iran

The Pentagon fielded its Shahed copy in seven months and used it against Iran. How many it has, and what they hit, remain undisclosed.

FeatureOct 9, 2026

AI & Autonomy

Jammed Alaska drone trial exposes gap in how Pentagon tests autonomy

Clean-spectrum demonstrations prove little. Autonomous systems should be judged on documented dependencies and tested behavior when links, GPS and assumptions fail, before the money flows.

CommentaryOct 8, 2026

Maritime

Navy picks three firms to build 30 uncrewed vessels before proving weeks-long endurance

Uncrewed ships have shown they can navigate oceans. The Navy is buying thirty before showing they can run for weeks without anyone aboard to fix them.

AnalysisOct 7, 2026

Air

Air Force orders drone wingmen into production before choosing their autonomy software

The Air Force ordered its drone wingmen into production before choosing their software. Readiness should be judged by autonomy builds and test evidence, not airframes.

AnalysisOct 5, 2026

Maritime

Navy budgets for 16 more Orca undersea drones after cost growth, skipped reviews

The Navy ran an urgent mine-laying requirement as a research project. Before it buys sixteen more Orcas, it should hold the reviews it skipped.

AnalysisOct 3, 2026

Counter-UAS

Army turns to 30-kilowatt counter-drone lasers after soldiers pan 50-kilowatt Strykers

Low-power, fixed-site lasers have reached troops and production. Mobile 50-kilowatt lasers and swarm-killing microwaves have not, and nobody publishes availability data.

AnalysisOct 1, 2026

The Defense Autonomy Review briefing