Army taps AeroVironment for loitering drone that changes small-unit strike
The Army awarded AeroVironment a prototype contract for Switchblade 400 under the LASSO program, positioning the drone as a core component of a $1.2 billion multi-year modernization of tactical precision strike.
Pacific Defense wins Marine Corps EW prototype, signaling shift to open architecture
Pacific Defense awarded 12-month USMC contract to prototype software-defined electronic warfare systems, establishing foothold for cross-service MOSA/CMOSS adoption in tactical EW.
Pentagon deploys eight frontier AI firms to classified networks, cuts Anthropic out
The DoD announced May 1 deals with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, AWS, NVIDIA, SpaceX, Oracle, and Reflection AI for classified network deployment, formally excluding Anthropic after the company refused unrestricted military use of Claude.
Echodyne radar locked into $490M Air Force counter-drone program
Echodyne's EchoShield radar becomes primary sensor across Trust Automation's SUADS platform under $490M Air Force IDIQ, marking first SOSA-compliant counter-UAS architecture with no prime contractor.
Anduril's Copperhead-500M Changes the Undersea Autonomy Game
Anduril released footage of its Copperhead-500M autonomous underwater munition hitting speed records in April 2026, six weeks after winning a Navy CAMP contract to deploy it from its Dive-XL submarine — the first credible link between carrier vehicle and payload in commercial undersea autonomy.
Shield AI Enters Navy's $800M ISR Contract Pool With V-BAT
Shield AI won selection to compete for up to $800 million in U.S. Navy COCO ISR task orders using its V-BAT vertical-launch drone, marking a program-of-record entry against established competitors like AeroVironment and Textron.
Air Force Warfighters Fly Anduril's Fury Drone From Laptop, No Base Required
Combat crews from the Air Force's Experimental Operations Unit flew Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury collaborative combat aircraft from a simulated forward operating base using only a ruggedized laptop, marking the first time warfighters—not engineers—operated the semiautonomous drone without fixed infrastructure.
Shield AI wins Navy COCO contract, enters program of record
Shield AI secured a same-day program-of-record entry with the U.S. Navy for contractor-operated ISR services using its V-BAT drone, competing for task orders under an $800 million multi-vendor ceiling alongside AeroVironment, Insitu, and Textron.
Air Force hands full control of Anduril's Fury drone to combat crews
Anduril's YFQ-44A Fury passed its first combat-crew evaluation at Edwards AFB, with warfighters — not test pilots — executing full operational control. The milestone gates the production downselect decision due this summer.
Army Funds Three Autonomy Startups to Field Combat Vehicles by May
The U.S. Army awarded $15.5M in OTA agreements to Forterra, Overland AI, and Scout AI to integrate commercial autonomy onto Infantry Support Vehicles for soldier evaluation in May 2026—a live-fire test that will determine which startup gets the production contract.
Lockheed Martin doubles venture fund to $1B, signaling pipeline war
Lockheed Martin expanded its venture capital arm from $400M to $1B on April 14, 2026 — the largest increase in the fund's 19-year history — directly competing with pure-play defense VCs and the Pentagon for control of the commercial startup pipeline to programs of record.
Pentagon Locks Maven to Army, Sets Sept 30 Deadline for Program Status
Deputy SecDef Feinberg's March 9 directive to make Palantir's Maven Smart System an official DoD program of record is now confirmed across four combatant commands, with a Sept 30 hard deadline that experts call aggressive and a $10B Army backstop contract already in place.
Germany, Ukraine scale autonomous strike drones to thousands annually
Auterion and Airlogix signed a production contract with Germany to manufacture thousands of AI-guided autonomous strike UAVs annually in Germany — the largest German heavy drone order to date, validating autonomy software already seeded into U.S. DoD programs.
Hermeus Gets FAA Supersonic Green Light, Closes $350M Series C
Hermeus closed a $350M Series C and received FAA authorization for supersonic flights within 48 hours, positioning itself as the Pentagon's first commercially operated hypersonic testbed.
Army Orders Ghost-X Drones With Named Sensor Payload, $16.8M
The U.S. Army awarded Anduril Industries a $16.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for Ghost-X small drones paired with Trillium HD45LP imaging payloads, signaling the platform's shift from directed requirement to production procurement.
Hermeus hits $1B valuation on $350M Series C, Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 in flight
Hermeus closed $350M Series C led by Khosla Ventures, reaching unicorn status days after successfully flying Quarterhorse Mk 2.1—a delta-wing hypersonic demonstrator the size of an F-16—positioning the startup to move from prototype to DoD-ready production.