September 2026

Monthly digest · 1137 defence stories, distilled to the 20 that mattered

What happened

Contracts & industry led the month with 335 stories, up 105 on the previous month. Counter-UAS (320) and Ukraine / front line (173) followed, with Counter-UAS and Ukraine / front line gaining ground. Attention shifted towards Anduril (70, up from 20), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) (43, up from 10) and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (29, up from 5), while Amprius Technologies (10) and Digital Force Technologies (9) arrive after no coverage at all the month before. Going the other way, Quantum Systems (12 stories down to 4) and Rheinmetall (18 stories down to 10). The most widely reported story was “Smart Shooter Awarded JIATF-401 Single-Award IDIQ Contract for SMASH Counter-Drone Systems with a Ceiling of Up to $150 Million”, carried by 15 outlets. Across the month there were 1137 stories in total, from 54 outlets. Comparisons with the previous period are indicative only: it was covered by 30 outlets against 54 now, so some of the change reflects the feed expanding rather than the market.

The numbers

1137 stories this month, up from 782 the month before.

Comparisons with the previous period are indicative only: it was covered by 30 outlets against 54 now, so some of the change reflects the feed expanding rather than the market.

Most talked about

Anduril	70 / 20	▲ 50
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)	43 / 10	▲ 33
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems	29 / 5	▲ 24
DroneShield	25 / 6	▲ 19
AeroVironment	30 / 13	▲ 17

New names this month

Amprius Technologies 10Digital Force Technologies 9Tactical Air Support 8Swarm Defense 7Allen Control Systems 6

Gone quiet

Quantum Systems 4 ▼ 8Rheinmetall 10 ▼ 8D-Fend Solutions 0 ▼ 7

Theme mix

Contracts & industry 335 ▲ 105Counter-UAS 320 ▲ 66Ukraine / front line 173 ▲ 47EU & regulatory 135 ▲ 47C2 / sensors 114 ▲ 26

Top 20 of the month

Ranked by how many outlets covered each story.

1

sUAS News 30 Sept15 outlets covered this

Smart Shooter Awarded JIATF-401 Single-Award IDIQ Contract for SMASH Counter-Drone Systems with a Ceiling of Up to $150 Million

The 36-month contract establishes a framework for future orders to support U.S. force protection, base

DroneShieldAeroVironmentAndurilDigital Force Technologies

Also in MILMAG, Unmanned Airspace, EDR Magazine, European Security & Defence
2

Defence Industry Europe 26 Sept13 outlets covered this

Anduril and ORIGIN sign pact to test BLAZE interceptor with Lattice in Latvia, targeting drone threats on NATO’s eastern flank

U.S. defense technology company Anduril and Latvian drone maker ORIGIN have agreed to explore connecting ORIGIN’s BLAZE interceptor to Anduril’s Lattice software platform.

AndurilORIGINBoeingCambridge Aerospace

Also in UAS Vision, UASFeed, The Defence Blog, Joint Forces News
3

Unmanned Frontier 21 Sept11 outlets covered this

General Atomics Delivers FQ-42 Vengeance to Creech for Continued Testing

The collaborative combat aircraft has flown with F-35 and F-15E fighters as the company expands low-observable production capacity and funds manufacturing while government plans mature.

AndurilGeneral Atomics Aeronautical SystemsGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)Tactical Air Support

Also in Shephard Media, Defence Industry Europe, Defense News – Unmanned, Defense Daily
4

European Security & Defence 9 Sept8 outlets covered this

Italy Orders Two More MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers

The Italian Air Force (ItAF) has ordered two new MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) from General Atomics … mehr... The post Italy Orders Two More MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers appeared first on European Security & Defence .

General Atomics Aeronautical SystemsGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)Anduril

Also in Defence24, Analisi Difesa, Airforce Technology, Breaking Defense
5

DefenseScoop 4 Sept6 outlets covered this

Air Force moves to accelerate effort to replace MQ-9 Reaper after combat losses in Iran war

“We want to bring this thing forward because of the fact that, although we have plenty of MQ-9As today, we are going through them at a rate that is concerning to us,” Lt. Gen. Christopher Niemi said. The post Air Force moves to accelerate effort to replace MQ-9 Reaper after combat losses in Iran…

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)Anduril

Also in DroneXL, Defense One, Opex360 (Zone Militaire), Defense News – Unmanned
6

sUAS News 28 Sept6 outlets covered this

Amprius Secures $75 Million Grant for American High-Energy Density Battery Production

Amprius Technologies (“Amprius” or the “Company”) (NYSE: AMPX), a leader in high-performance batteries, has been

Amprius TechnologiesNanotech EnergyDongguan PowerampSkydio

Also in UASFeed, DroneXL, UAS Vision, DroneLife
7

The Defence Blog 14 Sept5 outlets covered this

Lockheed Martin expands secretive Vectis drone program

Lockheed Martin is building four more of its newest combat drones, the company announced September 14, doubling down on a program that’s still more than a year away from ever leaving the ground. The news came from the company’s secretive Skunk Works division, following a major Air Force conference…

Lockheed MartinAndurilGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)Boeing

Also in The Aviationist, Breaking Defense, Defense One, Naval News
8

Military Leak 29 Sept5 outlets covered this

KONGSBERG Signs Contract with Oshkosh Defense Europe to Deliver Counter-drone Capabilities to the Netherlands

The systems will be integrated on Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and delivered to the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces.... The post KONGSBERG Signs Contract with Oshkosh Defense Europe to Deliver Counter-drone Capabilities to the Netherlands appeared first on MilitaryLeak.COM .

Kongsberg Defence & AerospaceAdvanced NavigationOshkosh DefenseEchodyne

Also in UAS Vision, Unmanned Airspace, Defence Industry Europe, sUAS News
9

UASFeed 30 Sept5 outlets covered this

Fedorov's 'Army of Robots' Sets a Six-Month Deadline for a Humanoid Combat Result

Ukraine's dismissed defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, launched an 'Army of Robots' in Lviv, promising a humanoid-like robot battlefield result in six months and a no-infantry assault in a year, though most designs shown are still concept art.

Palantir Technologies

Also in Unmanned Frontier, Defense News – Unmanned, Army Technology, DroneXL
10

UASFeed 23 Sept4 outlets covered this

US and UK Fire Mk 48 Torpedo From an Uncrewed Submarine for the First Time

The Royal Navy's XV Excalibur became the first uncrewed underwater vehicle to fire a US Mk 48 Heavyweight Torpedo, a milestone AUKUS test that sets up the Anduril Dive-XL-based Project CUTLASS.

MSubsAndurilLockheed Martin

Also in Unmanned Frontier, The War Zone (TWZ), Opex360 (Zone Militaire)
11

Defense News – Unmanned 9 Sept4 outlets covered this

Anduril doubles down on Poland with autonomous aircraft pitch for F-35, Apache

U.S. tech company Anduril is pitching two drone types to accompany Poland's envisioned fleets of F-35 fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters.

Lockheed MartinAEVEXAndurilBoeing

Also in C4ISRNET, Defence Industry Europe, The Defence Blog
12

Unmanned Airspace 14 Sept4 outlets covered this

DroneShield adds AIM Defence’s Fractl laser to DroneSentry

DroneShield is expanding its open counter-drone architecture to include AIM Defence’s Fractl high-power laser effector, adding to RF sensing, electronic warfare and command-and-control layers. Through The post DroneShield adds AIM Defence’s Fractl laser to DroneSentry first appeared on Unmanned…

AIM DefenceDroneShield

Also in UASFeed, sUAS News, European Security & Defence
13

Defense News – Unmanned 17 Sept4 outlets covered this

Japanese Global Hawk drone splashes down in crash

A Japanese Global Hawk drone nosedived into the Sea of Japan this week, instantly slashing the country’s fleet of these drones by a third.

Northrop Grumman

Also in C4ISRNET, DroneXL, Opex360 (Zone Militaire)
14

DroneLife 29 Sept4 outlets covered this

Skydio Unveils F10 Lightrunner Fixed-Wing Drone and MegaDock at Ascend 2026

The company’s first fixed-wing aircraft flies up to 100 mph across a 30-mile radius from a five-aircraft robotic dock, alongside two new industry-specific software platforms. Skydio announced the F10 Lightrunner, its first fixed-wing aircraft, on September 24, 2026 at its annual Ascend conference…

SkydioTeledyne FLIRAEPAVSS

Also in UASFeed, DroneDJ, DroneXL
15

Unmanned Airspace 16 Sept4 outlets covered this

Airwise Solutions and UAS Sentry integrate drone detection and airspace platforms

Airwise Solutions and UAS Sentry have partnered to integrate UAS Sentry’s Nexus Remote ID detection capabilities with the Airwise Nexus platform. The integration will bring The post Airwise Solutions and UAS Sentry integrate drone detection and airspace platforms first appeared on Unmanned…

Airwise SolutionsDronetagUAS Sentry

Also in DroneDJ, DroneLife, sUAS News
16

Airforce Technology 1 Sept4 outlets covered this

Tekever acquires Flowcopter following AR6 reveal

Portugal’s leading UAS builder, Tekever, has acquired Scotland’s Flowcopter according to a 1 September press release.

FlowcopterTekever

Also in Naval Technology, Army Technology, sUAS News
17

Unmanned Airspace 29 Sept4 outlets covered this

Robin Radar triples capacity with new Delft hub

Robin Radar Systems has moved to a new research, engineering and operations hub in Delft in the Netherlands, expanding capacity for counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) The post Robin Radar triples capacity with new Delft hub first appeared on Unmanned airspace .

Robin Radar Systems

Also in DroneLife, Defence Industry Europe, sUAS News
18

Defense News – Unmanned 24 Sept4 outlets covered this

Report: CIA warned Europe of Russian drone attack from vessels in the Mediterranean

The CIA reportedly warned European nations of a suspected Russian plot to launch explosive drones from aboard commercial vessels in the Mediterranean.

Also in UASFeed, Unmanned Frontier, C4ISRNET
19

The Aviationist 16 Sept3 outlets covered this

Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury Expands Its Weapons Options With Air-to-Ground Munitions

Anduril fit checked its YFQ-44A Fury CCA with various air-to-ground munitions, and conducted the first formation flights of the autonomous fighter drone alongside F-35s. Anduril’s YFQ-44A Fury is expanding its capabilities beyond the air-to-air mission that initially defined the U.S. Air Force’s…

AndurilGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)Blue Force Technologies

Also in The Defence Blog, The War Zone (TWZ)
20

The War Zone (TWZ) 14 Sept3 outlets covered this

Cheaper Reaper? Swarm Aero Unveils Gamera

Swarm Aero's Gamera is designed to be inexpensive but pack major range and the ability to be adapted to many missions beyond standoff strike. The post Cheaper Reaper? Swarm Aero Unveils Gamera appeared first on TWZ .

Swarm AeroGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)AeroVironmentCrystal Group

Also in Airforce Technology, Breaking Defense