[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":128},["ShallowReactive",2],{"en-tag-military-drones":3},[4,18,29,38,48,57,68,76,85,95,102,112,122],{"title":5,"description":6,"date":7,"category":8,"image":9,"slug":10,"tags":11,"author":17},"DARPA Lift Challenge 2026: A Helicopter Beat the Drones","Avidrone's Katana helicopter won DARPA's Lift Challenge on Aug 9, 2026, lifting 112 lbs at a 3.84:1 ratio — missing the 4:1 goal and halving its $2.5M prize.","2026-08-12","news","\u002Fimages\u002Fdarpa-lift-challenge-avidrone-katana-winner-2026.jpg","darpa-lift-challenge-avidrone-katana-winner-2026",[12,13,14,15,16],"darpa","heavy-lift drone","military drones","drone technology","uav","Lucas Buzzo",{"title":19,"description":20,"date":21,"category":8,"image":22,"slug":23,"tags":24,"author":17},"Neros Raises $250M at $2.5B Value to Scale War Drones","Neros raised $250M at a $2.5B valuation on August 11, 2026, to scale its Archer FPV strike drone and new Bandit interceptor for the US, Ukraine, and allies.","2026-08-11","\u002Fimages\u002Fneros-250m-series-c-drone-2026.jpg","neros-250m-series-c-drone-2026",[25,14,26,27,28],"neros","fpv drones","counter-drone","defense tech",{"title":30,"description":31,"date":32,"category":8,"image":33,"slug":34,"tags":35,"author":17},"US Army Orders $50M More Kamikaze Drones From Ondas","The US Army awarded Ondas' Mistral subsidiary over $50 million for loitering-munition drones on August 5, pushing total contract value past $240 million.","2026-08-10","\u002Fimages\u002Fondas-mistral-army-loitering-munition-2026.jpg","ondas-mistral-army-loitering-munition-2026",[14,36,37],"loitering munitions","defense contracts",{"title":39,"description":40,"date":41,"category":8,"image":42,"slug":43,"tags":44,"author":17},"AeroVironment's Locust Laser Wins $400M Army Deal (2026)","AeroVironment won a $400M US Army contract on August 7, 2026, for its Locust laser — the Pentagon's first production-scale counter-drone laser order.","2026-08-09","\u002Fimages\u002Faerovironment-locust-laser-army-contract-2026.jpg","aerovironment-locust-laser-army-contract-2026",[45,27,14,46,47],"aerovironment","us army","directed energy weapons",{"title":49,"description":50,"date":51,"category":8,"image":52,"slug":53,"tags":54,"author":17},"Counter-Drone Laser Startup Aurelius Raises $40M (2026)","Aurelius Systems raised a $40M Series A on August 5, 2026, to scale Archimedes, an autonomous laser that tracks and disables drones in seconds — how it works.","2026-08-07","\u002Fimages\u002Faurelius-systems-40m-counter-drone-laser-2026.jpg","aurelius-systems-40m-counter-drone-laser-2026",[27,14,55,56],"defense technology","startup funding",{"title":58,"description":59,"date":60,"category":8,"image":61,"slug":62,"tags":63,"author":17},"US Drone Production Still Lags Ukraine, Pentagon Says","Pentagon officials say US drone production still trails Ukraine, which builds 6-7 million FPV attack drones a year versus just 200,000 US orders so far.","2026-07-28","\u002Fimages\u002Fpentagon-drone-dominance-30000-drones-kamikaze.jpg","pentagon-drone-production-ukraine-gap-2026",[64,14,65,66,67],"pentagon","drone dominance","ukraine","defense",{"title":69,"description":70,"date":71,"category":8,"image":72,"slug":73,"tags":74,"author":17},"US, Ukraine Sign First Military Drone Pact (2026)","The US and Ukraine signed a landmark drone cooperation pact on July 21, 2026, letting Kyiv's combat-tested UAVs and naval drones ship to America for testing.","2026-07-26","\u002Fimages\u002Fus-ukraine-drone-cooperation-agreement-2026.jpg","us-ukraine-drone-cooperation-agreement-2026",[14,75,55],"Ukraine",{"title":77,"description":78,"date":79,"category":8,"image":80,"slug":81,"tags":82,"author":17},"AeroVironment's P550 Wins $117M Army Deal for 82 Drones","AeroVironment landed a $117.3M US Army contract on July 20, 2026, for 82 P550 eVTOL recon drones — full specs, mission role, and why it matters now.","2026-07-23","\u002Fimages\u002Faerovironment-p550-army-contract-2026.jpg","aerovironment-p550-army-contract-2026",[45,83,14,84,46],"p550","evtol",{"title":86,"description":87,"date":88,"category":8,"image":89,"slug":90,"tags":91,"author":17},"Anduril, Archer Unveil Thunder Attack Drone (2026)","Anduril and Archer unveiled Thunder, a Group 5 autonomous attack tiltrotor, at Farnborough on July 20, 2026 — full specs, payload options, and timeline.","2026-07-22","\u002Fimages\u002Fanduril-archer-thunder-vtol-2026.jpg","anduril-archer-thunder-vtol-2026",[14,92,93,94],"Anduril","Archer Aviation","eVTOL",{"title":96,"description":97,"date":98,"category":8,"image":99,"slug":100,"tags":101,"author":17},"Anduril Drone Fires First-Ever Missile in USAF Test","Anduril's YFQ-44A fired a live AIM-120 missile over California's Mojave Desert on July 10, 2026 — the first weapons shot by a US autonomous combat drone.","2026-07-18","\u002Fimages\u002Fanduril-yfq-44a-missile-test-2026.jpg","anduril-yfq-44a-missile-test-2026",[14,92],{"title":103,"description":104,"date":105,"category":8,"image":106,"slug":107,"tags":108,"author":17},"NATO Drone Edge: $40B Counter-Drone Plan Unveiled","NATO's new Drone Edge initiative commits $40 billion over five years to counter-drone defense, procurement, and pilot training — here's what it funds.","2026-07-09","\u002Fimages\u002Fanti-drone.jpg","nato-drone-edge-40-billion",[109,27,110,14,111],"NATO","C-UAS","drone defense",{"title":113,"description":114,"date":115,"category":8,"image":116,"slug":117,"tags":118,"author":17},"UK Backs Military Drones With Record $6.6B Investment","The UK will spend $6.6 billion on military drones over 4 years, its biggest-ever investment, arming the Army, Navy, and RAF with new autonomous combat systems.","2026-07-06","\u002Fimages\u002Fuk-military-drone-investment-2026.jpg","uk-military-drone-investment-2026",[14,119,120,121],"UK defense","drone industry","autonomous systems",{"title":123,"description":124,"date":125,"category":8,"image":61,"slug":126,"tags":127,"author":17},"Pentagon Creates Single Drone Office With $75B Backing","The Pentagon merged nearly all drone programs into one new office backed by a record $75 billion budget request — here's what changed and why it matters.","2026-07-05","pentagon-drone-office-2026",[64,14,120,67],1786607723741]