Anthropic's September 2026 threat report reveals a small group of Russia-based freelancers used Claude Code to develop swarm coordination, computer vision, and terminal guidance software for a combat drone system called DronDoc or Serafim. The system could select targets, including people, and issue detonation commands without human oversight, and developers trained it on Ukrainian combat footage while evading Anthropic's geographic blocks via VPNs. Anthropic banned the associated accounts and says the group was not tied to the Russian state, though it hasn't named the organization publicly.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-14
Ukraine's Navy says its Sargan 3000 unmanned surface vessel destroyed a Russian MBeK drone boat in the Black Sea, using a 12.7mm remote-controlled turret to sink the enemy craft after it was spotted by military intelligence. Footage released on the Navy's Telegram channel shows the exchange of fire and the Russian vessel sinking nose-first.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-13
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps recovered a 19-foot Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle made by Anduril after it malfunctioned during a surveillance mission near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Navy has characterized the lost drone as an older, defective, unclassified unit carrying no sensitive sonar or radar equipment, while Iranian embassies have publicly mocked the loss online.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-12
A drone light show used 2,977 individually flown drones—one for each victim of the September 11 attacks—to recreate the original Minoru Yamasaki-designed World Trade Center towers at full architectural scale. Organizers faced significant logistical hurdles, including securing a launch site capable of supporting the massive coordinated flight.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-11
Mexico's SEDENA and US Northern Command announced Operation High Eagle, a binational effort to track and neutralize drones used by criminal groups near the San Diego-Tijuana border. The first phase ran August 31 to September 2, with tracking of commercial drones, followed by neutralization tests using fixed and mobile anti-drone systems from September 7 through September 21.
wired.com
· 2026-09-11
A defense technology company backed by Erik Prince has acquired a Ukrainian manufacturer of unmanned ground vehicles in a deal valued at $224 million. The acquisition marks one of the first major consolidation moves in Ukraine's fragmented drone industry, which currently includes roughly 500 companies.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-10
Japan's Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency has approved mass production of the Terra B1, a 3D-printed rocket-powered interceptor drone built on Terra Drone's battle-tested A1 platform already used in Ukraine. The B1 beat out proposals from 37 other companies after demonstrating strong performance in range, speed, guidance and simultaneous-control capability during trials for Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces. Domestic production lines are expected to deliver the first units this month.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-05
Enabled Intelligence, a US data-processing firm, says it has made available more than half a million hours of Ukrainian drone footage for use in training AI models, marketing the dataset for both military and commercial applications. This marks a shift from earlier programs like Project Maven, where combat sensor data stayed locked within classified defense channels, toward a broader, more open data marketplace.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-04
The U.S. Army has signed a $465 million contract to field 26 laser weapons designed to shoot down drones. The deal marks a shift from decades of research and prototypes toward actual battlefield deployment of directed-energy weapons.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-04
A YouGov survey of 20,000 Americans shared with The Washington Post found 46% now oppose police license plate reading cameras made by Flock Safety, versus 38% in favor—a reversal from last year's majority support. Most respondents also said the cameras don't make them feel safer. The findings come amid mounting controversy over Flock, including a doxxing campaign against its CEO Garrett Langley and an Ohio grand jury's refusal to indict a man who destroyed one of the company's cameras.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-29
Ukrainian long-range drones set fire to a Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Tambov region on Wednesday, destroying it completely, according to local officials. This marks the second strike on the facility in five weeks, following a July 18 attack that killed seven people and began a broader Ukrainian campaign against the retailer's facilities nationwide. Separately, Ukraine's military said it struck a Lukoil refinery in Nizhny Novgorod region overnight, sparking a fire at the plant.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-26
Indian startup Airbound has closed a $37 million Series A round led by Greenoaks, with backing from DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed and Humba Ventures, bringing its total funding to nearly $50 million less than a year after an $8.65 million seed round. The company is developing lightweight, tail-sitter drones that take off and land vertically, aiming to carry cargo more cheaply than trucks by minimizing the aircraft's own weight relative to payload.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-08-25
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