First competitive tender for heavy bombers & middle-strike UAVs is open. The plan: contract tens of thousands of drones from multiple suppliers. The same model cut 155mm ammo costs by 16%. Now we scale it to drones.

FM Speaker Highlight: KT Lin Kai-Tse (KT) Lin co-founded Bellwether Industries (@bellwether_industries), developer of the world's most compact urban eVTOL, and BAMS Tech, which builds AI-powered autonomous aerial systems and UAVs. Can't wait to have him at #FM26#. FUTUREMODE 2026 📍 Taipei Expo Dome | Sep 4–6, 2026 🌐 🏟 Get Your FM26 Pass Local - International -

🚨🇷🇺 UKRAINE'S NIGHTMARE: RUSSIA BUILDS YAK-130M LIGHT FIGHTER TO HUNT UKRAINIAN AIR AND SEA DRONES Russia is turning the Yak-130M into a light fighter for two of the most urgent battlefield missions: hunting heavy UAVs and unmanned attack boats. During Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, the prototype was shown with a new radar, modern avionics and guided air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. 🔸 The BRLS-130R active electronically scanned array radar can reportedly detect aerial targets at up to 100 km, giving the aircraft its own search and targeting capability. 🔸 With a top speed of 960 km/h and good handling at low speeds, the Yak-130M can close on slow drones without the extreme speed mismatch faced by heavier fighters. Its two-seat cockpit allows one crew member to fly while the other manages sensors and weapons. 🔸 The aircraft is intended to destroy heavy UAVs in any weather, day or night. Putin also singled out unmanned surface vessels as a priority target, giving the jet a role in protecting naval bases, ports and coastal infrastructure. 🔸 Using a light fighter for these missions preserves the flight hours of Su-30SMs and other high-end aircraft. The Yak-130M does not need their range, speed or payload to intercept a slow drone, making it a more economical platform for routine patrols. 🔸 The aircraft can operate inside a wider air-defense network alongside ground radars, Pantsir and Tor systems, electronic warfare units and attack helicopters. 🔸 The first Yak-130M prototype flew in June 2026. Three aircraft are now undergoing trials, with deliveries planned after testing is completed in late 2028. Russia does not need a top-tier fighter to chase every slow target. A smaller jet with radar, missiles and a second crew member can handle the routine hunt while heavier aircraft remain available for harder missions. What should Russia prioritize: more Yak-130Ms, more helicopters or more ground-based air defenses?

$ONDS is buying GATE Technologies for $205M upfront adding mission-critical safe & arm & fuzing tech used across 90+ weapon systems. That pushes Ondas deeper into defense stack by giving it ownership of a critical component across missiles, rockets, UAVs & loitering munitions.

What else President Zelenskyy said in his interview with Laura Loomer: 📌America gained this experience without paying for it with lives — we paid the price. The United States would have needed 10–20 years to gain this level of experience. 📌The turning point in relations with Trump was their conversation at the Vatican. 📌Ukraine will not allow Putin to revive the USSR and become the biggest threat to the United States. 📌Kyiv and Washington are planning joint production of UAVs, including a desire to build a drone manufacturing plant in the United States. 📌Zelenskyy rejected the claims of some American conservatives that Russia is supposedly a defender of Christianity, saying that Russia has for centuries invaded foreign territories and destroyed local churches.

🚨🇨🇳 WORLD’S FIRST DRONE CARRIER: CHINA’S TYPE 076 JUST CHANGED NAVAL WARFARE It looks like a smaller aircraft carrier. But China’s Type 076 Sichuan is designed to do something no other amphibious warship can currently match: launch and recover large fixed-wing drones using carrier-grade electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear. New close-up footage has now provided the clearest look yet at how this three-in-one warship could change naval aviation. 🔸 THE FLIGHT DECK IS NEARLY READY: The footage shows completed deck markings, an electromagnetic aircraft launch system and arresting gear near the stern — strong evidence that fixed-wing UAVs will form a central part of the ship’s air wing. 🔸 IT SITS BETWEEN TWO CLASSES: Displacing roughly 40,000–50,000 tonnes and measuring at least 250 metres, the Type 076 is larger than most amphibious assault ships but smaller than a full-sized carrier. Its twin-island design separates navigation from aviation control. 🔸 EMALS CHANGES WHAT DRONES CAN CARRY: Electromagnetic launch allows heavier fixed-wing UAVs to take off with more fuel, sensors and weapons than aircraft relying on vertical takeoff or ski-jumps. Arresting gear then allows them to return like conventional carrier aircraft. 🔸 STEALTH DRONES COULD FORM THE STRIKE FORCE: China has not officially revealed the air wing, but platforms such as the GJ-11 stealth combat drone are widely considered possible candidates for future carrier operations. These could perform reconnaissance, electronic warfare and precision strikes without putting pilots at risk. 🔸 IT IS STILL AN INVASION SHIP: Unlike a conventional carrier, the Type 076 retains a floodable well deck for landing craft, amphibious vehicles and marines — allowing it to launch drones overhead while simultaneously supporting forces moving toward shore. 🔸 THE U.S. HAS NO DIRECT EQUIVALENT: America-class and Wasp-class amphibious ships operate helicopters and F-35B fighters, but they lack electromagnetic catapults and arrested-recovery systems for large fixed-wing drones. China is effectively bringing carrier-style drone aviation onto an amphibious assault platform. The Type 076 is not meant to replace China’s supercarriers. It could be more disruptive than that: giving the Chinese Navy additional ships capable of launching long-range unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft while still carrying a full amphibious force. Do you think drone carriers will eventually make traditional aircraft carriers obsolete?