Below the reader will find recent news about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are used in conflicts (Ukraine, Africa, etc.), new developments in drone use, the DoD’s anti-drone school, and training by militaries for using drones during combat operations. Curated articles on the topics below are provided:
- Featured Topic – Joint C-sUAS University
- SOCOM, DAWG, and Drones
- Turkish Drones Built in U.S?
- America’s Drone Crisis Has No Easy Fix
- A-29 in a Counter Drone Role?
- Limitations of Drones
- Russia Testing NATO
- Drone Offense and Defense for Taiwan
- Malaysia – Turkey Drone Deal
- Turkey’s TALAY Ocean Skimmer
- Houthis: From Missiles to Drones
- NATO’s Drone Crisis
Featured Topic
This articles featured topic is about the Department of Defense’s Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft System University located at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Students at the school use two handheld systems that work in tandem as a layered defense against drones. One used electronic measures and the other is kinetic. These two systems are known as the Dronebuster (EW) and the Smart Shooter (kinetic). Students train on the Smart Shooter in a virtual reality lab before heading to the range. It is expensive to shoot down drones in practice at the range, so students use balloons suspended by a tether from drones that fly over the range.
The Joint C-sUAS University became operational in 2023. Fort Sill is the home to the Army Field Artillery School and Army Air Defense Artillery School. The school teaches solders, sailors, airmen, and Marines much more than the two handheld drone systems in the preceding paragraph. They also learn to use various fixed-site counter-small UAS systems as well as how to plan strategies, train others, and prepare their units and installation for future threats.
Read more about the C-sUAS University in “Drone Busting: Smart Devices Work Together to Knock Out UAS Threats”, by Katie Lange, Pentagon News, September 23, 2025. Top image: A sign identifies the range complex for the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft System University at Fort Sill, Okla., Aug. 20, 2025. (credit: Air Force Staff Sgt. Madelyn Keech)
U.S. and Drones
SOCOM, DAWG, and Drones. The U.S. has an ambitious plan to field thousands of drones to prepare for a potential conflict with China. But the program has been off to a slow start. It appears that part of that program will shift to the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Florida. Pentagon leadership has moved the “Replicator” work to a the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group or DAWG that is part of SOCOM. “U.S. Military is Struggling to Deploy AI Weapons”, The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2025.
Turkish Drones Built in U.S.? Recent social media accounts state that a drone factory to produce drones will likely be set up in the United States. Turkey is one of the leading exporters of drones and its UAVs of various sizes and types are used throughout the world.
America’s Drone Crisis. Russia is targeting Ukraine with hundreds of drones a night; sometimes as many as 800 in one night. It has a massive production capacity that is growing day by day. The U.S. is clearly way behind in the develop and manufacture of low-cost, expendable attack drones. There are simple drones that are already developed – the U.S. just has to ‘scale up’ and it is progressing at a snails pace in this effort. Stephen Silver explains in “The U.S. Military’s Great Drone Crisis Has No Easy Fix”, National Security Journal, September 27, 2025.
A-29 in a Counter Drone Role? The A-29 Super Tucano may soon flying the skies in a counter drone role. It is an ideal air frame for countering drones – and more cost effective than other more expensive aircraft like the F-35, F-16, or F-18. “Embraer, SNC pushing A-29 for counter-drone mission”, Breaking Defense, September 23, 2025.
Limitations of Drones. Crispen Burke takes a hard look at the ‘drone revolution’ and provides some recommendations on how the U.S. Army needs to proceed. “Small Drones, Big Limits: a Smarter Drone Strategy”, Small Wars Journal, September 22, 2025.
Drones Around the World
Russia Testing NATO. Several European countries are reporting suspicious drone activity. These countries include Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Finland, and others. These recent sighting, most likely Russian drones, follow incursions by Russian drones over Poland and Romania earlier this month.
Russia Targets Civilians. The United Nations Independent International Commission of Ukraine provided a report to the UN Human Rights Council on how Russian armed forces have been targeting Ukrainian civilians. “UN commission finds Russia targets Ukraine civilians using short-range drones”, Jurist News, September 22, 2025.
Drone Offense and Defense for Taiwan. A suite of weapons associated with AI and drone warfare is in the future for Taiwan courtesy of an American defense firm. “Anduril Lands in Taipei: Drones, Missiles, and a New Playbook for Taiwan’s Defense”, SOFREP, September 26, 2025.
Turkey’s TALAY Ocean Skimmer. This new drone could prove invaluable to nations that are confronting threats from more powerful rivals. One excellent example is the island nation of Taiwan that faces a possible future invasion from China. “How Turkey’s New Ocean-Skimming TALAY Drone Could Revolutionize Sea Warfare”, by Brandon J. Weichert, National Interest, August 15, 2025.
Malaysia – Turkey Drone Deal. The maritime surveillance capabilities in the South China Sea will soon be enhanced with the acquisition of Turkish-made acquisition of Anka-S uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV). Three of the drones will arrive in 2026. The Anka-S has a 30-hour endurance and satellite command-and-control capability and will be based at Labuan Air Base. China’s aggressive maritime posture is prompting other nations in the Pacific region to step up their monitoring of ocean regions adjacent to their shores. “Malaysia-Turkey drone deal advances maritime security, defense modernization”, by Sarah Chan, Indo-Pacific Defense Forum, September 25, 2025.
Houthis: From Missiles to Drones. The Houthis have shifted to using more drones than ballistic missiles in their latest attacks on Israel. The drones are more likely to penetrate Israel’s defense systems that cruise missiles. “Why the Houthi drone threat will continue”, The Jerusalem Post, September 25, 2025.
NATO’s Drone Crisis. Reuben Johnson cites the reports of unidentified drones flying all over NATO airspace. Some drone flights are certainly by the Russians but others by people wanting to show off their flight skills and get enjoyment on causing havoc. “NATO is Facing a Drone Crisis”, National Security Journal, September 24, 2025.
