News updates on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) including latest drone technology and use in conflicts around the world. Curated articles on the topics below are provided:
- RQ-170 Sentinel
- SOF Seeks Training Areas
- US Navy’s Drone Fleet
- Drone Dominance at Bde Level
- JIATF-410: Countering Small Unammned Aerial Systems
- Drones and CTCs
- USMC’s New Drone Training Program
- Maduro Raid and Drones
- Russia’s New Geran-5 Jet Drone
- Drone Dominance – A New Dynamic
- Drone Wall for Australia
Featured Topic – RQ-170 Sentinel
This article’s featured topic is about a very secretive U.S. drone that took part in Operation Absolute Resolve – the special operations mission to capture President Maduro of Venezuela. The RQ-170 Sentinel is one of the more covert drones of the U.S. Air Force; more suitable for high-threat areas than the MQ-9 Reaper. The Sentinel has been spotted in various places around the world to include Afghanistan, the Korean Peninsular, and the Middle East.
The RQ-170 is considered a stealth drone that can penetrate heavily defended airspace. It was developed in the early 2000s. The first mention of the drone was based on photographs taken in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2007. In May 2011, it was used during the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Later that same year an RQ-170 went down in Iran and the world got a look at the secret drone. Iran was able to reverse-engineer the drone and learn more about stealth drone technology for its drone programs.
An artist’s rendering of the RQ-170 can be viewed on Wikipedia. The drone has a flying wing design with a single engine. The RQ-170 does not carry weapons but it can perform reconnaissance and surveillance in a high-threat air defense area to locate targets. There are probably 20-30 of these RQ-170 drones in operation at this time. A new drone, named the RQ-180, is now the successor of the RQ-170; built with even more advanced technology and greater capabilities.
U.S. Military and Drones
SOF Seeks Training Areas for EW and Drone Tests. One of the primary defenses against first person view drones is the jamming of the radio signals that control the flight and final destination of the one way attack drone. However, to test and train in this defensive tactic requires areas in the United States where jamming can take place. That is a problem that the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School is attempting to solve. Read more in “Special operators seek expanded electronic drone warfare test sites in the US”, Defense One, December 17, 2025.
US Navy’s Drone Fleet. The U.S. Navy is proceeding with plans to incorporate the use of drones to conduct ISR, logistics, communications relay, and targeting missions. Three principal drones used by the Navy include the MQ-25 Stingray, MQ-4C Triton, and the MQ-8 Fire Scout. “The US Navy is Quietly Building Up a Drone Fleet”, The National Interest, January 11, 2026.
Drone Dominance at Bde Level. U.S. Army brigades are instituting Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) employment in both collective and pre-deployment training. Three Army officers describe these efforts, identify the challenges ahead, and provide some recommendations for the future. “Drone Dominance in Contact: sUAS Challenges and Adaptations at the Brigade Level”, Small Wars Journal, December 12, 2025.
JIATF-410: Countering Small Unmanned Aerial Systems. The Joint Intergency Task Force-401 was established as the Department of Defense’ premier organization for countering sUAS. The TF was created to consolidate resources and provide counter-drone capabilities at home and abroad. Read more in a press release by the U.S. Army, December 19, 2025.
Drones and CTCs. Bill Edwards and Greg Hoyt argue that the Combat Training Centers (CTC) should integrate drones into base defense plans and call-for-fire / indirect fire training for all soldiers in a combat position. They provide a roadmap on how to get this done. “Adapting the Combat Training Centers for the Drone Battlefield”, Small Wars Journal, January 8, 2026.
USMC’s New Drone Training Program. The Marines have launched an effort to increase the number of small drone operators for commercial off-the-shelf attack drones. It addresses the need for standardized training and aligns with the Department of Defense plans to field hundreds of thousands of attack drones. Training and Education Command has established six pilot courses and eight certifications for drone operators, payload specialists, and instructors. “Marine Corps Launches New Drone Training Program“, DoD, December 31, 2025.
Maduro Raid and Drones. Read on how UAVs were used in the Operation Absolute Resolve. (SOF News) “The US Military Bombarded Venezuela with Drones During the Maduro Raid”, The National Interest, January 8, 2026.
Drones and the Ukraine – Russia Conflict
Russia’s New Geran-5 Jet Drone. For the first time, Russian forces have used a new attack drone against Ukraine. The drone can carry a 90-kilogram warhead and has a range of almost 1,000 kilometers – able to reach any target in Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent, Jan 11, 2026)
Ukraine Using AI. Artificial intelligence has changed how wars are being fought. In Ukraine, drones are now supplying, transporting, and rescuing injured soldiers – as well as attacking the enemy. Autonomous machines are being married to artificial intelligence (AI). Swarms of interceptor drones, using AI, can now knock enemy drones out of the sky or blanket a battlefield with ordnance.
Jets or Drones? While drones appear to be dominating the battlefield in Ukraine, they may have less utility in a conflict that takes place over vast distances. One example of how aircraft may be more useful than drones is a future conflict in the Indo-Pacific region. “Buy Jets or Drones? Lessons From Ukraine for the U.S. Facing China”, Forbes, January 9, 2026.
Drones Around the World
Drone Dominance – A New Dynamic. There is a race for global dominance in unmanned systems among nations. Most countries, to include the United States have fallen behind. Some countries – among them, Russia, China, Turkey, Israel, and Ukraine – are leading the pack. The war in Ukraine has changed modern warfare, revealing a paradigm where small, agile, lethal drones can shift tactical power. “The New Arms Race: Global Drone Dominance and America’s Tactical Wake-Up Call”, by Bill Edwards, Small Wars Journal, December 16, 2025.
ISIS and It’s Drone Instruction Program. The Islamic State, having lost much of the territory that it controlled in Syria and other countries, found that it no longer has the secure training camps where it trained up its future terrorists and fighters. ISIS has moved much of its instruction online. Learn more in “Modern Warfare: The Islamic State’s Emerging Drone Instruction Ecosystem”, Global Network on Extremism & Technology, January 9, 2026.
Drone Wall for Australia. Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst with the ASPI’s Defence Strategy Program, argues that Australia should consider implementing a wall of drones to its north that will provide the capability to detect and intercept incoming air and missile threats. “How Australia could build a northern wall of drones”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, January 2, 2026.
**********
Image. The top image is AI-generated using Chat GPT. It very closely resembled images found online.
