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DIU, USNORTHCOM, US Army Announce Finalists for C-UAS Low-Cost Sensing Challenge

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025

10 companies advance scalable, cost-effective solutions to bolster U.S. counter-sUAS capabilities and meet evolving DOD strategic priorities

Washington, D.C., July 21, 2025 — The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), in close collaboration with U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command representatives, today announced the selection of ten finalists to advance in the Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) Low-Cost Sensing (LCS) challenge. These selected companies, chosen against a rigorous set of criteria from 118 outstanding submissions, will move forward to demonstrate their sensor technologies during USNORTHCOM’s Falcon Peak exercise in September.

“The evolving threat from unmanned aerial systems demands that we leverage every tool at our disposal – from cutting-edge commercial solutions to robust partnerships across government and industry,” said DIU Director Doug Beck. “This challenge directly supports DOD’s strategic priorities by tapping into non-traditional defense companies to develop scalable, cost-effective sensing solutions that help our forces at home and abroad to identify threats with the speed and fidelity needed to counter them.”

The solutions selected represent a diverse range of sensor modalities, including radio frequency passive detection, active radar, acoustic, optical cameras, infrared cameras, and several mixed modality technologies. The selected approaches have the potential to deliver significant value compared to current DOD systems for key coverage areas, at a potential cost savings of 50-80 percent in total cost of ownership. The ten finalists selected are:

BLUEiQ
CHAOS 1
Fortem Technologies
Guardian RF
Hidden Level
MatrixSpace
REVOBEAM
Squarehead Technology
Teledyne FLIR Defense
Thalrix

Launched in May 2025, the LCS challenge was designed to address a critical need: to complement exquisite sensor systems with affordable, distributed sensing technologies that can scale. Protecting the homeland from small UAS threats requires broad situational awareness with reach, redundancy, and resiliency.

“These ten finalists represent the forefront of sensor innovation, demonstrating how diverse technological approaches can enhance our layered defense,” said Director of Replicator 2, David Payne. “Our collaboration with USNORTHCOM, the US Army, and other partners has been instrumental in aligning this effort with the Department’s most critical sensing needs. Ultimately, this prize challenge is about helping to provide the tools to extend cost-effective sensing capabilities to our most critical installations.”

Selected finalists now advance to live demonstration and testing at USNORTHCOM’s Falcon Peak 25.2 exercise. Falcon Peak will provide a real-world test of these low-cost sensing solutions and the prize purse will be distributed based on performance at the event.

Beyond the prize money, top performers may also be considered for follow-on opportunities, including Other Transaction (OT) agreements, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), and direct transition into operational use, accelerating the deployment of these capabilities and making the best tech available to the warfighter with the speed and scale required.

Posted in Army, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on DIU, USNORTHCOM, US Army Announce Finalists for C-UAS Low-Cost Sensing Challenge

SIG SAUER Launches P365-LUXE

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025

The Softest, Flattest Shooting Concealed Carry Pistol

NEWINGTON, N.H., (July 22, 2025) – SIG SAUER, industry leading manufacturer of cutting-edge firearms, optics, and ammunition is proud to announce the introduction of the P365-LUXE. Designed for smooth racking, minimal felt recoil and flat shooting the all-new P365-LUXE was built around a custom XL AXG grip module –– purposefully selected for added weight and stability. In combination with the slide integrated compensator, the P365-LUXE provides reduced recoil and muzzle flip, allowing for the smoothest shooting concealed carry weapon (CCW) on the market.

“With the P365-LUXE, we are proud to deliver the softest, flattest shooting concealed carry pistol to date,” said Robby Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer. “SIG SAUER combines cutting-edge design innovation with decades of battle-tested experience to manufacture the highest quality, most reliable weapons on the market.”

Offering a new take on a traditional .380 subcompact, the P365-LUXE brings an unrivaled modern spin of form and function, with a luxe pearlescent black Cerakote, optic-ready slide, XRAY3 Day/Night sights, and LOK grips, all while maintaining functional CCW features and refined aesthetics.

P365-LUXE:

3.1” Barrel

Flax X-Series Trigger

Custom LOK Grip Panels

XRAY3 Day/Night Sights

Optic Ready

Custom XL AXG Grip Module

(3) 12-Round Magazines

Slide-Integrated Compensator

Pearlescent Black Cerakote

XMacro Holster Compatible

The P365-LUXE was previewed at SIG NEXT 2025, a one-of-a-kind innovation showcase and immersive product and brand experience that can only come from SIG SAUER, the defense contractor of the future.

The P365-LUXE is now shipping and available at retailers nationwide. To learn more visit sigsauer.com.

Posted in Advertiser, Firearms, Press Release | Comments Off on SIG SAUER Launches P365-LUXE

NP Aerospace Launches Their Proven Through-Life Support Services Package into the Civilian Armoured Vehicles Market

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025

NP Aerospace, the global vehicle integrator and armour manufacturer, has launched their proven through-life support services package into the Civilian Armoured Vehicles (CAVs) market. NP Aerospace currently supports over 18,000 vehicles across 30+ armoured, tactical, logistic and utility fleet types for a range of customers, globally, including the UK PMETS and CVSSP contracts. The know-how, practices and procedures developed to deliver this support are now being specifically shaped and offered into the global CAV marketplace, where it is estimated that there are over 100,000 vehicles in service across military, government, NGO and private security applications.

Support in this sector, to date, has been ad-hoc and decentralised. This fresh initiative will offer a one-stop-shop for fleet managers, no matter what vehicle types they may be operating.

In 2024, following the acquisition of certain assets of Jankel Armouring Limited, NP Aerospace inherited an established business stream in the specialist area of CAVs that includes both product (armoured vehicle designs, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser LC300) and support services, delivered to a range of globally deployed in-service CAV fleets – around 100+ vehicles across 8 customers. In the last 12 months, a number of former Jankel supply and support CAV contracts have been novated to NP Aerospace and the continued support to global customers has been a key requirement of that transition process. Now, 12 months on, NP Aerospace is launching the CAV support capability offering more widely, to ensure that the very best support services can be delivered to current customers but also to expand that proven service offering across the global fleets. Potential new CAV support clients range from ministries of defence to NGO’s, and individual vehicle fleets are widely spread in terms of deployed geography. NP Aerospace recognises the resultant challenges and has developed a robust service offering that can be trusted to deliver and includes the additional and significant capabilities and expertise developed through NP’s legacy activity in this operationally critical vehicle support services arena.

Specifically, NP’s CAV support services package is vehicle type agnostic and includes: handover and commissioning; operator and maintainer training; deployed support (Field Service Representation – FSR); spare parts; service and maintenance; post design services; refurbishment and mid-life improvements; and secure disposal/destruction. NP Aerospace has recently increased the team size of this department by 50%, attracting some key talent to specific roles, to enable the successful delivery of this service offering – reassuring their specialist CAV customers.

James Kempston, CEO of NP Aerospace, commented: “This is an exciting milestone as we expand our proven through-life support services into the civilian armoured vehicle (CAV) market. Drawing on our experience supporting over 18,000 military and security platforms worldwide, we are applying our expertise and trusted capabilities to civilian fleets, regardless of their operating environment. Importantly, this support isn’t limited to vehicles we manufacture – it can be delivered for any vehicle type, operated by any fleet manager, anywhere in the world.” He added: “At the same time, our LC300 armoured Toyota platform not only meets key requirements for compliance, protection, and safety – it’s also engineered with a strong focus on reliability and maintainability. By combining competitive pricing with extended service life through robust support, the LC300 delivers outstanding full-life value.”

Posted in Armor, Industry, International, Mobility, Press Release | Comments Off on NP Aerospace Launches Their Proven Through-Life Support Services Package into the Civilian Armoured Vehicles Market

Ultra I&C Successfully Demonstrates Resilient Tactical Communications for European NATO Allies

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025

WARSAW, Poland—July 22, 2025— Ultra I&C has successfully demonstrated its Orion radio and Archer™ troposcatter systems to European NATO allies in Poland, marking a critical advancement in secure, multi-

domain and mobile communications networks. The demonstration validates foundational data transport layer capabilities essential to modern warfare where the speed of battlefield information determines operational success.

Ultra I&C deployed Orion X500 and X650 radios and Archer troposcatter technologies across five dispersed locations throughout Poland, delivering high-throughput data transmission across multiple waveforms and frequency bands. The exercise underscored how quickly and easily Ultra I&C’s advanced communications solutions can be deployed and operated—even in denied, degraded, intermittent and limited (DDIL) environments where adversaries actively target communications infrastructure.

“This demonstration proves our systems deliver an integrated, tactical advantage now,” said Jon Rucker, CEO of Ultra I&C. “Our combined line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight capabilities provide warfighters with high-capacity, long-range, resilient communications that securely deliver critical data in the toughest operational environments.”

Performance results Orion radios deployed on multiple platforms, including drones and vehicles, demonstrated exceptional operational flexibility and interoperability within a small form factor:

• 200×200 Mbps bidirectional throughput was achieved at distances exceeding 50 kilometers, with Band III and Band IV spectrum capability enabling mobile and dispersed C2 operations critical to force survivability.

• Orion’s frequency hopping capability demonstrated resilience against jamming in contested environments.

• The Orion X650 showcased Ultra I&C’s latest self-forming mobile ad hoc network (MANET) waveform, which employs advanced multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) techniques to maximize data transmission speed and spectral efficiency.

Ultra I&C’s next generation Archer troposcatter system achieved high throughputs over 133 kilometers while maintaining secure links independent of satellites or ground-based infrastructure, with rapid and tool-less setup in under 15 minutes.

The demonstration reinforces Ultra I&C’s role as a key enabler of military modernization efforts for joint forces, delivering foundational communications infrastructure that enables all other command and control capabilities in next-generation warfare.

Posted in Comms, International, Press Release | Comments Off on Ultra I&C Successfully Demonstrates Resilient Tactical Communications for European NATO Allies

Belgian Aircrew Completes MQ-9B Training

Monday, July 21st, 2025

GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian® Training Was Conducted at Multiple Sites, Including Flight Test & Training Center and Desert Horizon

SAN DIEGO – 17 July 2025 – The first Belgian aircrew has completed training to operate the world’s leading remotely piloted aircraft (RPA): the MQ-9B SkyGuardian®. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), designer and developer of the MQ-9B, provided the extensive aircrew training that culminated at GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon test facility in El Mirage, California, following stops in Belgium and GA-ASI’s Flight Test & Training Center in North Dakota.

“Providing all-encompassing training for the aircrews of our customers goes hand-in-hand with delivering the world’s most capable RPA,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Completing this training ensures that Belgium is ready and able to operate their MQ-9Bs and maximize the benefits that come from long-range, high-endurance RPA.”

The scope of the training is focused on the foundational skills required to operate the MQ-9B SkyGuardian air vehicle and its equipment, including the Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Mission Intelligence Station (MIS), and System for Tasking and Real-Time Exploitation (STARE). Training involves building solid foundations for both normal and emergency operations in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, instrument flying, and Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) and more.

The first flight of Belgium’s initial MQ-9B aircraft took place in February. That aircraft will soon complete Acceptance Test Procedures and is expected to be in Belgium before the end of September. It’s the first of a four-aircraft purchase by the Belgian Ministry of Defence. The Foreign Military Sale to Belgium also includes two Certified Ground Control Stations.

MQ-9B is the world’s most advanced RPA system, delivering exceptionally long endurance and range — with ATLC under pole-to-pole SATCOM-only control — and will be able to operate in unsegregated airspace using the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid system. MQ-9B includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian® models, with multiple deliveries made to the U.K.’s Royal Air Force (Protector), as well as orders from Canada, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, India, and the U.S. Air Force in support of the Special Operations Command. MQ-9B has also supported various U.S. Navy exercises, including Northern Edge, Integrated Battle Problem, and Group Sail.

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Hanwha Names CEO for European and UK Defence Business

Monday, July 21st, 2025

Mr. Ben Hudson, CEO of Hanwha Defence Australia, has been appointed to lead Hanwha’s European and UK defence operations amid accelerating regional expansion.
Hanwha reinforces its commitment to localised, interoperable, and rapid capabilities for NATO and European allies.
Hanwha is dedicated to a multi-domestic strategy that strengthens sovereign defence capabilities in close partnership with European allies.

JULY 18, 2025: Hanwha Aerospace has named Mr. Ben Hudson as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to spearhead the company’s defence operations in Europe and the UK.

Mr. Hudson, who currently serves as CEO of Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA), will also oversee Hanwha’s existing operations across the region while spearheading the company’s future growth opportunities in Europe and the UK.

“I am honoured to join our European and UK defence leadership team at such a pivotal moment for both our company and our European partners,” Mr. Hudson said. “Hanwha’s long-term vision starts at the very top of the company, with a drive to partner with our customers and create enduring sovereign capabilities that can deliver solutions to the defence and security challenges faced by nations now and into the future.”

Prior to joining Hanwha, Mr. Hudson held senior executive roles with BAE Systems, Rheinmetall and General Dynamics, including fifteen years working for these companies in Switzerland, Germany and the UK. He is a mechanical engineer with an MBA from London Business School, served as an Officer in the Australian Army, including operational service in East Timor, and holds both British and Australian citizenship.

Mr. Hudson’s appointment comes as Hanwha accelerates its strategic expansion in Europe, strengthening its position as a trusted defence partner capable of delivering localised, interoperable, and rapid capability solutions to NATO member states and European allies.

With programmes already underway in several countries, such as Poland, Romania, Norway, Finland and Estonia, Hanwha is deeply committed to building a strong industrial footprint across Europe—supporting local economies, transferring technologies, and investing in sustainable defence ecosystems.

“As Hanwha looks to further globalise our business, we are very pleased to appoint Ben—who brings deep experience across European defence markets—to this key role leading our business in Europe and the UK,” said Mr. Michael Coulter, President and CEO of Hanwha Global Defense, which oversees all global business campaigns.

“Europe represents a vital part of Hanwha’s long-term, multi-domestic strategy, where we seek not only to expand our footprint, but also to invest in sovereign capacity and industrial resilience in partnership with local stakeholders,” he said. “Hanwha is fully committed to working closely with our European partners for national priorities, and this appointment marks the beginning of the next phase of our journey—one grounded in trust, long-term collaboration, and shared security goals.”

Hanwha’s Footprints in Europe

Hanwha’s presence in Europe dates back over 40 years, beginning with the establishment of Hanwha Europe GmbH in Eschborn, near Frankfurt. Today, Hanwha continues to expand its regional footprint through major investments and partnerships in countries such as Poland, Romania, Norway, and the UK.

Over the past decade, Hanwha has delivered five 37,000-ton Tide Class Replenishment at Sea (RAS) ships—four to the United Kingdom and one to Norway—demonstrating the company’s naval shipbuilding capability and trusted delivery record.

In the land systems domain, Hanwha has secured contracts for the delivery of more than 800 K9 Self-Propelled Howitzers to multiple European countries, including Poland, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Romania. As part of its strategic cooperation with Poland, Hanwha is also delivering 290 Chunmoo Multiple Rocket Launch Systems to bolster the country’s long-range firepower.

In addition, Hanwha is a major supplier of artillery modular charges to NATO customers in Europe. The company has also established deep industrial partnerships across the continent to facilitate the export of European-manufactured components and technologies in support of Korean and international defence programmes.

Posted in Industry, International, Press Release | Comments Off on Hanwha Names CEO for European and UK Defence Business

Beez Combat Systems DCMP for SKYDIO X10 Controller

Monday, July 21st, 2025

The (DCMP) DRONE CONTROLLER MOUNT/POUCH is designed to allow a tactical uncrewed drone operator an easy and effective way to carry and protect a drone radio controller while supporting short range reconnaissance operations.

Made to fit on the front of a chest rig or plate carrier. The pouch supports multiple radio controller mount variants. The pouch has an internal molle mounting grid to support the mount. An internal pocket on the inside of the outer flap is provided so the end user can add an additional protective material. An additional benefit of a pouch is to help reduce light/IR omitted from the controller.

Future mounts are still in development. If your team is in need of a more effective way to carry a radio controller for an unmanned system. Please reach out to collaborate on a mount to help get the drone into the fight.

For additional information and availability –

Beez Combat Systems

***all SKYDIO trademarks, brands, etc are the sole property of the respective companies. SKYDIO does not endorse this product***

Posted in Load Carrying, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on Beez Combat Systems DCMP for SKYDIO X10 Controller

Aceso Plasma Inc. Closes Initial Tranche of Series A Preferred Financing Led by Stony Lonesome Group

Monday, July 21st, 2025

Virginia Beach, VA – July 15, 2025 –?Aceso Plasma Inc., which develops cold plasma medical and decontamination technology, today announced it has successfully closed a Series A Preferred funding round of $500,000, led by Stony Lonesome Group, LLC. This milestone will support the next phase of clinical trials, regulatory advancement, and production development of Aceso’s oxygen-based cold plasma systems.

Sean Drake, Founder of Stony Lonesome Group, said: “We are thrilled to support Aceso Plasma. Founded by former Navy SEALs, the company exemplifies the kind of veteran-led innovation that Stony Lonesome Group has championed for over 14 years through our Mission-Focused investment thesis. The Aceso Plasma technology has significant potential across the spectrum of applications – ranging from emergency battlefield treatment to use in advanced medical facilities.”

“This closing will serve to further Aceso’s mission to develop cold plasma solutions intended for wound care, hemorrhage control, and decontamination,” said Zach Steinbock, CEO of Aceso Plasma. “We’re honored to have Stony Lonesome Group- a proven leader in early-stage defense and dual-use investments – guiding this round and supporting our development”

About Aceso Plasma Inc.

Based in Virginia Beach, VA, Aceso Plasma Inc. is focused on developing cold plasma solutions for medical and decontamination applications. The company’s proprietary ACP technology is protected by multiple issued patents and designed for adoption across both civilian and defense sectors. Learn more at www.acesoplasma.com.

Important Notices: This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement, offer to sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The Aceso Plasma medical device technology is currently in development and has not yet commenced with clinical trials. Any statements regarding potential medical applications have not been evaluated by the FDA and the technology is not yet approved for medical use.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company’s business plans, clinical development, and market opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties.

Posted in Industry, Medical, Press Release | Comments Off on Aceso Plasma Inc. Closes Initial Tranche of Series A Preferred Financing Led by Stony Lonesome Group