On October 12th to 14th, the AUSA 2026 Annual Meeting of the Association of the United States Army took place in Washington, where the exhibition was dominated by drones and interceptors. This episode, we departed from AUSA to observe the new round of evolution happening with drones and anti-drone technologies.
Iran and Russia have equipped their drones with jet engines, surpassing the speed limit of the US military’s “Tier 3 drones”. On the American side, AEVEX introduced the jet-powered attack platform, the Phantom, featuring interchangeable noses; Raytheon transformed the Coyote interceptor missile into a full-rocket propulsion system; Anduril’s Ghost had already opted for jet propulsion and a reusable design back in 2023. A price war for interceptors has also begun: Steel fin, PAC-3 ACE are challenging the cost of traditional air defense missiles.
Another thought-provoking issue is: what are the differences between jet-powered drones and the low-cost cruise missiles being heavily procured by the US military? As the Army starts deploying cruise missiles that can be concealed in commercial containers, the line between the two is blurring.
Video Contents:
[Mark Space-Time] Clean World Channel:
[Mark Space-Time] Facebook Fan Page:
[Mark Space-Time] Instagram:
[Mark Space-Time] Platform X:
(Mark Space-Time Production Team)