OK, Ok it isn’t the size of a guided missile cruiser on wheels, but Rheinmetall has marked a key advance in modern loitering munition technology by successfully demonstrating the FV-014 loitering munition/kamizakee drone launching from a container while in motion.
Developed entirely in-house, the system was launched from a modular Containerized Missile Launcher at the National Test Centre in Cochstedt in July 2026. During the test, the loitering munition demonstrated its flexibility by launching from an 18-cell VLS HX truck both while stationary and while moving, then completing simulated attack flights.
For reference, the 66-pound FV-014 can pull off recon, target tracking, precise single or swarm attack scenarios with a range of about 60 miles before delivering its 13-pound HEDP warhead with a penetration capacity of more than 24 inches of rolled armor.
In other words, it is akin to a smart TOW missile with a whole lot longer range and without the need for guidance wires.
We’ve covered lots of RIMPAC 26 stuff, but some small players are easily missed.
We speak, of course, to the ever-growing array of unmanned surface vehicles present in the exercise.
First off, let’s give it up to the U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) USVs from USVDIV (Unmanned Surface Vessel Division) 32, which took part in the SINKEX of ex-USS Peleliu (LHA 5).
A released Navy video shows two of the boats circling the battered hulk of the 40,000-ton ‘phib– and the old Peleliu soaked up the damage for sure– before they closed in to mimic a Japanese Shinyo suicide speedboat of 1944; only the remote operators got to live.
The Black Sea Tech GARC runs 15.8 feet, can make 40 knots in a sprint, and carry a half-ton payload. Keep in mind the small boat used in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole is believed to have carried only between 400 and 700 pounds of C-4 plastic explosives; it created a 40×40-foot hole in the DDG that nearly sent her to the bottom.
Of note, USVDIV 32 GARCs performed swarm exercises with USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) during Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2026 last month.
Besides the GARCs, a “digitally controlled surface vessel” (DCSV) launched from Sand Island, near Honolulu, delivered equipment for a 3D printer aboard Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2), completing what organizers describe as the “Department of the Navy’s first digitally-crewed surface vessel resupply of a Navy ship.”
Following the delivery, the DCSV continued its mission by transporting drone components to the 25th Infantry Division’s Lightning Lab, where Marines and Soldiers assembled the systems before deploying them for testing at Makua Range. From manufacturing and maritime delivery to assembly and operational employment, the end-to-end process was completed in less than 24 hours.
Not sure exactly what this thing is, but it has a very low-profile vessel (LPV) narco-sub flavor.
Keep in mind that the Navy is getting real-time combat feedback from their USV fleet as well, with at least three Saronic Corsair USVs laden with explosive packages used against an Iranian submarine at the port of Bandar Abbas earlier this month.
How about this fantastic Cold War color image of “NAWC-47” (Bloodhound 47), a red-trimmed QF-4N drone (BuNo 152253) with an on-board crew assigned to the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Weapons Division, Point Magu.
The curious ordnance seen underwing is a Beechcraft AQM-37 Jayhawk, a zippy (Mach 4) little (14-foot, 600-pound) supersonic target drone of which some 5,000 were expended between 1963 and 2022.
Photo via NAWC, Pt. Magu
The above aircraft was built in 1964 as an F4H-1 (redesignated F-4B), MSN 934, and later converted to F-4J and F-4N standards. She is known to have flown operationally with VMFA-531, VF-14, VF-151, VF-84, VF-151, and VF-21.
Converted to a QF-4N after 1983, she was eventually expended in missile testing over the Pacific on 13 December 1994.
The Damen LST 100 design, which was picked last December to be the Navy LSM– coming to a shipyard near you
TOTE Services in Jacksonville yesterday picked up a $2.6 billion contract from Naval Sea Systems Command’s PAE Maritime to serve as Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) for the McClung-class Medium Landing Ship (LSM) program, with the first hull to be delivered by 2029.
You know, the mini-LSTs that the Navy is building for the Marines to shuttle NMESIS missile batteries and light armor around the Western Pacific in a sea-denial-from-the-shore kind of philosophy, setting up what are now termed as a “Marine Corps fires expeditionary advanced base.”
A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher, a command and control vehicle, and a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle are transported by a U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion from Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, out to U.S.S. San Diego, Aug. 16, 2021. The movement demonstrated the mobility of a Marine Corps fires expeditionary advanced base, a core concept in the Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 efforts. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Luke Cohen, released)
The contract will cover management of constructing the first eight LSMs, with a program of record for up to (hold your breath) 35 of the baby phibs built to the Damen LST 100 double-ended Ro/Ro design.
The LST100 is 100.68 metres (330 feet) long with a beam of 16 metres (52 feet) and a draught of 3.58 metres (12 feet). It is suited to a diverse range of operations. With its ability to transport personnel, vehicles, equipment and cargo, the vessel can be used in patrol, landing, survey and reconnaissance operations, as well as for the delivery of humanitarian aid & disaster relief.
In its standard design, it features bunks for 282 personnel. Cargo can be transported on the RoRo deck (500m2), vehicle deck (400m2) and on the helicopter deck. The vessel is able to sail at speeds of up to 14 knots, with an endurance of 3,890 nautical miles. At an endurance speed of 10 knots, it can reach up to 7,530 nautical miles.
The LST100 features extensive flexibility. Its modular design enables straightforward adaptation and upgrade without compromising the benefits of standardization. For example, with the addition of a standard, 20-metre modular block, the vessel can be enlarged to the LST120 design during construction.
Besides the intended purpose and general use as a ‘phib, the LSMs have an obvious use in Over The Horizon – Special Forces (OTH-SF) operations, stand-off Mine Counter Measures (MCM) operations support, and as a general helicopter/UAV “lilipad.”
Now, to be clear, TOTE is not actually going to build the LSMs, simply award and manage shipbuilder contracts- you know, something NAVSEA should be capable of doing, but in program after program has proven absolutely incapable of doing so. Looking at you, FFG and LCS programs.
The Damen LST 100 McClung-class landing ship (LSM)
Anyway, the award announcement, for the record:
TOTE Services LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, is awarded a $2,206,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for vessel construction management services to award and manage shipbuilder subcontracts for the new construction of up to eight Medium Landing Ships. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $2,605,075,850. Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin (65%); Houma, Louisiana (16%); Jacksonville, Florida (9%); and other locations (10%), and is expected to be completed by June 2030. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2031. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,933,941,000 (88%); and fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $272,059,000 (12%), will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is awarded with funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) and directly supports the national effort to revitalize and rebuild American shipbuilding. This contract was competitively procured via the System for Award Management website (sam.gov), with one offer received. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-26-C-2421).
The Battle of the Sea of Azov 2026 by Ivan Aivazovsky
According to the ISW, Ukrainian forces have struck no less than 90 Russian commercial shipping vessels (mostly coastal tankers but also a smattering of tugs, cargo ships, ferries, and floating dredgers) in the shallow Sea of Azov at the top of the Black Sea during the week between July 6th to 13th as part of their intensified campaign to isolate occupied Crimea.
Ninety.
As detailed by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) Commander Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, the forces involved included the 9th Kairos Battalion of “Magyar’s Birds” of the 414th Separate Unmanned Strike Aviation System Brigade, along with elements of the 412th “Nemesis,” 413th “RAID,” and 427th “Rarog” USAS Brigades.
The release from USF included a 4-minute-long sizzle reel (below), with the Ukrainians seen specifically targeting the wheelhouses of the Russian vessels, going for mobility/mission kills, rather than aiming to sink the ships outright. That makes a UAV with a small 10-pound warhead super effective. This speaks to preserving the important ecological diversity of the region and its local fisheries, which include significant sturgeon (caviar) farming operations.
Some 35 vessels were hit in the first 96 hours of the offensive alone.
Update from Sal, make that 136 strikes through the 15th:
It is brutal and systematic, with seemingly zero air defense provided.
Meanwhile, Russia’s efforts to field AAA in any sort are probably exemplified by this recent clip of a new soldier with a mobile air defense team being introduced to a ground-mounted Yak B .51 caliber 4-barreled rotary machine gun (normally mounted on the Mi-24 Hind gunship). It is a gas-operated gun that fires at 4,000 rounds per minute and normally has a 10-ton gunship to absorb the recoil…
From yesterday’s DOD/DOW contract announcements, emphasis mine:
Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is being awarded a $27,202,497 fixed-price incentive (firm-target) contract modification (H9240826CE001P0001), for the procurement of All Up Rounds for the AGM-190A Small Cruise Missile program, in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Fiscal 2025 procurement funds in the amount of $548,665; and fiscal 2026 procurement funds in the amount of $23,653,832, will be obligated at time of award. The total award amount is $24,202,497. The work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 26, 2029. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Meet the AGM-190A Small Cruise Missile
In the interest of “quantity has a quality all its own,” the AGM-190 Black Arrow SCM is almost as basic as it gets.
It weighs right at or under 200 pounds.
The above means the warhead is probably around 50 pounds, but you have to add all the kinetic energy behind it as a bonus factor. That’s more than enough to flatten a medium-sized building, sink or at least disable a patrol boat, obliterate a small bunker, destroy a SAM or radar installation in the open, get a ground kill on any size aircraft not in a hardened shelter, end any armored vehicle, et al.
It has a published 400nm range when air-launched at altitude (which means it probably goes further) using Pratt & Whitney’s proven 150-pound-thrust TJ150-7 one-stage turbojet, which is used in several target decoys (the MALD) and UAVs.
It can be used as either pylon ordnance dropped from things such as an MQ-9 Reaper UAV, used in a roll-on/roll-off palletized Dragon Cart-style system from the back of a C/KC/AC/MC-130, and so on. It can reportedly also be launched from HIMARS, though with a shorter range.
While the actual cost-per-unit is not advertised, it is believed the Black Arrow runs somewhere in the $150-$300K (still pennies on the dollar compared to a $3M TLAM or $1M JASSM), a figure that can be whittled down through large buys.
It is known the Pentagon wants somewhere around 10,000 of these little gems, with 3,000 to start, but if you even try to apply those quantities to the $27 million award, you are looking at more like $2,500-$9,000 a pop, which is too insane to be true especally when you see P&W selling commercial TJ-150 powerpacks for $79,999 apiece, so this week’s buy is probably for a lot fewer missiles. Like for maybe the first block of 100 or 200.
AFSOC debuted the Black Arrow as Havoc Spear quietly last month during SOF Week, describing it as “a low-cost, mission adaptable, modular-design cruise missile that can be rapidly produced.”
Could prove very interesting.
A model AGM-190A small cruise missile stands on display inside Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 14, 2026.(U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Brandon DeBlanc)
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor, first fielded in 2008, is, along with Aegis SM-3, the exo-atmospheric ballistic missile defense “meat” in the layered air defense sandwich between the full-on ICBM-killing Ground-Based Interceptor, and shorter-range MIM-104 Patriot and SM-2.
The thing is, the Army only has a grand total of eight THAAD batteries, and in the recent escapades in the Middle East, reportedly anywhere between 15 and 50 percent of the total U.S. THAAD interceptor stockpile has been expended.
So the meat is getting pretty thin on that sandwich.
As it moves toward rebuilding and expanding that inventory (keep in mind all the Gulf States are buying them as well), the Pentagon has just given Lockheed a 7-year, $35 billion award for more THAADs.
For that same amount of taxpayer slush, the Navy could get 13 of the newest SM-3 slinging Flight III Burkes (maybe even 14 or 15 if done in a block buy), each of which will serve for 30 years, or almost three new Ford class CVNs (airwings not included), which would each serve for 50.
Just saying.
Anyways, via DOD/DOW contracts:
Lockheed Martin Corp. Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is awarded a multi-year procurement sole-source, fixed-price incentive, undefinitized contract for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptors. The total value of this contract is $35,327,237,604. Under this contract, the contractor will produce THAAD missile rounds, under fixed-price contract line-item numbers. The work will be performed in Dallas, Texas; Sunnyvale, California; Troy, Alabama; and Camden, Arkansas. The performance period is from March 2026 through June 2032. One offer was solicited, and one offer was received. Fiscal 2026 procurement funds in the amount of $842,871,672 are being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
Pushing 15 weeks into Operation Epic Fury, with over 1,000 TLAMs, 1,100 JSSAMs, and 1,400 Patriots burned up (and more launching every day), coming on the heels of firing untold SM-2/3/6s expended during Operation Prosperty Guardian to counter 470 Houthi/Iranian recorded one-way drone events, 70 ballistic missiles, and 155 multi-use drone sorties in the Red Sea, not to mention $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine, you have to worry just how empty is the Arsenal of Democracy.
The Center for Strategic & International Studies has done the open-source math and has the tally sheets.
It is not good, but there should still be a good bit left, and, on the bright side, if nothing else happens in the next four or five years, and expanded production goals on these extremely complex devices that require advanced chips, exceptionally skilled labor, and clean rooms are met, the numbers should return to pre-OEF levels.
Increasingly, rifles and shotguns would appear to be the last-ditch C-sUAS (counter-small unmanned aerial systems) answer. Ukraine is buying thousands of 12-gauge shotguns from Turkey (which makes “Turknellis” of all sorts), and American mil-journalists have vouched for them in action, with the caveat that you only have about two seconds of response once you hear the overhead drone inbound.
It is all getting pretty kinetic in a sort of 21st-century Shooting Clays of Death kinda way.
The Marines are actively using their M1014 Benellis to conduct “realistic training in countering low-altitude sUAS threats, highlighting the necessity to continually adapt to rapidly evolving technologies.”
Thus:
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ean Gibson, a ground electronics, telecommunications, and information technology systems maintainer with Combat Logistics Battalion 13, Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, fires an M1014 shotgun during a counter-small unmanned aerial systems shotgun range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 18, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mhecaela Watts)
A U.S. Marine with 1st Marine Logistics Group, fires an M1014 shotgun during a night counter-small unmanned aerial systems shotgun range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 22, 2026. During the range, Marines practiced engaging simulated sUAS, providing realistic training in countering low-altitude aerial threats while reinforcing the need to adapt to rapidly evolving technologies. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mhecaela Watts)
U.S. Marines with 1st Marine Logistics Group, fire M1014 shotguns during a counter-small unmanned aerial systems shotgun range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 22, 2026. During the range, Marines practiced engaging simulated sUAS, providing realistic training in countering low-altitude aerial threats while reinforcing the need to adapt to rapidly evolving technologies. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Mhecaela Watts)
The USAF is bringing in Security Forces members for two-day shotgun courses using enhanced Remington 870s, specifically to counter drones. It has something the Air Force has been mulling for a minute, having trialed C-sUAS shotgun ammo as far back as 2017.
As part of a Department of War strategy to counter adversary use of small unmanned aerial systems across all military branches, the Air Force is addressing these new threats by training Airmen to mitigate drone incursions at U.S. installations. While security forces personnel traditionally carry rifles and handguns, the 12-gauge M870 offers another tactical option against fast-moving aerial targets.
Airmen assigned to the 124th Security Forces Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, participate in counter-drone training at Saylor Creek Range, Idaho, June 5, 2026. USAF 260605-Z-LB832-9443 by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jadyn Eisenbrandt
During the course, Soldiers learn how drones operate, how they are used tactically, and how to maintain and integrate them into maneuver formations.
The academy includes instruction on detection, defeat methods, concealment, battle drills, and survivability, reinforced through practical exercises.
Pfc. Anthony Leap, an infantryman for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), practices avoiding detection from small unmanned aircraft systems May 13, 2026, at Fort Drum, NY. Through the Mountain Innovations Systems Lab, Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division trained to understand their tactical applications, maintenance requirements, and integration into maneuver operations. Photo by Spc. Isaiah Mount
Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (LI) practice firing live rounds at small unmanned aircraft systems as part of a training exercise on May 14, 2026, at Fort Drum, NY. Through the Mountain Innovations Systems Lab, Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division trained to understand their tactical applications, maintenance requirements, and integration into maneuver operations. Photo by Spc. Isaiah Mount
Meanwhile, proven Ukrainian devices, such as the Obriy 1.3 drone detector, are increasingly being spotted in the field with U.S. troops in training.
For a quick reality check on how hard it is to down a drone with small arms, check this out from Garand Thumb:
Imagine a remote control 8-shotgun turret optimized for drone killing, capable of dumping 80 12-gauge anti-drone shells in under two seconds if needed, as solenoids are faster than fingers. Load each one up to the brim with specialized heavy-dram tungsten counter drone rounds, and you can create a cloud of heavy metal out to 100m.
You know, this kind of stuff:
Such a mount, even with motor, guns, and tracking, shouldn’t be over a few hundred pounds, so you can install them on the roof of bunkers and pillboxes, or on small trailers that can be pulled by something as small as a bongo truck. Plus, as it is mostly commercial-off-the-shelf stuff, you can field these cheaply and quickly, which means you can field several in small detachments.
Sure, you have to stop and reload after such an 80-round salvo– and pronto if other UAVs are incoming and you don’t have supporting mounts to cover the slack, but you get the idea.
And it is apparently a real thing.
Meet the LIVET RCWS.
Via Beretta Defense Technologies:
At the upcoming Eurosatory 2026 in Paris (15-19 June), visitors to the BDT booth will have the opportunity to discover one of the latest additions to the growing BDT C-UAS portfolio: the new LIVET RCWS (Remote Controlled Weapon Station).
Born from the proven and pioneering B.A. S.p.A. Drone Guardian M4 platform, and enhanced through DUALEE technology integration, LIVET represents a new step forward in kinetic Counter-UAS capabilities.
Equipped with 8 B Drone Guardian systems, the LIVET platform integrates advanced target auto-tracking functionalities, remote engagement capabilities, and extremely rapid reaction times designed for today’s operational C-UAS scenarios, supporting the protection of strategic assets and critical infrastructures.
This new solution further strengthens the already extensive BDT Counter-UAS portfolio, offering layered and modular capabilities tailored to different operational contexts and threat environments.
Come and visit us at our impressive 221 sqm modular BDT booth to experience LIVET RCWS up close, together with one of the most comprehensive C-UAS solution portfolios currently available on the market.
(Keep in mind this is a military-only item that is being advertised overseas. Civilians shooting down drones over here on this side of the pond is what they call a “felony,” so we are not advertising anything of the kind.)
