The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is soliciting for a C-UAS (counter-unmanned aircraft systems) aided target recognition (AiTR) program, starting with the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) turrets mounted on military vehicles. Prototypes must detect Group 1 and 2 drones at 600+ meters and engage targets moving at 67 mph, distinguishing threats from non-threats like birds faster than a human operator — with a submission deadline of May 15.

Subsequent phases extend the capability to maritime and moving ground platforms, then to a harder technical problem: integrating AI-enabled fire control directly into standard-issue small arms carried by dismounted infantry. Solutions must be adaptable across calibers and configurations and must maintain baseline weapon performance if the AI system degrades or fails in the field.

A final integration phase calls for a wireless edge network architecture bridging commercial and military systems, connecting sensors to fire control across all stages of the effort. Human-in-the-loop compliance is non-negotiable throughout; the DIU specifies that any solution that fails to adhere to DoD's AI Ethical Principles will be immediately disqualified.

American forces fired precision munitions at the smokestacks of two Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday, disabling M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda before they could reach an Iranian port. The F/A-18 Super Hornets that conducted the engagement launched from the USS George H.W. Bush; CENTCOM reported the total number of commercial vessels turned away from the blockade since April 12 has now reached 50.

The tanker interdictions closed out a week of sustained combat around the Strait of Hormuz: Monday saw the destruction of six Iranian small boats along with cruise missiles and drones targeting U.S.-escorted commercial ships; Wednesday a third tanker, M/T Hasna, was disabled by gunfire from an Abraham Lincoln-based Super Hornet; and Thursday American forces struck Iranian military facilities after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missiles, drones, and fast boats at three U.S. Navy destroyers.

President Trump publicly downplayed escalation concerns, describing the Thursday strikes against Iranian targets as a "love tap" and asserting a ceasefire remains in effect. U.S. and Iranian negotiators are reported to be in ongoing discussions over an agreement that would end the conflict and eliminate Iran's nuclear program.

Rocket Lab has secured a $30 million contract from Anduril Industries for three hypersonic test flights using its HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) launch vehicle from Launch Complex 2 in Virginia, with Anduril providing full internal funding. The program targets Mach 5 and above, with the first launch planned within a year.

The contract is designed to accelerate the development of U.S. hypersonic systems by bridging the gap between laboratory research and operational deployment through repeated, affordable flight tests. HASTE agreements now collectively account for nearly one-third of Rocket Lab's total launch backlog, underscoring the program's growing role in the Pentagon's hypersonic testing ecosystem.

The Anduril deal follows a prior agreement with the Test Resource Management Center covering 20 HASTE launches under the Department of Defense's MACH-TB (Multi-service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed) 2.0 program. Rocket Lab was also recently selected alongside Raytheon to demonstrate advanced technologies for the Space Force's Space-Based Interceptor program.

Turkish defense software firm Havelsan unveiled the Barkan 3 unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) and its AI-enabled ADVENT-AI combat management system at the SAHA 2026 defense expo in Istanbul. The Barkan 3 carries a 12.7mm weapon, achieves a top speed of 25 kmph, and can operate for five hours at full load; the ADVENT-AI system is designed to analyze high-volume operational data in real time and support faster decision-making in naval operations.

Havelsan has already conducted mixed swarm field trials with eight units and says joint swarming between the Barkan 3 and its Baha and Bozbey UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) is "ready for deployment" in 2026. The company's VP described a future involving tens of UGVs and UAVs operating simultaneously, with multi-domain swarming capabilities also extending to unmanned surface vessels.

Both systems are developed in close coordination with the Turkish Armed Forces and form part of what Havelsan calls its "digital troops concept." The company is actively pursuing export customers across the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, North Africa, and the broader Middle East, and plans to open an office in Saudi Arabia within two months.

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael publicly declared at the AI+ Expo that the department will "never again" be "single-threaded" with a single AI vendor, acknowledging the Pentagon's prior exclusive reliance on Anthropic for classified AI systems created structural risk. New agreements have been signed with Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, Reflection, Oracle, and SpaceX.

Michael described the challenge of the prior arrangement as architectural, noting that integrating AI models into classified networks is a technically demanding process that cannot be quickly replicated across alternative vendors. The eight new agreements are framed as both a diversification strategy and a broad industry signal of support for lawful defense use cases.

The announcement comes amid ongoing litigation over the Pentagon's supply chain risk designation against Anthropic, a ban that a federal judge placed on hold in late March. An Oracle executive briefed on the effort described the department's goal as spreading capability across four or more providers, noting that different use cases, from logistics to battlefield targeting, will likely favor different models at any given time.

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