Military autonomy accelerates across combat drones, loyal wingmen, and C-UAS

This cluster tracks a rapid build‑out of autonomous military aviation and counter‑drone infrastructure. Defense primes and startups are fielding AI pilots for crewed jets and loyal wingmen, swarming one‑way attack drones, heavy‑lift uncrewed helicopters, and reconnaissance eVTOLs, while navigation and actuation vendors harden the tech stack. In parallel, Anduril’s Lattice and other C-UAS systems are shifting from experiments to enterprise contracts and layered operational defenses. Significant capital flows—IPOs, SPAC mergers, acquisitions, and large U.S. Army deals—signal that autonomous air combat and counter‑UAS are becoming core pillars of future force structure worldwide.