V2X is debuting a light, mobile anti-drone vehicle called Tempest at AUSA 2025 in Washington, describing a COTS-based architecture that detects, tracks, and intercepts Class 2 and Class 3 unmanned aircraft using a layered, dual-launcher configuration. Company materials emphasize fast entry to service, simplified upkeep, and integration with existing command and control networks, aligning with the Army’s public push to accelerate counter-UAS fielding across formations. While V2X’s event notice highlights a new “Tempest” platform introduction, detailed specifications remain limited in open sources, so the description here reflects on-the-record themes from V2X announcements and current Army counter-UAS priorities.
Washington, D.C, Oct 15 : According to information gathered by Army Recognition during AUSA 2025, the Venator's Flycat is a ground target engagement system that marries loitering munition effects with fully automated navigation designed to survive electronic warfare. Army Recognition photographed the full scale display at AUSA 2025 in Washington, where drones and counter drone systems dominated the show floor and program chatter. The missile shaped airframe with distinctive X wings carries modular warheads and is built to prosecute targets even when satellite navigation is denied. The exhibit underscored how attritable precision strike is moving from urgent battlefield improvisation to export ready product families.
During AUSA 2025 in Washington D.C., Wilcox introduced the FUSION CLAW™, an AI-enabled headborne platform designed to unify power, data and compute on the soldier’s helmet. Showcased amid the U.S. Army’s drive toward soldier-as-a-system integration, the reveal highlights a shift from accessory-centric kits to coherent, networked architectures. The system’s modular design and open interfaces seek to cut weight, wiring and decision friction at the tactical edge. This matters now because units are fielding more sensors and radios than ever while fighting in electronically dense, 24/7 environments where cognitive load is often the first limiter.
Washington, D.C, Oct 16: During AUSA 2025, L3Harris showcased its VAMPIRE counter-drone weapon station mounted on GM Defense’s Infantry Squad Vehicle. The compact pallet carried a four-tube 70 mm rocket launcher and a telescoping mast crowned by a WESCAM MX-10D RSTA electro-optical turret, all tied into L3Harris’ Widow mission management system. In this configuration, VAMPIRE can fire laser-guided APKWS rockets and designate targets for other shooters, offering a low-cost way to hit small drones and ground threats out to roughly six kilometers when paired with L3Harris’ proximity fuze.
At the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington, D.C., SYPAQ Systems presented the CorvoX, a sub-2-kilogram vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone optimized for tactical use where runways are unavailable. The platform features 45 minutes of endurance, a 5-kilometer operational range, and thrust-vectored transition from hover to fixed-wing flight at speeds over 100 kilometers per hour. Its design integrates an encrypted IP mesh network, GNSS, and vision-aided navigation, and STANAG 4609 compliance for NATO interoperability.
At the AUSA 2025 exposition, Barrett Firearms and MARS Inc. presented their Squad Support Rifle System (SRSS), a shoulder-fired 30 mm grenade launcher selected under the US Army’s xTech Soldier Lethality competition. Matured following the Precision Grenadier System (PGS) requirements, the SRSS combines a recoil-operated, semi-automatic weapon with integrated fire control and programmable munitions designed to extend squad-level precision fire, defeat targets in cover, and engage low-altitude drones with selectable airburst and proximity effects, well beyond traditional 40 mm grenade launchers.
At the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington, D.C., American Rheinmetall Defense introduced the HX3 Common Tactical Truck (HX3 CTT), a core contender in the U.S. Army’s Common Tactical Truck program, a $14 billion initiative to replace approximately 40,000 heavy tactical trucks. Co-developed with GM Defense, the HX3 CTT is based on Rheinmetall’s HX3 series and configured for U.S. Army requirements, including drive-by-wire functions, leader-follower autonomy, and cybersecurity-hardened data systems. Furthermore, the prototype displayed included Invariant’s counter-UAS module, illustrating the HX3 CTT's role in both logistics and defensive operations.
At AUSA 2025 in Washington, D.C., held 13 to 15 October 2025, FN America exhibited the MTL-30 Multi-Purpose Tactical Launcher as its candidate for the U.S. Army Precision Grenadier System, and the display followed an award of a $2 million Prototype Project Opportunity Notice contract to advance prototype maturation and development. The presentation at the Association of the United States Army made the launcher’s configuration, ergonomics, and equipment interfaces visible to military delegations and industry attendees, and FN intends to produce the system at its Columbia, South Carolina plant while continuing testing and integration under the current award.
At the 2025 Association of the United States Army exposition in Washington, D.C., Greece’s Theon confirmed plans to establish a U.S. optics manufacturing facility with Kopin Corporation. The site in Reston, Virginia, will focus on producing and integrating thermal and augmented vision systems designed for modern soldier equipment. The initiative forms part of Theon’s broader transatlantic strategy to strengthen defense technology cooperation between European and American industries.
Leonardo DRS and KNDS announced a formal partnership on October 13, 2025, to offer the CAESAR 155 mm/52-caliber wheeled howitzer for the U.S. Army’s Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization (SPH-M) program. Leonardo DRS will act as the prime contractor and system integrator, while KNDS will supply the weapon and core technologies. The proposal is intended to provide a proven, in-service artillery system aligned with the Army’s 2026–2030 modernization schedule.
At the 2025 Association of the United States Army exposition, AeroVironment revealed the Switchblade 600 Block 2, an improved version of its Switchblade 600 long-range loitering drone used for precision anti-armor missions. The upgrades include a more efficient airframe, a higher-capacity power system, and onboard AI-assisted target recognition designed to help U.S. forces operate effectively in communication- and GPS-contested environments. Extending operational time beyond 50 minutes, the Switchblade 600 Block 2 will enter production in 2026 for U.S. programs, including Replicator and LASSO.
At AUSA 2025, Parsons Corporation presented the ZEUS 4 Directed Energy System integrated on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a compact platform designed to clear unexploded ordnance using concentrated light energy. Developed with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Readiness Directorate, the system replaces traditional explosive charges with a laser that heats and neutralizes mines and other munitions from a safe distance. This configuration gives the Air Force a faster, lighter, and more flexible tool for clearing routes, airfields, and post-strike areas.
Washington, United States, October 16, 2025 - Unveiled at AUSA 2025 in Washington, RTX’s new DeepFires system signals a significant leap in ground-based missile launcher technology. This next-generation autonomous platform combines high mobility with dual-role lethality, enabling it to execute both long-range precision strikes and integrated air and missile defense from a single unmanned vehicle. Designed with battlefield adaptability in mind, DeepFires supports the launch of Tomahawk cruise missiles for strategic deep fires as well as Patriot interceptors for air defense, offering a modular, multi-mission capability unmatched by current U.S. Army launcher systems.
Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems are about to present Leonidas Autonomous Robotic, a tracked, unmanned counter-UAS system pairing Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave with GDLS’s TRX robotic ground vehicle. The debut will come with a trade-show reveal at AUSA in Washington, positioning a purpose-built, mobile directed-energy effector against the swelling drone threat. Leonidas disables electronics with weaponized electromagnetic interference, offering a one-to-many engagement profile that promises to knock down swarms in a single pulse, while TRX supplies off-road speed, range and power for operations alongside maneuver forces.
