Commercial drones are remaking militant operations across West Africa
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UK sees sharp rise in drone incidents around military bases
Recorded drone sightings close to UK military installations more than doubled in the past year, prompting ministers to expand the armed forces' legal powers to neutralise aerial and underwater drones. The move accompanies stepped-up investment in counter-drone systems and tighter civilian drone rules introduced earlier this year.
Global Race for Counter-Drone Funding Accelerates as U.S. Policy Spurs Purchases
Policy clarity and large procurements are pushing counter‑UAS activity from pilots to funded programs while allied reshoring and milestone‑driven investments are reinforcing domestic production and certification priorities. Market winners will be integrators that can prove interoperable, auditable systems and manage supply‑chain, export‑control and testing risks.

Cyprus Climbs Into the Drone Arms Market, Shifting Europe's Defense Supply Chain
A compact Cypriot manufacturer has supplied several hundred tactical drones that are now seeing sustained operational use in Ukraine, accelerating a Europe‑wide trend of niche, fast‑iterating defense producers. That commercial momentum is being matched by larger procurement and financing moves — from EU loans to multi‑hundred‑million purchases and grassroots countermeasures — which together are reshaping battlefield testing, procurement priorities and export‑control debates.

Russian Forces Fit Starlink Terminals to Cheap Attack Drones, Extending Reach Toward NATO Borders
Ukrainian analysts say Russian operatives are mounting Starlink terminals on inexpensive attack drones to defeat electronic jamming and guide strikes from deep inside Russian-held territory. Recent high-casualty strikes — including a passenger-train carriage hit near Kharkiv and a large overnight barrage on Odesa — have sharpened diplomatic pressure on the satellite operator as governments press for technical and contractual measures to prevent misuse.

Europe Makes Drones and C‑UAS Core to Its Defense Doctrine
At the 62nd Munich Security Conference (Feb 13–15, 2026) EU and NATO-linked policymakers reframed unmanned aerial systems and counter-UAS as central defense capabilities. The Munich Security Report 2026 and leaders’ interventions tied repeated drone incursions and hybrid pressure to urgent needs for airspace sensing, rapid attribution, interoperable procurement, and sustained readiness.

Volunteers across Europe turn fishing and tulip nets into a frontline defence for Ukraine
Community groups in several European countries are collecting surplus agricultural and fishing nets and shipping them to Ukraine to protect roads, infrastructure and civilians from Russian drones. The improvised barriers have become a scalable passive defence measure, reportedly contributing to a high interception rate while exposing logistical and tactical limits as drone threats evolve.
DIU Seeks Commercial Sensors to Close Small-Drone Detection Blind Spots
The Defense Innovation Unit issued a Commercial Solutions Opening seeking commercially driven, networked sensing systems to detect, track and classify small unmanned aircraft for both fixed installations and maneuver forces, with Phase 2 demonstrations slated for spring 2026. The notice prioritizes mature, producible technologies that can operate in GPS‑denied and contested electromagnetic environments and signals a predictable pathway from demonstration to accelerated production.

Investigations Find Ubiquiti Networking Equipment Accessible to Russian Forces and Used in Drone Operations
Independent reports allege Ubiquiti networking devices are being acquired through third-party channels and repurposed to support Russian military communications, including for unmanned aircraft. The revelations expose supply-chain and compliance gaps that could trigger regulatory scrutiny and force operational and product changes at the vendor level.