The New Mexico-based firm this week pulled the curtain back on Buckler, an interceptor designed to kill Group 3 drones — UAS weighing up to 1,320 pounds and flying below 18,000 feet at under 250 knots — for a cost of under $100,000 per unit.

Buckler is designed to knock out UAS at supersonic speeds, according to a company release, and is assembled with an airframe and propulsion system manufactured entirely at X-Bow factories, thus eliminating a production bottleneck that has plagued myriad high-priced systems reliant on multi-company components. Axios first reported about the X-Bow Buckler.

The unveiling at London’s 2026 Farnborough Airshow this week is the latest push by U.S. industry to solve an interceptor enigma that has become increasingly glaring as the nation’s war with Iran drags on.

U.S. troops in the military’s Central Command area of operations have continued to face the onerous task of leaning on exorbitantly priced interceptors to contend with Iran’s vastly cheaper, mass-produced Shahed attack drones.

The use of a single PAC-3 interceptor to knock one Shahed-136 out of the sky comes with a $4 million to $35,000 tradeoff, or a 114-1 cost-per-kill ratio.

“You can’t win a war of attrition trading million-dollar interceptors against thousand-dollar threats,” X-Bow founder and chief executive officer Jason Hundley said in a release. “Buckler has flown, it comes in under $100,000, and we build its airframe and propulsion ourselves — the part of the industrial base that is so stressed by today’s munitions demands. This is our answer to the call from the U.S. and its allies: affordable capability, at scale.”

X-Bow’s announcement comes after the firm’s recent test of the Buckler munition — one that derives its name, as TWZ noted, from a Medieval era shield — that demonstrated its propulsion and flight performance, the company announced.

Following a similar theme at Farnborough, Lockheed Martin on Monday introduced what it hopes will be another low cost per kill solution to the ever-evolving unmanned threat.

The defense giant this week introduced the Morfius X-Rotor, a ground-launched “one-to-many” airborne high power microwave counter-UAS system the company says can “neutralize more than 50 enemy drones in a single flight.”

Morfius is built, most notably, to be recovered and reused.

Lockheed also introduced a cheaper Patriot interceptor.

Such has been the case at London’s 2026 Farnborough Airshow, where Lockheed Martin on Monday introduced what it hopes will be a low cost per kill solution to the ever-evolving unmanned threat.

The Morfius X-Rotor is a ground-launched “one-to-many” airborne high power microwave, or HPM, counter-UAS system the company says can “neutralize more than 50 enemy drones in a single flight.”

Built, notably, to be recovered and reused, the Morfius is capable of using any command and control system and does not rely on any unique sensor or fire control radars, the company announced.

Morfius “sets a new benchmark for counter-drone capability — delivering a high kill rate while keeping the cost per kill low,” Randy Crites, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs, said in a release. “By leveraging a lightweight, field reusable high-power microwave architecture, we provide the most effective, low-cost solution on the market today.”

The company announced it is accelerating prototype production of both the drone and its HPM payload in the interest of getting it into the hands of frontline troops.

The system was recently flight-tested in Arizona, California and Oklahoma, the company stated, where it also demonstrated interception and lethal capabilities. Additional tests are slated in the months ahead.

Monday’s announcement comes as the U.S. looks to reduce dependence on cost-prohibitive interceptors to defend against cheaper munitions, a juxtaposition that has come under increased scrutiny as U.S. forces have quickly expended interceptor stockpiles to combat Iranian missiles and Shahed drones.

Lockheed Martin on Monday also introduced a cheaper Patriot interceptor as a potential off ramp to the reliance on exorbitantly priced interceptors.

Anduril started the 2026 Farnborough Airshow with a splash on Monday when it unveiled an autonomous attack rotorcraft, dubbed Thunder, designed to operate with current and next-generation crewed attack helicopter platforms.

Developed in partnership with Archer Aviation as a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Anduril’s military edition is a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft built with a series hybrid-electric powertrain system and tilt rotors that allow it to operate in any environment while keeping up, when needed, with faster rotary aircraft like the Apache and Cheyenne II.

“The proliferation of drones in land warfare has brought maneuver to a stalemate, extracting a significant toll in terms of both man and machine,” a company release stated. “Attack helicopters and their crews, long the lifeblood of maneuver warfare, are increasingly held at risk by a combination of loitering munitions, cheap air defenses, and ubiquitous persistent ISR platforms that have rendered the near-surface domain one of the most lethal places on the battlefield.”

Anduril officials said the Thunder, which has been in development since 2024, will provide much-needed relief to that toll courtesy of its ability “to fight alongside crewed aircraft, as part of an autonomous formation, or independently across missions.”

The Thunder’s mission suite will include long range mass effects delivery; fire support; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; maritime patrol; anti-submarine warfare; search and rescue; and contested cargo and logistics.

On its weapons side, modular internal main and nose payload module bays will allow the Thunder to be armed with everything from precision munitions and electronic warfare payloads to air-launched effects, rockets and counter-drone munitions.

Citing configurable payload examples, Anduril officials said one Thunder operating on the battlefield could carry 10 air-to-ground missiles, 16 launched effects or 76 70mm rockets, in addition to a dozen counter-UAS munitions.

“Teaming multiplies the mass that Thunder brings to the fight,” the Anduril release stated. “By pairing multiple Thunder aircraft with a single crewed platform, commanders can achieve a step-change in combat mass that enables formations to defeat more targets, sustain operations longer, and keep crews farther from the most lethal threats.”

The Thunder aircraft will operate using Anduril’s core Lattice for Mission Autonomy software to inform flight formation behaviors and separation management for safety around crewed aircraft, the release said, thus eliminating the need for pilot control of the drones and freeing crews to focus solely on the mission.

The aircraft, meanwhile, is also easily transportable, with configuration that allows it to be packed into a standard shipping container.

The company has not yet listed a price point for the Thunder. Anduril is targeting a first flight in 2027.

The unexploded ordnance was from a “downed Iranian one-way attack drone,” Central Command said in a statement released Sunday.

The death of the U.S. service member in Iraq follows in the wake of two U.S. service members killed in action on Friday in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on U.S. and partner forces in Jordan, U.S. Central Command announced.

Four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command originally noted that a third U.S. service member was missing, however, CENTCOM announced today that “After a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location earlier today. An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.”

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The latest casualties bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 18.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

A third U.S. service member is missing, the command release added, while four more troops had to be medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

Those four service members have since been discharged, the command added.

“Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty,” the release stated.

U.S. Central Command is withholding the identities of the dead until 24 hours after the service members’ next of kin have been notified.

Additional information about the exact location of the attack had not been provided as of publication.

The casualties in Friday’s attack bring the toll of American troops killed in the war with Iran to 16.

Most recently, the commanding officer of the Navy’s Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, was killed on July 1 when the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard went down in the Arabian Sea. Three other sailors were rescued following the emergency landing.

More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded in the campaign, which began Feb. 28.

The two systems, NMESIS and MADIS, were welcomed by personnel from the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, as key pieces in those threat recalibration efforts.

The NMESIS is a ground-based ship-killing missile system designed to be deployed in sea denial operations near coastlines.

The system features a Naval Strike Missile system — fixed to a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle — that can operate through both semi-autonomous and fully autonomous launches.

The short-range, surface-to-air defense capabilities of the MADIS make the highly mobile platform especially potent for low altitude air defense personnel taking on helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUAS.

Mounted aboard two 4×4 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, MADIS operates as a complementary duo, with one vehicle primarily performing the role of counter-sUAS detection and elimination — via 360-degree radar, a command-and-control suite and an electronic warfare system — while the second vehicle combats fixed wing and rotary aircraft courtesy of a multi-Stinger missile pod, 30mm cannon and electronic warfare capabilities.

The 3rd Marine Division’s Hawaii-based 3rd MLR was the first unit to receive the NMESIS and MADIS. Since then, the Marine Corps has pushed to field the new tech across the Indo-Pacific to match the rapid evolution of regional threats.

Marines with the 3rd MLR in May deployed the NMESIS across multiple islands, as part of the Balikatan 26 exercise, after hitching rides aboard Air Force C-130Js and Army LCU-2000 landing craft.

Operating for three days in the Batanes Islands archipelago, Marines ran through a series of dry fire missions in which they practiced denying warships access to the Luzon Strait.

Days earlier, Marines in Zambales demonstrated the capabilities of the MADIS in knocking quad-copters and fixed-wing drones out of the sky.

The aircraft, assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 224 (VMFA-224), became the service’s first to deploy to the Scandinavian country as part of the NATO-led Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026, according to a release.

The June 8-12 exercise featured 19 nations operating out of 15 locations, with the highway air operations involving the U.S. F-35s, Spanish EF-18s and Polish F-16s, according to the release. Finnish air force F/A-18 Hornets were also pictured on the roadway.

“Our mission is to ensure the joint force can fight and win,” Maj. Gen. Daniel Shipley, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, said in the release. “Our participation in Ramstein Flag enhances the lethality of the Marine Corps, enables NATO success and guarantees our ability to deter and defeat sophisticated aerial threats.”

Elements of the 2nd MAW were previously slated to participate in the Norway-based Arctic warfare exercise Cold Response 2026 in March, but were pulled back amid concerns over the conflict with Iran.

The non-traditional Finnish highway operation was designed to test combat adaptability in an increasingly contested Arctic, the service said, with air command and control of the highway operations — and other air missions — coordinated from NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center in Bodo, Norway.

“This iteration of Ramstein Flag stretches from the northernmost parts of Norway to the southern reaches of Spain, showcasing Allied Airpower’s 360-degree approach to defend every inch of NATO territory,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, commander of Allied Air Command, said in the release. “The scale of this exercise is a testament to NATO’s determination to counter modern and emerging threats through distributed operations across NATO’s Joint Operations Areas.”

Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord cased the colors of the 1st Multi-Domain Task Forces Headquarters and 7th ID Headquarters Support Company and uncased the 7th Infantry Division (Multi-Domain Command-Pacific) Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion colors, in a merger that was first announced earlier this year.

“We are merging the operational endurance, flexibility and protection of our proven Stryker formations with the long-range sensing and precision fires of our multi-domain task force,” Maj. Gen. Bernard J. Harrington, the commanding general of the 7th ID (MDC-PAC), said in the Army release.

Central to the new command is what the Army calls the Cross Domain Contact Layer, a framework designed to connect intelligence gathering, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence into a continuous network.

It will combine sensors, drones, precision weapons and digital networks into a single architecture spanning land, air, sea, space and cyberspace.

“Through our emerging Cross Domain Contact Layer concept, our division will employ capabilities such as unmanned surface vessels; long-range, one-way attack drones; and launched effects to penetrate the adversary’s anti-access/area-denial network,” Harrington said in the release. “Every radar that emits, every node that transmits, every headquarters that commands, we aim to hold continuously at risk alongside our joint partners and allies.”

The change is part of the Army’s broader transformation initiative. According to the release, the redesignation reflects the service’s push to distribute advanced capabilities across maneuver formations operating in contested environments.

The redesignation builds on years of innovation in the Indo-Pacific, the Army said, including deployments by the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force, or MDTF, and collaboration with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“These soldiers have invested wholeheartedly in experimenting, deploying, and employing capabilities that work from the heavens to the earth, from the air to the sea, and flow with all the digits that go in between,” said Col. Charles W. Kean, the 7th ID (MDC-PAC) deputy commanding officer-effects and former 1st MDTF commander. “It has truly been inspirational to watch them in action.”

The move, according to a Pentagon release, “honors the command’s deep historical roots, fostering a sense of pride and collective spirit among all who serve in the Pacific.”

“From its critical role in establishing the post-WWII regional security architecture to its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and countless humanitarian operations, the USPACOM namesake carries decades of military heritage and enduring regional partnerships,” the release states.

U.S. Pacific Command was the official name of the formation until May 2018, when, during the first term of President Donald Trump, it was changed to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command “in recognition of the increasing connectivity of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” and rising military and economic pressure emerging from Beijing, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said at the time.

The command’s top officer in 2018, Adm. Harry Harris, acknowledged then that the change reflected the return of great power competition as decades of combat in the Global War on Terror were winding down.

“I believe we are reaching an inflection point in history,” Harris said in 2018. “A geo-political competition between free and oppressive visions is taking place in the Indo-Pacific.”

The name change announced Tuesday, meanwhile, will have no impact on the command’s mission or areas of operational responsibility that were in place under INDOPACOM, according to the release.

The move is the latest in a series of rebranding initiatives launched by the Pentagon — from base names to the department itself — since Trump began his second term.

In recent weeks the House and Senate armed services committees voted to advance legislation that would ratify the rebrand of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

While the latter designation, which was the official department name from 1789-1947, has been used by Pentagon officials since September 2025, it has yet to be signed into law by Congress.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to social media on June 5 to praise the recent votes, noting, “The Department of War will officially be restored soon.”

Stood up on May 30, NSA Stirling — part of the Pillar I segment of the trilateral AUKUS pact — will provide “services and programs for U.S. service members, civilian personnel, contractors and their families” assigned to Submarine Rotational Force–West, according to a service release.

Expected to be fully operational in 2027, SRF-West will support a rotation of U.S. and British nuclear-powered fast attack submarines aboard Australia’s HMAS Stirling installation near Perth.

The detachment is expected to assist submarine deployments by enabling expanded maintenance options and sustainment infrastructure in the region.

“Establishment of NSA Stirling with our AUKUS partners demonstrates our command mission to support the fleet, warfighter and family,” Vice Adm. Scott Gray, commander of Navy Installations Command, said in the release. “By providing essential services to U.S. personnel and their families, NSA Stirling will enhance rotational submarine force readiness.”

The first U.S. personnel assigned to SRF-West are expected to begin rotating through HMAS Stirling in late 2026, according to a May 30 Pentagon release.

The U.K. has also committed to a rotational presence with SRF-West.

“We are currently in the early stages of establishing NSA Stirling,” said Rear Adm. Ian Johnson, commander of Navy Region Japan, which began the process of standing up NSA Stirling in October 2024. “While there is still much work ahead, we are confident in our ability to accomplish this task through strong collaboration with our AUKUS partners.”

The NSA activation, meanwhile, came as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended a May 30 meeting at the U.S. embassy in Singapore alongside Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles and U.K. Secretary of State for Defense John Healey.

The three officials affirmed key AUKUS milestones continue to be met on schedule, with Australia on track to acquire a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine in the coming years.

The Singapore meeting also yielded the announcement of the first signature project of Pillar II of the AUKUS agreement, which will focus on developing — and delivering, starting in 2027 — cutting-edge tech for uncrewed undersea vehicles, or UUVs.

“This project is intended to significantly enhance AUKUS partners’ ability to protect critical national seabed infrastructure; deploy cutting edge surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capabilities; conduct logistics operations; and bolster superiority in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, mine countermeasures, electronic warfare and contested littoral maneuver,” the Pentagon release stated.