The US Navy is powering drone ships with Rolls-Royce engines which can drive for up to 30 days without human intervention
THE SO WHAT
Thirty-day unmanned missions move naval autonomy from experiment to persistent infrastructure—propulsion is now aligned with long-duration sensing and comms. Defense and dual-use vendors should assume requirements for month-long unattended operation will spread across maritime, logistics, and offshore energy.
READ THE SOURCE
MORE FROM THE WIRE
Robotics & AutonomyPalantir and Anduril awarded a $192 million US Army contract to build TITAN data-gathering system
Battlefield C2 is consolidating around a few software primes that can integrate sensors, models, and shooters into one loop—$192M for eight TITAN systems in 18 months is a paid pilot for that architecture. If you sell into defense, assume future programs will demand plug-and-play into these data backbones, not standalone tools.
Robotics & AutonomyTeradyne Robotics sues JAKA over 3 Universal Robots patents
Patent fights over interfaces, safety brakes, and joints are a reminder that cobot differentiation is now as much IP and compliance as mechanics. If you deploy or build on industrial arms, audit your vendor’s IP posture and exportability before scaling.
Robotics & AutonomySwarmer to acquire Ukrainian UGV maker Ratel Robotics for up to $224M
Software-first swarm control buying a frontline UGV manufacturer for up to $224M is a clear bet that autonomy at scale needs tight hardware–software integration. Defense and industrial buyers should expect more bundled “system-of-systems” offerings—procurement shifts from picking robots to picking autonomy stacks plus fleets.
Robotics & AutonomySpain gives WeRide and Uber its first permit for Level 4 self-driving cars
Spain’s first national Level 4 permit for WeRide, Uber, and AVOMO under the ES-AV framework shows European regulators are ready to move from pilots to structured deployment. If you operate fleets or urban logistics in the EU, start mapping which cities and corridors could open to AV partnerships in your 3–5 year planning window.