Anduril's Roadrunner-M C-UAS vehicle. (Anduril)

Anduril unveiled a reusable, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) air vehicle on 1 December. The twin turbojet-powered vehicle, dubbed Roadrunner, can be fitted with modular payloads, while the Roadrunner-M (Munition) is intended as a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS).

The company said in a statement that the Roadrunner is capable of “high subsonic speeds and extreme maneuverability”, though specifications were not immediately available.

The Roadrunner can be launched from a dedicated container, which Anduril described as a “networked, automated hangar”, and comes equipped with three extendable landing legs such that it can be recovered should it not be expended during a mission.

“This … shift in thinking allows for large-scale defensive launches at … low cost, increasing redundancy for higher probability of lethality and enhancing the ability to simultaneously engage many targets,” said the company.

The craft can be networked, such that a single operator could control multiple Roadrunners.

Anduril had not responded to questions at the time of publication.

The US Air Force said the Bell Boeing CV-22B involved in the mishap was an aircraft from the 353rd Special Operations Wing. The unit operates its CV-22Bs from Yokota Air Base near Tokyo. (US Air Force)

A Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey of the US Air Force (USAF) has crashed in Japanese waters.

In a statement later on 29 November US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) said the CV-22B Osprey from the 353rd Special Operations Wing was involved in the “mishap”.

The aircraft was “performing a routine training mission off the shore of Yakushima Island, Japan, with eight airmen on board,” the AFSOC statement said, adding that the aircraft had taken off from Yokota Air Base.

According to AFSOC, the crew's condition was “unknown” as of 0030 h local time on 30 November. “Emergency personnel are on scene conducting search-and-rescue operations. The cause of the mishap is currently unknown,” AFSOC said.

In a press conference in Tokyo later on 29 November Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense Hiroyuki Miyazawa said the CV-22 “made an emergency water landing off the coast of Yakushima” at 1440 h local time.

A model of the Airbus SIRTAP UAS, displayed in Paris at Eurosatory 2022. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Spain has acquired the Airbus SIRTAP unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the manufacturer announced on 29 November.

The Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has contracted nine systems comprising a total of 27 air vehicles and nine ground control stations. Two simulators have also been acquired.

“Airbus has signed a contract with the Spanish Ministry of Defence for the development and acquisition of SIRTAP, a high-performance tactical UAS that will reinforce the tactical capabilities of the Spanish Army and the Air and Space Force,” Airbus said. The MoD said that the contract value was “close to” EUR495 million (USD543 million).

Having originally launched SIRTAP with Colombia, this contract with Spain now formally kick-starts Airbus' development of the UAS that is being billed as sitting midway between the light tactical and medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) classes.