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USNDA Forms Inter-Service U.S. Military Competitive Drone Teams, U.S. Marines First to Fight in International Military Drone Crucible Championship on Independence Day Week

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the USNDA announced its sponsorship of the first interservice, international U.S. Military Drone Crucible Championship (MDCC), to measure, incentivize and rapidly integrate small drone skills and capabilities across the armed services.  The MDCC will develop camaraderie across services and allied partners, and exchange lessons learned from the rapidly growing field of emerging drone technology to hone the skills of operational forces.

The U.S. Marines are the first service to launch an official U.S. Military Competitive Drone Team, co-led by Training Command and the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, as part of a joint initiative to challenge and enhance the skills of warfighters through interservice competition within the operating forces and neighboring services.

“Just as early aviation races advanced our understanding of manned flight, drone racing will accelerate the integration and advancement of drones across all aspects of Marine Corps warfighting. As we incorporate FPV and small drone capabilities, we remain committed to demonstrating the highest standards of professional excellence in the Military Drone Crucible Championship. The technical expertise of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, combined with the competitive experience of the Marine Corps Shooting Team, in establishing the Marine Corps Attack Drone Team for the championship is just another step in ensuring that our Corps remains more ready than ever to meet current and future challenges,” said Major General Anthony Henderson, Commanding General, Training Command, and Brigadier General Simon Doran, Commanding General, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, in a joint statement.

Other participating DoD organizations include the Air Force Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, and U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.

“As we contend with the challenges and opportunities presented by UAS proliferation, the Joint Force is seeking the collective ingenuity of our Services, Allies and partners, and industry stakeholders. The rapid innovation and iteration of critical UAS and C-UAS technologies strengthens the posture of the Joint Force for the wars of tomorrow,” said Lieutenant General Dagvin RM Anderson, Director of Joint Force Development, Joint Staff, Pentagon.

“Running concurrently with the MDCC, the DroneWERX Supply Web Challenge will allow drone industry supply chain innovators to integrate the latest technology into the competition teams inventories,” said the USNDA DroneWERX Director Marcus Rossi. “Counter Drone companies and prototypes are also encouraged to demonstrate in the Match 3 Drone Crucible. As an output of the overall competition the USNDA DroneWERX Report will provide the DoD with an analysis on drone supply chain resilience and vulnerabilities.”

“The Nation is hungry for earnest transparency on the state of both drone and counter drone capabilities,” said the Nathan Ecelbarger, Board Chairman on behalf of USNDA’s Directors and Advisors. “The Match 3 Drone Crucible is designed intentionally as a double-blind experiment to allow the data speak for itself. We look forward to meaningful discussion on the implications of the event with the Trump Administration, and Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Transportation to help ensure that our nation remains at the edge of these critical emerging technologies. Also… #GoNavyBeatArmy.”

The MDCC will be open to selected academic and civilian teams, showcasing drone technologies emerging from industry partners and classrooms across the nation. Regionally supported by the Central Florida consortia of universities and colleges, both Full Sail University and University of Central Florida will award full scholarships to winners of the U.S. Drone Competition for prototype innovation. Central Florida is home to over 100,000 college students and 400,000 high school students, in addition to being the modeling and simulation capital of the Nation.

“With the USNDA’s national headquarters based on the campus of Full Sail University, alongside the talent, growth, and innovation within our dynamic emerging technologies focused educational offerings, we look forward to collaborating with our neighboring higher education institutions to welcome the U.S. Military Drone Crucible Championship (MDCC) to our campus, region, and state,” said Full Sail University President, Garry Jones.

University of Central Florida President Alex Cartwright further stated, “We are pleased to support this event and highlight the innovation ecosystem within the State of Florida to help grow the talent and technology that will contribute to the United States’ defense and civilian sectors.”

The scholarships are part of a larger prize pool that also include opportunities for U.S. Government Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, federal internships, and cash prizes awarded by the USNDA for Championship and Competitive Category winners.

The MDCC will consist of three back to back matches over the July 4th holiday weekend in Orlando, Florida, each increasing in difficulty and culminating in the Drone Crucible Championship event. The matches will test not only the speed and dexterity of Drone Pilots, but will also challenge problem solving and navigation skills through unknown obstacles, and task and technology-based skills navigating courses against unknown counter-drone measures provided by the defense and national security industry.

Match 1 will be held at professional sports venue, open to the public. Match 2 will be held on the campus of Full Sail University Campus. The Match 3 Drone Crucible held at an undisclosed military location in Central Florida.

In addition to U.S. services, a challenge has been extended to a consortia of European and Allied Nation drone operators. “It will be regrettable to deliver a victory for Britain on American soil on such a noteworthy American holiday. However, challenge accepted,” said Lieutenant Colonel Karl Eze, Chair of the British Army Drone Association, and Staff Officer for the British Army Drone Capability Development.

Highschool, College, Industry, International and U.S. Military applicants are encouraged to join the waiting list at www.usnda.org for additional details and MDCC rules to be released in February 2025.

About the USNDA:
The United States National Drone Association is not for profit, bipartisan, practitioner led Think Tank dedicated to rapidly and responsively advancing small drone and counter drone technology and capability primarily for National Defense, Security and Public Safety through increasing transparency and cooperation between academic industry, government and allied partners to primary events; U.S. National Drone Conference, The Annual Military Drone Championship “Drone Crucible”.

Press and media inquiries can be sent to press@usnda.org

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SOURCE United States National Drone Association

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ST Engineering iDirect and MBSat Partner to Build Next-Generation Sovereign Connectivity Services Across Oman and the Middle East

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October 25, 2026

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Intuition ground system selected to support MBSat’s planned 2027 service launch, enabling accelerated deployment, dynamic resource management and scalable service growth

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ST Engineering iDirect today announced a strategic partnership with Mohammed Al Barwani Satellite Company (MBSat), part of Mohammed Al Barwani Group, to provide the ground system technology foundation for MBSat’s next-generation satellite gateway and network operations across Oman and the wider Middle East region. Intuition will provide a flexible, software-defined foundation to support sovereign connectivity services, enabling efficient service deployment, dynamic resource management and scalable network operations.

Intuition will deliver a turnkey ground segment solution that accelerates deployment, simplifies operations and gives MBSat the flexibility to scale services as demand grows. The software-defined platform enables dynamic resource management, service automation and seamless integration with existing and future operational systems. The solution also includes Ka-band gateway infrastructure, service provisioning and management capabilities, open API integration frameworks, training and full-lifecycle support. Together, these capabilities will help MBSat launch and operate services efficiently while adapting to evolving market requirements.

The network will leverage capacity from MB Sat-1, a sovereign MicroGEO satellite, with planned service launch in 2027, to support flexible, scalable connectivity services across the region.

The partnership reflects growing investment in sovereign communications infrastructure across the Middle East as operators seek greater control over service delivery, network expansion and long-term technology evolution.

“This partnership represents an important milestone in our efforts to build an advanced satellite communications platform in Oman and the region,” said Ammar Al Rawahi, General Manager, MBSat. “Through our collaboration with ST Engineering iDirect, we are establishing the technical infrastructure required to launch services efficiently, respond to evolving customer needs and expand into new markets, supporting the sustainable long-term growth of our business.”

“We are providing MBSat with a flexible, software-defined ground platform that integrates with its existing operational environment,” said Sridhar Kuppanna, Chief Executive Officer, ST Engineering iDirect. “This enables more efficient service deployment and operations today, with the flexibility to scale, introduce new capabilities and evolve as requirements change.”

About ST Engineering iDirect

ST Engineering iDirect, a subsidiary of ST Engineering, is a global leader in satellite communications, providing technology and solutions that enable its customers to expand their business, differentiate their services and optimize their networks. Through its portfolio of ground infrastructure, intelligent networking and advanced satellite communications solutions, the company supports operators, service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-engineering-idirect-and-mbsat-partner-to-build-next-generation-sovereign-connectivity-services-across-oman-and-the-middle-east-302918467.html

SOURCE ST Engineering iDirect

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ST Engineering iDirect and MBSat Partner to Build Next-Generation Sovereign Connectivity Services Across Oman and the Middle East

Published

2 hours ago

on

October 25, 2026

By

Intuition ground system selected to support MBSat’s planned 2027 service launch, enabling accelerated deployment, dynamic resource management and scalable service growth

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ST Engineering iDirect today announced a strategic partnership with Mohammed Al Barwani Satellite Company (MBSat), part of Mohammed Al Barwani Group, to provide the ground system technology foundation for MBSat’s next-generation satellite gateway and network operations across Oman and the wider Middle East region. Intuition will provide a flexible, software-defined foundation to support sovereign connectivity services, enabling efficient service deployment, dynamic resource management and scalable network operations.

Intuition will deliver a turnkey ground segment solution that accelerates deployment, simplifies operations and gives MBSat the flexibility to scale services as demand grows. The software-defined platform enables dynamic resource management, service automation and seamless integration with existing and future operational systems. The solution also includes Ka-band gateway infrastructure, service provisioning and management capabilities, open API integration frameworks, training and full-lifecycle support. Together, these capabilities will help MBSat launch and operate services efficiently while adapting to evolving market requirements.

The network will leverage capacity from MB Sat-1, a sovereign MicroGEO satellite, with planned service launch in 2027, to support flexible, scalable connectivity services across the region.

The partnership reflects growing investment in sovereign communications infrastructure across the Middle East as operators seek greater control over service delivery, network expansion and long-term technology evolution.

“This partnership represents an important milestone in our efforts to build an advanced satellite communications platform in Oman and the region,” said Ammar Al Rawahi, General Manager, MBSat. “Through our collaboration with ST Engineering iDirect, we are establishing the technical infrastructure required to launch services efficiently, respond to evolving customer needs and expand into new markets, supporting the sustainable long-term growth of our business.”

“We are providing MBSat with a flexible, software-defined ground platform that integrates with its existing operational environment,” said Sridhar Kuppanna, Chief Executive Officer, ST Engineering iDirect. “This enables more efficient service deployment and operations today, with the flexibility to scale, introduce new capabilities and evolve as requirements change.”

About ST Engineering iDirect

ST Engineering iDirect, a subsidiary of ST Engineering, is a global leader in satellite communications, providing technology and solutions that enable its customers to expand their business, differentiate their services and optimize their networks. Through its portfolio of ground infrastructure, intelligent networking and advanced satellite communications solutions, the company supports operators, service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-engineering-idirect-and-mbsat-partner-to-build-next-generation-sovereign-connectivity-services-across-oman-and-the-middle-east-302918467.html

SOURCE ST Engineering iDirect

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Global Security & Technology Summit Unveils Month-Long Program of Activities Ahead of December Event

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October 24, 2026

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Organizing Committee of the Global Security & Technology Summit (GSTS) held an introductory session today at the Ministry of Interior’s headquarters in Riyadh, bringing together representatives from the government, private, and nonprofit sectors to introduce the program of activities leading up to the summit. The upcoming summit will be held in Riyadh under the patronage of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, under the supervision of HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Interior, and organized by the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with Tuwaiq Academy.

During the session, the Organizing Committee presented the comprehensive GSTS program, comprising three key components: GSTS Month, running from November 1 to 30, 2026; the Global Security & Innovation Fair (SAIF), taking place from November 24 to 26, 2026; and the main Summit, scheduled for December 18 to 20, 2026, in Riyadh. Together, these events form an integrated program designed to advance security and technology innovation, strengthen national capabilities, and foster international cooperation.

GSTS Month will feature working groups, boot camps, training programs, knowledge-sharing sessions, and technical workshops across Saudi Arabia’s 13 administrative regions, delivered both in person and remotely in collaboration with specialized entities. The month-long program aims to develop national capabilities, identify emerging talent, enrich knowledge-sharing opportunities, and equip professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to develop innovative solutions to future security and technology challenges.

The main Summit will bring together global leaders, decision-makers, experts, and innovators to explore the future of security and technology, promote the integration of advanced technologies within the security sector, strengthen national capabilities, support innovation, and foster international cooperation, further positioning the Kingdom as a global hub for security and technology.

Showcasing the latest technological breakthroughs and security solutions, the summit will bring together government entities, private sector organizations, academic institutions, and research centers to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration across key fields, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), smart security solutions, emerging technologies, and crisis management. The program will also feature main sessions, specialized discussions, and interactive exhibitions. Registration is available at gsts.sa.

Advisor to HRH the Minister of Interior and Chairman of the GSTS Organizing Committee, Ahmed Altowayan, stated that the summit builds on Saudi Arabia’s efforts to establish an advanced security and technology ecosystem focused on knowledge and innovation, keeping pace with rapid developments and future challenges.

Mr. Altowayan noted that the summit is a global platform for strengthening cooperation and exchanging expertise, anticipating future developments in security and technology, and developing strategic partnerships and innovative solutions that enhance the efficiency and readiness of security systems.

Vice Chairman of the GSTS Organizing Committee, Eng. Abdulaziz Alhammadi, said that the summit will offer a range of integrated programs and activities focused on enhancing national skills, encouraging innovation, and supporting international cooperation.

He added that GSTS Month will help build national capabilities, discover talent, and develop skills, with SAIF providing a platform for innovators and researchers from around the world to showcase leading technological solutions, while the main Summit will bring together leaders and experts to discuss the future of security and technology and explore new strategic partnership opportunities.

SAIF will take place at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center, bringing together innovators, researchers, technology talents, and industry experts from around the world to showcase promising innovations and projects across 14 fields of technology and innovation. The fair will provide opportunities to engage with project owners, including students, graduates, and entrepreneurs, and explore the different stages of innovation development through interactive zones, panel discussions on emerging security and innovation trends, and knowledge-sharing workshops led by specialists. Visitor registration is open to participants from within and outside the Kingdom through saifair.sa.

The introductory session also featured contributions from representatives of government, private, and nonprofit sector entities, alongside members of the media. Discussions focused on developing national capabilities in security and technology, strengthening students’ technical expertise, translating scientific research into practical solutions, and supporting Saudi companies in developing security and technology solutions and advancing digital transformation.

Organized by the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with Tuwaiq Academy, GSTS is produced by Tahaluf, with the Ministry of Education serving as Strategic Scientific Partner, Tahakom as Founding Partner, and Elm as Principal Partner.

Registration for participants from within and outside the Kingdom is available at gsts.sa.

Click here to view the media kit. 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-security–technology-summit-unveils-month-long-program-of-activities-ahead-of-december-event-302918695.html

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