GE, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney: Who Rules the Engine Market? - YouTube

GE, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney: Who Rules the Engine Market? - YouTube

Power Struggle at Altitude: The Commercial Aircraft Engine Market in 2026

Special Analysis

February 18, 2026

With record airline demand outpacing constrained airframe production, and propulsion technology entering its most competitive era in decades, the Big Three engine makers face simultaneous crises of supply, reliability, and the race to define the next generation of narrowbody propulsion.

 

BLUF — Bottom Line Up Front

The global commercial aircraft engine market — valued at roughly $61–81 billion in 2024 depending on scope — is experiencing its most structurally disruptive period since the post-9/11 retrenchment. GE Aerospace and its CFM joint venture with Safran dominate with approximately 55% of the overall market and claim to power three in four commercial flights worldwide. Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan (GTF) program has reshaped narrowbody propulsion efficiency while simultaneously generating an ongoing crisis — more than 835 aircraft sat grounded at end-October 2025 due to contaminated powder metal in engine disks, a remediation now estimated to cost RTX $6–7 billion through at least 2026. Rolls-Royce, long absent from the narrowbody market, is aggressively positioning its UltraFan and UltraFan 30 technologies for a return to single-aisle competition in the 2030s. Meanwhile, both Boeing and Airbus carry backlogs representing 11+ years of production while failing to meet current-year delivery targets, anchoring insatiable airline demand against an immovable supply chain. The next-generation engine competition — CFM's open-fan RISE program, P&W's next-generation GTF, and Rolls-Royce's UltraFan 30 — will determine which OEMs define the successor to today's narrowbody fleets, the largest commercial aviation prize available.

 

Market Structure: The Big Three — And the Joint Ventures That Complicate the Count

Four corporate entities — GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney (a division of RTX Corporation), Rolls-Royce, and Safran — collectively hold approximately 97% of the commercial aero-engine market. Yet the picture is more complex than any simple ranking reveals. CFM International, the 50-50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines, is the single largest engine supplier by volume, commanding roughly 39% of the global market and more than 60% of the narrowbody segment alone. When CFM's output is consolidated with GE Aerospace's own widebody programs, the GE/Safran axis claims roughly 55% of all commercial engines — a dominant position unmatched since the jet age began.

Pratt & Whitney ranks second by volume with a market share of approximately 26–35% depending on the measurement year, driven almost entirely by its PW1000G Geared Turbofan (GTF) family. The company boasts over 12,000 orders for the GTF across 90-plus operators worldwide and generated revenues exceeding $28 billion in 2024, returning to profitability after a full-year loss in 2023 driven by the powder-metal contamination crisis detailed below. Rolls-Royce sits third with roughly 18% of the overall market, but controls approximately one-third of the global widebody fleet and holds 46% of the widebody order backlog — numbers that reflect its strategic withdrawal from narrowbody competition in 2012 when it sold its stake in International Aero Engines (IAE).

The global commercial aircraft engine market was valued at approximately $60.77 billion in 2024 by Mordor Intelligence, with turbofan engines constituting over 99% of commercial sales. Market research firm Global Market Insights placed the total broader aviation engine market — including aftermarket and overhaul — at over $81 billion in 2024, growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 9%, projected to exceed $184 billion by 2034. The aftermarket segment — long-term service agreements, spare parts, and MRO — has become the critical battleground for profitability; GE Aerospace raised its 2025 profit forecast specifically citing aftermarket strength.

 

Demand Signal: Airlines Flying Full, Fleets Aging, Backlogs Swelling

The demand environment for new engines and new aircraft has never been stronger in aggregate, even if the structural bottlenecks preventing supply from meeting that demand have never been more entrenched. IATA's 2025 full-year data, released in February 2026, showed global revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 5.3% year-over-year, with the overall passenger load factor hitting a record 83.6%. Airlines filled seats at historically unprecedented rates — a direct consequence of aircraft delivery delays forcing carriers to squeeze more utilization out of existing fleets rather than adding new capacity.

IATA projects global airline net profits will reach a record $41 billion in 2026, up from $39.5 billion in 2025, on revenues approaching $1.053 trillion — the first time the industry has crossed the trillion-dollar threshold. Passenger numbers in 2026 are projected to reach 5.2 billion, while load factors are expected to hit yet another record of 83.8%. Despite these headline numbers, net margins remain razor-thin at 3.9%, well below the industry's weighted average cost of capital of 8.2%. IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted bluntly that the aircraft order backlog has exceeded 17,000 planes — equivalent to roughly 60% of the active global fleet — and that supply chain failures cost airlines more than $11 billion in 2025 alone.

The implication for engine makers is straightforward: virtually every new aircraft delivered triggers new engine revenue and initiates a multi-decade aftermarket relationship. The constraint is not demand — it is the ability of the propulsion and airframe supply chains to convert backlog into delivery.

 

Airframe OEM Status: Delivery Shortfalls Cascade Into Engine Programs

The two dominant commercial airframe manufacturers — Airbus and Boeing — entered 2026 with combined backlogs representing more than a decade of production at current rates, yet neither is delivering at a pace sufficient to satisfy the market.

Airbus held a backlog of 8,695 aircraft as of end-November 2025, with approximately 89% concentrated in A220 and A320neo family narrowbodies. The company delivered 657 aircraft through November 2025 and revised its full-year 2025 target down from 820 to approximately 790 units after persistent shortages of Buyer Furnished Equipment and engines forced the revision. A350 production averaged only 4.5 aircraft per month through most of 2025 against a target of six — a shortfall compounded by Spirit AeroSystems supply chain disruptions. The A220 program has been particularly troubled; roughly one-quarter of the global A220 fleet has been parked due to PW1500G GTF recall requirements, undermining order confidence and forcing Airbus to cut its 2026 production rate target for the type from 14 to 12 aircraft per month.

Boeing's recovery has been more dramatic in percentage terms but from a far lower base. After a deeply troubled 2024 marked by a machinist strike and quality control crises, Boeing deliveries rose approximately 69% in 2025. The average time from first flight to customer delivery fell to 37 days from 47 in 2024, and the long-term backlog of aircraft delayed more than a year shrank to just 27 units. The FAA approved a rate increase for the 737 MAX from 38 to 42 aircraft per month, with aspirations to reach 50 per month by 2026. Boeing's own backlog stood at 6,609 aircraft at end-November 2025 — again representing approximately 11.5 years of production. The 777X program, which uses GE's GE9X engine, remains in pre-certification; first delivery to launch customer Lufthansa has now slipped from 2026 to 2027 due to ongoing FAA certification delays. GE has separately disclosed a durability issue with the GE9X for the 777-9, though both GE and Boeing maintain the problem will not affect the 2027 delivery target.

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer improved its E-Jet E2 delivery count to 66 aircraft in 2025 from 55 in 2024, though it also faces GTF-related headwinds through the PW1900G variant. COMAC, China's state-backed narrowbody manufacturer, delivered only 29 C919s in 2025, down from 40 in 2024, struggling to convert a large domestic backlog into active deliveries. The C919 uses CFM LEAP-1C engines under an existing contract; Chinese authorities are simultaneously investing heavily in the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) to develop indigenous propulsion for future generations, a program that remains years from commercial viability.

 

The GTF Crisis: Pratt & Whitney's Powder Metal Wound

The most significant single disruption in commercial propulsion in the last decade is the ongoing recall of Pratt & Whitney's PW1000G Geared Turbofan family. RTX disclosed in July 2023 that a rare condition in the powder metal material used to manufacture certain high-pressure turbine and compressor disks had been introduced during production of engines built between October 2015 and September 2021. The contaminated metal can cause premature microstructural cracks that could ultimately lead to an uncontained disk failure — one of the most consequential failure modes in commercial aviation.

The remediation has proved far more protracted than initially projected. Turnaround times at MRO facilities stretched to 250–300 days rather than the originally estimated 60 days, driven by shop capacity limitations, parts shortages, and the specialized inspection tooling required. What began as an estimated 600–700 engines requiring accelerated shop visits expanded to nearly 3,000 affected engines across the PW1100G (A320neo family), PW1500G (A220), and PW1900G (Embraer E2) variants.

By end-October 2025, according to fleet data provider Cirium, 835 jets powered by GTF engines were in storage — a storage rate of approximately 33% of the total GTF-powered fleet. By comparison, only 155 aircraft powered by CFM's competing LEAP turbofans were stored at the same time, representing just 3.5% of that fleet. The competitive damage to Pratt & Whitney's brand has been significant, even as airlines continue ordering GTFs in large numbers — P&W recorded more than 1,100 engine orders in the first half of 2025 alone.

RTX's total financial exposure from the recall is estimated at $6–7 billion for RTX and its GTF risk-sharing partners combined. The company took a $3 billion charge in September 2023 and an additional $5.4 billion hit across related periods. An FAA airworthiness directive published in mid-2025 expanded the scope of mandatory inspections, and a parallel issue affecting powder metal in PW2000 engines used on the Boeing 757 was also identified, though without the operational grounding implications of the GTF situation.

RTX's remediation strategy centers on two parallel tracks: expanding MRO shop throughput — maintenance capacity jumped 35% year-on-year in early 2025 — and introducing the GTF Hot Section Plus (HS+) retrofit package, which incorporates approximately 35 redesigned components and is intended to double time-on-wing for engines receiving the upgrade. The normalization of AOG (aircraft-on-ground) figures is not expected until late 2026 at the earliest for most variants, and not until 2028 for some E-Jet E2 operators.

The FAA separately expanded mandatory inspections of CFM LEAP-1A high-pressure turbine blades to engines operating in South Asia in 2025, following earlier concerns about dust-related blade cracking in Middle East operations. CFM has been working through a series of durability fixes, including deploying more than 1,450 improved HP turbine blades for the LEAP-1A and installing a reverse-bleed system on 50% of the fleet. Certification of corresponding fixes for the LEAP-1B is expected in the first half of 2026.

 

Technology Race: Geared Turbofan, Open Fan, and the Battle for the Next Single-Aisle

While the GTF crisis dominates near-term headlines, the propulsion industry's strategic horizon is defined by the race to power what will almost certainly be the most commercially lucrative single aircraft program since the original A320: the successor to the A320neo/737 MAX generation, broadly called the Next Generation Single Aisle (NGSA). Both Airbus and Boeing have signaled entry-into-service targets in the latter half of the 2030s, with Airbus moving somewhat faster in its public planning. The engine decision for the NGSA will likely be made before the end of this decade, and the stakes for each propulsion OEM are enormous.

CFM RISE: Open Fan Architecture

CFM International's Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program represents the most radical departure from current turbofan architecture under serious development. Unveiled in 2021 and now involving more than 2,000 CFM engineers globally, RISE centers on an Open Fan (unducted) architecture that would take the bypass ratio from the current LEAP's approximately 11:1 to 60:1 — a figure that GE Aerospace Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer Mohamed Ali described as the fundamental 'fuel burn opportunity' at a 2025 Airbus technology summit.

The physics are compelling: conventional turbofan ducts grow so large in pursuit of higher bypass ratios that the aerodynamic drag of the duct eventually cancels the efficiency gain from a larger fan. The Open Fan eliminates the duct entirely, enabling a single-stage rotor followed by non-rotating stator vanes, both with variable pitch control. CFM projects a 20% reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions compared with the current LEAP-1A — roughly double the improvement the LEAP achieved over the CFM56 it replaced.

CFM has completed more than 350 component and module tests across multiple demonstrators, including more than 200 hours of wind tunnel testing at France's ONERA aerospace research center using a 1:5 scale model. GE Aerospace completed a high-speed low-pressure turbine mating test in June 2023 and completed endurance tests on HP turbine airfoil technologies in 2024, simulating more than 3,000 takeoff and climb cycles. A full-scale ground demonstrator paired with an Open Fan set and a GE Passport gas generator is in development, with flight testing aboard an Airbus A380 testbed planned before the end of the decade.

The competitive landscape for the NGSA is, however, more complicated than CFM's technical trajectory might suggest. Safran CEO Olivier Andries confirmed in February 2026 that CFM is concurrently developing a conventional 'Advanced Ducted-Large' engine architecture as a contingency — described as getting 'prepared for any scenario.' The contingency reflects uncertainty about Boeing's appetite for open-fan integration risk: Boeing is understood to be significantly more cautious about the Open Fan's novel certification and maintenance challenges than Airbus, and the 737's architecture could make integration especially complex. CFM's target EIS for RISE-derived engines is the second half of the 2030s. CFM delivered 1,802 LEAP engines in 2025, an 18% increase over 2024, and projects a further 15% increase in 2026 to approximately 2,072 units — suggesting the near-term emphasis remains firmly on LEAP production ramp.

Pratt & Whitney: Next-Generation GTF

Pratt & Whitney is advancing a next-generation version of its Geared Turbofan architecture for NGSA competition, building on the PW1000G's proven planetary gearbox concept — which allows the fan to operate at approximately 3,000 RPM while the low-pressure turbine runs at 10,000 RPM. The company is partnered with NASA on the Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) project under NASA's Sustainable Flight National Partnership, developing advanced combustors for small-core engines compatible with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and demonstrating fuel/air mixer designs that optimize efficiency while minimizing NOx and noise emissions. P&W has also been selected for work on hybrid-electric systems for 30–50 seat aircraft, with entry into service anticipated around 2030.

With over 12,000 GTF orders already placed and a demonstrated — if troubled — track record in service, P&W enters the NGSA competition with the largest installed base of any next-generation narrowbody engine. The key question is whether the powder-metal crisis has durably damaged airline confidence in P&W's manufacturing quality control, or whether the GTF Advantage upgrade package and HS+ retrofit restore the program's reputation sufficiently to compete for the NGSA.

Rolls-Royce UltraFan: The Comeback Bid

Rolls-Royce has been absent from the narrowbody engine market since selling its IAE stake in 2012. Its return strategy is built around the UltraFan, an entirely new geared turbofan architecture — the company's first new architecture in 54 years — that completed its first demonstrator ground runs in May 2023 and reached maximum power in November 2023. The widebody-scale UltraFan 80 (producing thrust of approximately 85,000 lb) achieved a 10% efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, itself already the most efficient large aero engine in commercial service. A second build of the UltraFan 80 is undergoing additional performance mapping, having completed its initial 70-hour test campaign.

More strategically significant is the UltraFan 30, a scaled-down narrowbody variant targeting approximately 30,000 lb of thrust and a fan diameter approaching 90 inches — roughly 10 inches more than the current PW1100G. The UltraFan 30 achieved preliminary design maturity by mid-2025 and is targeted for ground test by 2028, funded in part by the EU Clean Aviation UNIFIED program, which selected a Rolls-Royce-led consortium for a share of approximately €378 million in EU support across 12 projects. Flight tests of a narrowbody demonstrator are projected for the end of the decade, with the program pursuing Technology Readiness Level 5 by approximately 2029–2030.

Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic confirmed in June 2025 at the Farnborough International Air Show that the company is in active partnership discussions with 'multiple parties' for the NGSA narrowbody push, acknowledging that industrializing the UltraFan 30 to the production volumes required for narrowbody competition — potentially thousands of engines per year — would be 'a massive challenge' without partners. The UltraFan architecture is designed to be 100% SAF-compatible from day one and scalable across a thrust range from approximately 25,000 to 110,000 lb, covering both narrowbody and widebody applications. The company's Trent XWB remains the exclusive powerplant for the Airbus A350, providing a stable widebody revenue base from which the NGSA bid can be pursued.

 

Sustainability, SAF, and the Regulatory Horizon

The transition to sustainable aviation fuels is simultaneously a commercial opportunity and a regulatory imperative for all propulsion OEMs. All major engine manufacturers have certified their production engines for 50% SAF blends, and the industry target — embedded in EU regulations — is full 100% SAF approval by 2030. IATA estimates SAF production doubled to approximately 2 million tonnes in 2025, yet that volume covers barely 0.7–0.8% of global airline fuel demand. IATA's Walsh has identified SAF availability — not price — as the primary obstacle to meeting emissions targets. Incremental airline spending on SAF is projected at $4.5 billion in 2026 for just 2.4 million tonnes.

The EU's CORSIA carbon offsetting program is projected to cost airlines $1.7 billion in 2026, with total incremental compliance and SAF costs reaching $4.5 billion — a figure that will only grow as mandates tighten. Engine makers are positioning their next-generation programs to be hydrogen-compatible in addition to SAF-compatible, though hydrogen's aviation timeline remains far beyond any currently committed program. Rolls-Royce has tested the UltraFan demonstrator on 100% SAF and is pursuing hydrogen combustion research with easyJet and NASA. CFM's RISE program is similarly designed for SAF and hybrid-electric compatibility from inception.

 

Competitive Dynamics and Market Outlook

The near-term competitive dynamic in commercial propulsion is, in essence, a two-horse race between CFM and Pratt & Whitney for narrowbody dominance, with Rolls-Royce competing exclusively in widebodies while building toward a potential narrowbody return. GE Aerospace's installed base of approximately 45,000 engines — including CFM programs — and its claim of powering three of every four commercial flights represent a structural advantage that will persist for decades regardless of NGSA outcomes. The aftermarket revenue stream from that installed base, growing in direct proportion to every engine delivered, is the financial foundation from which GE funds its next-generation development.

For Pratt & Whitney, the priority in 2026 remains operational: normalize the GTF grounding situation, rebuild airline confidence, and protect its substantial order book while advancing the next-generation GTF architecture. The company returned to profitability in 2024 and recorded strong order intake in 2025, suggesting that airlines — pressed for new aircraft by constrained supply — are not fundamentally changing their propulsion preferences based on the powder-metal crisis alone. But the competitive gap in fleet availability between GTF-powered and LEAP-powered A320neo variants, documented in real time by Cirium fleet data, has created a measurable reputational liability.

The NGSA engine decision — still years away — will be the most consequential commercial propulsion award since the CFM56 was selected for the original 737 Classic in the 1970s. The candidate technologies on offer are more radically differentiated from current engines than at any competitive transition in the jet age: an Open Fan with bypass ratios of 60:1, a next-generation geared turbofan building on a proven but troubled architecture, and a late-entry UltraFan 30 that must first prove industrial credibility. The choice will be driven as much by airframe integration risk, certification timelines, and production scalability as by thermodynamic efficiency — and the winner or winners will define commercial aviation propulsion through the 2060s.

The broader structural truth is this: with global airline backlogs exceeding 17,000 aircraft, IATA projecting record profits and record load factors, and both Airbus and Boeing unable to meet delivery targets despite sustained effort, the propulsion industry faces an extraordinary multi-decade demand signal. The question is not whether engines will be needed — they will be needed in historically unprecedented numbers — but which organizations will be positioned, technically and industrially, to supply them.

 

VERIFIED SOURCES AND FORMAL CITATIONS

All sources verified as of February 2026. URLs active at time of research.

 

[1] GE Aerospace. "2024 Annual Report." GE Aerospace, 2025. https://www.geaerospace.com

[2] RTX Corporation. "RTX Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript." RTX, July 25, 2023. https://www.rtx.com

[3] RTX Corporation. "RTX Reports Q3 2023 Results; $3 Billion Charge on Pratt & Whitney Engine Issue." Reuters/CNBC, September 11, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/11/rtx-to-take-3-billion-charge-on-pratt-whitney-engine-problem.html

[4] FlightGlobal. "GTF Grounding Rate Holds Steady as Pratt & Whitney Introduces Durability Fixes." FlightGlobal, July 17, 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/gtf-grounding-rate-holds-steady-as-pratt-and-whitney-introduces-durability-fixes/163814.article

[5] FlightGlobal. "Number of Stored Jets with Pratt Geared Turbofans Climbed After Mid-Year." FlightGlobal, December 23, 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/number-of-stored-jets-with-pratt-geared-turbofans-climbed-after-mid-year/165792.article

[6] Aviation Week. "FAA Draft Rule Links PW2000 Parts To Powder Metal Issue." Aviation Week Network, November 25, 2025. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/faa-draft-rule-links-pw2000-parts-powder-metal-issue

[7] CFM International. "RISE Program Overview." CFM International, 2025. https://www.cfmaeroengines.com/rise

[8] GE Aerospace News. "The Shape of Things to Come: Open Fan Technology Championed at Airbus Summit 2025." GE Aerospace, 2025. https://www.geaerospace.com/news/articles/shape-things-come-open-fan-technology-championed-airbus-summit-2025

[9] Safran Group. "Test Progress Builds Confidence in Open Fan Engine Architecture." Safran press release, July 21, 2024. https://www.safran-group.com/pressroom/test-progress-builds-confidence-open-fan-engine-architecture-future-more-sustainable-air-transport-2024-07-21

[10] FlightGlobal. "CFM Keeps Focus on RISE Open-Fan Engine but Is Prepared for Any Scenario." FlightGlobal, February 13, 2026. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/cfm-keeps-focus-on-rise-open-fan-engine-but-is-prepared-for-any-scenario-safran-chief/166317.article

[11] Rolls-Royce. "UltraFan Technology Overview." Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, 2025. https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/ultrafan.aspx

[12] Rolls-Royce. "Rolls-Royce Announces Successful Run of UltraFan Technology Demonstrator to Maximum Power." Rolls-Royce press release, November 13, 2023. https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/2023/13-11-2023-rolls-royce-announces-successful-run-of-ultrafan-technology-demonstrator-to-maximum-power.aspx

[13] FlightGlobal. "Rolls-Royce Targets Early 2026 for Next UltraFan Test Runs." FlightGlobal, November 5, 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/rolls-royce-targets-early-2026-for-next-ultrafan-test-runs/165165.article

[14] FlightGlobal. "Rolls-Royce Lays Out UNIFIED Goal for Narrowbody-Scale UltraFan 30 Demonstrator." FlightGlobal, September 24, 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/rolls-royce-lays-out-unified-goal-for-narrowbody-scale-ultrafan-30-demonstrator/164646.article

[15] FlightGlobal. "Rolls-Royce Revs Up UltraFan Test Plan, Including Narrowbody-Sized Engine." FlightGlobal, June 10, 2025. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/rolls-royce-revs-up-ultrafan-test-plan-including-narrowbody-sized-engine/163291.article

[16] Bloomberg. "Rolls-Royce in Talks with Potential Narrowbody Engine Partners." Bloomberg, June 17, 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-17/rolls-royce-in-talks-with-potential-narrowbody-engine-partners

[17] Mordor Intelligence. "Commercial Aircraft Engines Market — Size & Share Analysis." Mordor Intelligence, 2024. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/commercial-aircraft-engines-market

[18] Simple Flying. "Rolls-Royce Vs. Pratt & Whitney Vs. General Electric: Who Dominates the Commercial Aircraft Engine Market?" Simple Flying, October 29, 2025. https://simpleflying.com/rolls-royce-pratt-whitney-ge-dominate-engine-market/

[19] AeroTime Hub. "Who Are the World's Largest Aircraft Engine Manufacturers?" AeroTime, January 15, 2025. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/32417-who-are-the-world-s-largest-aircraft-engine-manufacturers

[20] IATA. "2026 Financial Outlook for the Global Airline Industry." IATA, December 9, 2025. https://www.iata.org (see also: TTR Weekly, February 2, 2026. https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2026/02/iata-2025-delivers-record-passenger-demand/)

[21] Forecast International / Flight Plan. "Airbus and Boeing Report November 2025 Commercial Aircraft Orders and Deliveries." Forecast International, December 10, 2025. https://flightplan.forecastinternational.com/2025/12/10/airbus-and-boeing-report-november-2025-commercial-aircraft-orders-and-deliveries/

[22] IBA Group. "2025 Final Push: Airbus and Boeing Deliveries Amid Engine Delays and Global Trade Tensions." IBA, December 18, 2025. https://www.iba.aero/resources/articles/2025-final-push-airbus-and-boeing-deliveries-amid-engine-delays-and-global-trade-tensions/

[23] Forecast International / Flight Plan. "Airbus and Boeing October 2025 Production Rates and Unofficial Deliveries." Forecast International, November 3, 2025. https://flightplan.forecastinternational.com/2025/11/02/airbus-and-boeing-october-2025-production-rates-and-unofficial-deliveries/

[24] FlightGlobal. "One-Third of Jets with P&W GTF Engines Sitting Idle as Recall Impact Spreads." FlightGlobal, April 10, 2024. https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/one-third-of-jets-with-pandw-gtf-engines-sitting-idle-as-recall-impact-spreads/157654.article

[25] AeroXplorer. "GTF Storage Crisis Deepens: 835 Aircraft Grounded as Pratt & Whitney Recalls Surge Post-Mid-Year." AeroXplorer, December 23, 2025. https://aeroxplorer.com/articles/gtf-storage-crisis-deepens-835-aircraft-grounded-as-pratt-whitney-recalls-surge-postmidyear.php

[26] Pratt & Whitney / RTX. "GTF Hot Section Plus (HS+) Retrofit Program Documentation." RTX, 2025. https://www.rtx.com

[27] CFM International RISE Wikipedia. "CFM International RISE." Wikipedia, accessed February 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFM_International_RISE

[28] Global Market Insights / ePlane AI. "Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric: Leaders in the Aircraft Engine Market." ePlane AI, October 29, 2025. https://www.eplaneai.com/news/rolls-royce-pratt-whitney-and-general-electric-leaders-in-the-aircraft-engine-market

[29] Nextmsc.com. "Top Aircraft Engine Market Leaders Throughout 2024–2025." NextMSC, September 10, 2025. https://www.nextmsc.com/blogs/leading-players-in-the-aircraft-engine-market-powering-the-skies-in-2024-2025

[30] Airbus. "Next Generation Single Aisle Programme Overview." Airbus press briefings, 2025. https://www.airbus.com

 

 

 

Satellite Radar Technique Delivers Field-Scale Soil Moisture Maps for Precision Agriculture

Fig 4. Study site location, sensor placement, and SM dynamics at Tokkerup, Denmark. (a) Overview map of Denmark indicating the location of the Tokkerup field site (red marker), alongside a satellite image of the field.

Short-Term SAR Change Detection for Soil Moisture Retrieval: A Case Study Over Danish Test Sites

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front)

Researchers at Denmark's Technical University have validated a novel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique that retrieves high-resolution soil moisture data at field scale using Sentinel-1 satellite imagery, achieving correlation coefficients of 0.72 and root mean square errors below 4.32% across Danish agricultural test sites—a significant advancement for precision agriculture and water resource management.

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New method leverages temporal changes in radar backscatter to overcome resolution limitations of existing soil moisture products

A breakthrough in agricultural remote sensing published in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing demonstrates that synthetic aperture radar satellites can accurately measure soil moisture variations at individual field scales—a capability that has eluded previous space-based systems limited to resolutions of several kilometers.

The research, led by Miquel Negre Dou and John Peter Merryman Boncori at the Technical University of Denmark's National Space Institute, validates a "short-term change detection" (STCD) methodology that analyzes how radar signals reflected from agricultural fields change between consecutive satellite passes. By assuming that soil moisture fluctuates more rapidly than vegetation and surface roughness, the technique extracts moisture information from the ratio of backscatter measurements taken days apart.

"The key innovation is recognizing that while a single radar measurement is influenced by multiple factors—soil moisture, vegetation cover, and surface roughness—the changes between closely-spaced observations are dominated by moisture variations," explains the study published in the February 2026 issue.

Bridging the Resolution Gap

Current operational soil moisture products from missions like NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) provide global coverage but at spatial resolutions of 25-40 kilometers—far too coarse for individual farm management decisions. The European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-1 constellation offers much finer spatial detail (10 meters) with six-day repeat coverage, but extracting quantitative soil moisture from these C-band radar observations has proven challenging due to confounding effects from vegetation and terrain.

The Danish team's approach constrains the STCD inversion using ancillary data including coarse-resolution soil moisture products from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), soil texture maps at 10-meter resolution from Denmark's DIGIJORD project, and field capacity estimates from OpenLandMap. The method processes 50-image temporal windows (approximately 300 days) to establish seasonal moisture patterns while responding to short-term weather-driven fluctuations.

Validation Against Ground Truth

The researchers validated their technique against two independent datasets spanning 2017-2020: an experimental field in Tokkerup with time-domain reflectometry sensors at 30, 60, and 90 cm depths, and 18 stations from Denmark's Hydrological Observatory (HOBE) network measuring surface moisture at 0-5 cm depth.

At the HOBE agricultural sites, the STCD method achieved an overall Pearson correlation of R=0.72 with ground measurements, substantially outperforming the GLDAS baseline product (R=0.63). Root mean square errors averaged 4.32%, with unbiased RMSE of 4.31%—meeting accuracy targets established for satellite soil moisture validation by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites.

Performance varied by crop type and field conditions. Stations featuring permanent grass-clover mixtures and winter cereal rotations showed the strongest correlations (R≥0.77), while fields with root and tuber crops required additional seasonal adjustments to account for subsurface biomass effects on radar returns. The researchers developed an asymmetric sinusoidal correction model to handle these challenging crop types, improving correlations from R=0.38 to R=0.70 for potato-cereal rotations.

"For crops like potatoes that concentrate significant biomass near or below the soil surface, the standard backscatter ratios can be contaminated by volume scattering and surface roughness changes from root development," the authors note. "Our seasonal adjustment approach helps separate these vegetation-related signals from actual moisture dynamics."

Technical Innovations and Constraints

The methodology employs VV polarization (vertical transmit and receive) from Sentinel-1's dual-polarization mode, which provides greater sensitivity to soil moisture than cross-polarized (VH) measurements. The inversion scheme converts backscatter ratios to dielectric constant estimates using the Hallikainen empirical model relating permittivity to moisture content, sand fraction, and clay fraction.

A critical algorithmic choice involves constraining the otherwise underdetermined mathematical system. While the original STCD formulation used a bounded least-squares approach tied to the minimum observed moisture, the Danish team found this overly sensitive to biases in the external reference data. Instead, they implemented a linear interpolation constraint that relates the final image in each temporal window to the external product's moisture range, allowing retrievals to extend beyond the coarse product's dynamic range while maintaining physical consistency.

Field capacity—the maximum water soil can retain after drainage—serves as an essential upper bound to prevent unphysical estimates. The study found this constraint critical for robust performance, though it also limits the method's ability to capture saturation conditions following intense precipitation events.

Implications for Agricultural Water Management

The validation demonstrates that SAR-based field-scale soil moisture monitoring is technically feasible for operational agricultural applications in temperate climates with the six-day Sentinel-1 revisit cycle. Such information could support precision irrigation scheduling, yield forecasting, and drought monitoring at spatial scales relevant for farm management decisions.

The technique's global applicability depends on availability of appropriate ancillary datasets. While high-resolution soil texture maps like DIGIJORD exist only for select regions, global products such as SoilGrids250m provide worldwide coverage at 250-meter resolution with acceptable performance for the moisture retrieval algorithm. Similarly, the GLDAS model provides global soil moisture estimates at 0.25-degree resolution that can serve as inversion constraints.

Future Directions and Limitations

The authors acknowledge several constraints requiring further research. The fundamental assumption that vegetation and roughness change more slowly than soil moisture breaks down during rapid crop development phases, harvest operations, and tillage events. Winter freeze-thaw cycles introduce additional complications that were not systematically addressed in the current validation.

The C-band radar (5.4 GHz) penetrates only the top few centimeters of soil, while many agricultural applications require root-zone moisture estimates extending to 30-100 cm depth. The Danish validation at Tokkerup demonstrated that surface observations can track deeper moisture dynamics when combined with appropriate seasonal models, but this relationship is site-specific and depends on soil hydraulic properties.

Computational efficiency presents another consideration for operational implementation. Processing a single field through the 50-image temporal window involves matrix inversions across hundreds of acquisition dates from multiple satellite tracks. However, the increasing availability of cloud computing resources and pre-processed analysis-ready Sentinel-1 data makes continental-scale applications increasingly feasible.

The upcoming Copernicus expansion includes additional Sentinel-1 satellites (Sentinel-1C launched December 2024; Sentinel-1D planned) that will improve temporal sampling to better distinguish moisture fluctuations from vegetation dynamics. The European Space Agency is also developing the ROSE-L mission, a longer-wavelength (L-band) SAR with deeper soil penetration capability for launch in the 2030s.

Broader Context in Agricultural Remote Sensing

This work contributes to a growing body of research exploring synergies between active radar and passive microwave soil moisture observations. Recent studies have demonstrated downscaling approaches combining SMAP's accurate but coarse L-band radiometry with Sentinel-1's fine-resolution backscatter, achieving sub-kilometer moisture estimates with improved accuracy over radar-only methods.

The integration of optical vegetation indices from Sentinel-2 offers another avenue for refinement. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series can identify periods of rapid canopy development when radar backscatter becomes unreliable for moisture retrieval, enabling adaptive quality flagging. Several research groups are developing multi-sensor fusion frameworks that optimally weight SAR, radiometer, and optical inputs based on local conditions.

Machine learning approaches represent an alternative paradigm to the physics-based STCD methodology. Convolutional neural networks trained on historical SAR imagery, meteorological data, and ground observations have shown promise for direct soil moisture prediction without explicit electromagnetic modeling. However, these data-driven methods require extensive training datasets and may not generalize well to conditions outside their training envelope.

Implications for Climate and Hydrological Research

Beyond agricultural applications, high-resolution soil moisture data supports improved hydrological modeling, drought monitoring, and climate change studies. Soil moisture controls the partitioning of precipitation between runoff and infiltration, influencing flood risk and groundwater recharge. It also regulates land-atmosphere energy exchange through its effects on evapotranspiration, creating feedbacks that affect regional temperature and precipitation patterns.

The Danish validation sites, located in a temperate maritime climate with sandy loam soils, represent conditions common across Northern Europe's agricultural regions. The technique's performance in other climate zones—particularly semi-arid regions where moisture variability is greater and vegetation sparser—requires additional validation. Such environments may actually favor radar retrievals due to reduced vegetation attenuation, though more frequent moisture fluctuations could violate the STCD temporal stability assumptions.

The integration of field-scale satellite moisture observations into operational numerical weather prediction and seasonal forecasting systems represents a frontier research area. Current data assimilation schemes primarily ingest coarse-resolution products, but techniques for incorporating high-resolution heterogeneous observations are under development.

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Verified Sources and Citations

1. Negre Dou, M., & Merryman Boncori, J. P. (2026). Short-Term SAR Change Detection for Soil Moisture Retrieval: A Case Study Over Danish Test Sites. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 64, 4403015. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2026.3658136

2. Balenzano, A., et al. (2021). Sentinel-1 soil moisture at 1 km resolution: A validation study. Remote Sensing of Environment, 263, 112554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112554

3. Beaudoing, H., & Rodell, M. (2020). GLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 3 hourly 0.25 × 0.25 degree V2.1. NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). https://doi.org/10.5067/E7TYRXPJKWOQ

4. Bircher, S., et al. (2012). A soil moisture and temperature network for SMOS validation in Western Denmark. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 16(5), 1445-1463. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1445-2012

5. Dorigo, W. A., et al. (2011). The International Soil Moisture Network: A data hosting facility for global in situ soil moisture measurements. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15(5), 1675-1698. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1675-2011

6. Fan, D., et al. (2025). A Sentinel-1 SAR-based global 1-km resolution soil moisture data product: Algorithm and preliminary assessment. Remote Sensing of Environment, 318, 114579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114579

7. Hengl, T., et al. (2017). SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning. PLoS ONE, 12(2), e0169748. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169748

8. Jensen, K. H., & Refsgaard, J. C. (2018). HOBE: The Danish hydrological observatory. Vadose Zone Journal, 17(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.03.0059

9. Kerr, Y. H., et al. (2010). The SMOS mission: New tool for monitoring key elements of the global water cycle. Proceedings of the IEEE, 98(5), 666-687. https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2010.2043032

10. Mengen, D., et al. (2023). High spatial and temporal soil moisture retrieval in agricultural areas using multi-orbit and vegetation adapted Sentinel-1 SAR time series. Remote Sensing, 15(9), 2282. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15092282

11. Møller, A. B., et al. (2025). High-resolution 3D soil texture mapping in Denmark using satellite time series and bare soil composites. Advances in Agronomy, 194, 133-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agron.2024.11.002

12. Motarjemi, S. K., et al. (2023). Effects of different drainage conditions on nitrogen losses of an agricultural sandy loam soil. Journal of Environmental Management, 325, 116267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116267

13. European Space Agency. (2024). Copernicus Sentinel-1 Mission. https://sentinels.copernicus.eu/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-1

14. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2024). Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission. https://smap.jpl.nasa.gov/

15. International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN). (2024). Data Portal. https://ismn.earth

Note: All citations follow standard academic format with DOIs provided where available. URLs verified as of February 2026.

 

Exclusive Tour Inside Most Advanced Military Systems at WDS World Defense Show 2026 Saudi Arabia

Exclusive Tour Inside Most Advanced Military Systems at WDS World Defense Show 2026 Saudi Arabia - YouTube

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Saudi Arabia's World Defense Show 2026 Spotlights Unmanned Systems as Gulf Emerges as Counter-Drone Innovation Hub

BLUF: World Defense Show 2026 concluded February 12 in Riyadh with $8.8 billion in defense agreements and record participation from 1,486 exhibitors across 89 countries, marking Saudi Arabia's emergence as a global defense integration platform. The show's dedicated Unmanned Systems Zone showcased the rapid evolution of counter-UAS capabilities, autonomous platforms, and AI-driven command-and-control systems, reflecting lessons learned from Ukraine and regional conflicts where small unmanned systems have fundamentally altered modern warfare dynamics.

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RIYADH — The third edition of World Defense Show reinforced Saudi Arabia's strategic pivot from defense consumer to industrial partner, with unmanned aerial systems and counter-drone technologies dominating exhibits alongside traditional platforms at the purpose-built venue 70 kilometers north of Riyadh.

The five-day event, held February 8-12 under royal patronage, attracted 137,000 visitors and 513 official delegations from 121 countries to examine 355 live demonstrations across a 2,700-meter runway and specialized zones for unmanned systems, naval platforms, and space-domain capabilities. All top-10 global defense contractors exhibited at the 272,500-square-meter venue, representing a 58% expansion over the inaugural 2022 show.

Counter-UAS Dominates Technology Focus

(See sidebar: "Major Unmanned Systems Exhibitors at WDS 2026")

Monaco-based MARSS demonstrated its NiDAR C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence) platform, showcasing real-time multi-sensor fusion capabilities designed to detect, track, and defeat drone threats across all domains. The system, operational at more than 60 sites globally protecting critical infrastructure and military assets, integrates radar, RF monitoring, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and AI-driven threat classification.

Robbie Draper, MARSS director of operations for the Middle East, emphasized the platform's ability to manage complex sensor arrays while reducing operator cognitive load. "NiDAR uses AI and machine learning to understand whether true threats are true threats," Draper explained during the exhibition. "That means everyone is optimized and it's a more efficient streamlined approach."

EOS Holdings announced in January 2026 its acquisition of MARSS for $54 million upfront plus potential earnouts tied to contract orders, positioning the combined entity as an integrated counter-drone provider rather than component supplier. The Australian firm plans to embed NiDAR technology into its remote weapon systems, creating mesh-networked defensive capabilities for vehicle fleets.

Indigenous Saudi counter-UAS development was represented by Wakeb's Baby Raptor interceptor—a 5-kilogram VTOL platform capable of 250 kilometers per hour with AI-driven auto-tracking. The system's thermal EO sensor suite and IP67 environmental rating address operational requirements in Gulf desert and coastal environments where traditional ground-based jammers face limitations.

Ukraine Lessons Shape Exhibit Profile

Ukrainian manufacturer Skyfall displayed its Vampire hexacopter bomber drone at WDS 2026, demonstrating production capacity expansion from 50,000 to 100,000 units annually. Company representatives reported the platform's unit cost has decreased from $20,000 to approximately $8,500 while incorporating increasing percentages of domestically-produced components to mitigate Chinese supply chain vulnerabilities.

"FPV drones, like our Shrike, are not a finished product," said a Skyfall representative using the alias Nirmata. "Motors, propellers, batteries, cameras and AI are all evolving. Each evolving module adds a certain percentage to a target's destruction."

Shield AI's V-BAT reconnaissance platform, combat-proven in Ukraine with resilience to Russian electronic warfare, was displayed as part of the U.S. company's international expansion. The vertical-takeoff Group 3 system features Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software enabling GPS-denied operations through visual odometry navigation. Recent contract awards include Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force shipborne operations and Indian Army emergency procurement under $35 million initial authorization.

Russian state-owned Rosoboronexport presented its Supercam S350 reconnaissance-strike drone alongside a 30mm remotely-detonated anti-UAV munition developed by parent company Rostec—reflecting Moscow's emphasis on both drone employment and counter-drone kinetic solutions proven in Ukraine operations.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems displayed a full-scale mock-up of its YFQ-42A Gambit Collaborative Combat Aircraft painted in Royal Saudi Air Force livery, marking the platform's first Middle East appearance. GA-ASI President David Alexander also promoted advanced MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian capabilities including integration of long-range standoff weapons and announced a U.S. Navy leasing program for maritime surveillance demonstrations.

Armored Mobility Platforms Address Urban Operations

U.S.-based Armored Group unveiled three platforms targeting specialized mobility requirements emerging from contemporary conflict environments. The LD-1 Armored ATV, based on the Polaris Sportsman 850 4x4, provides NIJ Level III ballistic protection in a compact form factor designed for indoor tactical operations in schools, hospitals, airports, and commercial facilities.

Jeremy Johnson, Armored Group representative, emphasized the platform fills capability gaps where conventional armored vehicles cannot deploy. "This project is the only type of unit like this in the world, specifically designed to be used originally inside of buildings," Johnson stated. "There's really nothing out there in the industry today that allows law enforcement or military or rescue personnel to drive an actual armored unit into a building."

The company's BAT Apex and KUVAS platforms—derivatives of the BAT UMG mine-protected vehicle—incorporate modular architecture supporting integration of remote weapon systems, counter-drone capabilities, and specialized mission equipment. The KUVAS variant provides STANAG Level 3 mine protection (8-kilogram blast resistance under belly or wheel), addressing IED threats in asymmetric operating environments.

Turkish Entry Challenges Light Machine Gun Market

Turkey's Archon Defense made its international debut with the Type L ultra-light machine gun—a 4.5-kilogram belt-fed system chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO featuring open-bolt operation and quick-change barrel capability. Company officials described the platform as delivering sustained automatic fire in an assault rifle weight class, with dispersion testing demonstrating 7 MOA accuracy in 100-meter 10-round bursts.

The weapon's three-position gas regulator supports operation in normal, adverse, and suppressed configurations, while dual-feed architecture permits switching between belt and AR-15 pattern magazines. Archon Defense business development lead Arinor characterized the system as addressing squad automatic weapon requirements without traditional weight penalties. "This is the lightest machine gun in the world," Arinor stated. "There are some machine guns claims to be lighter but it is not open bolt and closed bolt you cannot provide sustained fire."

Localization Metrics Demonstrate Industrial Progress

His Excellency Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries, outlined Saudi Arabia's defense localization trajectory during the closing briefing. Domestic military spending content increased from 4% in 2018 to 25% by end-2024, with Vision 2030 targeting 50% localization alongside workforce expansion from 24,000 to 44,000 personnel (63% Saudi nationals).

The exhibition's Saudi Supply Chain Zone connected local small and medium enterprises with international primes, supporting technology transfer and joint venture agreements. Andrew Pearcey, WDS CEO, emphasized the platform's strategic value beyond traditional exhibition metrics. "World Defense Show 2026 has demonstrated the Kingdom's ability to convene the international defense community around shared priorities of integration, cooperation, and long-term capability development," Pearcey stated.

Over 50 Chinese defense firms participated, including CATIC and Norinco, with significant indoor exhibition space allocated to Wing Loong drones, precision guided munitions, and air defense systems. European participation expanded with first-time exhibitors from Japan, Portugal, Uzbekistan, and Finland joining established contributors including Thales, MBDA, BAE Systems, and CMN Naval.

Multi-Domain Integration Demonstrations

Live demonstrations showcased operational integration concepts central to the show's "Future of Defense Integration" theme. The air program featured 63 static aircraft and 25 performing platforms including F-15, F-16, F-35, and Typhoon fighters. Aerobatic displays by Saudi Arabia's Saudi Hawks (BAE Hawk trainers) and South Korea's Black Eagles (KAI T-50s) complemented static displays spanning air, land, naval, and space domains.

Dedicated zones for unmanned systems, naval platforms, and space-based capabilities reflected operational requirements emerging from Red Sea maritime security challenges, Gulf air defense priorities, and evolving multi-domain warfare concepts. The Future Defense Lab highlighted artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, quantum technologies, and advanced materials applications.

Media coverage reached unprecedented levels with 1,453 accredited journalists providing on-site reporting alongside global broadcast networks. The show's expansion positions Riyadh as a central node in global defense supply chains, with international primes transitioning from pure suppliers toward localized production partnerships.

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VERIFIED SOURCES

1. Defense Arabia. "World Defense Show 2026 Concludes with Record International Participation, Advancing Saudi Vision 2030." February 12, 2026. https://english.defensearabia.com/world-defense-show-2026-concludes-with-record-international-participation-advancing-saudi-vision-2030/

2. Arab News. "Deals worth $8bn signed at World Defense Show 2026." February 13, 2026. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2632798/saudi-arabia

3. Joint Forces News. "World Defense Show 2026 Concludes." February 12, 2026. https://www.joint-forces.com/world-news/expos-and-exhibitions/89127-world-defense-show-2026-concludes

4. AeroTime. "WDS 2026 highlights Saudi push to become major aerospace hub." February 12, 2026. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/wds-2026-highlights-saudi-drive-towards-becoming-major-player-in-aerospace

5. Breaking Defense. "Defense's biggest players are heading to the World Defense Show. Here's what to expect." February 8, 2026. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/02/defenses-biggest-players-are-heading-to-the-world-defense-show-heres-what-to-expect/

6. Arabian Defence. "MARSS showcases live NiDAR C4I platform at WDS 2026." February 8, 2026. https://www.arabiandefence.com/2026/02/08/marss-showcases-live-nidar-c4i-platform-at-wds-2026/

7. UAS Weekly. "EOS Acquires MARSS to Bolster Integrated Counter-Drone Capabilities." January 13, 2026. https://uasweekly.com/2026/01/13/eos-acquires-marss-to-bolster-integrated-counter-drone-capabilities/

8. Army Recognition. "WDS 2026: The Armored Group Unveils LD-1 Armored Quad Vehicle with Rifle-Rated Protection." February 2026. https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-defense-exhibitions/2026-archives-news-defense-exhibitions/world-defense-show-2026/wds-2026-the-armored-group-unveils-ld-1-armored-quad-vehicle-with-rifle-rated-protection

9. Army Recognition. "WDS 2026: Türkiye's Archon Reveals Type L New Lightweight 5.56 NATO Machine Gun." February 2026. https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-defense-exhibitions/2026-archives-news-defense-exhibitions/world-defense-show-2026/wds-2026-tuerkiyes-archon-reveals-type-l-new-lightweight-5-56-nato-machine-gun

10. Army Recognition. "WDS 2026: Saudi Arabia Advances Counter-Drone Capability with Baby Raptor Interceptor." February 2026. https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-defense-exhibitions/2026-archives-news-defense-exhibitions/world-defense-show-2026/wds-2026-saudi-arabia-advances-counter-drone-capability-with-baby-raptor-interceptor

11. Defense Update. "World Defense Show 2026." February 9, 2026. https://defense-update.com/20260209_wds-2026.html

12. Ukrainska Pravda. "Vampire bomber drones to be entirely produced in Ukraine by year's end: interview with leading drone maker SkyFall." February 10, 2026. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/articles/2026/02/10/8020316/

13. Defense Express. "100,000 Vampire Bomber Drones Annually and Counting: How Much Does Ukraine's Most Popular UAS Cost?" February 2026. https://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_and_tech/100000_vampire_bomber_drones_annually_and_counting_how_much_does_ukraines_most_popular_uas_cost-17470.html

14. Shield AI. "V-BAT Product Overview." Accessed February 2026. https://shield.ai/v-bat/

15. TASS. "Supercam S350 reconnaissance and strike drone to be presented at World Defense Show." February 6, 2026. https://tass.com/defense/2082793

16. Unmanned Systems Technology. "World Defense Show 2026 | 8-12 Feb | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia." Accessed February 2026. https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/events/world-defense-show/

17. GAMI (General Authority for Military Industries). "World Defense Show." Accessed February 2026. https://www.gami.gov.sa/en/world-defense-show

18. MARSS. "NiDAR CUAS Product Overview." Accessed February 2026. https://marss.com/products/nidar-cuas/

19. Defense News. "Shield AI, ST Engineering join forces on fine-tuning drone swarms." February 6, 2026. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2026/02/06/shield-ai-st-engineering-join-forces-on-fine-tuning-drone-swarms/

20. Shephard Media. "World Defense Show 2026 to unite global and local innovation." September 28, 2025. https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/landwarfareintl/world-defense-show-2026-to-unite-global-and-local-innovation/

21. Asian Military Review. "WDS 2026: GA-ASI plays opening Gambit and adds standoff weapons to MQ-9B." February 10, 2026. https://www.asianmilitaryreview.com/2026/02/wds-2026-ga-asi-plays-opening-gambit-and-adds-standoff-weapons-to-mq-9b-foc/

22. Army Recognition. "U.S. General Atomics Unveils Gambit Next-Gen Unmanned Fighter in Middle East." February 2026. https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-defense-exhibitions/2026-archives-news-defense-exhibitions/world-defense-show-2026/u-s-general-atomics-unveils-gambit-next-gen-unmanned-fighter-in-middle-east

23. Aviation Week. "General Atomics To Lease SkyGuardian UAS To U.S. Navy." February 13, 2026. https://aviationweek.com/defense/aircraft-propulsion/general-atomics-lease-skyguardian-uas-us-navy

24. Breaking Defense. "The uncrewed revolution: MQ-9B and Gambit Series forge a path to regional air dominance." February 9, 2026. https://breakingdefense.com/2026/02/the-uncrewed-revolution-mq-9b-and-gambit-series-forge-a-path-to-regional-air-dominance/

25. South China Morning Post. "Chinese drone for anti-submarine warfare among systems at Saudi defence show." February 9, 2026. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3342898/chinese-drone-anti-submarine-warfare-among-systems-saudi-defence-show

 

SIDEBAR: Major Unmanned Systems Exhibitors at WDS 2026

Chinese Contingent Dominates Floor Space

China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) maintained the largest unmanned systems presence among more than 50 Chinese defense firms exhibiting at WDS 2026. The state-owned enterprise displayed full-scale Wing Loong platforms including the Wing Loong-X—marketed as the world's first UAV designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare with 40-hour endurance and 10,000-kilometer range. CATIC also showcased precision-guided munitions and integrated air defense systems. The Royal Saudi Air Force operates Wing Loong II platforms that reportedly logged 5,000 flight hours through 2024, with the Kingdom among eight nations operating Chinese Wing Loong variants including UAE, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, Indonesia, and Nigeria.

China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) exhibited the FL-50 swarm-capable loitering munition featuring dual-feed capability for belt or magazine ammunition, teleoperated strike systems, and tactical UAV platforms. The FL-50A variant employs tandem shaped-charge warheads optimized for armor penetration with fragmentation sleeve for light targets. NORINCO's C2 architecture supports autonomous operations or integration within broader sensor networks.

Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) presented Wing Loong family derivatives emphasizing multi-role functionality including reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and precision strike across maritime and overland environments.

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U.S. Platforms Emphasize High-End Capabilities

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) displayed a full-scale mock-up of its YFQ-42A Gambit Collaborative Combat Aircraft painted in Royal Saudi Air Force livery—the platform's first Middle East appearance. The Gambit Series represents GA-ASI's entry into high-performance unmanned fighter operations designed for manned-unmanned teaming with F-35 and Next-Generation Air Dominance platforms in contested airspace. Reports indicate Saudi interest in up to 200 Gambit units following high-level diplomatic engagement.

GA-ASI simultaneously promoted advanced MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian capabilities including integration of Lockheed Martin's Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM/JASSM-ER), and Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile (JSM) for maritime strike missions. Company President David Alexander announced a U.S. Navy leasing program for two company-owned MQ-9Bs configured for maritime surveillance demonstrations in 2026. The MQ-9B fleet across 14 international customers surpasses 500,000 annual flight hours. GA-ASI is developing Airborne Early Warning capability with Saab's Erieye active electronically-scanned array radar for maritime domain awareness at a fraction of traditional crewed AEW platform costs.

Shield AI exhibited its V-BAT vertical-takeoff Group 3 reconnaissance platform featuring Hivemind autonomy software enabling GPS-denied operations through visual odometry navigation. The ducted-fan design supports operations from confined spaces including shipboard environments with 13-hour endurance on heavy-fuel engines. V-BAT demonstrated electronic warfare resilience in Ukraine operations, completing over 200 missions including 200+ target identifications in 2025 alone. Recent contract awards include Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force shipborne operations, Indian Army emergency procurement, Dutch Ministry of Defence maritime ISR, and Frontex border security deployments.

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Russian Platforms Mark International Exhibition Debut

Rosoboronexport made its World Defense Show international debut displaying the Supercam S350 reconnaissance-strike drone—a short-range tactical UAV proven in Ukraine special military operations. The system provides aerial reconnaissance with real-time video transmission, target designation, fire adjustment, and objective monitoring along contact lines. Parent company Rostec unveiled 30mm remotely-detonated anti-UAV ammunition specifically designed for counter-drone kinetic solutions, reflecting Russian emphasis on both UAS employment and C-UAS capabilities.

The Unmanned Systems Group presented the Supercam product line including the high-speed Supercam S180 reconnaissance platform optimized for rapid-response missions through compact airframe, reinforced wing construction, and permanent wing panel connection providing enhanced stability and control authority.

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Indigenous Gulf Capabilities Emerge

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), serving as National Strategic Partner, announced creation of SAMI Autonomous Systems as dedicated entity within its strategic group transformation. SAMI showcased over 60 national products including a "futuristic" unmanned combat aerial vehicle concept and MRN Systems' Multipurpose Drone System, demonstrating Vision 2030 localization priorities. The company's pavilion hosted 12 high-level panels and 16 specialized technical discussions on autonomous systems integration.

Wakeb (Saudi Arabia) unveiled the Baby Raptor drone-interception system—a 5-kilogram VTOL platform capable of 250 km/h speeds with AI-driven auto-tracking fusing electro-optical and thermal sensor data. The IP67-rated system addresses desert and coastal environmental requirements with 20-minute endurance optimized for short-duration high-intensity pursuit scenarios against Class 1 and Class 2 hostile drones.

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Ukrainian Combat-Proven Systems Seek Export Markets

Skyfall displayed its Vampire hexacopter bomber drone reporting annual production capacity expansion from 50,000 to 100,000 units with unit costs declining from $20,000 to approximately $8,500. Company representatives using operational pseudonyms emphasized increasing domestic component integration to mitigate Chinese supply chain vulnerabilities, targeting fully Ukrainian component base by year-end 2026. Skyfall also presented Shrike FPV drones with 100% moisture-proof Ukrainian production variants and P1-SUN interceptor drones featuring machine vision with automatic targeting at approximately $1,000 unit cost. The company's SkyFall Academy has trained 20,000 pilots, technicians, and engineers over two years including nearly 1,000 interceptor drone operators.

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Turkish Systems Leverage Regional Conflicts Experience

Turkey occupied 4,400 square meters as the third-largest national participant. Baykar displayed models of the Bayraktar TB2 tactical UAV—the platform that achieved prominence in Ukraine, Azerbaijan-Armenia, and Libya conflicts. Turkish exhibitors emphasized low-cost precision strike capabilities proven in asymmetric warfare environments.

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European Counter-UAS Integration

MARSS (Monaco) demonstrated its NiDAR C4I platform operational at 60+ sites globally protecting critical infrastructure and military assets. The AI-enhanced system fuses data from radar, RF monitoring, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and intelligence databases for autonomous threat detection, classification, and prioritization with real-time countermeasure recommendations. Electro Optic Systems Holdings (Australia) acquired MARSS in January 2026 for $54 million upfront plus earnouts, planning to embed NiDAR technology into remote weapon systems creating mesh-networked vehicle fleet protection against drone attacks.

ASELSAN (Turkey) presented its Steel Dome layered air defense architecture integrating land, sea, and electromagnetic domain capabilities including KORAL electronic warfare systems for radar emission detection, identification, and jamming.

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Regional Strategic Implications

The unmanned systems exhibits reflected strategic realities driving Gulf defense procurement: Chinese platforms offer cost-effective solutions without Western export restrictions; U.S. high-end systems provide technological superiority for contested environments; Ukrainian combat-proven designs demonstrate operational effectiveness under electronic warfare conditions; and indigenous Saudi development addresses Vision 2030 localization mandates while building sustainable defense industrial capacity.

Chinese Wing Loong platforms' 5,000-hour operational record with Royal Saudi Air Force demonstrates Beijing's success establishing long-term regional partnerships, while GA-ASI's Gambit display in Saudi livery signals Washington's commitment to maintaining technological edge through collaborative combat aircraft architectures. The convergence of these capabilities at WDS 2026's dedicated Unmanned Systems Zone underscored the Gulf's emergence as a critical market for autonomous systems as regional conflicts validate UAS centrality in modern warfare.