Field notes

VTOL, fixed-wing and counter-UAS, in depth.

How the airframes fly, how the sensors see, and how the layers fit together — written by the people who build them.

Counter-UAS

Slew-to-cue: turning a radar track into a positive visual ID

Radar PTZ integration hands a bearing from the drone detection radar to an EO/IR turret so it lands on the target on the first move. What the pointing budget, latency and hand-off protocol have to deliver.

Sep 2, 2026
Counter-UAS

Doppler radar vs RF: two ways to detect a drone

A drone detection radar sees the aircraft; RF drone detection hears its link. Where each one wins, where each one is blind, and why a serious counter-UAS layer runs both.

Aug 26, 2026
VTOL

How far a hybrid VTOL drone really flies

Range, endurance and payload on a hybrid VTOL drone are a single trade curve. How lift-rotor drag, battery fraction and cruise speed set the number you can actually plan a mission around.

Aug 19, 2026
VTOL

VTOL vs fixed-wing drone: which airframe for which mission

Hand-launched fixed-wing, hybrid VTOL fixed-wing, or multirotor — how take-off method, range and payload decide the airframe for reconnaissance, mapping and ISR.

Aug 12, 2026