The U.S. Navy is building a drone fleet to take on China. It’s not going well.

During a U.S. naval test off the California coast last month, which was designed to showcase the Pentagon’s top autonomous drone boats, one vessel stalled unexpectedly.

As officials scrambled to fix a software glitch, another drone vessel smashed into the idling boat’s starboard side, vaulted over the deck, and crashed back into the water – an incident captured in videos obtained by Reuters.

The previously unreported episode, which involved two vessels built by U.S. defense tech rivals Saronic and BlackSea Technologies, is one of a series of recent setbacks in the Pentagon’s push to build a fleet of autonomous vessels, according to a dozen people familiar with the program.

Weeks earlier, during a separate Navy test, the captain of a support boat was thrown into the water after another autonomous BlackSea vessel it was towing suddenly accelerated, capsizing the support boat, according to four people familiar with the matter. The captain was rescued and declined medical attention. The incident was first reported by Defense Scoop.

Both incidents stemmed from a combination of software failures and human error, including breakdowns in communication between onboard systems and external autonomous software, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity to share sensitive information.

The Navy, Saronic and BlackSea declined to comment on the incidents.

U.S. military leaders, seeing the outsized impact of maritime drones in the Ukraine war, have repeatedly said they need autonomous swarms of aerial and maritime drones to hinder a potential advance by China across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan itself has begun acquiring its own maritime drones.

The drones being developed in Ukraine, which often look like speedboats without seats, and are capable of carrying weapons, explosives and surveillance equipment, are primarily remote-controlled and cost close to US$250,000 – making them optimal for kamikaze missions that have effectively neutralized Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

The U.S., meanwhile, is aiming to build an autonomous naval fleet that can move in swarms and without human command – a more ambitious task at a higher price point; as much as a few million dollars per speedboat.

The recent test failures highlight the challenges facing the Navy’s effort to deploy the nascent technologies, said Bryan Clark, an autonomous warfare expert at the Hudson Institute. It will need to adapt its “tactics as it better understands what the systems can do and what they can’t do.”

But the Navy’s problems go beyond getting the boats to work: its autonomous maritime drone acquisition unit has also been rocked by the firing of its top admiral, and a top Pentagon official voiced concerns about the program in a candid meeting with Navy brass last month, Reuters found.

Since the most recent incident, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which had acquired technology for the tests, has indefinitely paused a contract – valued close to $20 million – with L3Harris, one of the companies providing autonomous software used to control some of the vessels, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Pentagon did not respond to questions about the cause of the accidents or the L3Harris contract being paused, which has not been previously reported.

A Pentagon spokesperson said it conducted drone tests as part of a “competitive and iterative approach, between operators and industry.”

L3Harris declined to comment on the contract and directed questions to the DIU. The DIU declined to comment.

“L3Harris stands behind the safety, integrity and capability of our autonomy command-and-control product,” said Toby Magsig, who oversees L3Harris’ autonomous software products.
Rise of sea drones

To accelerate its drone effort, the Pentagon in 2023 launched the $1 billion Replicator program, through which branches like the U.S. Navy and the DIU planned to acquire thousands of aerial and maritime drones, along with the software to control them. The first systems from this program are due to be announced this month.

The Navy has committed at least $160 million to BlackSea, which is producing dozens of its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft boats a month, according to procurement records.

Saronic, which was recently valued at $4 billion in a funding round backed by Andreessen Horowitz and 8VC, makes the competitive sea drone Corsair, but is yet to announce a major contract. Federal procurement records show the company has generated at least $20 million from prototype agreements.

“These systems will play a critical role in the future of naval warfare by extending fleet reach, improving situational awareness, and increasing combat effectiveness,” acting chief of naval operations Jim Kilby said during a visit to BlackSea’s facility in June.
Navy turmoil

Since returning to office, U.S. President Donald Trump has made fielding swarms of drones a top military priority. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed last month included almost $5 billion for maritime autonomous systems.

But, so far, the Navy’s approach has faced skepticism under the new administration.

In April, the Navy’s key drone boat procurement unit – known as Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) – touted a successful demonstration of the software used to control BlackSea’s vessels in a post on LinkedIn, hailing it as “a major step forward in advancing #maritime autonomy.”

In response, Colin Carrol, then-chief of staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Steven Feinberg, suggested the program was duplicating other efforts within the Pentagon. “I have a feeling that there are changes in this program’s future,” he replied to the LinkedIn post. Carrol, who is no longer with the Pentagon, declined to comment further.

The PEO USC was recently placed under review, according to four people familiar with the matter, due to a series of setbacks, and could be restructured or shut down.

This comes two months after the Navy said it had sacked the unit’s leader, Rear Admiral Kevin Smith, due to a loss of confidence in his leadership after the Naval Inspector General substantiated a complaint against him. Reuters was unable to contact Smith.

During a meeting last month, Feinberg grilled Navy officials about their autonomous vessel capabilities, including those being fielded by the PEO USC, according to three people briefed on the meeting. Feinberg was unimpressed by some of the capabilities being acquired by the Navy and questioned whether they were cost-effective, the people said.

A Pentagon spokesperson said, “we’re not going to comment on private internal meetings” and directed questions about PEO USC to the Navy.

The Navy declined to comment on the meeting or the acquisition unit being put under review. Spokesperson Timothy Hawkins said the PEO USC stands by its mission, including its role as acquisition authority for the maintenance and modernization of unmanned maritime systems.

The turmoil comes as shipbuilders and software providers are angling to secure even larger autonomous maritime projects, such as unmanned submarines and cargo-carrying ships.

Last week, the PEO USC started accepting proposals for the Modular Attack Surface Craft, to acquire medium and large vessels capable of carrying containers, surveillance equipment, and conducting strikes.

T.X. Hammes, an autonomous weapons expert and Atlantic Council fellow, said the Navy is in uncharted waters, trying to overhaul decades of tradition at high speed.

“You’ve got a system that’s used to building big things, taking years to make a decision, and now suddenly you’re asking them to move fast,” he said.

(Reporting by David Jeans; Editing by Joe Brock, Michael Learmonth and Anna Driver)

#Colombian court frees former president Uribe from house arrest until it rules on bribery case.

BOGOTA, Colombia — A Colombian appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the country’s former president, Alvaro Uribe, must be released from house arrest while he challenges his conviction for bribery and witness tampering.

The conservative leader was sentenced on Aug. 1 to 12 years of house arrest for threatening and trying to flip witnesses who had spoken to investigators about his alleged role in the formation of a right-wing paramilitary group in the 1990s.

Uribe denies the charges and has appealed the conviction to the Superior Tribunal in Bogota, the country’s capital. The court has until mid-October to issue a definitive ruling on the case, which has gripped Colombia and also provoked reactions from Uribe’s allies in the United States.

The Superior Tribunal said Tuesday it approved an injunction filed by Uribe’s defense team seeking his release from house arrest. Uribe’s lawyers argued his right to due process was violated by the arrest order against him, as well as his right to a presumption of innocence.

The former president, who governed from 2002 to 2010 with strong support from the U.S., is a polarizing figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s.

During Uribe’s term, Colombia’ s military obtained crucial victories against the FARC rebels, which later forced the group into peace negotiations and turned Uribe into an icon of Latin America’s conservative movement.

But thousands of young people were also killed by the military and passed off as rebels by soldiers seeking promotions, as officers were pushed to augment their kill rates.

The case against Uribe dates back to 2012, when he filed a libel suit against Ivan Cepeda, a left-wing legislator who had gathered statements from former members of paramilitary groups accusing Uribe of being one of the founders of Bloque Metro, a paramilitary group that defended cattle ranchers from attacks by rebel groups.

In 2018, Colombia’s Supreme Court dismissed the suit and instead launched an investigation of Uribe, who was accused by prosecutors of trying to obstruct justice by flipping witnesses who had spoken to Cepeda about the former president’s alleged ties to the illegal group.

Judge Sandra Heredia said in July there was enough evidence to determine that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to coax three former members of paramilitary groups who were in prison into changing testimony they had provided to Cepeda, whose father was killed by paramilitaries in the 1980s.

Uribe’s defence said that the evidence was obtained illegally, and that Uribe had only sought meetings with the imprisoned paramilitary figures as part of his preparation for trial and to verify testimonies that were also being used in a murder trial against his brother, Santiago Uribe.

A few days after convicting Uribe, Judge Heredia sentenced the former president to 12 years of house arrest, arguing he should be detained immediately to “preserve the peaceful coexistence of citizens” by demonstrating that even a public figure could not walk free after being convicted.

Uribe is widely admired by conservatives in Latin America and the U.S., and the judge said his connections abroad would make it easy for him to flee the country if he was still free while appealing his case.

However, Bogota’s Superior Tribunal ruled Tuesday that Judge Heredia used “vague reasoning” to order Uribe’s detention and that the arrest warrant against him had violated his right to equal treatment under the law.

The court also dismissed arguments that Uribe would escape Colombia, saying he had left the country multiple times during his trial and had always returned to face justice.

#Macron proposes Switzerland as possible site for Putin-Zelensky talks
The French leader rejected the idea of Paris hosting such a meeting, "as in 2019".

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva as a possible location for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.

In an interview with TF1, the French leader rejected the idea of Paris hosting such a meeting, "as in 2019." The situation is currently "at a different stage," and "a neutral country" should be chosen, he said in response to a TV reporter’s question. "Potentially, Switzerland, I’d favor Geneva. Or that could be a different country. Last time, bilateral meetings were held in Turkey, in Istanbul," he recalled.

The Washington meeting between European leaders, US President Donald Trump, and Zelensky discussed the possibility of holding a Russia-Ukraine summit that could be followed by trilateral talks with the United States and a broader multilateral meeting, the French head of state added. At a news conference last night, Macron said Turkey and other European countries, "whose security depends on the outcome of the conflict," should take part in these talks.

Trump held a multilateral meeting on resolving the Ukraine conflict in Washington on Monday. The talks involved Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Ahead of the meeting, Trump emphasized that the White House would host a record-high gathering of European leaders for the first time.

The one-on-one between Trump and Zelensky lasted for about an hour, after which the US leader met with the European leaders and Zelensky. In addition, Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin to brief him on the talks. Their conversation lasted around 40 minutes, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov noted.

#Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source said on Monday.

#Canadian defence firm to make ballistic steel through Swedish partnership.

#OTTAWA — Canadian defence manufacturer Roshel is partnering with a Swedish steel company so it can produce ballistic-protection steel domestically for the first time.

Roshel, which makes armoured vehicles, and will now be able to use Swebor’s intellectual property to produce ballistic steel in Canada.

The agreement comes as Canada is looking to boost domestic steel consumption and build up Canada’s defence sector to be less reliant on the United States amid the ongoing trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ballistic steel is a special type of lightweight, hardened steel that protects against blasts or bullets.

Roshel CEO Roman Shimonov tells The Canadian Press Canada produces and exports vast quantities of steel and iron but hasn’t been able to fully produce ballistic steel for armoured vehicles or drones domestically.

He says that causes supply chain bottlenecks for domestic defence firms, who have to import the steel armour for their vehicles and ships from the United States, Europe and Australia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2025.

EU, US expect Putin-Zelensky meeting to take place soon
French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that an effort would be made to establish bilateral contact between Vladimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

#European leaders and #US President Donald Trump expect to arrange a face-to-face meeting between #Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky in the coming days or weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters.

"After our first meeting, a phone call took place between President Putin and President Trump, and it was decided that first, an effort would be made to establish bilateral contact between Zelensky and Putin at a place that will be determined in the coming hours; and after that, a trilateral meeting between Putin, Trump and Zelensky will take place," Macron said.

Maine police officer arrested by ICE agrees to voluntarily leave the country. OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — A Maine police officer arrested by immigration authorities has agreed to voluntarily leave the country, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday.

ICE arrested Old Orchard Beach Police Department reserve Officer Jon Luke Evans, of Jamaica, on July 25, as part of the agency’s effort to step up immigration enforcement. Officials with the town and police department have said federal authorities previously told them Evans was legally authorized to work in the U.S.

An ICE representative reached by telephone told The Associated Press on Monday that a judge has granted voluntary departure for Evans and that he could leave as soon as that day. The representative did not provide other details about Evans’ case.

Evans’ arrest touched off a dispute between Old Orchard Beach officials and ICE. Police Chief Elise Chard has said the department was notified by federal officials that Evans was legally permitted to work in the country, and that the town submitted information via the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program prior to Evans’ employment. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin then accused the town of “reckless reliance” on the department’s E-Verify program.

E-Verify is an online system that allows employers to check if potential employees can work legally in the U.S.

The town is aware of reports that Evans plans to leave the country voluntarily, Chard said Monday.

“The town reiterates its ongoing commitment to meeting all state and federal laws regarding employment,” Chard said in a statement. “We will continue to rely on the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form and the E-Verify database to confirm employment eligibility.”

#ICE’s detainee lookup website said Monday that Evans was being held at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island. However, a representative for Wyatt said Evans had been transferred to an ICE facility in Burlington, Massachusetts. ICE officials did not respond to requests for comment on the discrepancy. It was unclear if Evans was represented by an attorney, and a message left for him at the detention facility was not returned.

ICE officials said in July that Evans overstayed his visa and unlawfully attempted to purchase a firearm. WMTW-TV reported Monday that Evans’ agreement to a voluntary departure means he will be allowed to leave the U.S. at his own expense to avoid being deported.

Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

Search continues for 150 people missing in #Pakistan’s northwest following devastating floods.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Anguished Pakistanis searched remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll reached 277 on Monday, while one official replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere.

A changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan’s river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden, heavy rains.

More than 150 people were still missing in the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday’s flash floods.

Villagers have said there had been no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas. The government has said the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed.

Emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said three bodies were found on Monday. The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.

On Sunday, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said many deaths could have been avoided if residents had not built homes along waterways. He said the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding homes.

Pakistan has seen higher-than-normal monsoon rains since June 26 that have killed at least 645 people across the country, with 400 deaths in the northwest. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an alert for further flooding after new rains began Sunday in many parts of the country.

On Monday, torrential rains triggered a flash flood that struck Darori village in northwestern Swabi district, killing 15 people, government official Awais Babar said.

He said rescuers evacuated nearly 100 people, mostly women and children, who had taken refuge on the roofs of homes. Disaster management officials said the floods inundated streets in other districts in the northwest and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting Monday to review relief efforts in flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as northern Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

At the meeting, officials estimated flood-related damages to public and private property at more than 126 million rupees ($450,000), according to a government statement.

The UN humanitarian agency said it had mobilized groups in hard-hit areas where damaged roads and communication lines have cut off communities. Relief agencies were providing food, water and other aid.

Flooding has also hit India-administered Kashmir, where at least 67 people were killed and dozens remain missing after flash floods swept through the region during an annual Hindu pilgrimage last week.

In 2022, catastrophic floods linked to climate change killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

___

Associated Press writers Ishfaq Hussain in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakkistan and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this story.

Riaz Khan, The Associated Press

#Dubai police retrieve stolen diamond worth US$25 million. Dubai police said on Monday they caught three thieves just hours after they stole a precious pink diamond worth US$25 million.

“The Dubai Police General Command has foiled the theft of a very rare pink diamond, valued at $25 million,” the police said in a statement shared by the United Arab Emirates’ official news agency WAM.

A diamond trader who had brought the jewel from Europe was lured to a villa by a crime gang under the pretence of a viewing by a potential wealthy client, police said.

But the gem was stolen when the diamond dealer arrived for the bogus inspection, the statement added.

Within eight hours three people from an unspecified Asian country were arrested “thanks to the efforts of specialised and field teams, and by using the latest artificial intelligence technologies,” police said.

Video footage shared by the Dubai Media Office showed the three men with their faces blurred after their arrest as well as CCTV footage of the gang.

#LONDON, August 18. #GlobalNews. The Coalition of the Willing has reiterated its readiness to send a "reassurance force" to Ukraine as soon as hostilities are ceased.

"They re-emphasised the readiness to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces," according to a statement issued by the UK Prime Minister’s office after the coalition’s virtual meeting on Sunday that was co-chaired by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The Leaders reaffirmed their continued support to Ukraine" and "commended President Trump’s commitment to providing security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the Coalition of the Willing will play a vital role through the Multinational Force Ukraine, among other measures," the statement says.

According to the statement, "the President and Prime Minister also informed leaders that they would travel to Washington DC tomorrow for a meeting with President Trump" along with Vladimir Zelensky. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also said they will take part in the meeting.

Notably, in its August 13 statement, the Coalition of the Willing emphasized that peace talks on Ukraine "can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or a lasting and significant cessation of hostilities." However, their August 17 statement doesn’t use the word "ceasefire." The BBC said earlier that this could be anticipated in view of Trump’s changed position. During a phone call with the European leaders on August 16, Trump said that he best way to end the conflict in Ukraine is to reach a peace agreement, not merely a ceasefire, which is often violated.

Trump said earlier that if his talks with Zelensky in Washington on August 18 are successful, he will plan another meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He did not say whether it would be a trilateral meeting. According to the Axios portal, Trump hopes to hold a three-party summit meeting with Russia and Ukraine on August 22.

On August 15, a meeting between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump took place at a military base in Alaska. The rendezvous lasted about three hours: there was a one-on-one discussion in the American leader's limousine on the way to the main venue for the talks and a narrow "three-on-three" meeting. The Russian side was also represented by Presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while the American side was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.

In a statement to the press following the talks, Putin said that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was the main topic of the summit. The Russian leader also called for turning the page in bilateral relations and returning to cooperation, and invited Trump to Moscow. For his part, the #US president announced the progress made in the talks, but noted that the parties had not managed to reach agreement.