A pair of Perennial Autonomy's Bumblebee Version 2 aerial interceptor drones being used for a July 8, 2026, test event at Fort Benning, Ga. Credit: U.S. Army Spc. Sam Dreher – 75th Ranger Regiment

FORT BENNING, Ga.—The task force overseeing the Pentagon’s counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) efforts is demonstrating progress with new software designed to enable expendable Bumblebee drones to autonomously detect, interdict and smash into small adversary drones in the air but further development of the technology is needed before it is ready for production, according to operators and Army officials. Perennial Autonomy, a relatively new entrant in the defense market, is upgrading its Bumblebee drone to become an artificial intelligence-enabled C-UAS weapon…