Contributor
Dan Mercer
Defense & Counter-UAS Correspondent
Dan Mercer covers military uncrewed systems and the counter-drone fight for UASFeed. A former Army air-defense officer, he spent a decade working short-range air defense and C-UAS integration before turning to defense journalism. His reporting tracks UAS programs of record, loitering munitions, and the lessons coming out of Ukraine and the Red Sea — written for readers who want the operational picture behind the press release.
Editorial tips and corrections: [email protected]
Articles by Dan Mercer
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Layered Counter-UAS Defense: How the Kill Chain Actually Works
Counter-UAS · 2026-06-11
From Langley's 17 nights of unidentified drones to the Navy's billion-dollar Red Sea munitions bill, the pressure to build coherent counter-drone architecture has never been higher…
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Ukraine's FP-5 Flamingo Strikes Complete Samara Refinery Hub Shutdown
Defense & Combat · 2026-06-11
Overnight strikes on the Kuibyshev oil refinery June 10 knocked out both primary crude distillation units, completing a sequential campaign that has taken all three Rosneft Samara-…
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French Rafale Shoots Down Drone Over Latvia — NATO's Second Intercept in Three Weeks
Counter-UAS · 2026-06-11
A French Air and Space Force Rafale operating from Lithuania downed a drone over eastern Latvia on June 8, the second confirmed NATO intercept over allied territory in roughly thre…
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THORIS: Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF Build a Jam-Then-Lase C-UAS Escalation Ladder
Counter-UAS · 2026-06-11
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF unveiled THORIS at ILA Berlin 2026 — a modular counter-UAS system that sequences RF jamming and high-energy laser defeat on a single C2 stack, with full …
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Senate NDAA Panel Wants a Four-Star Drone Command to Fix the Stovepipe Problem
Defense & Combat · 2026-06-11
The Senate Armed Services Committee's FY2027 NDAA includes a provision permitting a new Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command, a four-star headquarters with acquisition …
