Modern Warfare Is Outpacing Traditional Defense Systems: AIRO Introduces RQ-70 Dainn, Shaped by Years of Battlefield Experience
The RQ-70 Dainn will be officially unveiled at Eurosatory in
Modern warfare is evolving faster than traditional defense systems can keep pace. Many legacy solutions were designed for slower operational environments—defined by long development cycles, heavy platforms, and requirements set far from the point of decision. Today’s battlefields demand systems that perform immediately, adapt continuously, and operate at the speed of the mission.
Built on years of real-world deployment of AIRO’s Sky-Watch RQ-35 platform, the RQ-70 is purpose-built to address more complex and expanded mission requirements emerging across today’s battlefield. As operational environments become increasingly contested, distributed, and data-driven, missions demand extended reach, longer persistence, and the ability to operate effectively across multiple layers of the battlespace.
The RQ-70 translates proven battlefield experience into a system designed for these higher-order requirements—delivering greater range, endurance, and mission flexibility while preserving the speed, simplicity, and reliability operators depend on in the field.
“RQ-70 is not built on assumptions. We are building it from key insights and direct feedback from what works in the field - it is shaped by continuous feedback loops from the RQ-35 platform,” said
From Proven Systems to Higher-Complexity Missions
The RQ-70 design builds directly on more than four years of continuous operational refinement of the RQ-35 platform in Ukraine—extending those proven capabilities to support more complex mission profiles, including extended-range ISR, longer duration persistent surveillance, and targeting operations across larger and more dynamic areas of interest.
Key system capabilities include:
- 8 hours of flight time
- ISR operations beyond the front lines with an operational range of 62+ miles (100 km)
- Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)
- Modular, multi-mission payload architecture
- Resilience in GPS/GNSS-denied environments
- Deployment by a single operator with fully autonomous mission operation and recovery
- Connectivity designed for digital battlefield integration
The intended result is persistent ISR capability in contested environments, delivered in a system operators can depend on when it matters most.
For AIRO, the aircraft itself is only part of the solution. The RQ-70 is designed as an integrated, AI-driven system in which aircraft, sensors, software, and user interfaces operate as a single connected architecture—designed to continuously improve through real-world use. System performance is impacted not just by what the system can see, but how quickly information moves, how effectively it is interpreted, and how decisively it acts.
This approach is designed to deliver clearer intelligence, faster decision-making, and greater operational confidence in high-stakes environments, where the ability to adapt in real time is as critical as the data itself.
“The RQ-70 represents a natural evolution of what we’ve learned operating in demanding and contested environments,” said
This development is intended to mirror the realities of modern conflict, where systems must be continuously tested, refined, and improved in dynamic operational environments. The RQ-70 is intended to build directly on the battlefield-proven RQ-35 platform and is designed to complement it—expanding warfighter capability while maintaining the reliability and usability operators depend on.
At its core, the system is shaped by a continuous feedback loop between frontline operators and ongoing development, enabling rapid iteration and ensuring that the platform remains aligned with evolving mission demands. This represents a broader shift across defense—from static systems designed for fixed requirements to adaptive capabilities built to meet increasingly complex and changing operational conditions.
Through these efforts, AIRO believes it is positioned at the forefront of this shift, focused on delivering capabilities that perform under pressure and evolve with the mission—where speed of insight, adaptability, and operational relevance define success.
Full-scale production is targeted for
About AIRO
Through a vertically integrated model, AIRO delivers mission-critical solutions centered on its drone platforms, leveraging advanced avionics, integrated training capabilities, and embedded autonomy across systems.
Forward Looking Statements
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “designed to,” “projects,” “anticipates,” or similar expressions, or the negative of such expressions.
These forward-looking statements may be included throughout this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the development, production, and anticipated performance of the RQ-70 Dainn; the expected timing of full-scale production and initial deliveries; the ability of the RQ-70 to address mission requirements; AIRO’s ability to execute its strategic initiatives; the demand for, market acceptance of and opportunity of AIRO’s products and services; and other statements that are not historical fact.
By their nature, forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact or guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” in AIRO’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
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