As Ukraine approaches the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, it plans to produce more if its own ammunition and key weapons systems. The goal of greater self-sufficiency comes as Ukraine's Western allies meet increasing political resistance to military aid and Russia ramps up weapons production. Last month, Ukraine's prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said the country plans to increase its domestic weapons production sixfold this year. Ukraine's defence industry has already begun to expand. Strategic industries minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said Ukraine last year doubled its ammunition production for NATO-calibre artillery systems.

Ukraine's commander-in-chief has outlined a plan to massively scale up the use of unmanned systems to overcome Russia's advantages in manpower and materiel and break the deadlock in this war. The effectiveness of such systems was proved again last week as they sank a Russian missile corvette, grounded three planes and set an oil refinery on fire. Russia, too, continued to attack Ukraine with drones and missiles, but it failed to capture new territory despite its superior resources and constant assaults on the eastern city of Avdiivka and Ukraine's stronghold at Krynky on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Western allies made progress on securing funding for the war. The European Union finally approved a 50-billion-euro ( 63bn) aid package for Ukraine, and the United States Senate unveiled a 118bn bill that includes 60bn for Ukraine.

Bogged down in small-scale infantry attacks and incremental advances, Ukraine sought to gain an advantage in the 76th week of the war by attacking Russian shipping at range and was accused of drone strikes targeting Moscow. Drone footage Ukraine released on August 4 showed the prow of a surface drone approaching the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Ropucha-class Russian landing ship, before going blank at contact range. The attack happened just outside Novorossiysk harbour, supposedly a safe port on the eastern edge of the Black Sea, to which Russia had relocated much of its navy fleet based in Sevastopol after Ukraine sank its Black Sea flagship in May. Daylight footage showed the Olenegorsky Gornyak listing severely to port as it was towed to Novorossiysk harbour. "This poses a great dilemma for the Russians," wrote Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategy at St Andrews University.

NOAA and Saildrone Inc. are piloting five specially designed surface drones in the Atlantic Ocean to gather data around the clock to help understand the physical processes of hurricanes. NOAA and Saildrone Inc. are piloting five specially designed surface drones in the Atlantic Ocean to gather data around the clock to help understand the physical processes of hurricanes. Researchers for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have dispatched a surface drone inside Hurricane Sam as it barrels toward the Caribbean, giving scientists a new perspective of what it's like inside such a storm. The video and images shared were the first of their kind gathered by an "uncrewed surface vehicle" from inside a major hurricane as it moved across the Atlantic Ocean. The onboard camera shows eerily gray skies and turbulent ocean waters.

DARPA Image of a drone ship vessel called Sea Hunter, which is not the new LUSV/MUSV. Those do not exist yet. The Navy is building two new large drone ships to coordinate synchronized attacks, perform command and control across fleets of Unmanned Surface Vessels and conduct high-risk maritime missions such as anti-submarine operations, mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and forward-deployed surveillance. The new vessels, now in early stages of conceptual development, are intended to perform both manned and unmanned operations while networked to a smaller fleet of multi-mission USVs, Capt. Pete Small, Program Manager, Unmanned Maritime Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command, told reporters at the Surface Naval Association Symposium.