France’s 50‑kg tilting‑head drone rewrites mine clearance as NATO orders surge

France’s Exail has produced the K-Ster C, a 50‑kg drone whose front end tilts ±90° to aim a shaped-charge warhead, allowing it to destroy mines from a small 9.5‑m boat without maneuvering the hull; NATO has placed hundreds of these expendable disposal vehicles, signaling a shift toward rapid, stand‑off mine clearance in contested waters such as the Strait of Hormuz.