Author: Michael

Plans by the U.S. Department of Defence announced in early June to cancel the planned procurement of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems have faced mounting opposition from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as this threatens to leave the Air Force indefinitely reliant on an increasingly obsolete fleet of E-3 Sentry systems procured during the Cold War. AEW&Cs carry by far the largest airborne radars in the world, and are relied on to control the tactical battlespace, using data links to increase to significantly increase the situational awareness of U.S.

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The Hawker Siddeley Kestrel was the aviation world’s first jump jet, a Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (or V/STOL) aircraft, a milestone in aviation history. Originally known as the P.1127, it was later renamed the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel. Its evolution led to the British Aerospace Harrier and ultimately the McDonnell Douglas AV-8 Harrier II. 
No Runways
After the Korean War, interest in V/STOL aircraft was high.

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A Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) investigation has revealed that drug traffickers in Central and South America are infiltrating Ukrainian Foreign Legion units to gain experience operating first-person view drones, with this experience expected to be invaluable for use against rival gangs or security forces after the war. Mexico’s National Intelligence Center (CNI) has similarly warned that drug traffickers may be posing as volunteers to infiltrate Ukrainian Foreign Legion units for such purposes.

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The Associated Press has reported that China’s defence sector is developing means of countering the American Starling satellite program, which is considered to pose a significant threat to Chinese security. Among the means reportedly proposed are the use of submarines equipped with laser weapons, the use of attack satellites with ion engines, and the use of optical telescopes to track Starlink satellites in orbit.

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Despite the hype, drone swarming doesn’t exist yet. That’s because the U.S. Department of Defense has been focused on platform capability inputs like hardware, manufacturing, and GPS, while so far neglecting the architectural question of how drones are supposed to work together. The “swarming” on offer today consists of robotic maneuver en masse. However, a transformative strategic leap forward is within reach: resilient, collaborative, autonomous problem solving at machine speed, without any single point of failure.

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L Todd Wood and Pete Blaber highlight false information being provided to POTUS on the Ukraine War.
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A drone attack launched by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) on a Russian airbase in Crimea on August 4 has damaged multiple fighter aircraft, and destroyed at least one Su-30SM fighter. “As a result of the strike on the airfield, a stockpile of aviation munitions was hit. A Su-30SM fighter jet was completely destroyed, another was damaged. Additionally, three Su-24 bombers were struck,” a report from the agency stated. The extent of damage to other fighters remains unknown, although the possibility remains significant that more than one fighter was destroyed.

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