Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

My greatest challenge while flight testing collaborative combat aircraft was not troubleshooting errors at high speed in the cockpit. It was when, in a single keystroke, my job shifted from pilot to something like a dog handler — a supervisor of an autonomous agent. As a test pilot, my instinct is to stop for surprise machine behavior, but that met a system where such unexpected behavior could be a good thing. Managing autonomy means accounting for a new phenomenon — machine behavior that is both correct and unexpected.Historically, aircrews have handled surprises by assuming there’s a malfunction and fixing it,…

The U.S. Navy this week unveiled an array of new specifications for its future carrier-based Combat Collaborative Aircraft, or CCA. While the service did not detail the aircraft’s combat radius, the Aug. 31 Request for Information did note that the service wants the CCA to carry up to 5 tons of weapons and cost no more than $30 million per unit. The service has set a response deadline of Sept. 18. Prospective contractors are asked to “provide the maximum combat radius including weapons loadout, 30 minutes on-station and reserve fuel for safe recovery that the proposed solution can perform.” While…

The next SENSHI Invitational Camp will take place from 14 to 18 October 2026 in Varna, Bulgaria, bringing together experienced fighters for several days of intensive professional training. For the 6th edition of the special training camp, SENSHI is looking for men over the age of 18, experienced athletes competing in the 85 kg, 95 kg and 95+ kg divisions who have the ambition and potential to take the next step in their professional careers. Selected fighters will have the opportunity to train under the guidance of two of the biggest names in kickboxing history — Dutch combat stars Semmy…

Sep 1, 2026In this episode, National Defense looks at the Air Force’s pursuit of a successor for the M-Q9A Reaper, next steps for the service’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program and how the Pentagon is attempting to harness nuclear energy by 2028.

In late October 2025, the automaker Honda had to indefinitely shutter a Mexican plant that manufactures its SUVs, thanks to an unanticipated shortage of parts. More than 2,000 miles away, in Canada, it had to slash the production of its popular Civic model in half. The shortage panicked companies across North America. Stellantis created a war room to monitor the availability of critical components, and Ford began to track the run-out dates for its inventory. Hundreds of thousands of Mexican and Canadian jobs were at risk if the impact of the parts shortage spread across supply chains that were highly…

If you’re not on the Zero Company train this week, don’t worry, you aren’t alone! There are tons of other RPGs on Steam with a much lower price point, especially with the impressive sales being offered. More than ever, this time around you’ll find plenty of titles you may have never even heard of before, and I can assure you they’re worth far more than the few bucks it takes to add them to your collection. From lighthearted JRPGs to brutal gauntlets and from narrative-heavy tales to strategy-first sims, there’s sure to be a game for you at a great…

For the U.S. military, artificial intelligence tools help analysts turn enormous amounts of data into something actionable, like when to strike a target or where to position troops. The goal, as military officials and industry executives often describe it, is to give commanders the information they need to make consequential decisions as quickly as possible.But no matter how fast or accurate the analysis is, there’s still a gap between identifying what needs to happen and acting on it. Much of that AI processing happens on computers and servers miles from the battlefield, leaving troops to receive the information through radios,…

LANDSTUHL, Germany – Medical Readiness Command, Europe is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Europe Best Medic Competition held Aug. 28 – 30 at Breitenwald Range, Rhine Ordnance Barracks and Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The winners were announced during a ceremony Aug. 31 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Heaton Auditorium. A total of six teams representing Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Public Health Command Europe, Medical Department Activity Bavaria, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the Polish Army 1st Field Hospital took part in the competition. Each team consisted of two Soldiers. “The Soldiers who took part in this grueling competition…

Abstract A small number of private technology firms now build the infrastructure on which both military power and the public’s perception of reality depend. Drawing on a 2025 wargaming experiment at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and on the documented information war of the June 2025 Israel-Iran conflict, this essay argues that simulated combat and cognitive warfare increasingly depend on the same technological ecosystem — shared firms, infrastructure, and supply chains — with direct implications for doctrine, training, and mid-sized powers such as Brazil. A Hegemony Written in Code Power has historically followed infrastructure: control of sea…

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org President Donald Trump on Aug. 28 announced plans to establish a U.S. Space Academy to bolster the country’s workforce and educate “the next generation” of space experts.  The announcement quickly drew comparisons to existing military academies—in a speech at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Trump himself likened it to the Army’s United States Military Academy at West Point. But the White House executive order issued in conjunction…