AURORA, Colorado—A General Atomics MQ-20 drone took orders from an F-22 pilot during a recent mock mission that demonstrated robot-wingman concepts, company officials said in a Monday statement. During a test flight earlier this month at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the pilot used Autonodyne’s Bashi pilot-vehicle interface to order the autonomous drone to “execute tactical maneuvers,” move waypoints, conduct combat patrols, and take on “threat engagement tasks,” the statement said. “We appreciate the flawless execution of this mission using the government’s advanced autonomous systems,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “This demo featured the integration of mission elements and the ability of autonomy to utilize onboard sensors to make independent decisions and execute commands from the F-22.” The flight followed a November demo in which an F-22 pilot used a tablet to control an […]
WASHINGTON—Experienced foreign-policy observers in the US capital have long learned never to make public predictions. The world is far too uncertain and the downside risks to your reputation are far too high if you end up well off the mark. It’s clearly advisable to wait until events have already transpired and then claim afterward that you saw them coming all along. This is especially the case when it comes to decisions to go to war. Yet those who carry the burden of policymaking are forced to make predictions to inform their policies. So even as negotiations continue between the United States and Iran, US President Donald Trump and his advisers are undoubtedly trying to assess what Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will do in the face of the “massive […]
Today started with ice and ended with a thaw. Shortly after a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland—in which he made his case for why the United States should own the “big, beautiful piece of ice” that is Greenland—Donald Trump announced that he had reached a “framework of a future deal” on the issue. The breakthrough came after Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and led to the US president dropping his tariff threats against European nations that had opposed the US acquisition of the semiautonomous Danish territory. According to Trump, the deal will concern potential US rights over Greenland’s minerals, as well as the island’s involvement in his administration’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system. Below, our experts shed light on all the transatlantic […]
Millions of Ukrainians have spent much of January without electricity and heating amid subzero winter temperatures, sparking fears that the country is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. This desperate situation has been deliberately provoked by a sustained Russian bombing campaign against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, as Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin targets the civilian population in order to pressure Kyiv into capitulation. Russia’s attacks have led to dramatically deteriorating living conditions across Ukraine. Thousands of high-rise apartment buildings in large cities as well as smaller rural homes have been cut off from power, heating, and water for days at a time. As a result, indoor temperatures have dropped to dangerous levels. For the elderly, those with young children, and people suffering from health issues, the risks are particularly grave. Ukrainian […]
“Venezuela is completely surrounded.” On Tuesday evening, US President Donald Trump announced that the US military would impose a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into or out of Venezuela. The move is targeted at Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his regime, but it could also have wider effects. Below, Atlantic Council experts answer four pressing questions. Since the initial US seizure of the Skipper last week, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply, effectively targeting Maduro’s main source of income. Venezuela relies entirely on tankers to export its oil, and disrupting the illegal trade that runs on these sanctioned tankers weakens Maduro’s grip on power. As of last week, more than thirty of the eighty ships in Venezuelan waters were under US sanctions. Frankly, with the […]
The United States and European Union (EU) seem finally to be entering into serious negotiations on trade and the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. For months, each party has accused the other of being too vague in its proposals. This culminated on May 23 in US President Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs on the EU to 50 percent by June 1. Although he later paused that increase until July 9 to allow for negotiations, it’s not yet clear that those talks will succeed. Meanwhile, the EU has made clear that if the talks fail, then it is prepared to retaliate. Yet retaliation will only heighten tensions between Brussels and Washington, and it will not lead to a deal or serve longer-term EU interests. A deadline and no dealAlthough […]
A startup called Valinor has just unveiled what is essentially a field hospital in a box—one with integrated software and data connectivity missing from today’s battlefield medicine. Harbor is a 20-foot shipping container that can be modified for different types of battlefield care, such as immediate damage control or prolonged casualty care. The exterior can be hardened against ballistics and it can be modified to power anti-drone defensive systems. Anduril is partnering with Valinor to allow telehealth over Anduril’s Lattice mesh network, in order to better manage the electro-magnetic signatures coming to and from the unit, to make it more difficult to target by enemy drones, etc. Luke Sciulli, head of medical innovation at Valinor, spoke with Defense One about the idea. He’s a former Army medic who has made […]
President Donald Trump claims not to email or text and has been impressed that “everything is computer” inside a Tesla. But for all of his Luddite tendencies, there’s one field of technology he has embraced since his return to the White House: cryptocurrency. Trump has positioned his administration as a champion of the digital currency industry, and his adoption of crypto is also widely believed to be an avenue for personal enrichment. ‘Eviscerating’ financial boundariesThe “winds are shifting” at the Securities and Exchange Commission under Trump as the agency moves toward a “more structured, innovation-friendly approach to digital assets,” said Forbes. At the same time, the president’s personal and familial involvement in the crypto field — including the launch and sale of his eponymous $TRUMP memecoin — has “intensified scrutiny” […]
The Department of Homeland Security has dismissed the members of its advisory committees—including the Cyber Safety Review Board, which investigates major cybersecurity incidents—as part of a Trump-administration drive to cut costs at the agency, according to three people familiar with the matter. An internal Jan. 20 memo from DHS Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman said, “In alignment with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security, I am directing the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within DHS, effective immediately…Future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities. To outgoing advisory board members, you are welcome to reapply, thank you for your service.” NPR first reported the […]
Incoming President Donald Trump and advisor Elon Musk have promised to reform Pentagon spending, a long-sought goal for officials on both sides of the aisle. But while current and former officials told Defense One the new administration could make some changes, reforms to the way Congress allocates funding and provides oversight would still be necessary for a true overhaul. Trump and Musk, tapped to run a new Department of Government Efficiency, have floated a variety of ideas to reform Pentagon purchasing, such as ditching the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in favor of drones. Trump has been critical of the military-industrial complex, but in his first term signed larger and larger budgets for the Defense Department. Musk, the richest defense contractor in the world, has targeted the federal workforce for cuts, pushed for more accounting transparency, and wants to […]
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