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The Wall Street Journal
On a recent evening, a trio of Ukrainian drones flew under the cover of darkness to a Russian position and decided among themselves exactly when to strike. The assault was an example of how Ukraine is using artificial intelligence to allow groups of drones to coordinate with each other to attack Russian positions, an innovative technology that heralds the future of battle.
SpaceNews
As the space industry watches what analysts describe as a “gold rush” around the Pentagon’s projected $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense program, Canadian satellite operator Telesat is spelling out how it intends to compete for a role in the program. Telesat’s CEO Dan Goldberg revealed last month the company is eyeing opportunities in the Golden Dome program for the company’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband service known as Lightspeed.
Seapower Magazine
The U.S. Air Force’s E-7A Wedgetail Airborne and Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft was canceled by the Trump administration in the summer of 2025, although Congress is moving to block such a decision and enacting legislation to prevent the movement of funds out of the E-7A program. Can its duties be undertaken by the U.S. Navy’s smaller, cheaper E-2D Hawkeye
Defense News
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $9.8 billion multiyear contract to produce nearly 2,000 of the most advanced variant of the Patriot air and missile defense missile, the service announced in a Sept. 3 joint signing ceremony at Lockheed’s Grand Prairie, Texas, facility. The contract marks the largest deal in the history of the company’s Missiles and Fire Control unit.
DefenseScoop
The Department of the Air Force’s chief information office is looking to integrate more commercial capabilities as it works to modernize and secure the department’s IT networks, according to a new strategy released Sept. 3. The plan, dubbed DAF Network of the Future, outlines the department’s goal for an IT infrastructure that is both protected from attacks from adversaries, as well as flexible enough to rapidly send data across the globe.
DefenseScoop
Questions are swirling in the wake of reports that swarms of lethal drones and associated capabilities are “transitioning” to appropriate military personnel via the first tranche of the Pentagon’s Replicator initiative.
Breaking Defense
In a milestone towards the modernization of America’s nuclear triad, the U.S. Air Force has officially taken its first Minuteman III missile silo “offline,” Breaking Defense has learned. The shuttering of launch facility LF 5E10, located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, marks “the first operational MMIII silo to be taken offline” as officials prepare for the arrival of a new ICBM to take the Minuteman’s place as the land leg of America’s nuclear deterrent, a spokesperson for Air Force Global Strike Command said in response to questions about the facility.
ABC News
Russia launched more than 500 drones and missiles into Ukraine overnight into Sept. 3 morning, according to Ukraine’s air force, with explosions reported across the west of the country and NATO aircraft scrambling across the border in Poland. Russia launched 502 attack and decoy drones plus 24 missiles in the latest overnight barrage, Ukraine’s air force said. Defending forces downed or suppressed 430 drones and 21 missiles, the air force said.
The War Zone
A very large directed energy laser weapon was among the new capabilities officially rolled out for the first time at a massive military parade in China. Called the LY-1, the laser has so far been described as primarily intended for shipboard self-defense, but was shown at the Sept. 3 event in a form that also points to land-based applications.
One More Thing
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The Wall Street Journal
Hobby pilot Dennis Fitzgerald’s flight near Philadelphia got off to a rough start when he was troubleshooting his radio. Then came a loud boom, and he felt his Cessna 177 Cardinal shake. Fitzgerald looked over and saw an F-16 fighter jet had pulled up next to his left wing. The fighter pilot raised his hands, giving the universal signal for “WTF.”
