The War Zone
• Tyler Rogoway
Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue has flown autonomously for the first time at Mojave Air and Space Port, completing taxi, takeoff, in-flight maneuvers and landing. The milestone advances the company’s effort to secure a position in the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft portfolio.
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Lockheed Martin is incorporating artificial intelligence into Skunk Works, its advanced development unit, as it seeks to modernize defense programs. The unit is described as central to the contractor’s future success, but the available report provides no details on specific AI applications, programs or timelines.
Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue has flown autonomously for the first time at Mojave Air and Space Port, completing taxi, takeoff, in-flight maneuvers and landing. The milestone advances the company’s effort to secure a position in the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft portfolio.
Satellite software company Satlyt secured $8 million in seed financing led by non sibi ventures to develop virtual AI data centers in space. The funding will support engineering and customer-delivery hiring while scaling software deployments across spacecraft operated by other companies.
The Pentagon is formally coordinating with In-Q-Tel, the CIA-funded investment firm that has backed startups including Anduril and Palantir, to identify and support emerging technologies. The partnership expands the defense establishment’s connection to a venture-investment network focused on technology with national-security applications.
Shield AI has announced new test-flight and production sites for its X-Bat jet, including Forge 3, the program’s main production site. Forge 3 is scheduled to open in spring 2027, establishing a defined milestone for the aircraft’s manufacturing infrastructure.
France plans to demonstrate crewed fighter jets operating alongside AI-powered combat drones in 2028 through Project Hypairion. The effort reflects the French Air Force’s push to develop sovereign artificial-intelligence capabilities for coordinated crewed-uncrewed combat operations.
High activity
SpaceX’s reported public offering has drawn exceptional investor attention, while NorthStar Earth & Space has also begun trading after a SPAC merger. The cluster spans commercial orbital infrastructure, including an AI data-center test, alongside the Space Development Agency’s continued deployment of data-transport satellites.
Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster discusses the pressures facing the airline, including fuel economics, artificial intelligence and air traffic control meltdowns, in an interview with Gordon Smith at Skift Global Forum in New York.
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