American Dynamism

[Clusterfrack]

(I'm starting this thread in General Discussion in the hopes that we can keep the discussion relatively politically neutral. If not, I'll put it behind the paywall in Politics).

I listened to a recent Honestly podcast titled The Real Team America. I thought it was a refreshingly optimistic vision for America, and it really resonated with me. Of course, I spent a significant part of my career working on defense technology for the DoD and intelligence community, so that's hardly surprising.

Here's another piece by Katherine Boyle, who was interviewed on the podcast.
https://www.thefp.com/p/defense-tech...-america-boyle

And more from her here:
https://a16z.com/author/katherine-boyle/

It makes me feel good that there are smart, young, ambitious people with influence, money, and a realistic pro-America vision. I'll be paying close attention to where this goes.

[revchuck38]

I enjoyed that podcast too. Looking forward to hopefully a constructive discussion here.

[karandom]

One of our portfolio managers dropped a great line today:

American innovates, China imitates, Europe regulates.

[Clusterfrack]

Roadrunner: jet-powered, AI-controlled combat drone
https://www.wired.com/story/anduril-roadrunner-drone/

https://www.anduril.com/article/andu...-roadrunner-m/

[Borderland]

Roadrunner: jet-powered, AI-controlled combat drone
https://www.wired.com/story/anduril-roadrunner-drone/

https://www.anduril.com/article/andu...-roadrunner-m/

Looks like a miniature patriot missile system except it can be called back and probably a lot cheaper to field.

[Default.mp3]

Looks like a miniature patriot missile system except it can be called back and probably a lot cheaper to field.

How is it anything like an MIM-104? The Roadrunner-M is a subsonic loitering munition; it would do exceedingly poorly against what the MIM-104's primary mission of HIMAD against high performance targets. In SHORAD, it could have some utility, but it could still be limited by its slow speed and possible slow response time (if needing to be launched from the ground, not sure how long it would take). It looks to be excellent for some niche situations, primarily interception of UAVs, rotary wing aircraft, and other, slower aircraft, and would be a great asset to have, perhaps supplanting or augmenting systems like land-based FIM-92s or the Coyote used in C-UAS, but it certainly would be a terrible choice to replace the MIM-104.

[Clusterfrack]

Can Palmer Luckey Reinvent the U.S. Defense Industry? | WSJ
Military tech startup Anduril Industries is shaking up the U.S. defense industry as it is one of the few privately held technology companies finding success as a Defense Department contractor. But what makes the company’s software so unique that it is being used across multiple branches of the U.S. military and in both the Russia-Ukraine War and Israel-Hamas War?

WSJ explains how this startup is operating in order to disrupt the U.S. defense industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcGw3Z4G288

[Oldherkpilot]

Looks like a miniature patriot missile system except it can be called back and probably a lot cheaper to field.

Reminded me of a Gunstar from the movie The Last Starfighter.

[Caballoflaco]

I think this fits.

https://twitter.com/@twitter/status/1759353732075294766

[Trigger]

I think this fits.

https://twitter.com/@twitter/status/1759353732075294766

I wonder how it flies and performs. The design of the wing and power module (ducted fan) leave me with a lot of questions. Good on them for the terrain matching guidance system.

Reminds me of DTS (Digital Terrain System) in the F16, which allowed the F16 to fly nap-of-the-earth style flying without a terrain following radar. I think ALCM and Harpoon have a terrain comparison mode on their guidance as well.

I agree that American dynamism is important and needs to be nurtured and encouraged. These young men should be lauded for their achievement.