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His motto is “Aim high, fly-fight-win.” But for a top U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and weapons school graduate, aiming high—and in one instance aiming low—wasn’t enough to prevail against an AI opponent in a simulated competition last week.

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) sponsored the AlphaDogfight trials as part of its effort to use AI to help pilots in realtime combat and encourage developers to sign up for its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program to design AI .

The winning program, designed by a Maryland-based defense contractor Heron Systems, outmaneuvered its human opponent flawlessly in a five-round sweep. Encouragingly, ‘Banger,’ a District of Columbia Air National Guard pilot and recent Air Force Weapons School Instructor Course graduate with over 2,000 hours of experience flying F-16s, was able to last longer each round. By the last round he realized he might outgun the AI foe by diving below its ability to point its guns towards him, but the tactic’s success was only momentary as the Heron AI recalculated its path and dealt the final blow.

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An extract from Space 2.0 by Rod Pyle.

At the other extreme is the massive Dyson Sphere, theorized by physicist Freeman Dyson – a metallic globe large enough to hold a star at its centre and contain a human population at a sufficient distance from the star to comfortably support their survival. This is a highly theoretical idea and is more of a thought experiment than a workable design, at least with any foreseeable technology.

Concerns have been raised about what kinds of governments might take hold in space settlements, and what possible risks they might face from ever more powerful economic and military establishments back on Earth.

Today, we are on the eve of some truly inspiring prospects for early outposts in the final frontier, places that could become reality with the next two decades.

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U.S. Army researchers have teamed with Texas A&M University to create a new polymer material that can shape-shift and autonomously heal itself as part of a research effort to improve future unmanned air and robotic vehicles.

In early research, the first-of-its-kind, 3D-printable epoxy-based material can respond to stimuli, and researchers hope it will one day have embedded intelligence allowing it to adapt to its environment without any external control, according to a news release from Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory.

Read Next: Mortar Shells Strike Kabul as Afghans Mark Independence Day.

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Spokeswoman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, said at a briefing on Thursday that Russia is ready to continue to discuss space issues with the US. This discussion should operate within the framework of a bilateral expert group, commenting on the publication of the US Space Force doctrine by the Pentagon.

“The document confirms the aggressive direction of Washington in the sphere of space, the determination to achieve military superiority up to the total dominance in space. The outer space is considered by the American side exclusively as the arena to conduct warfare,” she said. “We see an opportunity to remove mutual concerns within the framework of the Russian-American working group on space security whose first meeting took place in Vienna on July 27 and we confirm our readiness to discuss further all issues of space activities in the bilateral format,” the diplomat added. The spokeswoman drew attention to the fact that the use of space research exclusively in peaceful purposes remains a priority for Russia as well as prevention of an arms race in outer space. “As opposed to the US, we do not pursue the goals of domineering and superiority. We are interested instead in maintaining the strategic balance in order to strengthen the international security.” She referred to the Russian-Chinese treaty draft on the prevention of stationing arms in space, use of force or threats against space objects. All existing issues and contradictions on the subject of arms in space should be resolved within the framework of the Disarmament Conference, the spokeswoman stressed. According to her, Russia thoroughly analyzes the possible consequences of “Washington’s aggressive endeavors.”

Spokeswoman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, said at a briefing on Thursday that Russia is ready to continue to discuss space issues with the US. This discussion should operate within the framework of a bilateral expert group, commenting on the publication of the US Space Force doctrine by the Pentagon.

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“We will not have an active exoskeleton with servomotors tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow. That’s science fiction,” Sergei Smagluk, of the EO-1 design team told Russian newspaper RIA Novosti. He adds that as soon as a suitable power source is available, it will create a boom in exoskeleton development, one which his company is well-placed to lead.

While America’s ambitious attempts to build Iron Man-style powered armor are making little progress, Russia is already fielding modest but effective unpowered military exoskeletons.

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Ahead of a likely ban on the US federal government’s use of Chinese-made quadcopters, including popular DJI drones, the Department of Defense has approved the products of five US-based unmanned air vehicle (UAV) makers for government use.

Those companies are Altavian, Parrot, Skydio, Teal and Vantage Robotics.

Small UAVs from these manufacturers have been deemed cyber-secure by the Pentagon – not vulnerable to backdoor spying that some suspect might be possible from the video cameras and other sensors attached to Chinese-made DJI drones. The US Congress is considering banning the US federal government from using foreign-made drones as part of its 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

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WASHINGTON — The competition for the moon between the Unites States and China is being closely watched by the Defense Department as the military expects to play a role protecting U.S. access to cislunar space.

One concern for the Pentagon is the possibility that China establishes a presence on the moon before the United States and tries to set the international rules of behavior in space, said Brig. Gen. Steven Butow, director of the space portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit.

DIU is a Defense Department organization based in Silicon Valley that works with commercial vendors developing technologies relevant to national security.

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“On August 11th, 2020, U.S. Air Force sent a trio of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers halfway around the world from their home at Whiteman AFB in Missouri to the remote island outpost of Diego Garcia located deep in the Indian Ocean. The unannounced deployment is part of the Air Force’s new unpredictable bomber deployment strategy and comes at a time where tensions in Asia vis-à-vis China have peaked.”

#Satellitetech

The B-2s flew direct from the U.S. to the remote outpost in the Indian Ocean and have already executed missions over Asia.

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