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The Defense Innovation Unit is gearing up for the first flight of its commercially developed hypersonic testbed as soon as the end of February—part of a larger project to quickly increase the cadence of the Pentagon’s hypersonic flight testing and field advanced, high-speed systems and ...
The Air Force has a new X-plane: The X-68A LongShot from General Atomics is an air-launched drone intended to carry additional air-to-air munitions. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been developing LongShot since 2021, and announced on Feb. 17 that flight testing could begin “as early as the end of 2026.” 
The Air Force is working with Collins Aerospace and Shield AI to develop the software Collaborative Combat Aircraft will use to fly missions alongside manned fighters, the service revealed Feb. 12—and drone-maker General Atomics was quick to announce it has already flown its YFQ-42A aircraft with Collins’ system. 
The Pentagon’s adoption of generative artificial intelligence tools—including the recent addition of the world’s most popular model, ChatGPT—holds promise for more efficient work for Department of Defense personnel but also poses risks unless users remain vigilant, experts told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

WORLD: Space

Feb. 6, 2026
Space Force Looks Beyond Earth’s Orbits By Courtney Albon The Space Force’s small size has limited its capacity to consider what role it will play in future operations on and around the moon. That needs to change, according to Vice...

Beast in the Machine

Feb. 6, 2026
How Robotics and AI Will Transform Warfare and the Future of Human Conflict. The first wave of the robotic revolution is underway: smart, precision-guided weapons are proliferating into every corner of war. The big cruise missiles and laser-guided smart bombs...