In The News

Decker Eveleth joins the podcast to discuss where exactly North Korea’s missile program stands today, and why it presents a security problem not only for Asia and the U.S. but for the entire globe.

Steven Wills said, "In a world where the U.S. Navy cannot guarantee consistent amphibious ready group presence in the Mediterranean and Red Sea/Persian Gulf region, the (expeditionary sea bases) have proven to be valuable stand in ships and should not be sidelined."

Samuel Bendett explains, "At any given moment, there are probably tens of thousands of FPV drones operating in the skies over Ukraine."

“The independent agency CNA Corporation, which was hired by [UNC-Chapel Hill] to review its response, gave recommendations for the future. University leaders say some of those recommendations include addressing gaps with its Alert Carolina system and providing more frequent updates or upgrades.”

[Darrell Jeter, UNC-Chapel Hill Emergency Management and Planning department head] said the university has made several improvements since the [UNC-Chapel Hill] shooting. Most, Jeter said, are suggestions from an “after-action review” conducted by the Center for Naval Analyses.

According to Samuel Bendett, “[next-generation, intelligent swarms] is the ‘holy grail’ for the military.”

Samuel Bendett said, “On the Russian side, Telegram is used by all levels of the Russian ministry of defense, from the senior officials down to specific units who report on their progress, the Russian government officials, by regional officials, by volunteers, by private citizens, and many others”

Samuel Bendett said, “Moscow has been using FPV drones in training to defeat Ukrainian naval drones for a while now. They're basically refining the efforts of using the most advanced technologies.”

Samuel Bendett said, “In addition to these rudimentary tank-bombs, Russia is advancing with high-tech, self-driving UGVs such as the Marker. This platform, equipped with AI and machine learning capabilities, has demonstrated the ability to navigate controlled environments without human operators”

Samuel Bendett explains, “"Russian Telegrams are posting the following screenshot from a Russian unit "bragging" about what turned out to be a friendly fire incident when they used their DJI Mavic to down a Zala ISR drone, thinking it was a Ukrainian UAV."

Samuel Bendett said, "In Ukraine, some ground drones used by the Russian military have a tethered connection to prevent signal jamming, and many being developed by the Russian industry and volunteers offer both a radio link and a tethered connection as an option."

Sam Bendett explains, "There were numerous attempts of Ukrainian FPVs trying to chase Russian helicopters before, but all such attacks were near misses. It's difficult to pilot an FPV drone towards a military helicopter flying at high speeds."

Samuel Bendett said, “it is no surprise that Ukraine would be using such an approach, considering its huge investment in electronic warfare.”

Samuel Bendett said, “It does seem plausible” regarding some outside observers view the recent gains made by Ukraine are due to Ukrainian forces skillfully using drones and jammers to limit Russia's defenses and break into Kurs.

Julian Waller writes, “Russia is not invincible, and its political order is not eternal. Instability is a constant possibility, especially when the regime eventually selects a successor to Putin. Still, the Kremlin’s performance since 2022 has demonstrated a vast capacity for adjustment and resilience in the face of internal tensions.”