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Robotics & Autonomy·September 8, 2026·1 min read

'Revolutionary' 36-year old jet engine designed for F-16 set to power world's first AI-piloted VTOL fighter jet

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Reusing a 1990s F-16-class engine for an AI-piloted VTOL fighter is a reminder that the frontier is in autonomy and control stacks, not airframes. Defense and dual-use vendors should be budgeting for software, data, and certification complexity far more than exotic hardware.

Robotics & Autonomy

'It’s not unlike what they’re using at their own house for video games': US Army budgets $465 million for Group 3 Killer anti-drone laser which uses Xbox controller

A $465M Army program standardizing on an Xbox controller is a reminder that complex systems win on usable interfaces, not just specs. For any high-stakes tooling—AI ops consoles, autonomy control, internal dashboards—investing in familiar, low-friction control surfaces will matter as much as the underlying tech.