Sébastien Roblin
@sebastienroblin.bsky.social
I write about defense, history and aviation for Popular Mechanics, 19Fortyfive, Forbes, CNN, NBC, Inside Unmanned Systems. In past, National Interest. Former Peace Corps China.
A likely inevitable progression in my view. Low-cost drone warfare (tactical as well as long-range strike) is finally a conventional warfare capability North Korea can feasibly self-generate and field effectively, and that is suited for its geographic context and doctrine. South Korea must prepare.
Ankit Panda@nktpnd.bsky.social · 3d agoI shared some thoughts with the Wall Street Journal on North Korean conventional modernization www.wsj.com/world/north-...
Great quote in this article about the allure of causality to historians when recounting tales of tactics and technology.
Secretary of Defense Rock@sodrock.bsky.social · 6d agoIn which I explain one of the many WWII myths that I still see coming up even in 2026. That the intact Zero captured in the Aleutian Islands in July 1942 had a great deal of influence on the design and testing of the Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat. Turns out that wasn't really the case. My latest⬇️
This summer U.S. soldiers at Fort Carson evaluated cheap FPV kamikaze drones from 19 companies for strikes up to 12 miles away or at close quarters in urban environments, all under jamming. Now the Army will order 60,000 of the 10 best designs. Read on for a brief on the winning companies & drones.
Nine Companies Win DDP Gauntlet 2 FPV Drone Competition
The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program just dropped a new leaderboard showing the rankings of nine companies that submitted the ten top-performing First Perso
insideunmannedsystems.com
Great analysis of options to stand up a dedicated counter-drone squadron, landing in favor of the L-39 as the most efficient option (the available turboprop aircraft not being fast enough to keep pace with jet-Shaheds.) Poland's new FA-50s could prove of unexpected value to this mission too...
Justin Bronk@justin-br0nk.bsky.social · 7d agoNew from me for RUSI today Why NATO should urgently set up a multinational squadron dedicated to intercepting one-way-attack drones; including the rough performance, avionics and weapon requirements and aircraft options available. Free to read here: www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Developing countries will increasingly deploy missile-armed drones for strikes like those U.S. pioneered in War on Terror. One of the more objectionable practices inherited is considering some areas 'free fire zones' where any military-age males spotted are assumed members of insurgent group. 1/2
Bellingcat@bellingcat.com · 2w agoA joint Bellingcat and @jeuneafrique.com investigation has uncovered new details about drone strikes carried out by the Malian military that have hit civilian areas and reportedly resulted in the deaths of non-combatants. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/09...
Amazing details in this quite moving article about the armored sarcophagi on tracks saving lives...named after Darth Maul! One figure: 2 UGVs lost per 5 soldiers rescued.
The Ken Harbaugh Show@thekenharbaughshow.bsky.social · 2w agoUkraine's military goes to extreme lengths to save injured soldiers. Meanwhile, Russia's wounded-to-killed ratio is worse than during WWI. My latest in The Atlantic (gift article):
News at 11: do not answer recruitment adds on TikTok for jobs as well-paid security guards (in Russia)! But in truth, a sinister story all around, including the part where these guys do actually do get paid only to have it subsequently stolen by their handlers after buying their uniforms.
Russia Sent Latin American Recruits to War. They Shot Their Way Out and Surrendered to Ukraine
Two Latin American men say they were lured to Russia to fight in Ukraine and shot at when trying to surrender.
united24media.com
Pretty lame for the new Starcraft game to give up on the RTS genre! (It will be an open world shooter.) Very grimdark trailer, though it definitely emphasizes Starcraft Space Marines aren't Warhammer Space Marines!
Northrop Grumman's jet-powered Lumberjack multi-role drone just successfully flew a roundtrip using magnetic navigation tech combining Large Quantitative Model AI with a quantum sensor. Read on for more on Lumberjack and how quantum MagNav works and has promise as an un-jammable GPS substitute.
Northrop Grumman Lumberjack's Un-jammable Quantum-Powered Magnetic Navigation
Northrop Grumman’s jet-powered Group 3 Lumberjack drone—an attritable UAS capable of ISR, electronic warfare and attack missions—has successfully executed
insideunmannedsystems.com
Oddly downer take on Ukraine from Eric Schmidt, ex-Google CEO developer of Merops/Surveyor interceptors & Hornet mid-range strike drones for Ukraine. Says there's insufficient drone production, though Ukraine builds millions more yearly than Russia.
Opinion | Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming
Russia is shifting its strategy to erase Kyiv’s battlefield advantages.
washingtonpost.com
Intrigue on the high seas! Russian cable-tapping team from GUGI apparently disrupted near Svalbard. A long-running phenomenon as you can read in my older article below, though chasing off a cable-tapping team caught in flagrante seems much rarer... nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ru...
Russian Spy Submarines Are Tampering with Undersea Cables That Make the Internet Work. Should We Be Worried?
In 2018 reports have multiplied in the United States and Europe that Russian has intensified its submarine activity around the undersea cables which are essential for the global operation of the inter...
nationalinterest.org
Reuters@reuters.com · 3w agoEXCLUSIVE: NATO allies foil Russian subsea cable sabotage plot reut.rs/4cAOkyS
Anduril Dive LD costing $2.5-3 million. Fundamentally an acceptable loss (UUVs at that price point are meant to be put at some risk) though a bit embarrassing for Anduril.
Joseph Trevithick@franticgoat.bsky.social · 3w agoEverything We Know About The U.S. Navy’s Submersible Drone Iran Just Captured www.twz.com/sea/everythi...
The Air Force is inducting air-to-air 'loyal wingman' drones--but the Navy just requested industry proposals for something very different: a stealthy carrier-based strike jet carrying 5 tons of weapons over long range with fuel to spare. Read on for spec details & analysis of Navy's different focus.
New RFI Shows Navy Wants Very Different Collaborative Combat Aircraft Than Air Force
A year ago the Navy issued initial contract to Anduril, Boeing, General Atomics and Northrop Grumman to finally begin conceptual studies for developing loy
insideunmannedsystems.com
Some investigative verification of a JSOW glide bomb strike that hit a wedding-related gathering in Iran. :(
Christiaan Triebert@trbrtc.bsky.social · 4w agoUsing weapon remnants, satellite images, witness accounts, here's our report on the U.S. airstrike on a wedding gathering in Kuhestak, southern Iran, that killed 5 and wounded 67. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/v...
This report is honestly pretty dire on the hand-to-mouth supply of air-to-air missiles for the UAF. Honestly, had hoped they were not using very many against drones given the unfavorable cost differential but I guess not.
TWZ@twz.com · 4w agoMissile Shortage Has Now Hit Ukrainian F-16 Force The shortage is so acute that the air force frantically tracks incoming missile shipments and waits to see whether they arrive before Russia’s next aerial barrage. https://www.twz.com/air/missile-shortage-has-now-hit-ukrainian-f-16-force
Very interesting that South Korea is already kicking off a more advanced 6th gen stealth fighter program while still only midway through introducing the KF-21, a 4.5 Gen fighter which could evolve into a 5th gen stealth fighter in its Block III variant. Or not if this new design overtakes it? 1/2
The Aviationist@theaviationist.com · last mo.South Korea Launches Next Generation Fighter Program The South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has sought detailed industry proposals for a sixth generation jet. Story: theaviationist.com/2026/08/29/s...
So I finally got through Starfleet Academy & actually enjoyed it overall! (Heresy, I know!) But I was annoyed with the ending where they prove to the villain that Star Fleet could never, ever do anything unfortunate or slightly unjust. And I say this as a *fan* of Federation being utopian!1/3
In March, U.S.'s Drone Dominance program ordered 22,320 cheap FPV kamikaze drones from 11 companies for delivery in 4.5 months. But 5 months on, DDP's website shows only 13,440 delivered. Read on for why the U.S. struggles to deliver just 2 day's production of Ukrainian drones. (Hint: components!)
Component Shortages Slow FPV Deliveries From Drone Dominance Gauntlet 1 Winners
The Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program wanted the eleven companies that made the leaderboard of its Gauntlet 1 competition concluded in March to deliver thous
insideunmannedsystems.com
New Chotiner interview on the situation on the West Bank.
Why Israeli Authorities Are Encouraging Settler Violence Against Palestinians
Retired I.D.F. colonel Doron Meiner, who was arrested while trying to protect a Palestinian community from settlers in the West Bank, discusses Israel’s strategy in the run-up to October’s election.
newyorker.com
This weekend the Navy revealed it's testing a new AIM-424 Malice air-to-air missile with 290+ miles range--yet that fits *inside* an F-35C stealth jet. Read on for the complex tactics + tech needed to make such missiles work, lessons from Ukraine & why Navy not Air Force is publicly leading charge.
The US Navy's New AIM-424 Malice Missile Can Kill From 287 Miles Away. The Fighter Carrying It Cannot See Anywhere Near That Far
The AIM-424 Malice outranges the radar of every aircraft that carries it, which means someone else has to tell the pilot where to shoot.
19fortyfive.com
An interesting bit of reporting, though I fear it collapses some historical context. Ukraine urgently requested Western tanks in 2022/2023 for maneuver counteroffensives that took place those years; and remember FPV kamikaze drones didn't begin scaling up in use *until 2023*.
While Trump degrades the relationship with Seoul, the U.S. Army has decided to buy a test batch of K9MH self-propelled howitzer systems. After 80 years of tracked artillery, the service is ready to try a combo of an 8x8 truck with a longer-range gun--read my article for why. And...1/2
South Korea's K9 Thunder 'Shoot-and-Scoot' Artillery Is Joining the US Army
The Army's Mobile Tactical Cannon program selected the Hanwha K9MH, a truck-mounted spinoff of the K9 Thunder that can be emplaced and firing in 30 seconds.
19fortyfive.com
45 MQ-9s lost, or 25% of fleet; kinetic kills plus crashes after losing control signal (sounds like EW kills to me.) I think we can safely say Iran's air defenses weren't ineffectual in this war. U.S. really needs a more expendable MALE drone for such ops.
U.S. military has lost roughly 25% of its Reaper drones as Iran war depletes arsenal
The aircraft, which cost up to $50 million each, have seen heavy use around the Strait of Hormuz — but they are relatively easy targets for Iran and its proxies.
washingtonpost.com
Such a ballsy raid. Perhaps U.S. failure is due to absence of 360-degree coverage from Patriot radars (something new LTAMDS radar meant to address) combined with absence of secondary Short-Range Air Defenses on ground; nor overhead CAPs by aircraft.
Iranian F-5s Bombing U.S. Forces In Kuwait Should Be A Wake-Up Call: Ex-USAF General
Retired NORAD commander gives new credence to the reported Iranian bombing mission and says it shows an urgent need for new thinking about air defenses.
twz.com
Aspired to work there in the 2000s (could have gone down a very different career path!) What a sad fate. Hope it will be reborn from ashes...
David Kaye@davidakaye.bsky.social · 2mo agoin case you were wondering whatever became of the us institute of peace, the once-venerable congressionally chartered think tank is now a propaganda site www.usip.org
9 years ago, @mjgault.bsky.social and I wrote opposing reviews of Dunkirk for warisboring.com; he panned it, I liked it. Sadly, I can't find either of our reviews as the site is dead (can anyone recover them?) Here's a screenshot though of the draft I submitted.
"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux@bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 2mo agoI think my oddity here is that I really liked Dunkirk, which I think tends to get ranked towards the bottom of the Nolan filmography?
The UK plans to buy a 'Storm Fighter' Loyal Wingman drone (CCA)-and BAE just unveiled a Brontanax prototype it secretly developed to team with Typhoon fighters. Can it beat already flying rivals? Read on for details on Brontanax's development & design, and Europe's highly competitive CCA market.
BAE Bets on Sovereignty, Unveils Brontanax Loyal Wingman to British Military in Search of 'Storm Fighter'
BAE Systems unveiled a Loyal Wingman drone fighter called Brontanax at the UK’s Farnborough airshow: a prototype the company’s FalconWorks branch began secr
insideunmannedsystems.com
Nice AV thread on the jets transferred from West to Ukraine (including Polish MiG-29s). In one video a pilot estimates Ukraine will operate its MiG-29s through 2030 and mentions a 'hunter-hunted' risk versus Shaheds. Either a reference to collision risks or that some carry air-to-air missiles?
UNITED24 Media@united24media.com · 2mo agoUkraine is ditching old Soviet jets and upgrading its air force with modern Western warplanes to meet NATO standards. 🧵 1/8 ⬇️
Quite a rundown of the severe technical problems and parts shortages crippling Russia's Su-57 'stealth' fighter, particularly due to outdated software capabilities.
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