[RYAN ROBERTSON] ON THE GROUND AT AIR, SPACE, AND CYBER 2025, WHERE SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS WEIGHING IN ON THE STATE OF THE AIR FORCE. PLUS, WE GO ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE BRAWLER. SEE WHY THIS PIECE OF HARDWARE COULD BE BAD NEWS FOR ENEMY DRONES. AND, WE CHECK IN WITH RESONANT SCIENCES FOR THE LATEST ON […]
Menej ako 1 min. min.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ON THE GROUND AT AIR, SPACE, AND CYBER 2025, WHERE SENIOR LEADERSHIP IS WEIGHING IN ON THE STATE OF THE AIR FORCE.
PLUS, WE GO ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE BRAWLER. SEE WHY THIS PIECE OF HARDWARE COULD BE BAD NEWS FOR ENEMY DRONES.
AND, WE CHECK IN WITH RESONANT SCIENCES FOR THE LATEST ON THE RAZR.
HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE. A SHOW MADE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE.
OUR GOAL IS TO HELP YOU HAVE AN INFORMED CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH AMERICA’S MILITARY.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M YOUR HOST, RYAN ROBERTSON, AND WE’RE COMING TO YOU FROM NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND. HOME TO THE AFA’S ANNUAL AIR, SPACE, AND CYBER EVENT.
AND AS USUAL, THE FIRST ITEM ON THE SCHEDULE DREW A HUGE CROWD. THAT’S WHY THE STATE OF THE AIR FORCE IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK’S DEBRIEF.
[Unknown speaker]
“I will say it again, innovation, innovation, innovation.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
IT’S NO “CHINA, CHINA, CHINA” LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR… BUT THE NEW AIR FORCE SECRETARY HAS A CLEAR VISION FOR THE BRANCH’S PATH FORWARD.
IN HIS FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS SINCE BEING CONFIRMED AS THE 27th SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE, DR. TROY MEINK LOOKED AND SOUNDED THE PART. AN AIR FORCE VETERAN WITH YEARS OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE TO HIS CREDIT, MEINK POINTED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING ON CURRENT AIR AND SPACE FORCE CAPABILITIES.
[Dr. Troy Meink, Sec. of the Air Force]
“I mean, it’s plain simple. It seems pretty obvious to everybody. I hope it is pretty obvious, everybody. Our job is to maintain that dominance going forward, that advantage the US has had.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
MEINK WENT ON TO SAY DOING THAT MEANS IMPROVING READINESS AND STAYING AHEAD OF POTENTIAL ADVERSARIES, LIKE THE CHINESE.
[Dr. Troy Meink, Sec. of the Air Force]
“The only way we’re going to maintain our advantage is we have to innovate, and we have to innovate faster than our adversaries. And again, it’s a rate of change thing, no matter how far you are ahead, unless you’re innovating faster than they are. Then, then you’re going to lose that advantage. You will lose that advantage. ”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
MINK ALSO HIT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING FORCE READINESS BY MAXIMIZING ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND SPENDING WISELY.
ON THE SUBJECT OF MODERNIZATION, MEINK TOUTED THE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED F-47 SIXTH-GEN FIGHTER, AS WELL AS THE B-21 BOMBER, AND THE ADDITION OF NEW ENGINES AND RADAR TO THE B-52 BOMBER FLEET.
[Dr. Troy Meink, Sec. of the Air Force]
“When you watch what our adversaries are doing, unless you’re moving faster than they are, no matter how far you are ahead, they will overtake you, no question about it. We’ve seen it in some areas. Now we’re doing great, and it’s not just in a not just innovation and technology. I’m going to hit on this again and again. It’s innovation across the board. And if, if we as the leadership, are not doing everything we can to support you moving fast and being innovative, you need to tell us that, because we will not be successful without that.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
NEXT UP WAS THE CURRENT AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF, GENERAL DAVID ALLVIN, IN WHAT WAS LIKELY HIS LAST ADDRESS IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS OF AIRMEN, THE SOON-TO-BE-RETIRED ALLVIN ACKNOWLEDGED THERE’S ROOM FOR GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT, BUT POINTED TO A HIGHLY PUBLICIZED RECENT EVENT AS EVIDENCE OF THE AIR FORCE’S ABILITY TO ANSWER WHEN THE CALL COMES.
[Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff, USAF]
“Operation Midnight Hammer. This was the largest operational employment, kinetic employment, of B twos in their history, over 100 aircraft, 1000s of man-hours in planning and execution. This took airmen from across the bomber force, the fighter force, and the mobility force. It took ISR, it took command and control, all to come together, to put almost a half a million pounds of destruction exactly where we wanted it.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON EXACTLY HOW MUCH DAMAGE JUNE 22nd’S MIDNIGHT HAMMER ATTACK DID TO IRAN’S (Ear-rhan’s) NUCLEAR PROGRAM, BUT AS ALLVIN POINTED OUT IT DID YIELD SOME IMMEDIATE RESULTS.
[Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff, USAF]
“About 30 hours after this, President. Trump declared that there was a ceasefire, and the 12-day war was over. We didn’t have a surge, mobilization, or preparing our force for a protracted conflict in the Middle East. We reestablished deterrence, and we were ready to go.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ALSO ON THE GENERAL’S CHECKLIST, MAKING SURE HIS AIRMAN ARE READY TO MOVE AT A FAST ENOUGH PACE TO MAKE SURE THE AIR FORCE KEEPS ITS AIR DOMINANCE EDGE OVER NEAR PEER ADVERSARIES.
[Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff, USAF]
“Last time I checked our mission statement doesn’t say fly, fight and be relevant. Last time I checked our mission says fly, fight and win air power, anytime, anywhere. So if you want to know what the pace is, that’s the pace, we have to move out the pace to win. If we’re not getting there, then we need to find another gear. ”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THE 23rd AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF SAID ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT KIND OF URGENCY CAN BE FOUND IN THE F-22 RAPTOR’S EVENTUAL SUCCESSOR.
[Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff, USAF]
“After years of work, hundreds of test hours, 1000s of years of man-years in the lab, President announced the F-47 as the Sixth-Gen fighter. It’s the platform that, along with all of the rest of the systems, is going to ensure dominance into the future. We got to go fast. I had to tell you, team, it’s almost 2026. The team is committed to get the first one flying in 2028, in the few short months since we made the announcement, they are already beginning to manufacture the first article. We’re ready to go fast. ”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
AS FOR HIS IMPENDING RETIREMENT? IF THE 61-YEAR-OLD IS FEELING SENTIMENTAL ABOUT BRINGING HIS 39-YEAR CAREER TO A CLOSE, HE’S NOT SHOWING IT, THE SUBJECT NEVER CAME UP IN HIS 30-MINUTE ADDRESS.
AND WE NOW KNOW THE PRESIDENT’S CHOICE TO REPLACE GENERAL ALLVIN; MEET GENERAL KEN “CRUISER’ WILSBACH. THE PRESUMPTIVE 24TH AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF MOST RECENTLY LED AIR COMBAT COMMAND AND WAS PLANNING TO RETIRE HIMSELF AFTER 40 YEARS OF SERVICE, BUT DECIDED TO REVERSE COURSE AND TAKE ON THE TASK OF LEADING THE AIR FORCE PENDING SENATE CONFIRMATION.
ONE OF THE GREAT MINDS OF OUR TIME, DAVE CHAPPELLE SAID, MODERN PROBLEMS REQUIRE MODERN SOLUTIONS. AND FOR OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK, WE HAVE JUST THAT. IT’S CALLED THE BRAWLER, OR THE BATTERY REVOLVING, ADVANCED WEAPONS LAUNCHER, RECONFIGURABLE.
AND IF WE TAKE A SMALL STEP BACK, WE CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS. THIS UNIT IS BASICALLY A ONE-STOP SHOP TO ROCK SOME DRONES. IT HAS DIFFERENT FORM FACTORS FOR ADVANCED PRECISION KILL WEAPON SYSTEM ROCKETS, OR APKWS ROCKETS. THAT’S BASICALLY THE GO-TO WEAPON RIGHT NOW FOR COUNTERING SMALL UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, BUT DOING IT IN A CHEAP, RELATIVELY CHEAP WAY, USING HYDRA ROCKETS WITH ADVANCED SENSORS ON THEM INSTEAD OF MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MISSILES.
HOWEVER, THIS SYSTEM IS VERY MODULAR, SO YOU CAN TAKE OFF THE APK WS LAUNCHERS, IF YOU WANT. YOU CAN PUT ON SOME PYLONS FOR SOME AIM-9 OR DIFFERENT TYPES OF AIR DEFENSE MISSILES. YOU CAN SEE ON THE VERY TOP, IT HAS A FORWARD LOOKING INFRARED SENSOR OR A FLIR DEVICE. YOU CAN PUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTENNA ON THIS, ALL DIFFERENT SORTS OF SENSORS. BASICALLY, IF IT CAN FIT ON THE BRAWLER, THE BRAWLER CAN USE IT.
WHY DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS EXIST? WELL, THERE’S A LOT OF EUROPEAN PARTNERS OUT THERE AND SOME OTHER FOLKS THAT SNC WASN’T REALLY ABLE TO TALK ABOUT WHO WE KNOW THEY EXIST, AND WE KNOW THAT THEY NEED ANSWERS FOR DEALING WITH ALL DIFFERENT SORTS OF DRONES AND POSSIBLY SOME FAST MOVING JETS.
A UNIT LIKE THIS IS ABLE TO BRING THEM THAT MULTI-FORM FACTOR APPROACH AND REALLY KIND OF A JACK OF ALL TRADES. DO YOU WANT TO TAKE DOWN A DRONE? THIS CAN DO IT. YOU WANT TO TAKE DOWN A LARGER CLASS FIVE DRONE. THIS CAN DO IT. YOU WANT TO TAKE DOWN A JET. THIS CAN DO IT. YOU.
ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, FOR COM CHECK THIS WEEK, WE ARE TALKING TO A COMPANY WE FIRST TOLD YOU ABOUT LAST YEAR, RESONANT SCIENCES, AND THE THING THAT REALLY CAUGHT OUR EYE WAS THE RAZOR UNIT. IT KIND OF MEASURES HOW STEALTH CRAFT REALLY IS HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE BUSINESS HAS BEEN GOING THE PAST YEAR. MICAH NORTH WITH RESONANT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
[J. Micah North, CEO, Resonant Sciences]
“Yeah, thanks a lot. Appreciate it. Yeah, things have been progressing quite a bit since last year. You know, lots of growth this year, lots of growth in not only in the razors, but also in the radomes, which you have behind you, different radome systems, and a lot in the electronics. So we’ve kind of been fortunate. Someone asked me the other day, you know, where the really, the growth has come from, and it’s really been more so and just across the board, you know, a little bit of everything out there. We’re continuing to roll razors out and add new functionality into the system, giving new capabilities. We have international partners now that are interested in razors, so we’re starting to go all over the place with it.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
SO THAT’S GREAT. THAT’S GREAT. NOW, OBVIOUSLY, A LOT OF THIS STUFF IS GOING TO BE SECRET SAUCE. WE CAN’T GET TOO FAR INTO THE INTO THE WEEDS ON IT, BUT YOU MENTIONED YOU HAD A FEW DOZEN RAZORS OUT IN THE FIELD RIGHT NOW. THERE’S ABOUT 35 RAZORS OUT IN THE FIELD RIGHT NOW, AND VARIOUS DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENT SITES AND PRIME CONTRACTORS.
[J. Micah North, CEO, Resonant Sciences]
“We’re also a subsystem guys too, as well. So and you know, one thing I’ll mention is razors, not just for lo vehicles, so to speak, but we’re also building capability in there to do radon characterization and antenna characterization. It’s also looking at, you know, threat emulation as well, which really opens the portfolio up to a lot of different other platforms that are outside of what you would consider your traditional lo vehicles.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ABSOLUTELY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE THREAT EMULATION, CAN YOU KIND OF BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS.
[J. Micah North, CEO, Resonant Sciences]
“Basically, the radar is the razor is powered by the radar man two radar, which is one of the most popular radars out in the industry. That’s another product that we build. But the radar man two is software agile, so we’re able to put in whatever wave forms, threat wave forms, etc, so it’s completely programmable, so we can put put that out there for as a threats and threat emulation system. So so really, when I when people look at razor, I want you to think less about being a radar specific measurement system and more about it being like an iPhone and and really in the fact that it’s got multiple different apps on the system. So we have an app to do, you know, RCS measurements, an app to do antenna pattern measurements, an app to do radon characterization, etc. So really, kind of pushing the bounds of what you can do with a radar.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
SO, ALL RIGHT. MICAH, WELL, BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, I’M SURE THERE’S GOING TO BE ALL SORTS OF NEW APPS AND UPDATES THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT, RIGHT? YEP, GREAT. SOUNDS GOOD. THANKS A LOT. APPRECIATE YOU.
[J. Micah North, CEO, Resonant Sciences]
“Yeah, NO problem.”
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
THAT’S GOING JUST ABOUT TO DO IT FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE, BUT BEFORE WE GO, SOME FINAL THOUGHTS.
FOR THAT, I’M JOINED BY SENIOR PRODUCER AND AIR FORCE VETERAN, BRETT BAKER. BRETT, FIRST, OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THIS YEAR’S EDITION OF AIR, SPACE, AND CYBER?
[BRETT BAKER]
WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE GREAT SIGNS OF THIS EVENT WAS THE NUMBERS WERE BACK UP. WE WENT TO THE AFA WARFARE SYMPOSIUM IN AURORA IN FEBRUARY, AND IT WAS SPARSELY ATTENDED. TO PUT IT BEST.
THIS LOOKED MORE LIKE AN AFA EVENT, SURE, LOTS OF ENLISTED, LOTS OF OFFICERS, LOTS OF CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS, GOVERNMENTS. IT WAS PACKED, SO I THINK THAT VIBE WAS BACK.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
RIGHT?
[BRETT BAKER]
YEAH, IT FELT LIKE AN EVENT.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
WE SAW A PRETTY NOTABLE EVENT ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SCHEDULE, AS THE NEWLY CONFIRMED SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE, DR. TROY MEINK, IN HIS FIRST ADDRESS TO THE TROOPS AT AN AFA EVENT. AND OUTGOING AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF, GENERAL DAVID ALLVIN, IN HIS LAST. WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM THOSE KEYNOTE ADDRESSES?
[BRETT BAKER]
FIRST OF ALL, FOR DOCTOR MEINK, HE’S A GUY WHO’S IN TOUCH WITH THE AIR FORCE AND WITH AIRMEN, A FORMER KC-135 PILOT, HE SPEAKS THEIR LANGUAGE.
HE FELT LIKE IT FELT LIKE HE HAD HIS FINGER ON THE PULSE OF YOU KNOW HIS AIRMAN NOW. AND SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS A VERY ENCOURAGING SIGN. AND AS FOR GENERAL ALVIN. HE’S BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITES, LIKE, SINCE WE STARTED COVERING THESE SHOWS, HE CAN GRAB A ROOM. SO I WAS INTERESTED TO SEE, THOUGH, THAT HE THERE WAS NO REALLY. IT WASN’T LIKE AN EMOTIONAL PLAY. IT WAS ABOUT BUSINESS, RIGHT? IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WAR FIGHTER AND WHAT THE AIR FORCE NEEDS TO DO GOING FORWARD, WHICH I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
YEAH, ALVIN’S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, PARTING WORDS FOR ME WAS JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WE’VE TALKED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO MOVE AT THE SPEED OF RELEVANCY. HE’S KIND OF LIGHTING A FIRE UNDER EVERYBODY’S BUTTS. WE NEED TO MOVE FAST ENOUGH TO WIN. AND WHEN WE’RE MOVING AGAINST, YOU KNOW, OUR NEAR PEER COMPETITION, CHINA, RUSSIA, WE HAVE TO MOVE FASTER THAN THEY ARE, BECAUSE EVEN IF WE’RE AHEAD, IF THEY’RE MOVING FASTER, THEY’RE GOING TO CATCH UP TO US. SO KIND OF A GOOD MESSAGE THERE.
AND FINALLY, THERE’S NEVER A SHORTAGE OF NEW TECH ON DISPLAY AT AIR, SPACE, AND CYBER. DID ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR CATCH YOUR EYE?
[BRETT BAKER]
WELL, WE PROFILED IT, THE BRAWLER. I THINK IT’S PRETTY COOL, VERY ADAPTABLE. I THINK IT’S KIND OF THE WAY YOU’RE GOING TO SEE WEAPON SYSTEMS GO, ESPECIALLY IN THE INDO PACIFIC, WHERE THEY CAN PRE-DEPLOY THOSE THINGS, AND IT’S NOT GOING TO TAKE A LOT TO GET THEM UP AND GOING, AND THEN YOU CAN, LIKE, SWAP OUT WHATEVER YOU WANT TO FULFILL WHATEVER MISSIONS THAT IT IS. SO YEAH, I HADN’T SEEN THAT BEFORE, SO I THOUGHT THE BRAWLER WAS PRETTY COOL.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
YEAH, THE THE DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS THAT THEY’RE CREATING FOR THE APKWS ROCKET SYSTEM, WHICH KIND OF, WE SAID IT IN THE PIECE, KIND OF LIKE THE GO TO FOR COUNTER DRONE, CHEAP COUNTER DRONE RIGHT NOW, THERE’S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS AND NEW SYSTEMS THAT COME UP, BUT BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HYDRA ROCKETS WITH THE NEW SENSORS, THE BRAWLER DEFINITELY STANDS OUT FOR ME. THE THING THAT STUCK OUT TO MOST WAS THE THE FURY AND RULES CCA, ENTRENCH, OUR ENTRENCH. WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? ENTRANT. ENTRANT INTO TRANCHE ONE. THERE WE GO. THERE WE GO. IT’S THE FIRST TIME WE SAW THE FURY ON WHEELS.
[BRETT BAKER]
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO. I’M SURE WE’LL HAVE IT PLASTERED OVER THE TOP OF US, WHICH IS PREFERABLE, YEAH. BUT YEAH, IT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY, AS WELL AS JUST SEEING THE FULL SIZE IN PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME.
[RYAN ROBERTSON]
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. BRETT, THANKS FOR JOINING US. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THAT’S GOING TO DO IT FOR US. THIS WEEK ON WEAPONS AND WARFARE, AS ALWAYS, IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SAW AND OR HEARD, PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY. IT’S THE BEST WAY TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ALL OF THE LATEST STORIES THAT WE HAVE COMING YOUR WAY IN THE MEANTIME. FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER, MOTION ARTIST DAKOTA PATIO, AND PHOTOGRAPHER DICKON MAGER, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, SIGNING OFF.
