The United States Air Force is examining a lower-cost unmanned aircraft concept after losing “dozens” of MQ-9 Reaper drones during the recent conflict involving Iran.
Those losses have intensified concerns about relying upon expensive aircraft in environments where increasingly affordable air defenses can destroy them.
With roughly 135 Reapers in service and each drone costing about $30 million, officials increasingly question whether existing loss rates remain sustainable.
Pentagon seeks a lower-cost drone with long range and heavy payloadRather than pursuing a more advanced version of the MQ-9, defense planners are exploring a drone intended for larger-scale deployment.
The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking proposals for a Massed Modular Aircraft, or MMA, capable of performing many missions currently assigned to the Reaper.
According to the solicitation, the Pentagon believes dependence upon “exquisite” aircraft costing more than $30 million is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain.
The concept favours quantity alongside capability, allowing forces to continue operating even after suffering substantial battlefield attrition.
Unlike many smaller drones commonly associated with swarm operations, the proposed aircraft would retain significant reach and carrying capacity.
The solicitation calls for a payload of at least 2,800 pounds, compared with roughly 3,800 pounds carried by the MQ-9.
Requirements also include an unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles and a one-way transfer distance exceeding 8,000 nautical miles.
The drone must travel at speeds above 200 miles per hour while remaining capable of operating from 6,000-foot runways and improvised airstrips.
Defense planners also want enough onboard power and cooling capacity to support diverse internal and external mission equipment.
The specifications mention 25kW of available electrical power and 5kW of cooling capacity for future mission systems.
Ambitious timeline aims for operational capability by 2031The proposal places considerable emphasis upon autonomy, allowing a single operator to supervise several aircraft simultaneously during complex missions.
While no specific dimensions were included, the performance requirements indicate an aircraft broadly comparable in size to the MQ-9.
Officials have also not disclosed a preferred procurement price, though expectations suggest a figure substantially below the Reaper's estimated $30 million cost.
The timeline remains aggressive, with full-scale prototype flight testing expected within 21 months following contract award.
Initial Operating Capability is planned for fiscal year 2031, with 20 mission-ready aircraft delivered to an operational unit.
Recent combat experiences appear to have influenced the concept's development, particularly situations where defenders exhausted interceptors before attackers exhausted drones.
The solicitation argues that maintaining continuous MMA operations could pressure opponents into consuming costly defensive missiles at unsustainable rates.
“Keeping a constant airborne MMA presence to launch weapons, gather intelligence, perform electronic warfare missions, or relay communications will force an adversary to stay on the defensive,” the Defense Innovation Unit stated.
Via Defense News
A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #1633).
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #1634) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #1634) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.
Quordle today (game #1634) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #1634) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:
Quordle today (game #1634) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?• I
• P
• Y
• A
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1634) — the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle, game #1634, are…
This was a tricky game — mainly due to two words ending in vowels.
I thought I had exhausted all words ending in the letter O, before I finally got to one ending in two of them.
Daily Sequence today (game #1634) — the answers(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1634, are…
A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #1130).
Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.
What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Connections today (game #1131) - today's words(Image credit: New York Times)Today's NYT Connections words are…
What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?
Need more clues?
We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…
NYT Connections today (game #1131) - hint #2 - group answersWhat are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Connections today (game #1131) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Connections, game #1131, are…
Looking at today’s game after I completed it, I don’t understand why I failed to see SHADES OF BLACK as it is the only group that I could have actually got right.
The other three groups were the result of muddled game play and lucky guesses — particularly STARTING WITH TINY MARKS, which I didn’t get because I spotted dot, period, point and spot, but because all the tiles were made up of two words.
Before that, though, I made the mistake of putting together what I thought were four different types of printer. Hopefully I wasn't the only player to fall into that trap, but in truth it doesn't take much to catch me.
Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, July 15, 2026, game #1130)NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.
On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.
It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.
It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, July 15 (game #864).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Rerouting…
NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #2 - clue wordsPlay any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 12 letters
NYT Strands today (game #865) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?• First side: left, 4th row
• Last side: left, 8th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #865) - the answers(Image credit: New York Times)The answers to today's Strands, game #865, are…
Rerouting… is a word I used to see a lot when I used a sat nav in my car, so this is exactly the theme I was expecting — but I still struggled over it.
It’s not until you play Strands that you realize how many different ways there are to say the same thing, in this case a change of direction.
I took a hint to get going, but TACK didn’t help much. Then, I connected the two Zs for ZIGZAG and finally got motoring.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, July 15, game #864)Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
The AI buildout is well and truly underway with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman leading the charge, having made various deals with companies including Oracle and Nvidia to guarantee the infrastructure needed to train future AI models is installed. But as this ensues, the spotlight has been thrown on how much energy these models will need.
Eating machinesAltman was speaking during an AI summit in India earlier this year when making the remarks to The Indian Express.
Quote of the dayThis article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.
The OpenAI chief was being questioned about the substantial amount of energy that AI has already been consuming – and will be projected to continue consuming – for both training and inference. Bringing these models online, after all, and keeping them running require a huge amount of resources, not only in terms of the energy to power the data centers, but the water for cooling, and the components and resources in building the hardware.
Altman's defence hinged on the idea that people, too, require plenty of energy in order to reach utility — while AI can be trained much quicker. This view, in essence, frames machine intelligence as a like-for-like competitor with human intelligence.
Energy efficiencyAltman argued that humans are deeply inefficient, and that you should compare the total energy spent to create a human expert versus a machine expert. There's also an argument that energy efficiency of AI could improve over time.
But detractors were scathing in their criticism of this entire point of view – saying this framing doesn't take into account the fact that the human brain operates on roughly 20 watts of power. This isn't to mention the ethically gray and dehumanizing nature of the remarks.
People in Monticello, Utah have been tense and preparing to evacuate since shortly after the Babylon fire started June 26th
(Image credit: Inciweb)
Environmental groups have petitioned federal regulators to pause approval of orbital data center satellite constellations pending a full environmental review process.
Earthjustice recently filed a petition on behalf of DarkSky International, Environment America, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, known as PEER.
Combined proposals from SpaceX, Starcloud, Blue Origin, and Cowboy Space could place well over a million satellites into low Earth orbit.
Why regulators are being asked to slow downThe petition asks the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement before approving any pending applications currently under review.
Such a review, required under the National Environmental Policy Act, would examine risks, alternatives, costs, and cumulative impacts together across every proposal.
Environmental groups argue the agency's current approach treats satellite licenses as automatically excluded from any detailed environmental scrutiny under existing federal rules.
They say that framework no longer fits proposals measured in hundreds of thousands, or potentially millions, of individual spacecraft rather than dozens.
The filing lists specific concerns, including rocket emissions, reentry pollutants, ozone depletion, orbital debris, and disruption to astronomy research conducted worldwide.
The petition specifically challenges the FCC's default assumption that these projects individually and cumulatively carry no environmental impact whatsoever on nearby ecosystems.
It further warns that light pollution and wildlife disruption cannot be properly assessed through isolated regulatory reviews conducted individually rather than collectively.
The petition states that these proposals compound risk "synergistically and cumulatively" in ways single-project reviews cannot capture on their own.
Industry ambitions collide with regulatory uncertaintyBackers of orbital computing describe their projects in sweeping, civilization-changing language while offering few environmental details in return for regulatory approval.
Companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Starcloud, and Cowboy Space have not publicly detailed environmental mitigation plans for their satellites currently under regulatory review.
MOL and Hitachi have separately explored floating data center concepts, showing wider commercial interest beyond traditional orbital satellite proposals currently facing regulatory review.
The FCC is separately reconsidering its environmental review rules, acknowledging rapid growth across the broader commercial space industry over the past decade.
If the commission agrees, orbital data center operators could face considerable regulatory delay before launching any additional hardware skyward into low Earth orbit.
Some industry analysts have already questioned whether orbital data center economics make sense given high launch and maintenance costs involved in space deployment.
Analysts note that environmental reviews of this scope could take years, delaying deployment timelines.
This could delay deployment schedules and extend regulatory timelines if a comprehensive environmental review becomes mandatory.
Whether the FCC ultimately requires a full review remains uncertain, given ongoing industry pressure and competing national security interests tied to space dominance.
Until regulators decide, the fate of orbital computing may depend as much on environmental politics as on rocket technology or launch capacity itself.
Via The Register
Argentina survived another heart-stopping match when it scored two late goals to topple England and extend the Three Lions' six-decade-long wait for another World Cup trophy.
(Image credit: Shaun Botterill)
Todd Blanche remained composed throughout the hours-long hearing, but faced several testy moments during questioning as he seeks to win the support of all Republican senators on the committee.
(Image credit: Eric Lee)
OpenAI is building an AI-powered smart speaker nobody wants. That is, if you believe the Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman and you've read his description of said rumored device.
According to the report:
"OpenAI believes the product’s defining feature will be its personality and ability to connect on a humanlike level with users. The speaker incorporates mechanical elements that can move on their own, creating a sense that it is alive and not just an object responding to commands. The machine also will draw on personal information such as emails to better understand its owner."
The news sources, it appears, come from an insider who decided to spill all the juicy details mere hours after Apple dropped a blockbuster trade-secrets lawsuit on OpenAI's head. OpenAI claims it's done nothing of the sort, and recent reports say that Apple's claim that the AI giant has not even responded to Apple's earliest concerns was based on it potentially incorrectly identifying the former Apple employees who left to join OpenAI (allegedly with Apple trade secrets in tow).
Apple's concerns here are twofold: First, these former employees had access to many of Apple's secretive product development details and may even have asked recruits to share fresh details when they approached them to interview for jobs at OpenAI. The other concern is that Apple is already far behind in the AI race, and if Apple's plans for Siri, AI, and a potential robotic desktop home assistant were also leaked, it could harm its ability to catch up in multiple market sectors.
This latest news, which may or may not be accurate, should put Apple's fears to rest.
OpenAI is apparently not building something that could ably compete with any of Apple's key hardware or future hardware initiatives.
First of all, there's the smart-speaker-ness of the whole rumored OpenAI concept. There are already too many smart speakers on the market, many of them with their own smart assistants. Amazon, for instance, is smack in the middle of trying to convince millions of customers that not only do they need Echo devices throughout the home, but they need the AI-powered Alexa+ to guide them through their smart home experiences and, to some extent, their lives.
Apple has its own HomePod, Siri-infused speakers, which may get considerably more powerful with the Gemini foundation model-backed version arriving this Fall.
Put another way, smart speakers are a known quantity in the home consumer electronics space, and I think what most tech companies are realizing is that people like and use them, but mostly in limited ways: they want music, occasional answers to simple questions, and voice control of their smart home devices. That's it.
Why does my speaker think it's alive?(Image credit: Future)OpenAI appears to be prepared to offer something different: a personality-filled speaker that can watch you, move to engage, seem alive, and generally make you feel uncomfortable.
Obviously, that would not be the objective, but it could be the result. Who needs a speaker that quietly watches you as you walk from your kitchen to the den, waiting and hoping for you to say, "hey ChatGPT, what's up with the Strait of Hormuz today?"
In my home, we have a Psync smart security webcam with one oddball feature: it has a motorized body that can turn almost 360 degrees on its base and lift its thin, rectangular face and camera to keep track of people and alert me to intruders. However, most of the time, it's just watching us move around the house, and I can tell you that my family hates it. Sometimes I come home and find its face forced down so it can't pop up and track anything.
Now, imagine a larger and far smarter OpenAI AI smart speaker in your home, watching, waiting, chiming in when you don't want it to, and generally making people feel uncomfortable.
This will not be the breakout hardware hit OpenAI is hoping for.
Look, I was under the impression that OpenAI (really Jony Ive and Sam Altman) were working on an AI wearable. I didn't love that idea either, but it was a lot less creepy than this.
So, Apple, chill out. OpenAI's plans are no threat to you, even if they do allegedly have a bunch of insidery Apple information.
The change is driven by improved perceptions of China and declining views of the United States.
(Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein)
Your favorite AI service could be subverted to deploy code that turns your phone or PC into a botnet, according to researchers at Intuit, Technion, and Tel Aviv University.
The technique has been given the name HalluSquatting, a portmanteau of adversarial hallucination squatting, and is similar to typosquatting in that it relies on a mistake in order to distribute malicious code. While typosquatting might occur with the incorrect input of a website URL, HalluSquatting pivots on an LLM being unable to identify a resource or repository with 100% accuracy.
Relying on an LLM’s tendency to hallucinate repository resource identifiers, this weakness could be scaled up to conduct massive ransomware campaigns, botnets, and more.
Push-me-pull-youPrevious LLM-based malware operations have relied on pull-based attacks. In this scenario, a prompt designed to jailbreak or otherwise subvert the AI is (for example) placed on a website and the LLM encouraged to gather the information, thereby reducing its internal security.
What the researchers have shared in their paper, is that pull techniques are being combined with push attacks, which are traditionally executed as code injection.
The paper’s introduction summary states: “By preemptively registering hallucinated resources—a technique we call adversarial hallucination squatting (HalluSquatting)—we demonstrate remote tool execution and remote code execution at scale across a range of popular agentic LLM applications, which could be exploited to the establishment of a botnet.”
Once an attacker has identified the resource likely to be misnamed by an LLM, and squatted on it (to embed adversarial prompts), the work is done. All that remains is for a user to trigger the resource, the AI chatbot or agent to initiate the response, and the squatted resource will be accessed.
Promptware attackFollowing this, the adversarial content held within the squatted resource is activated, triggering the tool invocation stage. This is the promptware attack, where attacker-controlled instructions are executed, with results potentially including turning the device you’re using into a botnet zombie.
LLMs such as the Cursor, Cursor CLI, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, Cline coding assistants have been used in the testing of this avenue of attack along with Gemini CLI, and the OpenClaw, ZeroClaw, and NanoClaw AI assistants. The researchers successfully achieved remote tool execution (essentially remotely accessing and controlling the LLMs) and remote code execution (RCE, where malicious code is executed remotely).
Some mitigation is available, including LLM developers blocking fetch operations in favor of a search tool, and resource owners enforcing strict naming, perhaps in favor of globally unique resource names. However, these are will require collaboration by disparate parties, and may take a while to implement.
The risk of LLM-based malware is increasing, and some has already been spotted in the wild. Of these, the JADEPUFFER attack is perhaps the most notable, as it isn’t simply AI-based malware – it is a full ransomware attack run entirely by an LLM.
Leaked Pixel Watch 5 renders reveal every color, both case sizes, and Google's familiar design ahead of the Made by Google event on August 12.
The post Google Pixel Watch 5 Renders Leak Ahead of Launch appeared first on TechRepublic.