October 16, 2026

[BLANK] WITH FRICKEN LASER BEAMS: Army Wants High-Energy Laser Weapons It Can Put On ‘Any Vehicle In The Motorpool.’ “The U.S. Army is pursuing a family of modular and scalable laser directed energy weapons that can be fitted to any vehicle in its inventory. The service sees this as key to expanding the operational use of lasers, particularly to provide an extra layer of defense against drone threats, and outside of dedicated units. The Army is already fielding high-energy lasers operationally on a limited basis, including along the border wth Mexico, but the technology has faced continued hurdles to more widespread use in recent years.”

Look, nobody said putting lasers on any vehicle in the motorpool was going to be easy. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile.

Posted at 2:50 pm by Stephen Green

CDR SALAMANDER: America’s Maritime Moment Will Not Wait.

I came to London last week for APEX Europe, a thought and defense tech conference where defense leaders from across NATO are talking about the approaches, capabilities and investments that will shape future security. Those conversations felt more urgent after spending time in Greenwich. The museums made clear that maritime strength is about much more than ships. It depends on industrial capacity, technological imagination, national will and the willingness to act before a crisis makes action unavoidable.

That raises a difficult question for the United States: Are we making the decisions today that will preserve American maritime power tomorrow?

I’ll acknowledge something up front. I know I can sound like a broken record on this subject: act now, make hard choices, invest in the industrial base, embrace new technology, take care of our sailors and save our Navy.

But it’s hard not to keep saying it.

I can’t read another story about shipbuilding, listen to another speech about maritime strategy or visit another American or allied naval museum without reaching the same conclusion:

This is our moment.

For the United States Navy. For the maritime services. And for the nation.

Read the whole thing.

Posted at 1:48 pm by Stephen Green

MISSION… ACCEPTED: meet the stunning new mid-engined Porsche Mission S.

Porsche is on the ropes. Its profits – once the envy of many a carmaker – fell off a cliff last year, plunging a whopping 93 per cent to €90m. Its bet on an EV future resulted in… two new petrol crossovers.

It’s now on a mission to turn the ship around. And this is part of the solution. Welcome to the stunning new Mission S supercar.

It’s not a limited-edition hypertoy conceived for the fortunate few (though no doubt it’d sell out in seconds), but a full-production car that’ll sit at the top of Porsche tree. Which means it’ll look down on Porsche’s halo car.

“The Mission S represents a mid-engined super sports car platform positioned above the 911 – not as a one-off hypercar, but as a permanent and versatile addition to our customer offering,” said boss Michael Leiters.

It was designed to be “recognisable as a Porsche at first glance”, and we’d say… mission accomplished. It’s very 911-alike at the front with that familiar headlight arrangement, a slatted bonnet, a clean front bumper, and what Porsche deems ‘torpedo’ wings.

Car and Driver says that it can be yours for a mere half a million dollars.

UPDATE: Great moments in timing, as Elon radically upstages Porsche: The Tesla Roadster flew, drove upside down, and hit 60mph in under a second.

 

Posted at 1:38 pm by Ed Driscoll

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD:

Posted at 1:33 pm by Stephen Green

ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE CUES VIRAL REACTION WITH EMBARRASSING THING SHE BROUGHT TO LIVE DEBATE:

Sure you can – you can cue card your way through the presidency, if that’s what your handlers desire:

 

Posted at 1:22 pm by Ed Driscoll

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™: Let’s Hear It for an Oregon Good Guy With a Gun. “This week we hear the tale of two males: one who stepped up to kill a bad guy to save lives, and another who used his power to kill spirits. The world is reminded that an El Niño is a real thing and Rob Bonta still hasn’t read the Constitution. There’s more. LET’S GO!”

Posted at 1:17 pm by Stephen Green

ROCKET REPORT: Stoke ships second stage for testing.

The reusable upper stage for Stoke Space’s Nova rocket has left the company’s factory in Kent, Washington, for what would be the last time, Stoke wrote on X this week. Now at Stoke’s test facility in Moses Lake, the second stage will undergo cryo-proof testing and a hotfire campaign with its Andromeda engine. The milestone follows the completion of “proto-qualification” testing on Nova’s first stage earlier this year. Nova’s booster section is a rather conventional reusable first stage, but the upper stage is what sets the rocket apart. Stoke designed Nova for full reusability, with the upper stage protected by a regeneratively cooled heat shield and powered by a ring of 24 thrusters, an engine collectively named Andromeda.

Next stop, Cape Canaveral … The upcoming tests at Moses Lake will be a linchpin for Stoke’s ambition to launch the Nova rocket next year. If all goes according to plan, Stoke will ship the reusable rocket stage to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it will meet the other elements of the rocket for final launch preparations. The medium-lift Nova is the only fully reusable Western rocket other than SpaceX’s Starship in an advanced stage of development.

Godspeed…

Posted at 12:46 pm by Stephen Green

“IS THE NEW YORK TIMES A LIBERAL NEWSPAPER? Of course it is:”

(Classical reference in headline.)

Posted at 12:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

WHAT DID AOC EVER BUILD?

Posted at 12:25 pm by Stephen Green

KRUISER: Now More Than Ever, the Survival of the Constitution Is on the Ballot. “Back in my ‘the Constitution can handle anything days,’ it wasn’t under relentless assault from the Democratic Party. There were attacks, to be sure, but they came from the radical fringe of the party. Here in the Year of Our Lord 2026, those in the mainstream Democratic Party establishment are so far left that they make the 20th century Dem radicals look like moderate Republicans.”

Posted at 12:15 pm by Stephen Green

ED MORRISSEY: WSJ: The Real Goal of Operation World War Eleven Is …:

… exactly what we thought yesterday. The Department of Justice may want to pursue criminal charges against Ilhan Omar related to her $30 million ‘mistake’ in financial disclosures, but the Department of Homeland Security wants to boot the House Democrat out of the country.

At issue, as noted yesterday as well, is Omar’s naturalization as a claimed refugee from the violence of the civil war in Somalia at the time. DHS believes her father, Nur Mohamed Omar/Nur Said Omar Mohamed lied in his asylum application when he claimed to be an educator, when in fact he was a high-ranking military official in the regime accused of atrocities in the war. Omar herself may have lied about her age, negating her naturalization and leaving her ineligible for Congress, and potentially the subject of deportation.

Related: Omar’s Kryptonite:

Posted at 12:00 pm by Ed Driscoll