A new Mitchell Institute paper argues the Space Force must develop a human spaceflight program and extend Title 10 active-duty orders to cover space station residencies and lunar operations, framing China's goal of placing Taikonauts on the moon by 2030 as a strategic inflection point requiring a U.S. military response.

The 22-page report, authored by retired Space Force Col. Kyle Pumroy, calls for blurring the long-standing line between space exploration and military operations by granting guardians "warfighting authorities and a national defense mindset" for human spaceflight, while acknowledging the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) would need to be modernized to reflect a lunar economy and China's pattern of territorial behavior.

The paper calls on Congress to fund dedicated Space Force residencies on commercial stations and potentially a service-owned station, positioning in-domain human experience as irreplaceable for developing future military requirements and signaling U.S. commitment to space superiority.

AeroVironment (AV) unveiled two new capabilities at SOF Week 2026: AV_Halo INSTINCT, an autonomy framework that shifts operator focus from platform control to mission objectives via conversational tasking, and AV_Halo DETECT, an AI-driven radio-frequency (RF) sensing and threat identification system designed for electronic attack environments.

INSTINCT uses a modular, low-footprint architecture and integrates with AV_Halo MENTOR for simulation-based tactics development; according to AV, it has already performed during major U.S. military operations in contested, multi-domain environments. DETECT extends unmanned platform capabilities through real-time threat perception and integrates with radar, cameras, access control, and command-and-control networks.

Both capabilities are available immediately and configurable for ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), loitering strike, and counter-UAS (unmanned aerial systems) missions, compressing the window from detection to action across platforms operating with limited size, weight, power, and cost constraints.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the U.S. Army have launched the Robotic Operation for Autonomous Delivery and Sustainment (ROADS) prize challenge, offering up to $30 million to companies that can adapt commercial autonomous vehicle technology to the DoD's fleet of over 150,000 non-tactical vehicles (NTVs) on military installations.

The challenge directly targets a documented problem: the current DoD NTV fleet lacks modern dispatch, coordination, and automation capabilities, resulting in low vehicle utilization, excess fleet capacity, and unnecessary accident exposure. The effort draws on two decades of commercial AV progress that traces back to DARPA's Grand Challenge.

The challenge is open through June 8; top performers are eligible for follow-on production contracts. The Army's CTO framed the effort as a dual-use forcing function: familiarizing soldiers with autonomy in logistics roles while freeing them for core warfighting tasks.

Anduril Industries has introduced the Voyager Gateway 1 (Voyager G1), a body-worn edge computing node roughly the size of a handheld radio that integrates with the company's Lattice Mesh network to give dismounted operators real-time access to mission applications, AI-enabled tools, live video, and voice communications without relying on rear command post servers.

The system is engineered for low power consumption and waterproof durability, with both wired and wireless connectivity, and is designed to maintain performance under shock, vibration, and contested electromagnetic conditions. It was recently tested alongside Anduril's Mission Autonomy software during a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) exercise, demonstrating sensing and target-sharing in areas with limited communications infrastructure.

Voyager G1 extends Anduril's existing Voyager product line with a dismounted form factor, removing a key dependency on fixed infrastructure and allowing small units to continue operating as connected battlefield nodes in denied or degraded environments.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met NATO foreign ministers in Sweden amid unresolved confusion over U.S. troop posture in Europe: earlier this month, President Trump announced a drawdown in Poland and a withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany, then reversed course on the Poland decision late Thursday with an announcement of an increased deployment, leaving several allies uncertain whether the new Poland commitment replaces or supplements the prior one.

The Iran war has sharpened existing NATO fault lines, with European allies increasingly diverging from U.S. positions on the conflict; analyst Kristine Berzina of the German Marshall Fund assessed that the war is accelerating a U.S. withdrawal from NATO leadership that had already been telegraphed, with countries that have criticized U.S. operations in Iran potentially facing differential treatment under the current administration.

Rubio both reassured allies of continued U.S. commitment and signaled a reduced U.S. role within the alliance, offering "slight progress" on Iran talks while NATO members began contingency planning for a worst-case scenario in the Strait of Hormuz, with Rubio stating plainly that "someone's going to have to do something" if Iran refuses to reopen the waterway.

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