A squadron of six Chinese Chengdu J-10 jets took off towards an overcast sky in front of thousands of spectators at an airfield in southern China's coastal city of Zhuhai in mid-November. Flying low in a close V-shaped formation, the jets circled back and as they approached a cluster of buildings near the spectators, trails of red, blue, yellow and white smoke suddenly poured from each plane, bringing a cheer from onlookers that was almost as loud as the roar from the warplanes' engines. Seconds later, the J-10s broke their close formation to show off a series of even more impressive acrobatic manoeuvres. But the aerial show by the seasoned pilots was far from the only demonstration of prowess at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, better known as Airshow China or the Zhuhai Airshow, which is held biennially and named after the city in southern China where it is held. A wide array of new equipment and aircraft available to the Chinese military – known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) – was unveiled for the first time at the airshow, held from November 12 to 17.

In episode 78 of the Aerospace Advantage, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Airpower: Closer than You Think, host John "Slick" Baum speaks with a seasoned remotely piloted aircraft operator--Brigadier General Houston Cantwell, who commands the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force--and an engineer who specializes in artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions, Dr. Anastacia "Stacie" MacAllister of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to explore how AI can revolutionize airpower. Secretary of the Air Force Kendall has made it clear that AI and developing manned and unmanned teams is a top priority for the USAF if we are to fight and win in a conflict with our peer competitors. To realize this vision, it will take engineers and warfighters working side-by-side to deliver operationally relevant AI into UAVs. But they will need to strike a balance. We need to move fast enough to stay ahead of the adversary, but not so fast that there is no time to put the right constraints in place to prevent AI from spinning out of control.

I can't believe they had to wait so long. Finally, after 50 days of war, the new U.S. military assistance package announced by President Joe Biden Wednesday afternoon is providing Ukraine some American heavy artillery, 300 armored vehicles, and other equipment that will significantly boost Ukraine's ability to take on the Russians. Based on the list of new weapons going to Ukraine, the Pentagon must see some serious Russian attacks coming. Evidently, somebody lit a fire under the Pentagon staff. Deliveries will "literally start right away," pledged Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Apr. 13.

Air power has played an increasingly important role in the Libyan conflict. The relatively flat featureless desert terrain of the north and coast means that ground units are easily spotted, with few places to hide. The air forces of both the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) use French and Soviet-era fighter jets, antiquated and poorly maintained. While manned fighter aircraft have been used, for the most part the air war has been fought by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. With nearly 1,000 air strikes conducted by UAVs, UN Special Representative to Libya Ghassan Salame called the conflict "the largest drone war in the world".

Apple acquired Power by Proxi in October 2017. One of the first patent applications surfacing from Power by Proxi under Apple's name showed that their expertise was with an "object detection system." Such a system is crucial on a multi-device charging pad like AirPower. A user may pull their iPhone out of their pocket to charge it on AirPower and accidentally place along with it an aluminum gum wrapper, some loose change or a transit pass with a magnetic strip on the mat which could cause havoc if not a fire if the charging coils are accidentally overheated. Apple has both acquired and filed patents (01 & 02) working on this problem of foreign objects dumped on a charging pad.