Is the Beechcraft M-346N the next evolution in Navy flight training?

Who needs a tomahawk when you have a flamingo? Why a flock of them could be headed to Russia

The fury takes flight. What we know about Anderil's CCA and its maiden voyage

And Christmas comes early for a tech giant. What it could mean for the Department of Defense

Hello and welcome to Weapons and Warfare. Our goal here on the show is pretty simple

We want to help you have an informed conversation about what's happening day in and day out with our nation's military

For Straight Arrow News, I'm your host, Ryan Robertson, and we start this week with what could be the Navy's new jet for training its next generation of aviators

The jet is the Beechcraft M346N, and it's the subject of this week's debrief

At first look, the M346N looks and sounds every bit the kind of jet pilots would love to take for a spin

But it's in the air where its makers hope it's the kind of jet the Navy wants to replace an aging fleet of T-45 trainers

Some of the things you'll notice, there's two engines in this aircraft, so we have the redundancy of two

So this is a safety factor if there was some kind of bird strike or engine event. Plus you allow the training for a two-engine platform

So if the students are going to go to the F-18 two-engine airplane, you have the ability to train to that in the advanced jet trainer

The Beechcraft M346N is a variant of the M346, originally designed by Italy's Leonardo, but it's been tweaked for the U.S. Navy

As Matt Hall, the North American Director of Sales, Training, and Services for Textron Aviation Defense explains

his company sees the jet as the next chapter in its partnership with the U.S. Navy

We have a long history in naval aviation training stemming all the way back to World War II

so aircraft like the T-34, the T-6, the T-44, the T-54, and now we hope will be the M346N that the Navy will go ahead and go move forward with

for purchase for the undergraduate jet training system. Textron and Leonardo teamed up to offer the Navy a platform they say delivers trainees everything they need to take the next step in flight training

The M346N comes with fully digital flight controls, fly-by-wire technology, and an advanced training system that includes a carrier landing simulator

Granted, all of that is pretty cool, but it's the data link that Matt says makes this a bird of a different feather

You could have aircraft flying with other aircraft, aircraft flying with simulators, and you could have those constructive forces, say, showing up on an air-to-air radar

so a student can do an intercept. Well, in a real-time monitoring station on the ground, then

what you would see is an instructor could sit there and inject new threats into the scenario the student may not have expected

So even with one aircraft airborne at a time, you could get a very complex training scenario for that student

and really make the most efficient training possible. Another advantage the M346N brings to the table, a proven track record

Its predecessor has been flying for a decade with more than 150,000 flight hours to its credit

It's already being flown by more than half a dozen countries with more on deck

And it's only going to continue to get better. So when this has already gone through a number of iterations and updates to that system

so that 10 years of proving out the platform, because any new platform takes time, right

to get all the bugs kind of worked out no matter what it might be. Right. But that has now been done, and then now they're able to leverage that

those improvements to even make the systems we've been talking about. One more unique feature the M346N offers

an improved vantage point for the pilots training the students. One thing you'll really notice is just the elevation difference

between the front and the rear cockpit. So the visibility out of the rear cockpit when I flew last Thursday is just amazing

It actually felt like I was flying from the front seat. I forgot I was in the back. And for a training aircraft, why is it important that the

you know, the guy teaching can be able to see that vantage point? One of the main reasons for

that would be in the landing pattern. There's that visibility over the top of the student's

head in the front cockpit. This has a great capability for that. And in other aircraft

where that visibility isn't as good, you wouldn't put a HUD there because you just wouldn't have the

need for that kind of system because you would be looking at the back of someone's head

As for when you might start seeing the M346N flying in American skies, the Navy is set

to hand out the contract for the undergraduate jet training system program in January, 2027

All right I am joined now by senior producer and Air Force veteran Brett Baker for some headlines you may have missed And Brett we covered the M346 in a few different ways now on the show and the data integration that platform brings to bear is really impressive

It really is. It's kind of what separates it from maybe some of the alternatives

Just the fact that you can link up with other guys in the air or other guys on the ground

and create kind of a full scenario plan for whatever training is needed

really makes that thing kind of a standout project. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, being able to augment reality and practice carrier-arrested landings and everything like that

like good skills to have for a lot of those guys, right

So, all right, let's get to those headlines. Just a couple weeks ago in this very segment

we talked about what the delivery and green light to use U.S. Tomahawk missiles would mean to the war effort

in the defense of Ukraine. Well, now comes word from The Independent

that the Ukrainian-made cruise missile, the Flamingo, surpasses the Tomahawk in several ways

Built by Firepoint, with a range of more than 1,800 miles and a warhead of nearly 2,500 pounds

the Flamingo can fly farther and pack a bigger punch than its American counterpart

Firepoint's chief technical officer, Irina Tarek, recently spelled out her company's goals when it comes to equipping Ukrainian warfighters

We are producing specific products, these products and overall things around this. We're trying to

provide a service, something very user-friendly, something very easy to use, not too complicated

not too expensive, refillable and constantly present on the front line, something that you

could really rely on. And while discussing whether or not Shehet looks dangerous or not

what really is dangerous is a constant supply that never stops. That was at Defense Valley Tech 2025 in Lviv, Ukraine, an event we actually attended

and got a good look at the Flamingo for ourselves, or a model representation of it, rather

Brett, Firepoint is really trying to fill a gap in Ukraine's arsenal

And I just saw that Mike Pompeo, the former U.S. Army officer and CIA director under Trump

one, recently joined Firepoint's Board of Advisors. Right. Well, as far as the I'm, you know, can't speak to that part of it, but as far as the

Flamingo, you can definitely tell it's something like they're they're not going to wait around

They've got stuff they need to take care of. And if they can fill that void with something that they can reproduce in the country, then they're going to do it

I think they're taking some repurposed engines from some Russian era stuff to get this done

I don't know how long those engines will last, like how many they have. But it's definitely a clear sign that the Ukrainians aren't just going to be waiting to be helped out

They're doing a lot for themselves. Right, right. the uh so mike pompeo just real quick mike pompeo was added as an advisor because there was some

um firepoint got some really good contracts really quickly got a lot of money from the

from ukraine so it's like is this all on the up and up there were some questions there

uh because ukraine you know does have a history uh under soviet and russian rule of having some

uh less than honest people running things right so uh they brought in mike pompeo to kind of you

know help um you know make sure that things above board exactly exactly all right let's get to the

second headline for the second week in a row we're talking about andrel and it's another biggie

earlier this month we got our first look at an airborne fury that's andrel's entrant into the

dood's competition for the collaborative combat aircraft also known as a loyal wingman as andrel's

Press release states they went from clean sheet to first semi-autonomous flight of a CCA in 556 days

Officially known as the YFQ-44A collaborative combat aircraft, Anderil built an incredibly complex machine in less than two years

Brett, we've been covering this thing since its inception, really. Kind of cool to see it in the air finally, right

Absolutely. And yeah, that timeline, such a short window from, you know, blank sheet of paper to getting that thing up in the air

Incredibly impressive for any group, let alone one that's doing as many varied and diverse projects as Andrill is doing

But it's a sure sign that the CCA project, you know, the competition between the two entities is going to go strong, I think

I think it's good for both that they're both up and flying already

and then that just brings whatever the decision the DOD eventually makes that much closer to the fore So you know we can move on forward with whichever one they select and make that a part of the fleet

And finally, will it be an early Christmas for Google? The tech giant has plans to build a significant artificial intelligence data center on Christmas Island

a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. That news follows a cloud agreement with Australia's Department of Defense earlier this year

Reuters broke the story after reviewing some documents and speaking with officials involved in the project

Military ysts are suggesting the facility would be a strategic asset for the island

which is increasingly recognized by defense folks as a vital location for monitoring Chinese submarine and naval activities in the Indian Ocean

And Brett, I was talking with a former admiral for a story about hypersonics in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago

And he said that they're starting to be able to track a submarine underwater based on the ripples at the surface

But in order to do that, the level of like computing power is off the charts

So, you know, maybe this Christmas Island data center is part of that

I'm not sure. I'm just kind of putting that information out into the ether

Right. Yeah, it's hard to know what's going to be what. But I think it does speak to the interest that's going on in the Indo-Pacific

People not only maybe wanted to be a part of it, but be a part of the solution to whatever eventually happens

and making sure that they've kind of staked out their claim. Obviously, Google has got deep pockets

So to pull off a project like this doesn't seem beyond expectations

But yeah, it'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out and if that plays a role in anything, because strategically, it's certainly an important place

Right, right. Yeah, the People's Liberation Army Navy, we've talked about this kind of tailor made to keep the U.S. out of the area

So if anything kicks off there, like, you know, U.S. is going to need partners in the region

right and Australia, Japan, South Korea and others they all kind of recognize you know the

better partner to have between the U.S. and China is the U.S. so all right Brett really appreciate

your time as always we'll see you next week see you next week it's time to break up with mainstream

media and try something new at straight arrow news we're bringing back trustworthy journalism

Bringing you news, not noise. Bringing you facts, not fluff. Bringing you clarity, not chaos

We are. We are. We are Straight Arrow News, the news you've been looking for

For unbiased, straight facts, visit san.com. For all the talk about future wars being fought by machines

Machines, they're starting to take over. Right now, one of the most persistent and growing threats on the battlefield

is something far simpler. Cheap, off-the-shelf drones. These Unmanned Aerial Systems, or UAS, have become the new IED

Hard to spot, deadly, and everywhere. But what if the solution to a machine threat is an even smarter machine

That's where Aim Lock comes in, and why they're the subject of our Weapon of the Week

For AimLock, the job isn't just trying to shoot drones down. It's about providing autonomous counter-UAS systems

an automated defense that can detect, track, and neutralize threats with both speed and precision

So we use our Keystone core targeting module to accelerate target acquisition

and calculate all of the advanced fire control. Most of the time that's deployed onto a remote weapons turret

which is why you see so many variations of that. These just match up with the specific mission sets that our end-user customers have

But when we integrate into larger systems, that same module integrates radar sensors, camera sensors

and any other kind of effector like missiles and rockets as we need them

As Brian Bachman, the president and CEO of AimLock, sees it, the U.S. military has a full arsenal of kinetic weapons

like machine guns, grenades, and rocket launchers that are still effective, but risk becoming obsolete if they can't be used in the right place

at the right time. So having all these uncrewed systems, whether they're aerial or they're ground

systems or even sea surface systems, all of those new assets allow us to deliver the weapons to the

right place at the right time. So we focus on building safe and secure autonomy to control

these weapons so that the warfighter can focus on getting their job done Bachman says AIMLOC took lessons learned from the dawn of the smart weapon era to deliver something that more cost effective and adaptable to new weapon systems that come online So by creating modules it allowed us to experiment learn what we needed to learn

take advantage of whatever the circumstances are at the moment, and put together the right system for the right time

The great part about that is, as soon as one piece becomes obsolete, you can replace just that one piece, and the rest of the system keeps marching forward

You bet. Let's talk about distribution, clients, customers, all that kind of stuff

Where are you guys operating? Who buys your stuff? That kind of thing

Right. Yeah, we've got a global market. You know, the U.S. State Department regulates the transfer of our weapons technology out to our partner nations

So all of NATO, Indo-Pacific, all of the partner nations in each of these areas are verified recipients of these export licenses

So AIMLOC works to make sure that the electronics, the software, and all of our manufacturing partners are properly licensed

We transfer the equipment to those nations, then train and sustain after that

As for what's next, Bachman says they've developed partnerships with Overland, AI MVP Robotics, and Teledyne to deliver on several experiments set for the next year

He tells us warfighters have already started taking delivery of these new systems so they can put them to the test and develop new ways to bring AIMLOC to the fight

All right, for Comp Check this week, we are checking in with Honeywell, talking about some new engines that they are making for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Program

Here to talk a little bit more about that is Sarah Cooney with Honeywell. Sarah, thank you so much for joining us today

Well, thank you very much for visiting us. So from what I understand of this engine, it's made using components and procedures that Honeywell already has in place

So the Honeywell 1600 is actually based on years of experience that Honeywell's developed through all of our engine and our APU programs

Honeywell's produced over 115,000 engines and APUs, and in fact, we're the leading manufacturer of APUs in the world

So our technologies that we've used in the Honeywell 1600 are not only based on our experience, but also some new manufacturing techniques

So, you know, when we say CCAs, how much, let's get into the, you know, the nuts and bolts

How much thrust does this produce? How much does it weigh? What are some of the, you know, the basic characteristics of it

So this is actually a scalable engine. It's currently classified for what is called the CCA Class II Increment II category in terms of competition

This one has the capability of going from 900 to 1600 pounds

The model you currently see is roughly around 1200 pounds in its size and class

Other information about it's currently under wraps. Sure, sure. Got to keep the secret sauce secret, right

When we're talking about CCAs, it's kind of supposed to be for expendable

attritable technologies is kind of the word of the day. How does adding additive manufacturing into the process

help bring down that cost curve to make this an attritable engine? So what you're looking at there is actually speed and speed of production

And because Honeywell currently has facilities that we are using additive manufacturing daily

We have a certification for some of our parts, and we actually have over a 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that is additive

So when you're looking at additive, which we're also able to do is also digital engineering, model-based engineering technologies also help speed that process for build

Honeywell is using technology in production facilities that are already in place

So how many of these are we going to be able to make if the contract comes through

So Honeywell currently produces well over 10 APUs a day. We have actually over 115,000 APUs and engines produced worldwide

so we have a very significant experience in that. And the answer to that question really is, is how much would you like me to scale to

Thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. Thank you. All right, folks, for my wrap this week, since it's the week of Thanksgiving and all

I thought it was appropriate to spend a few moments expressing what I'm grateful for this year

My wife and kids, obviously. I love them more than anyone else on the planet, even when they're driving me bonkers, and I'm grateful for that

I'm also thankful for the guys working on this show. There are four of us here, we call ourselves the Quad Fathers

I trust them all implicitly, and they make me look like I know what I'm talking about every week, so obviously very thankful for that

And I'm thankful for you all out there on the interwebs, watching this video right now

We make this show because we want to help you all have a better base of knowledge when it comes to our nation's military, national defense, and the like

But there would not be a show without you. So, thanks for watching

And be sure to join us next week. We're talking counterintelligence with the U.S. Army's top brass

In the meantime, though, for senior producer Brett Baker, video editor Brian Spencer, and motion artist Dakota Patio

I'm Ryan Robertson, Straight Arrow News, signing off