Replicator 1.2, Hypersonic Wind Tunnels, Axis of Autocracy Treaties, and more!

Defense and dual-use texhnologies

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The Pentagon has announced several awards for the Replicator-1, Tranche 2 (or Replicator 1.2) program.  While Replicator remains focused on all domains, these announced awards are only for UAS and include Anduril's Ghost X and Altius-600 systems, Performance Drone Wroks C-100, and the Air Force Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV).  Of note, the ETV is not actually a product yet, but is undergoing a prototyping competition, which DIU downselected to four companies. 

The Ghost X looks like a small helicopter while the PDW C-100 is a quadcopter.  Both have flight times of around 70 minutes and will be fielded to U.S. Army units at the company level.  The Altius-600 is part of the Marine Corps' Organic Precision Fires capability enhancing the indirect fire capabilities of a Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.  Now the ETV is not clearly defined, but appears to be an effort to create a low-cost cruise missile.  For the ETV to be truly useful, it needs to come in at a price point …