Defense tech head predicts future of modern warfare

Autonomous Military Systems

• Anduril builds autonomous systems designed to take people out of harm's way and handle the dirtiest, most dull military jobs.
• The company is about to start large-scale manufacturing of the YFQ-4, its first autonomous fighter jet for the United States Air Force, going into production this summer ahead of schedule.
• The YFQ-4 has no pilot at all and flies alongside U.S. airmen, taking risks a human pilot would not take to achieve outcomes that would otherwise be impossible.
• Staff from the Columbus, Ohio site have been brought to California for training and indoctrination, then sent back to help stand up the factory.

Ghost Shark Robotic Submarines

• Anduril builds robotic, autonomous submarines with U.S. and Australian customers.
• These submarines can do many things previously only possible with manned submarines at less than one one-hundredth of the cost, since no space is needed to keep a crew alive.
• Luckey predicts that ten years from now, conflicts will feature far more robot-versus-robot engagements rather than crewed systems.

Autonomous Weapons and Adversaries

• Against threatening nations like Russia, Iran, or North Korea, Luckey argues for using systems adversaries know you are not afraid to lose.
• Losing a U.S. carrier or submarine carries huge political, moral, and economic risk; robots do not, which he believes signals willingness to act.

China Sanctions and Taiwan

• China sanctioned about 20 U.S. defense companies and their CEOs, including Luckey and Anduril, citing U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
• Luckey says he is proud of the sanction, which seizes his Chinese assets and bars him from entering China.
• He visited Taiwan a few months ago and says Anduril regularly helps modernize Taiwan's military with defense and maritime systems designed to destroy invading aircraft and ground forces.
• He says most of Anduril's designs are aimed at China more than Venezuela, which is why little Anduril equipment appeared in Venezuela.

Bounties on Dictators

• Luckey notes Joe Biden doubled the bounty on Maduro and says he would love to see bounties on more dictators.

Retro Gaming Side Project

• Since about age 14, Luckey has built technology combining retro consoles with modern practices.
• He is announcing a new handheld that plays Game Boy games, with a magnesium aluminum alloy shell and sapphire crystal window, plus new ways to play Nintendo 64 games.