Beat new Axis of Evil on technology front

The new Axis of Evil led by the PRC with its Russia province fighting on the Ukraine front may have quantitative advantages regionally, or even globally, but it can never have an overall advantage on the technology front because freedom is the most important factor for innovation. I started to wish the Ukrainian government could appeal to engineers and scientists worldwide to join coordinated efforts to defeat the invaders on the technology front, soon after the Rashists began the full-scale slaughter. 

There are so many technological breakthroughs that Ukraine could use to defeat the enemy - jam-resistant drones (they have fiber-optical drones now, but they could be better), reliable wireless communication to replace Starlink that is controlled by an unreliable man, autonomous unmanned land, sea, and aerial vehicles, cost-effective drone and missile intercepters, etc. I was frustrated by not seeing any movement in that direction, though Ukraine is doing a great job in developing indigenous weapons. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill toward Ukraine. I bet many brilliant minds will answer calls to volunteer their expertise to help Ukraine.

It was a great happy surprise to hear Eric Schmidt has been using his deep pocket, proven vision to help Ukraine on the technology front for a few years. I completely missed it. He must have kept these activities really low-key. "Schmidt’s interceptor...Account for about 90% of the Shahed drones downed". The way he helps Ukraine is the best way from the free world.

I was very much impressed by Schmidt when he pulled Google out of the PRC as early as 2010, when others such as Zuckerberg were desperately trying to cozy up to the CCP to get into the market. Musk later became the most successful one and became a buddy of the politburo. 

Profiting from probably the biggest and most efficient weapon lab in history - Ukraine's battlefields - is likely a motive, but I have listened to Schmidt enough over the years that I doubt this is his primary drive. He is a principled freedom lover, not a grifter such as Carlson.

I originally had high hopes for Skydio. I ditched my DJI drone and embraced the Skydio 2 drone once I found out about them. I believed the premium of owning a US-developed and made drone was justified. 

Skydio, founded in 2014, caught up with and even beat drone juggernaut DJI in terms of drone performance in a few years. It was a shining example of America's innovative power. Unfortunately, they gave up the consumer market in 2023. I still enjoy my Skydio 2 drone, but there will be no successor. Skydio has been focusing on enterprise drones and the lobby effort to drive DJI out of the US, which is justified.

The US government should have an operation similar to the Manhattan Project to produce the most advanced drones by utilizing the current best weapon lab - Ukraine. Skydio could be a part of it. Unfortunately, it is not happening. This is why Schmidt's effort is particularly important.

I look forward to watching these for the coming years:

Swift Beat

White Stork > Project Eagle

Aurelian Industries

Dare to Defend Democracy (D3)


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