Tervell

Five months after releasing a plan to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, the Trump administration is turning to robots. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with robotics industry CEOs and is “all in” on accelerating the industry’s development, according to three people familiar with the discussions who were granted anonymity to share details. The administration is considering issuing an executive order on robotics next year, according to two of the people. A Department of Commerce spokesperson said: “We are committed to robotics and advanced manufacturing because they are central to bringing critical production back to the United States.” The Department of Transportation is also preparing to announce a robotics working group, possibly before the end of the year, according to one person familiar with the planning. A spokesperson for the department did not respond to a request for comment. There’s growing interest on Capitol Hill as well. A Republican amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would have created a national robotics commission. The amendment was not included in the bill. Other legislative efforts are underway.

The flurry of activity suggests robotics is emerging as the next major front in America’s race against China. It’s the latest example of how the Trump administration is embracing industrial policy in a bid to compete against Beijing in critical sectors such as AI. But promoting the spread of robotics also threatens to undermine one of Trump’s chief goals: reviving the U.S. manufacturing workforce. A general-purpose humanoid sounds like science fiction. But advances in artificial intelligence are enabling human-like robots to take on increasingly sophisticated work by processing more data more quickly. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that by 2023 China had 1.8 million industrial robots inside its factories, four times as many as the U.S. China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Singapore all have national robotics plans. Catching up would require substantial investment. Funding is on pace to hit $2.3 billion in 2025 – double last year’s total, according to CB Insights. Goldman Sachs estimates the global market for humanoids could reach $38 billion by 2035.

The industry has been pushing administration officials and lawmakers to get involved. They say robots are the physical expression of AI. Any push to strengthen AI competitiveness must also include a plan for advancing robotics, they say. Companies want tax incentives or federal funding to help companies integrate advanced automation, stronger supply chains and widespread deployment. They also want trade policies to confront Chinese subsidies and intellectual property practices. “It’s important that we lean in, think about a national robotics strategy and support this burgeoning industry in the U.S. so that we can remain competitive,” Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas told MM. Apptronik, an Austin startup backed by Google and valued at $5 billion, has developed a general-purpose robot called Apollo, one of the first humanoids to operate inside an auto factory.

Uh... why the fuck are they making humanoid factory robots? Like the whole advantage of robots is that you can make them NOT humanoid, and thus pick whichever shape is most optimal for the specific job it's going to be doing, which in manufacturing is rarely that of a human - that's why most industrial robots are basically just an arm with some tool attached to the end. Androids are cool in sci-fi settings, but very much not the most important style of robot in practice.

“There is now recognition that advanced robotics is crucial to the U.S. in terms of manufacturing, technology, national security, defense applications, public safety,” said Brendan Schulman, VP of policy and government relations for Boston Dynamics. “The investment that we’re seeing in the sector and the efforts in China to dominate the future of robotics are being noticed.” An unresolved question is how a national robotics push would square with the administration’s goal of reviving American manufacturing. Skeptics warn that if companies automate too aggressively, the U.S. could end up reshoring factories only to staff them with machines - not people. A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that as firms automate, many workers in routine or replaceable roles experience lower employment opportunities and reduced earnings.

Another scenario looks very different - one where robotics and manufacturing reinforce each other and where workers build, deploy and maintain robots that power industrial growth. That’s the vision some in the industry are pushing. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, said robots make workers more productive, which could expand job opportunities. “When companies are investing in robotics they’re also investing in more people because their company is doing better,” he said. “It’s not man versus machine, but it’s man and machine that will take us into the future,” Cardenas said. “This is our view - robots that augment human capability and human capacity, versus robots that replace us. I think it’s important that we’re there first.”

The move comes in addition to Warsaw fostering ties with traditional American defense titans like Lockheed, from which Poland is purchasing fighter jets, tanks, helicopters and missiles. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed the government to boost its defense spending and accelerate acquisitions of new weapons and gear for the armed forces. With the Polish 2025 military budget expected to reach an unprecedented level in the nation’s history, at 4.7% of GDP, or PLN 186.6 billion ($51.1 billion), the two U.S. tech firms are joining an expanding lineup of defense groups supplying their products to Warsaw. Poland is seeking additional funds for military purchases, with the European Union recently allocating some €43.7 billion ($50.7 billion) in low-cost loans for Poland’s defense acquisitions under the bloc’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme.

In the coming years, unmanned technology will be one of the priorities of the Polish Ministry of National Defence in the field of military procurement, according to senior government officials. Speaking at a Nov. 20 session of the National Defence Committee of the Sejm, the parliament’s lower chamber, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the ministry aims to spend at least PLN 15 billion ($3.5 billion) on unmanned systems and anti-drone solutions over the next three years. At the same time, the ministry is intensifying its investments in AI with this year’s launch of the AI Implementation Center for the Polish military. On Oct. 27, the Polish ministry and Palantir signed a letter of intent to implement the company’s solutions in AI, information technology and cybersecurity in Poland’s military units. On the same day, the country’s state-run defense group PGZ signed an agreement with Anduril to cooperate on autonomous and missile systems. A spokesperson for the Polish ministry told Defense News the letter of intent with Palantir is an extension of the workshops and exercises that allowed defense officials to evaluate AI-based automation tools for the country’s military. “The modern battlefield and the state-of-the-art combat equipment being introduced into service, combined with sensors, generate enormous amounts of data,” the spokesperson said. “With such a rich data pool, human perception, without automation, is unable to conduct effective analysis.” Palantir’s wares, the hope goes, will help commanders make sense of it all.

Experts from the Polish military are to implement Palantir’s tools into their activities, “ensuring full control over the security of the production environment and integrated information resources,” the defense spokesperson said. No “external entities” would be required to run the systems, meaning Poland is expected to retain control of all data being processed, they added. During the official signing event for the letter of intent here, Palantir CEO and co-founder Alex Karp said his company is interested in investing in Poland partly to develop dual-use technologies. In a social media post, Palantir said the letter of intent paves the way for the company’s “AI-enabled defense technology to begin rapidly supporting the country’s armed forces, as they innovate at the forefront of an increasingly complex threat environment and strengthen Poland’s position as a sovereign leader in defense.” In the United States, Palantir’s business with the Defense Department has grown substantially since 2019. That year, Palantir won in a heated competition with Raytheon, the company now branded as RTX, a U.S. Army contract to supply a new tactical version of its flagship intelligence analysis platform, Distributed Common Ground System-Army, or DCGS-A.

Alongside the defense ministry’s strengthened cooperation with Palantir, Poland is also positioning PGZ, which supplies the vast majority of its output to the Polish military, as the local partner for Anduril Industries. PGZ’s October 2025 memorandum of understanding with Anduril follows the June visit of its CEO and co-founder Brian Schimpf to Warsaw. During a June 9 press briefing in the Polish capital, Schimpf said Anduril is interested in ramping up its presence in Poland through partnerships with local industry players. Under the October agreement, PGZ and Anduril will jointly develop and produce in Poland a variant of the Barracuda-M medium-range turbojet-powered cruise missile. This is to provide the country’s military with access to a new type of unmanned strike capabilities, but also develop the Polish defense industry’s AI prowess, the state-owned group said in a statement. Anduril says its Barracuda range comprises “air-breathing autonomous air vehicles” that are “purpose-built for hyper-scale production and mass employment.” “Working with PGZ to localize production of the Barracuda demonstrates how allied industry and sovereign suppliers can deliver rapidly scalable, affordable capability to deter aggression,” Brian Moran, the vice president of Anduril Europe, was quoted in the statement.

Air Force leaders are axing more major organizational changes started under the Biden administration such as reorienting commands, creating new offices, and shifting combat forces for a potential fight with China, the service’s top leaders said Tuesday. The service will no longer stand up Air Development Command, which aimed to subsume Air Education and Training Command and further combine the service’s force-development efforts, consolidate its functional managers, and create several new centers of excellence for certain career fields. Instead, AETC will retain its name and responsibilities, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink and Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach said in a press release that described a memo sent to their service the previous day. Nor will the service reorient Air Combat Command to “focus on generating and presenting ready forces,” but rather keep it working to “organize, train, and equip combat ready Airmen,” the release said.

The service will:

• Stop establishing its Air Base Wing concept.
• Cancel plans for a new Program Assessment and Evaluation Office to handle resource analysis.
• Not create an Air Force Materiel Command Information Dominance Systems Center, Air Force Nuclear Systems Center, or an Air Dominance Systems Support Center to sustain and improve aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

These steps are the latest in Meink and Wilsbach’s efforts to undo “Reoptimization for Great Power Competition," a 24-point plan released in early 2024 by then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. Execution of the plan, which aimed to prepare the Air Force for a potential fight against China, was put on hold in February by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. For months, it wasn’t clear what initiatives Meink, who took office in May, would keep or gut. In September, the Air Force secretary told reporters that he was “getting close” to making decisions on the reorganization plans tied to China, but hinted that he wasn’t “a big believer in the competition side of the house.” In the press release, he and Wilsbach appeared to allude to the Trump administration’s decisions to shift national-security focus to the Americas. “As our adversaries and the strategic environment continue to evolve, our approach to ensuring a credible and ready force must also adjust. Air superiority is not guaranteed,” the service leaders wrote. “Through flexibility and clear-eyed assessment, our Air Force will continue to fly, fix, and fight now and into the future.”

In October, the service spiked plans for a new Integrated Capabilities Command intended to speed up the acquisition of new technologies and weapons. One former defense official familiar with the past efforts said it wasn’t clear how the current Air Force leaders intend to improve such integration. “There's different ways to solve that problem and it is not shocking to me that they would choose a different way than what was chosen by the previous team, but the question remains. How are you going to do it?” the former defense official said. “The announcements that I've seen do not explain how it's going to be done, and so my concern would be if they just don't do it, if they don't provide that integration function, it will knock back our ability to compete with China.” The official added that Hegseth’s mandate to reduce the number of general and flag officers across the military services likely sealed the fate for many of those commands and centers the Air Force hoped to create. The memo also scraps a plan to to change Air Forces Central Command and Air Forces Northern Command/Air Forces Space from numbered Air Forces into Service Component Commands that report to the Air Force Secretary through the Air Force Chief of Staff. Those will remain as numbered Air Forces. Similarly, Air Forces Southern Command will remain the air component to U.S. Southern Command and the 12th Air Force will be re-established as a numbered Air Force inside Air Combat Command, the release said.

The memo noted that Meink and Wilsbach were keeping some elements of the reoptimization plan, including keeping warrant officers focused on cyber missions, wing units of actions, large-scale exercises and keeping various smaller integrated development and capabilities offices. The former defense official said it was encouraging to see some of those ideas kept, and believes some of those smaller offices could take on some roles that those centers would have taken on for the service’s integration efforts. “They can beef up those organizations to perform more of the functions that you would have seen, for example, in the system centers,” the former defense official said. “That's certainly a possible solution, and I hope they do that.”

The Pentagon has “cut off contact” between American defence officials and their German counterparts, according to the head of Germany’s army. The United States has traditionally treated Germany as one of its most important European allies. It is thought to have about 35,000 soldiers stationed at German bases such as Ramstein and Stuttgart, which serve as staging posts for American operations across Africa and the Middle East. Since President Trump’s return to power in January, the relationship between the countries has become markedly cooler. Outwardly, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, has put on a brave face, striving to establish what appears to be a cordial personal rapport with Trump. However, Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, who took charge of the German army in October, has publicly expressed the widespread concerns that the military partnership is starting to unravel.

In an interview conducted a few weeks before his promotion, published by The Atlantic, an American magazine, on Monday, Freuding said he had previously been able to exchange text messages with his US opposite numbers “day and night”, but the channels had now been “cut off, really cut off”. Freuding, 54, said he had grown up near the US army base at Grafenwöhr in southwest Germany and had regarded the American military presence as a symbol of the western security order since he was a teenager. However, he said he saw signs that this order was beginning to crumble, such as when the US had failed to warn the Germans that it was halting arms deliveries to Ukraine in July. Freuding said he now had to rely on German diplomats in Washington, where “there is somebody who tries to find somebody in the Pentagon”, to keep up to date about his ally’s defence plans.

In public, several senior officials from the Trump administration have pointed to Germany’s rapidly rising military spending as a model for other European nations to follow. Frustrated by the difficulty of scaling up arms production at speed, the government in Berlin has begun encouraging other branches of its ailing industrial base to work with the defence sector. On Tuesday, the defence ministry held a summit with business leaders representing some of the country’s largest manufacturers. Katherina Reiche, the economics minister, announced a “matchmaking platform” that will aim to link spare capacity in underperforming sectors such as car-making with demand in the arms industry. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, the head of the BDSV umbrella group for defence manufacturers, said there was an urgent need for “upscaling” but cautioned that it would be difficult to repurpose workers, machines and factories from other industries. “There are of course many in the car-parts industry who hope they can apply their capacity and resources to defence,” he said. “But you always have to say that the scale of production and the working methods are different, so you always have to warn that this process will not be easy.”

A Belgian soldier participating in a NATO mission in Lithuania died during an exercise on Friday, Belgian officials said late Saturday. Belgium's federal public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the incident. The soldier sustained an injury during a mortar exercise and died in hospital on Saturday, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken and Chief of Defense Frederik Vansina confirmed in a joint statement. Francken said in a post on X that he is "deeply saddened by the tragic accident," sending "thoughts and solidarity" to the soldier's friends and colleagues. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda also offered his condolences in a post, saying Belgian troops serving with NATO in Lithuania "make an invaluable contribution to the security of our nation and the entire Alliance," adding: "Their dedication and sacrifice will never be forgotten."

ah yes, the guy who got eaten by the bog witches from The Witcher 3 was really sacrificing himself to defend Lithuania

The Belgian national, who was not identified, was part of the Artillery Battalion in Brasschaat. Nearly 200 Belgian soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania since the summer, as part of NATO's Forward Land Forces mission, a series of multinational battle groups stationed in eight Eastern European countries. The Belgian federal public prosecutor's office said it has opened an investigation into the soldier's death without providing more information on the case, Belga newswire reported. A federal magistrate and two detectives from the federal police, specializing in military affairs investigations, visited the scene on Saturday, VRT reported. Belgium's defense ministry also has launched an internal investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the accident, according to media reports.

In protest against the federal government's plans for compulsory military service, youth organizations have registered nationwide demonstrations for December 5th under the motto "school strike." The Bundestag is expected to vote on the compulsory military service law on that day. A demonstration titled "Against Conscription" is also planned in Berlin, supported by the GEW teachers' union. It is registered for 2,000 participants and is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Oranienplatz in Kreuzberg and proceed to Neukölln Town Hall. A police spokesperson stated that 3,000 participants are expected. Students in Potsdam (10 a.m. at the Old Market) and Cottbus (1:30 p.m., in front of the City Hall) also plan to participate. "We don't want to end up as cannon fodder," reads a post on Instagram calling for a "school strike against conscription." "We won't stand idly by while we and our friends are randomly assigned to kill and die." The Left Party and the BSW (Citizens' Union) also criticize the conscription plans of the CDU/CSU and SPD and intend to support the protests. The number of registered participants for each of the two demonstrations in Potsdam and Cottbus was initially unknown.

Possible consequences for students during a demonstration during school hours

In response to an inquiry regarding the so-called school strikes on Friday, the Ministry of Education in Potsdam stated: "Participation in a demonstration during school hours will be considered an unexcused absence; compulsory school attendance applies." Students must face the consequences, such as failing grades for unexcused absences.

Voluntary military service, conscription as before 2011

If the so-called Military Service Modernization Act comes into force at the turn of the year, young women and men born in 2008 will receive a QR code next year for an online questionnaire. Men are required to complete it; women are not obligated. The questionnaire, administered by the German Armed Forces, will inquire about readiness, motivation, qualifications, and health. Conscientious objection to military service remains a fundamental right enshrined in the German Basic Law [gesetze-im-internet.de]. From July 2027, entire cohorts of young men will be drafted, just as they were before conscription was suspended in 2011. The six-month basic military service period will also remain the same, though recruits can extend their service if they wish. Voluntary military service has also been possible since 2011. If not enough volunteers come forward by mid-2027, the Bundestag would have the option of voting on a so-called "needs-based" conscription system. This means that, as a last resort, a lottery system, similar to those already in place in countries like Denmark, would be used. Those selected would then be required to serve in the armed forces for six months – military service would thus become compulsory. The federal government justifies all of this with a changed threat landscape stemming from Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.

France is concerned that they won't have enough modern tanks, because MGCS won’t be ready until the 2040s. And at the same time, the planned fleet of 200 modernized Leclerc XLRs is not only small, but also has problems with spare parts.

On top of everything is added the fact that the French have forgotten how to make tanks. Yes, KNDS France hasn't produced new tracked vehicles for almost 17 years and hasn’t actually developed them for 35 years. So to create a new generation of tanks, they decided to unite with Germany in one MGCS program. However, since 2017, progress ends with creating a joint consortium and concepts, however contracts still haven't been made, which postpones readiness even further. The Germans don't see a problem with this, because now they are actively purchasing Leopard 2A8s, the first of which was recently rolled out from the factory. And to ensure "interim" capabilities, they are creating Leopard 3, which will most likely "delay" joint development even more. As a result, France finds itself in an unpleasant situation, where there are only 200 tanks in service, all of which will undergo modernization to XLR level, and about the same number in storage. Moreover, the latter cannot simply be restored, because they are being disassembled for spare parts for the active fleet. At the same time, concerns are already being voiced that maintaining Leclerc's powerplant is becoming very difficult with each year, and remotorization will cost at least $1.5 billion. And by 2027 they want to have a full division.

An interim solution is immediately proposed, like the Germans, where even a foreign tank can be taken to quickly close needs. However, French industry and parliamentarians oppose this, emphasizing the need to finalize any solution other than their own. They also emphasize that France's own machine will be able to help with technologies that will subsequently be used in MGCS. However, new equipment will take a decade to develop and who knows how long to produce. French industry is already known for the actual collapse of the sixth-generation fighter for the sake of its own interests. So it's not surprising that in other spheres they try the same, although here there are nowhere near such independent capabilities. Thus the country remains at a crossroads of decisions, where waiting increasingly threatens the absence of equipment in 2037-2047. As a result, against the backdrop of active support for the Franco-German tank, we may see the purchase of Leopard 2A8, or even Leopard 3, but this is if France can "overcome" its own pride.