A U.S. Air Force pilot walks through smoke during Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training at Poinsett Electric Combat Range in Wedgefield, South Carolina, Sept. 7, 2021.

A U.S. Air Force pilot walks through smoke during Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training at Poinsett Electric Combat Range in Wedgefield, South Carolina, Sept. 7, 2021. U.S. Air Force / Senior Airman Cody Sanders

The Air & Space Brief: Slaughterbots are here; Sex harassment in the Air Force, Space Force; SpaceX polar satellite constellation grows; and more.

Welcome to the Defense One Air and Space newsletter. Here are our top stories of the week: 

Air Force, Space Force sexual harassment: One out of every three women in the Air Force or Space Force who responded to a wide-ranging inspector general investigation reported experiencing sexual harassment during their military career, according to a report released Thursday.

Air Force wearable tech: Members of the U.S. Air Force and its Readiness Management Agency are exploring commercially provided proximity tracing technology and biometric data wearable devices that can alert people to possible sickness early on. 

Slaughterbots are here: Autonomous weaponry is the third revolution in warfare, following gunpowder and nuclear arms. What will it mean for human targets when they are identified, tracked and hunted by a machine only? 

Polar constellation network advances: SpaceX launched the latest cluster of its Starlink satellites into space late Monday, which will help provide broadband communications to remote areas of the globe “where fiber just does not make sense,” CBS reported. 

Sign up to get The Air & Space Brief every Tuesday from Tara Copp, Defense One’s Senior Pentagon Reporter. On September 13, 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont executed the first takeoff and flight of an aircraft in the 14-bis biplane. He flew 23 seconds before crashing. 


From Defense One

One in Three Women in Air Force, Space Force Have Experienced Sexual Harassment // Tara Copp: Inspector general investigation into gender, race disparities also found minorities, women far less likely to hold leadership posts.

USAF Wants Wearables to Spot Outbreaks Faster // Brandi Vincent: Top officials are also looking into data integration and digital traceability tools to help keep staff healthy.

The Third Revolution in Warfare // Kai-Fu Lee: First there was gunpowder. Then nuclear weapons. Next: artificially intelligent weapons.