Friday NatSec Roundup

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew –
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

• The Next Generation Air Dominance demonstrator, the brainchild of USAF acquisition officer Will Roper, has apparently flown. Lots more to say about this…
• Shooting down a cruise missile with a howitzer… of course it’s gonna be cool!
• Race and the Cold War in Africa, reviewed…
• Iran’s complicated relationship with the Taliban.
• Things along the Indo-Chinese border (or is it the Sino-Indian border?) are still very not good.
• While it’s hard to take much talk coming out of this administration seriously with respect to China’s nuclear arsenal, it’s true that the Chinese are working hard at modernization.