The Soviet Union's 1957 launch of Sputnik was a shock to the West. As a result, U.S. leaders vowed that, from that time forward, the U.S. would be the initiator and not the victim of strategic technological surprises. From that decree came the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or what is simply known as 'DARPA.'

On this episode, U.S. Air Force Colonel Daniel "Animal" Javorsek, the program manager for DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution program, joins us for a master class on technology advancements in warfare and the ongoing efforts to automate air-to-air combat and build human trust in AI as a step toward improved human-machine teaming.

Listener questions answered on this episode include training tracks for U.S. Marine Corps F-35B and C aviators, autopilot functionality on modern fighters, and why we feel it necessary to include a disclaimer on every FPP episode.

Episode artwork by Janek Krause. Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell. This episode was produced by our friends at the MuscleCar Place Podcast Network.