Podcasts about Aircraft

Aircraft carrier catapult systems, Peraton's performance as the Prime Integrator for the FAA’s Brand New Air Traffic Control System, the Department of Homeland Security's luxury jets, Google's purchase of Spirit Airlines' data for AI training, American Airlines economy seatback screens, and a Li-ion laptop battery that caught fire in flight. Also, Micah's first flight, Delta's requirements for portable chargers, and the real reason they are called bear straps. Aviation News Trump orders Pentagon to redesign US aircraft carrier to use steam catapults to launch jets President Trump signed a national security memorandum directing the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the acting Navy secretary, Hung Cao, to come up with a plan to replace the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Weapons Elevators with steam and hydraulic systems for the construction of the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller. Critics of the change point to the major redesign and expense required. Aircraft Carrier Catapult Technology by Era: Era Technology Key navies 1910s–30s Compressed-air/flywheel catapults (mostly floatplanes) US, UK WWII Hydraulic catapults US, UK 1950s–2010s Steam catapults UK (pioneer), US, France 2010s–present Electromagnetic (EMALS) US, China Throughout No catapults (ski-jump/STOVL) USSR/Russia, Italy, Spain, India, UK (post-1978), current China (Liaoning/Shandong), US Navy Amphibious Assault Ships Arrangement of a hydro-pneumatic catapult in an aircraft carrier. Naval Marine Archive. See also: Why The Ford Class Carrier's Island Superstructure Is Located So Far Back and Navy considers major aircraft carrier revamp to better suit Trump's aesthetic. Trump's FAA picked an unlikely contractor to lead its air traffic overhaul. The agency is having second thoughts. In December 2025, DOT/FAA selected Peraton as Prime Integrator for the FAA’s Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS), a $1.5 billion contract. Peraton, which had little direct experience working with the FAA, was chosen over Parsons Corp., which has extensive experience with FAA contracts. Peraton is a national-security and government-services contractor owned by Veritas Capital, and is known for its defense, intelligence, and IT/communications work. (Veritas also owns Peraton Labs, the former Bell Labs). Some reports indicate that the FAA is frustrated with Peraton. A source notes that “Peraton has basically not done any work since they got in” and admits that the FAA was partially at fault because it “stonewalled Peraton's efforts to work seamlessly with FAA counterparts.” The FAA has micromanaged the project, and Peraton has failed to manage the project. An In-House Private Jet Service, Senators Say The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) purchased two Gulfstream G650s, two G700s, and eight Boeing 737s to be used by the Trump Administration. U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee vice chair Patty Murray (D-Washington) and ranking homeland security subcommittee member Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) are calling for an investigation. In a letter to both DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the DHS inspector general requesting the investigation, the purchases are characterized as a “gross misuse” of tax dollars. Spirit Data Sale to Google Prompts Flight Attendants' Objection After 34 years of operations, Spirit Airlines ceased all flight operations on May 2, 2026. Spirit's Chapter 11 reorganization failed, and the airline went into full liquidation. The bankruptcy court entered a Wind-Down Order covering the sale of LaGuardia slots, the corporate campus, the loyalty program, and operating equipment. For $10 million, Google won the auction for Spirit’s approximately 100 million emails, calendar data, 500 million Microsoft Teams chats, documents, spreadsheets, and software code. Google will use them to improve its products and AI models. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, voiced a limited objection to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, raising privacy concerns. The union is concerned about the confidentiality of disciplinary records, payroll history, and internal communications, noting that the deal’s privacy provisions are designed to protect consumers, not employees. The union also raised concerns about links between payroll, timekeeping, and communications data; whether there will be an independent screen for employee confidentiality; and provisions on later transfers to third parties. The AFA asked the court to reject the sale unless changes are made to exclude all flight attendant information, including training records, time cards, and payroll, as well as any Microsoft 365 content containing flight attendant data. Alternatively, the court should require a review protocol for labor or disciplinary records and communications, and prohibit using the data to profile any identifiable group of flight attendants, the AFA said. See also: Flight attendants freaked out that Google is buying tons of Spirit employee data American Airlines U-turn: Seatback screens coming to all classes in 2028 American Airlines plans to start rolling out personal inflight entertainment displays on its narrowbody fleet in 2028, and complete the upgrade by the early 2030s. American will begin offering Starlink inflight connectivity on 500 planes beginning in 2027.  The lack of screens in economy cabins dates back to the US Airways merger in 2014. Doug Parker argued that the cost of screens was not worth the investment since most fliers brought their own portable device. United and Delta followed a different path. Laptop catches fire on American Airlines flight, passenger suffers minor burns Injuries occurred on American Airlines flight 2398 between Atlanta (ATL) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) on August 21, 2026, after a laptop battery caught fire. The pilots reported smoke in the cabin to ATC. The cabin crew extinguished the fire (reportedly using a thermal containment bag). The A321 landed without further incident. Mentioned Airplanes and Water Can Mix in the Stories about Flying podcast. The Wreck of the U. S. S. “Memphis” Up Against the Rocks: The Wreck of the Memphis Lynch Drone Photography LLC, 2026 EAA AirVenture. Photos by Logan Lynch. Hosts this Episode Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, Rob Mark, and David Vanderhoof.

Sports Business Radio Host Brian Berger and Executive Producer Bryan Griggs get you ready for the 2026-27 NFL Season with this NFL Season Preview podcast. From the salary cap to what each team nets from gross national revenue this season, to the highest paid players and new Head Coaches this season, to what is new and unique that you should be paying attention to this season, this show is packed with useful NFL information. Berger and Griggs also make their annual NFL team over/under picks and Super Bowl picks for the upcoming season. LISTEN to Sports Business Radio on Apple podcasts or Spotify podcasts. Give Sports Business Radio a 5-star rating if you enjoy our podcast. Click on the plus sign on our Apple Podcasts page and follow the Sports Business Radio podcast. WATCH SBR interviews by going to the sports business hub on Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance at https://sports.yahoo.com/sports-business/ or our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sportsbusinessradiopodcast. Follow Sports Business Radio on Twitter @SBRadio and on Instagram, Threads and Tik Tok @SportsBusinessRadio. This week's edition of Sports Business Radio is presented by New Air Club. New Air Club is the Official VIP Air Travel Partner of Sports Business Radio. New Air Club is a private aviation brokerage with access to over 22,000 aircraft worldwide, but what really sets them apart is that they''re a full-service concierge. They don't just book the jet—they handle everything around the trip so the client doesn't have to. Aircraft, luxury ground transportation, hotels, dining, even security if needed. One call, one team, total discretion. For more information or to book your travel, email info@newairclub.com. You can also visit www.NewAirClub.com.  Sports Business Radio is produced by Bryan Griggs at Griggs Productions dot com. #NFL #Football #SportsBusiness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five Navy bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale in December 1945 on a three-hour training flight, and the search for what happened to them has now run for eighty years.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/Flight19READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2cwkje7zFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: In 1945, “Flight 19” vanished in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida – and the mystery of what happened still terrifies aviators to this day. (The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19) *** Without any detectable history, how Septic Tank Sam wound up dead in Tofield, Canada, is a mystery. Till this day, the case has never been solved and Sam has never been identified. (Septic Tank Sam) *** The Cherokee recall a white-skinned race that lived on their lands before they arrived. This group of very unusual beings were known as the Moon-Eyed people. (Moon-Eyed People of the Cherokee) *** A mother discovers she has missed a call… from her dead son. (Call From a Ghost) *** Would you dare to drive the haunted Devon highway? (Where Hairy Hands Grab At Your Steering Wheel) *** What would you do if you moved into a serial killer's home and couldn't break your lease once you found out? (House of Horrors) *** On April 3, 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Missouri – or was he? (The Man Who Would Be Jesse James) *** A young girl's quiet night of reading in bed is turned upside down when she is attacked by an unseen phantom! (The Summer I Didn't Sleep) *** A convicted killer is hung on the gallows… twice. (A Moment of Agony)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00.00.000 = The Foreboding00:00:41.227 = Show Open00:03:03.309 = The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 1900:12:10.723 = Septic Tank Sam00:19:07.164 = House of Horrors ***00:22:31.350 = The Summer I Didn't Sleep00:27:28.625 = Moon-Eyed People Of The Cherokee00:31:14.364 = Call From A Ghost00:33:31.662 = A Moment of Agony00:40:15.464 = Where Hairy Hands Grab At Your Steering Wheel ***00:49:08.158 = The Man Who Would Be Jesse James01:06:54.863 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakSOURCES and RESOURCES:“Moon-Eyed People of the Cherokee” by Ellen Lloyd for AncientPages.com: http://bit.ly/2VcDc5H“Call From a Ghost”: (unknown author, link no longer exists)“Septic Tank Sam” by Les Hewitt for HistoricMysteries.com: http://bit.ly/2ZYmqpJ“Where Hairy Hands Grab At Your Steering Wheel” by Guy Henderson for DevonLive.com: http://bit.ly/2LqghiH“The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19” by Evan Andrews for History.com: http://bit.ly/2Lqgtyr“House of Horrors” by Jessica Ferri for TheLineUp.com: http://bit.ly/2ZYoi1u“The Man Who Would Be Jesse James” by Troy Taylor for AmericanHauntingsInk.com: http://bit.ly/2DP4Rii“The Summer I Didn't Sleep” from YourGhostStories.com: http://bit.ly/2GUVkaa“A Moment of Agony” by Robert Wilhelm for MurderByGaslight.com: http://bit.ly/2JiF3ie(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: May 04, 2019

While Sen. Tim Sheehy pushed to end Forest Service inspections of firefighting aircraft, an inspector found a potentially dangerous crack in a plane operated by the company Sheehy founded.

Ryan and Dana discuss a report that cabinet officials were left on a potentially endangered plane while Trump secretly took a military aircraft with Natalie Harp and other aides.

This week on OFF DAY, we're all over the map—in the best possible way.We're talking Ted Lasso, the latest with the Astros, Jack Reacher, our expectations for the upcoming football season, and somehow we end up discussing the plight of the USS Abraham Lincoln.Sports. TV. Movies. Aircraft carriers. You know… a normal episode.

President Trump boarded Air Force One last month as usual. But the Washington Post reports he was smuggled off the plane in a catering truck and flew on an entirely different aircraft due to a threat.Then, NPR's Michel Martin speaks with former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald about reports that President Trump boarded a military aircraft instead of flying aboard Air Force One from Turkey.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show's perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

A single-engine aircraft crashed near Daybreak Airport in La Center on Monday, injuring both occupants. One was airlifted by Life Flight, the other transported by AMR. Former state Rep. Liz Pike identified the pilot as her husband, Neil Cahoon, saying both survived and his injuries are severe. The FAA is investigating. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/small-aircraft-crash-near-daybreak-airport/ #DaybreakAirport #LaCenterWA #ClarkCounty #AircraftCrash #ClarkCountySheriff #FAA #PublicSafety #WashingtonState

We are joined today by Francisco Gonzalez, an A&P mechanic and AMT professor, as we explore his experiences and the many opportunities an A&P certificate can open for you.To explore more aircraft maintenance and/or aviation opportunities, visit sites like:Instagram- @sbvcaro, @amcaero, @mroamericas, or @techforcefoundationFollow us on Facebook- @cancelledformaintenance, Instagram/Threads - @canxformaintenancepodcast.Did you know we have a comic series? Check it out on the Tapas app or visit us at: https://tapas.io/series/CXMXcomicsVisit our website and check out our merch at www.cancelledformaintenance.com. Have ideas or stories for show? Send us a line at our contact us section of our website!Looking for the best lightweight, comfortable, and noise-cancelling headset? Visit: dalcommtech.com and use code "canxrules" to save 15% off their products or special orders!Check out Rockwell Time for awesome outdoor merch and apparel. Use code-CX4MX and save 10%!Tell us how we are doing, leave us a review if you listen to us on Apple, Stitcher, Podchaser, or IHeart Radio!Follow us on Goodpods and Podchaser!https://goodpods.app.link/1Ss1v4ODHlbThanks to our monthly supporters, with special shout outs to:SaKonnaDaniel L.Mike S.Kiel K.Eric S.Dan S.Ryan F.Caleb F.Carm M.Jennie D. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the FIFA World Cup drone crackdown wraps up with more than 700 seizures, wildfire drones ground firefighting aircraft in Spokane 26 times in just three days, the FAA rolls out a 9 million dollar inspection grant that barely covers the DJI ban fallout, and DoorDash becomes a certified drone airline. Let's get to it.The US Department of Transportation says it just ran the largest counter-drone operation in US history. More than 700 unauthorized drones were seized during the FIFA World Cup, with over 1,100 total detections. That's across all 11 US host cities, fan zones, hotels, and training sites.. The FAA set up nearly 250 Temporary Flight Restrictions, and Ground Intercept Teams were stationed at venues to catch violators fast. This wasn't just confiscation either. Federal prosecutors in Houston filed criminal charges against four people for flying into restricted zones, and there are likely more in progress. Officials are calling this a blueprint for the 2028 LA Olympics, and the message for pilots is simple: Don't fly in TFRs.Speaking of TFRs, wildfires are burning through Spokane County Washington, and drone pilots keep making it worse. If you're unfamiliar, These fires have destroyed 700 structures and forced 65,000 people to evacuate. The sheriff's office counted at least 26 drone incursions into the fire's flight restriction in three days. It's currently unclear how these detections occurred, but at least four of those drones allegedly flew into the path of firefighting aircraft. One incursion on August 3rd grounded all 35 firefighting aircraft, while homes were actively burning. Only two operators have been cited so far. Federal penalties can exceed $20,000 and up to a year in prison. Remember to check TFR.FAA.GOV before every flight and don't be that guy. The Department of Transportation just posted a new grant forecast. 9 million dollars for agencies that want to inspect bridges, dams, and roads with drones. Applications open in September and close November 15th, and five awards are expected. Since December of last year, federal funds can't be used to buy or operate Chinese-made drones. That grounded hundreds of state government drone fleets overnight. State officials asked Congress for 50 million dollars to help replace them. Congress authorized 12 million for this year, and only 9 million actually got funded. If your agency relies on federal drone funding, this program is real money, but it is nowhere close to funding a replacement for all the grounded aircraft. Last up, DoorDash just got FAA Part 135 certification. That makes it only the 8th company in the US approved to run commercial drone delivery. The new program is called DoorDash Air. Instead of just partnering with drone companies like Wing or Flytrex, DoorDash built its own aircraft and its own software to decide how each order gets delivered. Car, robot, or drone. The company says drone deliveries under five miles can arrive in under 25 minutes. DoorDash says the drone is American designed and built. Details on the aircraft itself are still under wraps, with more coming later this year. We'll keep you updated when we see more! And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronedj.com/2026/08/05/fifa-drone-pilot-court-fine/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/04/spokane-wildfire-drone-incursions-ground-aircraft/https://dronexl.co/2026/08/03/usdot-diig-9-million-drone-inspection-grants-fy26/https://dronedj.com/2026/07/31/doordash-air-drone-delivery-launch/

The Air Force hopes to get another 25 years out of its B-52 Bomber fleet but it's running into some cost, scheduling and performance challenges.The B-52 was first introduced in 1955 and the Air Force is hoping that a series of updates can keep the fleet in the air until 2050. It intends to spend $21 billion to improve the engines, radar, communications, software and weapon systems for the more than 70 B-52s still in service.The Air Force already has the B-1 and B-2 along with the in-development B-21, but it said the B-52 still remains critical to the U.S.'s ability to deploy nuclear capabilities. Plus, it can fly nearly 9,000 miles without refueling and carry up to 70,000 pounds.However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), which represents the bulk of modernization costs, has increased by about $3 billion since a 2023 estimate, and initial operational capability has been delayed more than 15 months. While 10 out of the 13 B-52 modernizations experience challenges, the GAO said the Air Force still wants to proceed with engine production before critical flight testing is completed.#B52, #USAirForce, #Defense, #Military, #Aerospace, #MilitaryAviation, #Aircraft, #DefenseIndustry, #Engineering, #Manufacturing, #Government, #GAO, #Aviation, #NationalSecurity, #MilitaryTechnology

Most people think the aerospace supply chain is crawling back to normal after the pandemic. But that's not what's happening. The industry is scaling in a permanently elevated demand environment. Commercial aviation is rebuilding. Defense budgets are structurally higher. New platforms like EVTOL, drones, hypersonics, and space are moving into production. This isn't a strain; it's a structural transformation. And in a world obsessed with engines and airframes, the real leverage sits in the smallest parts. At the same time, complexity is rising. Aircraft are lighter, more electronic, and more integrated. Tolerances are tighter, and the margin for error is gone. This is where FDH Aero comes in: distribution reimagined as a strategic capability. In a high-velocity, high-complexity market, reliability becomes a strategy. How is FDH embedding itself within OEM production lines while operating under private-equity intensity? And what kind of leadership does that require? In this special replay episode, I'm joined by the CEO of FDH Aero, Ian Walsh.  We unpack how FDH Aero scaled to a billion dollars by mastering the parts that make flight possible. We also discuss why the next decade of aerospace growth may be less about building more airplanes and more about controlling the hardware layer beneath them. You'll also learn: Why aerospace supply chains aren't “recovering”; they're structurally transforming How a single missing bolt can shut down a billion-dollar production line Why distribution is becoming a strategic layer, not just a transactional one The difference between organic growth and inorganic scale in a fragmented supply base How private equity is accelerating consolidation in aerospace and defense Why value creation in PE is about process discipline, not short-term spikes The leadership shift required when moving from public OEMs to PE-backed companies Why smaller, lighter, more electronic platforms will reshape parts demand Where the real upside sits: commercial, defense, business aviation, or emerging platforms How embedding into product development cycles creates long-term supply chain “stickiness.” The mindset difference between statistical improvement and “luck wrapped in chaos.”   About the Guest Ian Walsh is the CEO of FDH Aero. He brings over 35 years of executive leadership across the U.S. Marine Corps, commercial and general aviation, defense, and industrial end markets to FDH. Most recently, Walsh served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Kaman Aerospace Corporation, a provider of highly engineered components and subsystems to commercial aviation, aerospace, defense, and medical end-markets. At Kaman, Walsh led the evolution of the global company into customer-centric operating segments. Before that, Walsh was COO at REV Group, Inc., a provider of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts, and spent more than 15 years in operational and P&L leadership at Textron, Inc. At both companies, Walsh drove new product development and process optimization. Earlier in his career, he served as an officer and naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps with combat tours in Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt in operations and continuous improvement. Connect with Ian on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Craig Picken is an Executive Recruiter, writer, speaker, and ICF Trained Executive Coach. He is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives in the aviation and aerospace industry. His clients include premier OEMs, aircraft operators, leasing/financial organizations, and Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) providers. Since 2008, he has personally concluded more than 400 executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines. Craig is the ONLY industry executive recruiter who has professionally flown airplanes, sold airplanes, and successfully run a P&L in the aviation industry. His professional career started with a passion for airplanes. After eight years' experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – Craig sought challenges in business aviation, where he spent more than 7 years in sales with both Gulfstream Aircraft and Bombardier Business Aircraft. Craig is also a sought-after industry speaker who has presented at Corporate Jet Investor, International Aviation Women's Association, and SOCAL Aviation Association.    Resources For more aerospace industry news & commentary: https://craigpicken.com/insights/.  To learn more about Craig Picken, visit https://craigpicken.com/.  

Since the dawn of the new millennium, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) have gradually evolved from a fringe subject into a legitimate national security issue. Key developments that include the 2000 Illinois police triangle sighting, reporting on classified "black" military programs and the Pentagon's "shadow military," and other events illustrate how intelligence agencies and defense analysts increasingly viewed unexplained aerial reports not as curiosities, but as potential intelligence problems worthy of systematic investigation. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we look at how UAP-related developments in the 21st century have shaped the study of unexplained aerospace phenomena. These include the investigations by Robert Bigelow's NIDS, the DIA's AAWSAP, and subsequent UAP investigations like the Pentagon's AARO, their pursuit of answers to recurring reports involving triangle-shaped craft and glowing orbs, and what they mean in terms of secrecy, intelligence, and the investigation of UAP.  SHOW NOTES Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode. NEWS: 'Flying saucer' shock at Gatwick as mystery disc whizzes past passeng er jet during landing  Rare early report of UFO hovering in sky uncovered in cardboard box | The Independent  Feds outline path for UAP whistleblowers to come forward BURLISON MEMO: "Preliminary Guidance for Implementation of NDA Waiver"  TRIANGLES IN 2000: The St. Clair Triangle UFO Incident of 2000: A Fresh Look SWEETMAN: "In search of the Pentagon's billion dollar hidden budgets" PROJECT CONDIGN: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS. Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as "classic" episodes, weekly "additional editions" of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more. Like us on Facebook Follow @MicahHanks on X. Keep up with Micah and his work at micahhanks.com. Want to advertise/sponsor The Micah Hanks Program? We have partnered with the AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. If you would like to advertise with The Micah Hanks Program, all you have to do is click the link below to get started: AdvertiseCast: Advertise with The Micah Hanks Program

The Prime Minister says a late night meeting was why he recently used a military aircraft, but it's now been revealed it was a National Party fundraiser dinner. That was a flight in July, when Chris Luxon flew from Whanganui. He initially said he had a late night meeting, now his office says former National MP Bill Birch's funeral required a last-minute travel change. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacked the backlash further. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

General Blaine Holt and Gordon Chang: Concerns are rising regarding the flow of Chinese and Russian aid to Iran, which includes potential shipments of anti-aircraft missiles. While some interpret President Trump's reserved stance as weakness, General Holt suggests it may be a strategic gambit to exploit internal CCP factional infighting. Within the Party, a reformer named Hu Chunhua is reportedly rising as a potential rival to Xi Jinping. However, experts warn that provocative Chinese actions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait require a steel-with-steel confrontation. Critics argue that the US must eventually humiliate the Chinese leadership through economic and espionage crackdowns to project true force. (4)1690

Christian Nolle is a maker, designer, photographer, whose work focuses on aviation culture, the stories behind route maps, and the historical impact of flying on what ties us all together and makes us dream. He is the editor of Direction of Travel. We discuss everything, from his obsession with Heathrow (he was testing T5 before the opening!), his collection of route maps, his beautiful print magazine, old logos and liveries, photographing air travel (we both love it), his various exploratory projects into what flying means, and why we love this all so much — we reminisce, and also look forward (even admiring Ryanair's design!). From old timetables, freezing a network into time, to the soft power airlines held for their respective countries (Pan Am and Aeroflot!), to the promise dreamt up by looking at a big miniature aircraft at the window of an airline travel agency, it's a episode full of wonder — you'll hear (or see) that Paul could not stop his enthusiasm, from discussing his discovery of the three abandoned Olympic Airways aircraft at Ellinikon (the old Athens airport), to making Christian reveal his latest project (one you'll all love, and why the release of this episode has been delayed by a week, he needed to finish it!).Christian can be found here:Direction of Travel: https://directionoftravel.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/directionoftravel/The project we discussed in episode 150, and today:Tickets to Everywhere: https://tickets.directionoftravel.comThe new project Christian revealed during the episode (IT IS AMAZING):Airline Atlas: https://airlineatlas.comAlso mentioned:Old airline time tables: https://timetableimages.com/Happy flying!_____A show created and hosted by Paul Papadimitriou: Instagram - LinkedInThe show is on Instagram - Facebook - Bluesky - more links on the websiteVideo and audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever you podcast.

Mik Lemieux, Executive Director and Wealth Planner on the Athlete Center of Excellence team at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, joins Sports Business Radio for a conversation. Mik strives to help empower the athlete community by simplifying the complexities that accompany athletic careers at every stage. The newly formed J.P. Morgan Chase Athlete Council has nine superstar members: Sue Bird, Tom Brady, Jalen Brunson, Ally Love, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dwyane Wade and A'ja Wilson. Lemieux is the nephew of hockey great Mario Lemieux. Tracy Porter, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the NFL Alumni Association, also joins Sports Business Radio to discuss the mission and terrific work the NFLAA is doing with former NFL players. Tracy also tells us about the new partnership between the NFLAA and New Air Club (Official VIP Travel Partner of Sports Business Radio). LISTEN to Sports Business Radio on Apple podcasts or Spotify podcasts. Give Sports Business Radio a 5-star rating if you enjoy our podcast. Click on the plus sign on our Apple Podcasts page and follow the Sports Business Radio podcast. WATCH SBR interviews by going to the sports business hub on Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance at https://sports.yahoo.com/sports-business/ or our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sportsbusinessradiopodcast. Follow Sports Business Radio on Twitter @SBRadio and on Instagram, Threads and Tik Tok @SportsBusinessRadio. This week's edition of Sports Business Radio is presented by New Air Club. New Air Club is the Official VIP Air Travel Partner of Sports Business Radio. New Air Club is a private aviation brokerage with access to over 22,000 aircraft worldwide, but what really sets them apart is that they''re a full-service concierge. They don't just book the jet—they handle everything around the trip so the client doesn't have to. Aircraft, luxury ground transportation, hotels, dining, even security if needed. One call, one team, total discretion. For more information or to book your travel, email info@newairclub.com. You can also visit www.NewAirClub.com.  Sports Business Radio is produced by Bryan Griggs at Griggs Productions dot com. #JPMorgan #MikLemieux #FinancialLiteracy #MoneyManagement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Policy Chats, Colonel David M. Gunty joins hosts Dori Pham and Ari Chung to discuss the intersection of U.S. foreign policy, military operations, and emerging technology. The discussion introduces the mission of one of the nation's few Air Reserve Bases, examines how the 163rd Attack Wing supports both domestic readiness and overseas operations, and highlights the growing importance of remotely piloted aircraft in modern national security strategy.The conversation examines the mission of the 163rd Attack Wing and its role in supporting U.S. foreign policy through intelligence, surveillance, and global operations. It also explores how evolving national security priorities influence training and readiness, the challenges of maintaining and modernizing unmanned aircraft systems, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the future of military aviation and drone operations.The episode concludes with reflections on how innovation, strategic planning, and adaptable leadership are shaping the future of U.S. airpowerTopics CoveredThe responsibilities of March Air Reserve Base and the operational role of the 163d Attack Wing in supporting reserve training and global missions.How the 163d Attack Wing contributes to U.S. foreign policy through intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and support for operations such as Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.The strategic growth of drone operations and the logistical, maintenance, and policy challenges involved in sustaining global surveillance capabilities in an evolving international environment.The influence of current U.S. foreign policy priorities, including competition with China, instability in the Middle East, and alliance-building, on training, readiness, and day-to-day missions within the Wing.The Air Force's planned transition from the MQ-9A Reaper to future unmanned aircraft, including its implications for maintenance organizations, workforce development, and training policies.The expanding role of artificial intelligence in unmanned aviation, the future integration of AI into military operations, and how advancing technology may reshape the relationship between autonomous systems and human operators.

Last time we spoke about autumn battle of Changsha. In late September and early October 1941, the Chinese commander Chen Cheng focused on Yichang, a crucial Yangtze stronghold whose loss would threaten China's position and the approach toward Chongqing. Chen Cheng's plan tightened a ring around the city while Chinese forces blocked Japanese reinforcement routes, including efforts to cut retreat lines at places like Jingmen and Dangyang. The battle's pressure was intensified by shifting momentum elsewhere. As the Japanese situation around Changsha became unstable—strained by supplies, exhaustion, and mounting casualties—the Japanese command began to withdraw north. Chiang Kai-shek used this to accelerate Chinese priorities, ordering rapid capture of Yichang within a tight deadline. Inside Yichang, the defense turned tragic as Japanese troops faced encirclement, heavy artillery barrages, and desperate street fighting.    #213 Blood, Rain, and Flags: The Last Struggle Around Yichang Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. While the struggle around Changsha occupied one half of the battlefield, another contest of equal consequence was taking shape farther west at Yichang. The two operations were not separate stories. They belonged to the same campaign, and each influenced the fate of the other. If Changsha was the city whose danger was plain to every observer, Yichang was the stronghold whose importance weighed most heavily on the calculations of commanders. In the autumn of 1941, the outcome in one place could not be understood without the other. For Chen Cheng, Yichang was more than a military objective. It was a wound that had never closed. The city stood on the Yangtze at a point of major strategic value, tied not only to communications and transport but also to the defense of the river approach toward the wartime capital. When Yichang had fallen in June 1940, it had done more than alter the front line. It had left behind humiliation. Three Japanese divisions—the 3rd, 13th, and 39th—had seized the city after twelve days and nights of intense fighting. At five in the afternoon on June 11, a unit of the Japanese 13th Division under Tanaka Seiichi had broken in from the southeast. Chinese troops of the 18th Army under Peng Shan and Luo Guangwen's 18th Division fought a savage close-quarters battle inside the city for a full day and night, while Japanese forces of the 3rd and 39th Divisions pressed from the north. At four in the afternoon on June 12, with Deng Ping's battalion covering the withdrawal, the Chinese finally pulled out and Yichang was lost. Men in high command do not always remember defeat in the same way as the men who fight through it. Soldiers tend to remember heat, hunger, the dead, or the exact corner where a friend fell. Commanders also remember those things, but they remember something else as well: failure recorded in the language of responsibility. Chen Cheng could not forget that twenty Chinese corps had been beaten by three Japanese divisions. At the time, Li Zongren had commanded the operation. Now the chance to erase that old disgrace seemed to be passing into Chen Cheng's own hands. On September 20, he received two telegrams, one from the Military Commission and one from Chiang Kai-shek himself. From that point onward, Yichang dominated his thoughts. By September 23, the Military Commission approved Chen's request to transfer the 33rd Army Group of the Fifth War Zone into the Sixth War Zone for the coming attack. On paper, his position seemed powerful. He now had fourteen divisions at his disposal. Yichang itself was held only by Uchiyama Eitaro's 13th Division and the Hayabuchi Detachment, together amounting to roughly sixteen thousand men. Even granting the usual Japanese superiority in training, firepower, communications, and local tactical cohesion, the Chinese possessed absolute numerical advantage. By September 28, the Chinese units had reached their attack positions, and Chen Cheng set his operational design in motion. The forces on the right bank were to attack first and pull the main body of the Japanese 39th Division southward. The 33rd Army would strike toward Jingmen and Dangyang in order to cut off the enemy's routes of retreat and reinforcement. Once these movements took hold, Yichang itself would be enclosed and crushed. Li Jilan's 94th Army, Li Yannian's 2nd Army, Song Kentang's 32nd Army, and other formations advanced according to plan. On paper the arrangement had clarity. On the ground it had resistance. The Japanese defended from strong fieldworks, and progress came slowly. Earthworks, wire, trenches, and mutually supporting positions transformed every apparent advance into hard labor. The Chinese pushed forward, but not with the speed Chen Cheng wanted. Even a favorable comparison of troop numbers could not cancel the fact that an entrenched Japanese force, once determined to hold, could impose a terrible price on assault. By October 1, Japanese troops outside Yichang began withdrawing into the city proper. Chen Cheng responded by ordering all troops to complete the encirclement. At last the operation seemed to be reaching the decisive stage. The city was tightening under pressure. The ring was nearly closed. Yet at that very moment time began pressing harder on both sides. On October 2, both Chen Cheng outside the city and Uchiyama inside it received telegrams that sharpened the crisis. The message sent from the Japanese 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan informed Uchiyama that the famous Tokyo Asakusa Art Troupe was coming to Yichang to comfort the front-line troops. The Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Nanjing had decided that, for political reasons, the troupe could not be turned back merely because combat conditions were dangerous. Their purpose was morale. That such a message could arrive at such a time reveals much about Japanese wartime culture. Appearances, spirit, ritual reassurance, and the emotional theater of endurance still had to be maintained even when military reality was worsening by the hour. The telegram that Chen Cheng received was very different. Chiang Kai-shek's order stated with brutal directness: the Japanese in northern Hunan had begun to withdraw, and Chen was ordered to spare no effort to capture Yichang within three days. Chen stared at the message for a long time. There was no need for explanation. He understood at once what Chiang meant. The battle for Yichang had already consumed days of hard fighting. Chinese units had suffered substantial losses. But the essential fact stood over every map and every order: if Japanese forces disengaging from northern Hunan reached Yichang in time to reinforce it, then all the effort already expended might amount to nothing. The battle had become not only a contest of strength, but a race. At nearly the same time, the command post of the Japanese 11th Army at Yueyang was confronting the other half of the same problem. On the night of September 30, the headquarters was brightly lit as Chief of Staff Isamu Kinoshita arranged reports, reconnaissance findings, and field messages before the army commander. The Japanese still possessed a valuable advantage: they had access to Chinese communication codes. But such intelligence could not solve every operational problem. It could not conjure food where there was none, restore exhausted bodies, or stop the battlefield from changing shape. By then the Japanese situation around Changsha had become increasingly unstable. The Hayabuchi Detachment, after entering the city, was entangled in fierce urban fighting with the Chinese 6th Provisional Division of the 79th Army. By the evening of September 30, neither side had eliminated the other inside the city. Outside Changsha, the Japanese 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 40th Divisions had assembled and kept major Chinese forces at bay. One element of the 3rd Division had even moved south by truck to Zhuzhou, fifty kilometers away, and occupied the abandoned city. Yet these outward signs of success concealed a serious weakness. The Japanese rear was fraying. Ammunition and food were running low. Divisions operating that deep in hostile territory could not sustain a prolonged campaign under such conditions. More than ten days of uninterrupted movement and fighting had also produced rising non-combat casualties. Men were collapsing from fatigue along the march. Sickness increased steadily. Units that had looked formidable on the offensive were beginning to wear thin from inside. At the same time, Chinese remnants from earlier defeats, new reinforcements, and formations that had regrouped after being thrown back were all watching for signs of weakness. Even if the Japanese divisions in Hunan still had the strength to fight several more actions, another question overrode everything else: Yichang. Yichang was not simply another point on the map. It was a strategic stronghold on the Yangtze and one of the key places from which Japan threatened Chongqing. The city also carried institutional memory. After its capture in June 1940, the occupying troops had initially been ordered to withdraw for rest and reorganization. But Imperial General Headquarters had reversed that decision almost at once and demanded that Yichang be held after all. Troops already on the road had to turn back and retake a city that had been burned, stripped, and rendered difficult to occupy. Among those who had insisted most strongly that Yichang must be retained was Anami Korechika, then vice minister of the army. Now Anami faced the consequence of that earlier insistence. However attractive the gains in Hunan might appear, Yichang could not simply be sacrificed. Uchiyama's 13th Division was not strong enough to hold indefinitely without relief. Anami looked at Hunan on the map—a rich province, beautiful and militarily tempting, much of it seeming almost within reach. But strategy does not reward attachment. With great reluctance, he gave the order to retreat. On the morning of October 1, all Japanese divisions received the reversal instructions, and at four in the afternoon they began moving north. For Xue Yue, this altered the entire meaning of the campaign. Since the beginning of the battle, he had known frustration, disappointment, and anger. Whatever private calculations he may have made about Chiang Kai-shek's strategic direction, Chen Cheng's political influence, his own mistakes in the earlier phase of operations, or the rivalries that had long poisoned Republican military life, none of those feelings prevented him from seeing the opportunity now before him. Once the Japanese turned north, pursuit was no longer merely a matter of salvaging dignity. It became an operational necessity tied directly to Yichang. His staff quickly drafted a pursuit order defining routes, timings, and methods. The document explicitly called for tracking and pursuing, interception, flanking movement, ambush, and surprise attack. This was not to be a ceremonial following of a retreating enemy at a respectful distance. It was meant to be pressure—enough pressure, if possible, to delay Japanese movement back toward Hubei. Two hours after Xue issued the order, another telegram arrived from Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek instructed that since the enemy which had advanced into northern Hunan had begun retreating toward Yueyang on the night of October 1, the Ninth War Zone was to exploit their fatigue, pursue boldly, seize Yueyang if possible, sabotage the Wuyue Railway, and launch attacks, ambushes, and fierce strikes along the retreat route to prevent the Japanese from regaining their former defenses or shifting quickly toward Wuhan. The purpose was stated clearly: to facilitate the operations of the Third, Fifth, and Sixth War Zones. Xue Yue understood the message at once. The support provided by the Third and Fifth War Zones had been limited and often symbolic. The operation that truly mattered now was Chen Cheng's assault on Yichang. Pursuit in Hunan was not simply retaliation for the threat to Changsha. It was an attempt to buy time in blood, mud, and delay. He adjusted the pursuit deployment and ordered commanders at every level to go forward and supervise their units in person. Autumn rain began to fall over northern Hunan. Hills disappeared in mist and drizzle. Along the roads leading north moved Japanese soldiers under the Rising Sun flag; behind them and beside them, often through fields, villages, and broken country, moved Chinese troops under the Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth flag. Their uniforms differed, their languages differed, their causes differed—but the exhaustion in their faces must often have looked terribly alike. Both armies moved through damp air, hunger, uncertainty, and the constant expectation of another clash. The pursuit, however, revealed the limits of Chinese strength as well as its persistence. On October 2, the battered remnants of the Chinese 74th and 26th Armies cleared battlefields along the Liuyang and Laodao Rivers and found no Japanese left there. The 74th withdrew to Liling to regroup. The 26th halted at Changle Street for replenishment. Yang Sen sent the whole 27th Army Group after the retreating enemy. Ou Zhen's 4th Army attempted to intercept the Japanese 40th Division, but the Japanese maneuvered skillfully and escaped. Ou Zhen pursued them north of the Miluo River for three days, reached the Changshui River, and found the south bank empty. The 20th Army tried to cut off the Japanese 6th Division at Fulipu. At first they could not even locate the enemy, but they did collect large amounts of matériel left behind. Deputy Commander Xia Jiong remarked, with rough optimism, that the Japanese were still "steaming hot" and would certainly be caught. His men ran hard, crossed the Miluo River, and finally did catch a rearguard. Yet the Japanese, intent only on getting away, adopted what Chinese accounts described as a low-key method of not retaliating and not becoming decisively engaged. After crossing Gaoqiao they withdrew into their previous defensive area, and Xia could do little more than stop, rest, and continue to watch them. The 58th Army intercepted more than two thousand Japanese troops near Guanwang Bridge. For a moment it seemed a major clash might erupt. Instead the Japanese fled, leaving behind large quantities of supplies. The Chinese followed them as far as Taolin and then halted when it became clear that the enemy had regained strong ground. These episodes were frustrating, but they were not meaningless. They showed that many Chinese formations had been too badly mauled in the earlier phase of the campaign to sustain relentless offensive pressure. They also showed that the Japanese, though in retreat, were still disciplined enough to avoid disastrous entanglements while shedding matériel to gain speed. The Chinese units that struck hardest during this phase were not those most damaged at the beginning of the battle, but fresher formations such as Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army and Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army. Xia's men ambushed the Hayabuchi Detachment and nearly destroyed it, killing two of its three battalion commanders. Fu's 99th Army fought a series of clashes with the Japanese 3rd and 6th Divisions and with the Hirano and Araki Detachments. The Japanese, eager to keep moving, absorbed losses rather than pause for extended battle. The 99th Army captured so much matériel that transporting it became a problem in itself. On October 4, a squad leader of the 197th Division even shot down an aircraft with machine-gun fire. Yet even here success had limits. By October 9, the entire Japanese force in northern Hunan had crossed the Xinqiang River and reoccupied its original positions. Chinese attacks achieved nothing decisive. The river once again became, in military imagination, almost a fixed frontier. As gunfire subsided in Xiangbei, all attention turned toward Yichang. The encirclement of the city was completed at noon on October 4. Chen Cheng ordered a general offensive to begin at four in the morning on October 6. Outside the city, Li Yannian's 2nd Army held fast against the Japanese 39th Division, which was trying to come in from Jingmen. Altogether, the Sixth War Zone had committed fourteen divisions—more than one hundred thousand men—to the operation. What followed was the familiar but always arresting spectacle of a great battle gathering itself. Small detachments moved forward to cut wire and destroy fortifications outside the city. Artillery officers adjusted their fire with care. Ammunition boxes changed hands continuously. Telephone operators hurried back and forth laying lines. Engineers worked with picks and shovels. Trucks forced their way down crowded roads with horns blaring. Boats were requisitioned along the riverbank, and dark-skinned boatmen weathered by the Yangtze wind moved among soldiers and officers. Behind the assault units stood medical stations under Red Cross flags, waiting for the wounded they knew were coming. All the machinery of battle was in motion. Inside Yichang, meanwhile, another scene unfolded that could only exist in wartime Japan's peculiar mixture of militarism and performance. At the field hospital of the Japanese 13th Division on the campus of Mingde Middle School, wounded soldiers wrapped in white bandages stood, sat, lay on stretchers, or leaned on medical orderlies in the yard watching entertainers from home perform while the dull rhythms of artillery sounded in the distance. The Asakusa Art Troupe had been founded in the mid-1920s and had made its name by combining modern popular elements with traditional stage culture. It had first won over ordinary audiences and then, as its reputation rose, gained acceptance among official and elite circles as well. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, it was gradually folded into the machinery of wartime propaganda, performing works meant to praise sacrifice, glorify the empire, and strengthen morale. When the delegation of more than thirty members arrived at the 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan, the army added a military band of more than twenty men to accompany them to Yichang. But by the time they reached the city, the battle had already drawn close. They could not visit forward positions. Instead they performed for the wounded. The last performance featured heavily made-up young men and women dancing a popular folk number. As the dance continued, the women bowed and invited medics and wounded men who could still move to join them. Kimono and military uniform mixed. Smiles appeared beside bandages. Music from the home islands drifted out beneath the sound of an approaching siege. Then war interrupted the scene completely. Before dawn on October 6, Chinese artillery opened on Yichang with a deafening bombardment, and the cries of attack rolled over the city. As day came up, the troupe members watched stretchers being rushed into the field hospital where they had only recently performed. One of the sixteen-year-old twin geisha sisters, Mihoko, asked the troupe leader Akizuru through tears whether they would ever be able to return to Tokyo. Qiuhe, the famous dance artist in her fifties, answered gently that they would. General Anami, she said, was leading brave troops there and would arrive in the next few days. The child must pray. The reassurance was human, but it was also part of the wartime language of consolation. Outside the city, reality was harsher. For two days and nights the fighting remained severe. The Japanese fell back toward the edge of the city and resisted with desperation. The Japanese 3rd Air Regiment in Hankou committed itself heavily to the defense, flying sortie after sortie over Yichang. Aircraft came so often that some made four round trips in a single day. On the morning of October 8, a unit of the Chinese 94th Army crossed by boat from the west bank, bypassed the Gezhouba area, and landed at the northern end of Huangcaoba. Advancing south along the embankment, it established positions on the Yangtze side only about half a kilometer from the city. This foothold effectively dominated Japanese positions west of Yichang. Mortar rounds crossed the water. Heavy and light machine guns pinned the defenders outside the walls. At the same time, the 9th Division of the 32nd Army and part of the 99th Army pressed inward as well. The ring tightened. October 9 was grave for both sides. The Japanese withdrawal from northern Hunan had by now produced a relief force. Anami assembled elite troops from several divisions into a rapid deployment column for Yichang. For the Chinese Sixth War Zone, however, victory seemed very near. Inside the city the Japanese situation was increasingly desperate. Casualties were severe. The field hospital yard was filled with groaning wounded. Uchiyama summoned support personnel, medics, cooks, ordnance repairmen, and any wounded men still capable of firing. He armed them all and formed an improvised reserve. Then, while this force was assembling, he heard the sound of a trumpet. One of the band members, still practicing as if battle had not reached its climax, reminded him that the more than twenty members of the 11th Army band were also soldiers in uniform. He added them as well, creating a special unit of 388 men. Hundreds of sacks of rice were taken from storage and piled around division headquarters as fortifications. Uchiyama then turned to Chief of Staff Akinaga and said, "Let's not believe any miracles will happen." The line was bleak, but lucid. It meant that there would be no rescue through wishful thinking. If they lived, it would be because they held long enough. If they died, they would die without pretending that destiny had cheated them. Outside the city, Chen Cheng faced a different but equally harsh pressure. On October 2, Chiang Kai-shek had ordered Yichang taken within three days. On the 4th, Chen requested an extension until the 8th; Chiang agreed, but warned that because the Japanese were retreating from northern Hunan, the city must be captured by then or all previous effort would be wasted. Chen launched the general assault on the 6th, but fierce resistance on the ground and in the air slowed him. By the 8th, the city still had not fallen. He requested another extension, asking to take Yichang by October 10. This time Chiang sent no reply. Chen understood the silence. It meant that no political room remained behind him. At 2:30 in the morning on October 10, the Sixth War Zone opened another general offensive. One hundred and forty artillery pieces joined the bombardment. Shells fell across every part of the Japanese defenses until the repeated flashes made it hard for the gunners to tell what had not yet been hit. Then the infantry went in. Men shouted and surged forward like water breaking through a barrier. Hidden Japanese machine guns cut them down in wave after wave, but more men followed behind. The dead piled on the approaches so thickly that nationality itself seemed to vanish in blood and mud. Under that fire, dawn rose red. Uchiyama watched the sunrise from the highest building in the city, the three-story Yichang Bank. After the war, he told a reporter that the sky, the earth, and even the Yangtze had all seemed red to him, as if the river itself were carrying the blood of Chinese and Japanese alike. According to a later Japanese account, messages reached him from every side that morning reporting collapse. Roughly 5000 men were estimated killed or seriously wounded. At eight o'clock Uchiyama went down to the operations room. Waiting there were his chief of staff and senior officers. At that moment the final ritual of battlefield defeat began. A farewell telegram to Anami Korechika was read aloud. Nearby stood the regimental flag of the 104th Regiment, entrusted to Captain Izumi Shigeru before the regiment's complete destruction. Uchiyama then took the 13th Division's own flag—the imperial military color—and laid it over the regimental flag. Officers and men wept, removed their caps, and bowed their heads. Uchiyama's hands trembled so badly that it took him three matches to set the flag alight. In Japanese military culture, burning a flag was among the sternest rites of defeat. The flag could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. To destroy it was to acknowledge annihilation while presenting that annihilation as a final offering to the imperial state. When the flags had burned and places for seppuku had been chosen, the farewell message remained. It declared that all officers and soldiers had done their utmost for the empire in the final struggle, that military flags, confidential documents, and imperial edicts had been burned, and that it was deeply regrettable that overseas Chinese and the delegation in Yichang had also suffered this fate. Uchiyama then added one final sentence in red pencil: the soldiers of the empire had fulfilled their duty and died for their country amidst the heroic cries of "Long live the Grand Marshal!" At 8:50 the clerk began encoding the telegram. Then Uchiyama said quietly to the officers waiting to die: "Please wait a little longer." The words postponed death by minutes. There was still the narrow possibility that communication mattered, or that the battle had not yet reached its absolute end. Chief of Staff Akinaga summoned his adjutant, Sakata Ryūshirō, and ordered that if the division commander and chief of staff died before the telegram was sent, Sakata was to form a suicide squad, break out by any means possible, and report the division's fate to 11th Army headquarters. At ten in the morning, the Japanese 39th Division attacking from Jingmen launched a new assault under Anami's strict orders against Li Yannian's 2nd Army. One regiment used poison gas to break through part of the Chinese line and reached the outskirts of Yichang. Chen Cheng personally directed the Chinese response, using elements of the attacking force and the 2nd Army to surround and beat back the thrust. By two in the afternoon, only the Dongshan Temple line remained intact among the different sectors of the Japanese city defense. Chinese troops had penetrated the city and were fighting bitterly in the streets, moving steadily toward division headquarters. At four in the afternoon, more than 2000 Japanese rapid deployment troops from northern Hunan reached the northeast approaches of Yichang and at once joined the relief effort. Chen Cheng threw reserves in to block them, and both sides locked in combat six kilometers outside the city. As dusk fell, the Chinese assault units in the city had also suffered terrible losses. Chen Cheng ordered them to regroup, replenish, and launch a final attack after dark. Then, at seven in the evening, almost as the order was issued, a violent gale rose and torrential rain began to fall. Such heavy rain was unusual in the Yichang area in October, and to men who had been living for days under the pressure of siege, death, and deadline, it must have seemed uncanny. The Chinese attacked through the downpour, but progress was painfully slow. At the same time, more than ten thousand Japanese troops arriving from northern Hunan reached the outskirts, fought for over two hours in the rain, and finally broke into the city, linking up with what remained of the 13th Division. At eleven that night, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the attack on Yichang halted and instructed the Chinese troops to return to their original defensive positions. The battle ended not in a clear verdict, but in exhaustion. One elderly resident of Yichang, Huang Jupu, later left a memory of the aftermath more vivid than any headquarters summary. He recalled that the heavy rain began at nightfall on the twentieth day of the eighth lunar month—October 10 in the Gregorian calendar—and continued into the next afternoon. Rainwater soaked the corpses lying in the streets until the water became a deep brownish-red pool more than two feet deep before it drained into the Yangtze and changed the river's color. The next day, he said, both sides sent corpse-collection teams into the streets under Red Cross flags. They pushed carts and worked separately, avoiding conflict, though sometimes they spoke to one another when trying to identify bodies. The Japanese recovery party included Chinese helpers and local residents. They turned corpses over, looked at clothing and weapons, and tried to determine nationality. Some bodies were naked, perhaps stripped wounded, which made identification harder. Since Chinese and Japanese could resemble one another, neither side wanted to take the wrong dead, fearing that a mistake would disturb the heroic souls to whom each army believed it owed proper burial. In the end, Huang remembered, it was the people of Yichang who pooled their money to bury many of the dead north of the city. Later an unmarked stone was raised there, with a bowl of rice and a stick of incense set before it. That image does something military history often fails to do. It restores weight to the end of battle. Armies issue attack orders, counterattack orders, pursuit orders, and retreat orders. Staff officers mark arrows on maps. Commanders calculate reinforcement and delay. But after all of that comes the business of soaked bodies in the street, identification, carts, shallow graves, and local people forced to do what armies can no longer fully do for their own dead. Seen as a whole, the operations in Hunan and Hubei during these weeks form one connected historical drama. The Japanese advance toward Changsha was real and dangerous, but it failed to produce decisive strategic gain. The battle strained the Chinese defense badly. Some units collapsed. Others improvised and recovered. The city was entered, contested, and then fought over again. Behind the forward line, Chinese forces such as Yang Sen's 27th Army Group harassed Japanese communications and supply, turning depth into vulnerability. At the same time, Chen Cheng's offensive against Yichang transformed what might otherwise have remained a local success for Japan in Hunan into a strategic dilemma. Once Yichang came seriously under threat, the Japanese command could not continue to treat the Hunan offensive as self-contained. It had to weigh possession against preservation, momentum against strategic necessity. That calculation compelled the retreat from northern Hunan. The retreat in turn changed the meaning of Xue Yue's operations. Pursuit became valuable not mainly because it might recover wounded pride or even because it might damage the retreating enemy, but because every hour of delay imposed on Japanese units moving north was another hour in which Yichang might fall. Yet Yichang did not fall. That fact is central, but it must be interpreted carefully. Chen Cheng had numerical superiority and fought with determination, but numbers alone could not cancel the difficulty of assaulting a fortified Japanese position under air attack and against fanatical resistance. Time worked against him. Every day lost increased the chance that Japanese relief would arrive from Hunan. Chiang Kai-shek's increasingly urgent telegrams reflected strategic logic, but they could not abolish battlefield reality. Men still had to cross open ground, cut wire, silence guns, and survive fire. Inside Yichang, Uchiyama's defense reveals the same pressure from the opposite side. He understood that his task was simple in principle and terrible in practice: hold until relief arrived. That necessity drove him to arm cooks, medics, repairmen, musicians, and wounded men. It drove him to build fortifications from sacks of rice. It brought him to the point of burning flags and preparing for ritual death while still delaying the final act long enough to see whether rescue might come. The presence of the Asakusa Art Troupe inside the besieged city sharpened the tragedy. They had been sent for morale and appearance, as if cultural performance might reassure an empire already growing anxious about the costs of war. Instead they became trapped witnesses to near-annihilation. The young girl asking if she would ever return to Tokyo cuts through all rhetoric. It is the ordinary human question that waits behind every doctrine of heroic sacrifice. In the end, neither side obtained everything it sought. Japan failed to turn its push into Hunan into a decisive result. China failed to retake Yichang despite concentration of force and a window of opportunity that for a time seemed very real. But that does not mean the campaign resolves into stalemate in any empty sense. It revealed important truths. For China, it showed both weakness and development. Weakness appeared in broken lines, uneven coordination, exhausted pursuit, and the inability to convert superiority in numbers into victory at Yichang. But development appeared too: a greater ability to coordinate war zones, to pressure Japanese rear areas, to force the enemy into strategic compromise, and to sustain resistance under conditions that would once have threatened outright collapse. For Japan, the campaign exposed the narrowing gap between aggressive offensive action and dangerous overextension. Japanese divisions could still strike hard, move with speed, and defend with ferocity. Their aircraft could still exact terrible cost. But logistics, fatigue, sickness, and the obligation to rescue threatened positions like Yichang increasingly limited what offensive success could mean. The deepest memory of the campaign may belong not to generals, however, but to the smaller figures history often notices only in passing: the soldier chewing dry ration without water; the wounded man who blew himself up rather than submit; the old beggar who revealed a depot; the band member still practicing trumpet in a city preparing for death; the frightened girl from the troupe; the townspeople who buried the dead after rain washed blood into the Yangtze. These are not decorative details. They are what make the history real. The autumn of 1941 in Hunan and Hubei was not one clean victory, nor one clean defeat. It was a season in which pressure in one sector altered decision in another, in which tactical success did not always yield strategic reward, and in which endurance itself increasingly became a form of power. That is why the campaign matters. It shows a war whose balance had begun to change, not dramatically or conclusively, but perceptibly. China still suffered, improvised, and fell short. Japan still advanced, struck hard, and held important ground. Yet the margin between them was no longer what it had been in the earlier years of the war. History moved that autumn not by omen or destiny, but by the hard materials of war: supply, timing, weather, command, fatigue, communications, morale, and blood. In Hunan and Hubei, all of those forces converged. They carried armies north and west, into cities and out again, across rivers, through rain, and finally into memory. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. As Chinese pressure tightened, Japan's wider situation around Changsha deteriorated—fatigue, supply strain, and losses accumulated. When the Japanese began retreating north, relief efforts turned Yichang into a desperate struggle marked by shifting fronts, poison gas, street fighting, and heavy bombardment. Chiang Kai-shek demanded a deadline, forcing Chen into final assaults that ultimately failed to secure a clean victory.  

Alan interviews Cole Rosentreter. Canadian Cole Rosentreter's company, FlyPegasus.ai, provides real-time icing detection systems applied directly to aircraft surfaces. MIDAS technology shows where ice is forming, how thick it is, and how fast it is building, so pilots can accurately assess risk. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Website: www.FlyPegasus.ai

AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports firefighters continue battling a major wildfire burning west of Athens.

No guest. Just Michael, a stack of conversation cards, and whatever the internet served up this week. Opening cards: simple is not the same as easy, and failures are tuition payments, not a definition. A flight instructor in Argentina jumps to his death mid-lesson. His student lands the plane alone. The viral robot gun turret video. Reaction time, technique, and a full review of the dismount. Big announcement: a full F-18 simulator is coming to the coffee shop. Aircraft carrier landing competition. $25 per entry. If you have ever flown an F-18, you are not invited. The Blue Angels' 40-foot pass over Pensacola Beach, and why the investigation should be allowed to happen. The Titan submersible documentaries. Carbon fiber, "seasoning," and 20 milliseconds. Getting fooled by AI images and satire headlines. A public meltdown caught on camera, and what a mental health crisis looks like from the outside. Grab your set of Conversation Starters Here: https://shop.clearedhotpodcast.com/ Take the Operator Code Assessment: https://www.theoperatorcode.com Today's Sponsors:  Ridge:  For a limited time only head to https://www.ridge.com and use code "ClearedHot" at checkout for 10% off your order. Spartan Forge:  https://www.spartanforge.ai

US Marine officials say emergency personnel have responded to a fighter jet crash near a Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, California. The incident occurred at around 10 a.m. on Friday local time. Authorities say the pilot ejected safely and has been recovered.

This week on the IBA Insider Podcast, Dr. Stuart Hatcher and Mike Yeomans unpack the key takeaways from Farnborough Airshow 2026 and explore the latest trends shaping the aircraft market.They discuss the biggest order announcements, what industry conversations revealed beyond the show floor, and why aircraft values remain resilient even as lease rates begin to normalise.Sign up for the newsletter - https://www.iba.aero/sign-up/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/iba-aviation-consultancy/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSkPhTf-05htY99V79fklMAWebsite - www.iba.aero

This week, firefighters across Europe have been battling strong wildfires from France to Greece. But what is involved in order to get on top of these fires? Pete Hutchison, also known as Pete the Irish Pilot on social media, joined Anton Savage on the show to discuss.

General Blaine Holt analyzes reports of China supplying advanced shoulder-launched missiles (MANPADS) to Iran via Hong Kong and Pakistan, signaling a major geopolitical shift. Holt explains that while these weapons threaten low-flying aircraft, the supply chain is vulnerable to intelligence interdiction. Holt observes that recent Iranian escalations in Iraq and the Gulf suggest a fragmented leadership in disarray rather than a cohesive strategy. The US and Saudi Arabiaare actively striking Iranian-backed militias. (13)1930 TOKYO

Beyond The Box Art® — Episode 34Scale Model Podcast — Episode 162IPMS UK & USA Presidents - TOGETHERHiya Benchmates — Episode 34 has landed, and this is one we've genuinely been looking forward to for a very long time.For only the second time, Beyond The Box Art® joins forces with our great friends at The Scale Model Podcast for another special transatlantic collaboration, bringing together voices from both sides of the Atlantic for what has become a truly landmark episode.This time, however, we're making a little bit of history...Feature Discussion — The First Public IPMS Presidents Round TableFor the first time ever, the Presidents of IPMS UK, IPMS USA, and IPMS Canada come together publicly for one conversation.Joining Brownie, Balders, Dan & Shane are Terry Miesle and Geoff Heyland, plus:Ian Middleton — President, IPMS UK• John Noack — President, IPMS USATogether they discuss the future of IPMS, attracting new generations of modellers, supporting clubs and shows, the challenges facing modelling organisations around the world, and why the hobby remains as relevant today as ever.Rather than a formal interview, this is a genuine round-table discussion between friends who all share the same goal — ensuring scale modelling continues to thrive for many years to come.There are thoughtful discussions, plenty of laughs, a healthy amount of good-natured banter, and more than a few moments where international diplomacy is tested over plastic kits.Stash Inflation ReportThe team's wallets once again take a considerable battering as they round up the latest kit announcements, aftermarket releases and modelling temptations from around the world.Aircraft, armour, naval subjects, Gunpla and everything in between all come under the spotlight, with plenty of opportunities to add "just one more kit" to the stash.As always, expect a few questionable purchasing decisions, several enabling comments, and at least one declaration that "I definitely don't need another one..."(We all know how that ends.)This episode is more than simply another podcast.It's a celebration of what can happen when modelling communities work together rather than apart, proving that while our accents, club badges and favourite subjects may differ, we're all united by exactly the same passion for scale modelling.We sincerely hope this becomes the first of many annual conversations bringing together IPMS organisations from around the world.So grab a brew, pull up a chair at the bench, and join us for a truly international conversation celebrating our hobby.Beyond The Box Art® Episode 34 & The Scale Model Podcast Episode 162 starts NOW!Brownie & the Beyond The Box Art® TeamModels. Modellers. Meaning.ContactEmail: info@beyondtheboxart.comWebsite: www.beyondtheboxart.comShow SponsorsAMMO by Mig Jiménez — www.ammo.esFischkopp Model Company — https://www.fischkoppcompany.de/Guideline Publications — https://www.guidelinepublications.co.uk/Phase Hangar Resin Accessories — https://phasehangarresin.com/The Scale Modellers Supply — https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/Useful LinksPondstones — https://pondstones.sumupstore.comMachModels — https://www.youtube.com/@machmodels48 in 48 event information — https://48-48.orgModels for Heroes — https://modelsforheroes.org.ukEduard — https://www.eduard.com/Airfix — www.airfix.comRevell — www.revell.comIPMS UK — www.ipmsuk.orgScale Modelling Now — http://www.scalemodellingnow.comInside The Armour — https://www.insidethearmour.com/Red Beach One Studios — https://www.facebook.com/RedBeachOneStudios/

The future is here, and it could mean the difference between life and death, especially in rural parts of the state. A new electric aircraft would provide speedy emergency response and it could be in the air before you know it. Rather than drones delivering packages and such, this kind of aircraft would help get first responders to the scene or rural or hard-to-reach emergencies. Greg volunteers on a local ski patrol and shares his thoughts on how this could help in a plethora of situations.

Episode 3331 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the U.S. aircraft carrier port call at DaNang. The featured story is titled: U.S. carrier George Washington arrives in Vietnam on five-day visit. It appeared on the … Continue reading → The post Episode 3331 – U.S. Aircraft carrier calls at DaNang first appeared on Vietnam Veteran News.

On this episode, Martin McLaughlin joins the show to discuss his 39-year career at Northrop Grumman during the development of the B-2 bomber, the F-20 and F/A-18 fighters, and the YF-23 fighter. Martin also managed the DARPA experimental spaceplane XS-1 program and numerous internal Northrop Grumman studies for air-launched to orbit rocketplanes. He continues his […] The post From Stealth Aircraft to Space Transportation: The Evolution of Aerospace Composites first appeared on Composites Weekly. The post From Stealth Aircraft to Space Transportation: The Evolution of Aerospace Composites appeared first on Composites Weekly.

UFO Undercover Liquid water lake found on Mars with insights from researcher They found a triangular UFO in the woods - then it vanished without a sound The US built an anti-gravity aircraft… and it defies physics United Public Radio & UFO Paranormal Radio www.uprntalkradio.com

Send us Fan MailPeaches and Trent go full members-only to break down what 2026 is shaping up to look like for the Air Force—no press releases, no sugarcoating. From the F-47 and collaborative combat aircraft to B-21 delays, A-10 politics, pilot manning, maintenance reality, and why bureaucracy keeps kneecapping readiness, this episode is a blunt assessment of where things are actually headed. They dig into recruiting momentum, training pipeline friction, Special Warfare course structure, and why talent management—not slogans—is the real force multiplier. If you want optimism backed by realism, this is the conversation.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Ones Ready intro and why 2026 matters 01:10 Why predictions beat wishful thinking 02:40 F-47, NGAD, and contractor reality 04:45 Aircraft costs, delays, and maintenance truth 07:30 Pilots vs managers and broken talent models 10:20 Bureaucracy, sorties, and credibility 13:40 A-10, E-7, and budget knife fights 16:55 Drones, CCAs, and the future fight 20:30 Space vs airborne command and control 24:45 Recruiting momentum and readiness strain 30:10 Special Warfare pipeline friction 34:40 What's actually trending positive in 2026 38:30 Final thoughts for the year ahead

By Doug Green “AI goes blind at exactly the moment when you need it most.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Vishal Gupta, Director of Product Management at ZPE Systems, explains why AI-driven infrastructure management needs an independent path to the devices it is expected to monitor, troubleshoot and recover. AIOps platforms have become increasingly effective at detecting problems, correlating events and automating routine infrastructure operations. The problem, Gupta says, is that these systems often run on the same production infrastructure they manage. When a network outage or hardware failure occurs, the AI platform can lose both its connection to the affected equipment and access to the telemetry it needs to diagnose the problem. “That is the gap out-of-band fills,” says Gupta. Out-of-band management provides an independent management plane that remains separate from the production network. Even when the primary infrastructure is unavailable, IT teams—and increasingly AI agents—can still reach devices through console access, examine system logs and kernel messages, and take corrective action. Gupta compares the architecture to an airport. Aircraft use the runway for normal operations, while emergency and service vehicles have separate roads and infrastructure. If the runway becomes unavailable, the service infrastructure can still reach the aircraft. The same principle applies to resilient IT operations. An isolated management environment should have its own connectivity, security, routing, switching, storage and compute capabilities. It may also include failover connectivity through 4G, 5G or satellite services such as Starlink. Building Out-of-Band for a Larger Edge ZPE Systems developed its Nodegrid Net Services Router 2U, or NSR 2U, in response to customers operating increasingly large and complex edge environments. These environments can include branch offices, remote facilities, ships, oil rigs, cell sites and other locations outside traditional data centers. They frequently contain more devices, require greater bandwidth and have fewer trained personnel available on-site. The NSR 2U was designed around three priorities: greater capacity, increased resiliency and support for AI workloads. The modular platform offers 10 expansion-card slots, allowing customers to configure the system around their particular deployment. It also includes redundant, field-serviceable power supplies and fans, two NVMe storage slots with RAID support, four native 10-gigabit SFP+ ports and an increased Power over Ethernet budget. ZPE has even addressed the possibility that the out-of-band device itself could fail. Two NSR 2U systems can be interconnected so that one system can provide remote console, power and reset control for the other—effectively providing out-of-band management for the out-of-band infrastructure. Taking NVIDIA Jetson AI to Remote Locations ZPE Systems has also developed an NVIDIA Jetson AI Expansion Card for the Nodegrid NSR family. The card supports NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano and Orin NX modules, providing local AI processing within the isolated management environment. This allows organizations to deploy AI agents close to the infrastructure and data they manage, without relying entirely on a remote cloud connection. A key capability is remote lifecycle management. IT teams can remotely flash the Jetson operating system, deploy or update AI agents and models, access the console, and power the device on, off or into recovery mode. Ordinarily, updating or recovering an edge AI device may require someone to travel to the location and connect directly to the hardware. ZPE's approach is intended to reduce those truck rolls while allowing organizations to manage distributed AI infrastructure centrally. Potential applications extend beyond AIOps. The platform can support real-time video analytics, object detection, smart recording, manufacturing quality control, sensor-data aggregation and local automation. GPIO and I2C interfaces also allow sensors measuring conditions such as temperature, vibration or voltage to feed information directly into locally running AI models. Asking the Hard Infrastructure Questions Gupta says much of the AI conversation remains focused on models, software and the token economy. Those areas are important, but they can obscure fundamental infrastructure questions. Where will an AIOps platform run? Can it survive the outage it is expected to resolve? Will it still have a path to the affected equipment? Can it access sufficiently accurate data to diagnose the problem and select the right recovery action? “If you can't answer these questions, then there's a gap in your AIOps strategy,” Gupta says. “No software and no model will fix it for you.” As AI becomes more autonomous, infrastructure resilience will determine whether AI agents can move beyond identifying failures to actually recovering from them. ZPE Systems is positioning isolated out-of-band infrastructure, the NSR 2U and edge-based Jetson AI processing as the foundation for making that transition possible. More at Enterprise Network Management Solution | ZPE Systems

A new consensus has emerged in Westminster, seemingly overnight: we need more defence spending, and we need it now. But the Ministry of Defence has a record for waste that would put Tony Soprano to shame. £13 billion down the drain, since 2010, at the very least. Aircraft carriers that come in late, overbudget, and beset by mechanical failures. IT systems that cost millions, and are wildly out of date. No other government department could get away with it. But the arms trade spends billions of dollars on greasing the wheels of political consent. They employ armies of lobbyists, print reams of analysis, and bribe politicians the world over to keep the war machine funded. The result isn't just a crisis of corruption. It's a threat to our survival as a species. Andrew Feinstein is a former-minister in the South African government, turned investigative reporter. He is the executive director of Shadow World Investigations, and serves on the board of Declassified UK. And in 2024, he stood against Keir Starmer in Holborn and St Pancras. He joins Ash Sarkar on Downstream to lift the lid on how the arms industry really works, and tell us about his political journey.

Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, Portland Thorns (NWSL) and Portland Fire (WNBA) Owners, join Sports Business Radio for a conversation. The brother-sister duo discuss owning a NWSL and WNBA team with the goal of making Portland, Oregon the epicenter of women's sports, the synergies they are creating with both pro women's sports franchises and the unveiling of the first-ever dual-sport performance and training facility built for two women's professional franchises. LISTEN to Sports Business Radio on Apple podcasts or Spotify podcasts. Give Sports Business Radio a 5-star rating if you enjoy our podcast. Click on the plus sign on our Apple Podcasts page and follow the Sports Business Radio podcast. WATCH SBR interviews by going to the sports business hub on Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance at https://sports.yahoo.com/sports-business/ or our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@sportsbusinessradiopodcast. Follow Sports Business Radio on Twitter @SBRadio and on Instagram, Threads and Tik Tok @SportsBusinessRadio. This week's edition of Sports Business Radio is presented by New Air Club. New Air Club is the Official VIP Air Travel Partner of Sports Business Radio. New Air Club is a private aviation brokerage with access to over 22,000 aircraft worldwide, but what really sets them apart is that they''re a full-service concierge. They don't just book the jet—they handle everything around the trip so the client doesn't have to. Aircraft, luxury ground transportation, hotels, dining, even security if needed. One call, one team, total discretion. For more information or to book your travel, email info@newairclub.com. You can also visit www.NewAirClub.com.  Sports Business Radio is produced by Bryan Griggs at Griggs Productions dot com. #Thorns #Fire #NWSL #WNBA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the team for a look at the latest aviation news from around the world and across the UK. In this weeks show, we hear about Boeing's possible 737 replacement, a massive engine deal for BA, a TCAS incident over the Atlantic, and we have a round-up of what's been happening at Farnborough.   In the military segment, the Blue Angels have been causing a stir at Pensacola Beach, and we have news of the RAF's new Wedgetail.   You can get in touch with us all at : WhatsApp +447446975214 Email podcast@planetalkinguk.com or comment in our chatroom on YouTube.

This NASA solution for sliding aircraft became a global standard for highway and pedestrian safety.

A few days ago I reported on the structural failure at the former Pfizer headquarters at 235 East 42nd Street in Manhattan. Late last week we learned a few more details. The structural engineer on the project has now publicly stated that the reinforcing steel specified in the construction drawings was apparently never installed on the two columns that ultimately buckled.If that statement ultimately proves to be correct, then this wasn't a design failure.It was an execution failure.The columns in question are made of steel. They are made of structural steel that looks like an I beam, except it is vertical instead of horizontal. The engineer called for steel plates to be welded to the sides of each beam in order to create a box beam out of the I-beam profile. This was not done. The photos of the failed columns clearly show the original columns with no welded plates. I've looked at the detail on the structural drawings which clearly show the treatment for four different types of columns. The columns near the exterior are the ones in question. That makes me ask a different question.How did this get past everyone?Now, I want to be careful.The official investigation is still underway. The Department of Buildings, the Department of Investigation and independent forensic engineers are all examining what happened, and no final conclusions have been reached. The city has also expanded inspections to other projects involving the same developer and inspection firm while investigators determine whether broader quality-control issues exist.But regardless of where responsibility ultimately lands, this incident exposes something much larger.A gap in quality assurance.Quality assurance isn't glamorous. Nobody celebrates it. Nobody gets awards for finding problems before they become disasters. But every high-reliability industry depends on it.Software isn't shipped without testing.Aircraft aren't delivered without  every component undergoing inspection and certification.Automobiles undergo extensive inspection on the factory floor before they're ever sold.As you think about that, ask yourself one simple question.In your own business, where are you relying on assumptions instead of verification?-----------**Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones TD Barnes is a former field engineer at NASA who also served in Special Projects at Area 51. His engineering work extended to the X-15, XB-70, lifting bodies, and lunar landing vehicles, as well as NASA's NERVA nuclear rocket project at Jackass Flats, Nevada. SPONSORS https://quo.com/danny - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months. https://www.amentara.com/go/dj - Use code DJP22 for 22% off your first order. https://livemomentous.com - Use code DANNY for up to 35% off your entire first order. https://theperfectjean.nyc/danny15 - Use code DANNY15 for 15% off The Perfect Jean. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS (TD's new book) Secret Skies: https://a.co/d/06V47gN8 FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Tracking high-speed aircraft for NASA 05:01 - Newly declassified 1960s CIA projects 07:38 - CIA operated Area 51 in secret for 20 years 13:48 - Operation Northwoods 16:50 - Attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro 19:58 - Getting recruited to work at Area 51 29:53 - Aircraft tests at Area 51 36:47 - Early days of Area 51 mystery 46:26 - Sheep dipping CIA recruitment tactic 51:24 - What we're still using U2 aircraft for 54:20 - Origin of UFO myths at Area 51 57:47 - Why Bob Lazar's Area 51 story can't be real 01:01:31 - Truth about S4 "Site 4" 01:02:45 - Annie Jacobsen is persona non grata 01:09:09 - Pilot reports of UAPs 01:17:28 - Plasma, anti-gravity & acoustic radar 01:21:26 - TD doesn't believe in non-human entities 01:31:16 - ECMs and ECCMs 01:38:07 - TD's work with the DIA 01:39:59 - Project Redlight 01:44:01 - Where the new "Area 51" is located 01:46:19 - The X-15 program 01:53:29 - Radiation exposure at Area 51 02:02:57 - Atmospheric EMP tests 02:08:16 - Nuclear sites shut down by UAPs 02:11:55 - "AI scares me to death" 02:16:49 - CIA's battle with Air Force & NASA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire joins to discuss the company's recent approval to operate as a trust bank and crypto regulation at large. Then, Atreides Management CIO Gavin Baker shares his outlook for the tech sector, SpaceX and the threat from Moonshot AI's new Kimi model. Plus, Archer Aviation CEO Adam Goldstein joins from the Farnborough Air Show as the company unveils a new aircraft in partnership with Anduril. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury says the company aims to launch the next generation of single aisle aircraft in 2030 with entry into service in the second part of the decade, while speaking to BTV's Guy Johnson at the Farnborough International Air Show on Bloomberg Open Interest. Faury also says that aircraft demand remains strong and that the conflict in the Middle East is increasing demand for fuel-efficient aircraft, and reaffirmed that Airbus would get to rate 75.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buying an airplane can create opportunities and legal exposure that pilots may not see until something goes wrong. Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson sit down with aviation attorney and pilot Scott Williams to cover LLC structures, dry leases, co-ownership, and the limits of depreciation for passive real estate activity. Scott also explains key insurance terms, including smooth coverage, open pilot warranties, and waivers of subrogation. A practical conversation for pilots who want to protect their aircraft, finances, and future.Scott Williams is the founding principal attorney of the General Aviation Law Firm and a pilot with 38 years of flying experience and roughly 4,000 flight hours. He helps Part 91 aircraft owners buy, sell, structure, and operate aircraft while avoiding unintended legal and regulatory risks. Scott is also a Cirrus SR22 owner and former president of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association.Show notes:(0:00) Intro(5:19) Why aircraft belong in LLCs(7:01) Structuring aircraft co-ownership(12:30) Passive real estate tax limits(18:21) Dry leases and operational control(24:08) Named insureds Vs. Named pilots(29:54) LLC setup and aircraft domicile(33:47) Using a trust for ownership(36:34) Insurance as first-line protection(40:52) Smooth Vs. Sublimit coverage(43:39) Passenger waivers and liability(49:34) OutroConnect with Scott Williams:Website: https://www.generalaviationlaw.org/ If you're interested in participating, the latest institutional-quality self-storage portfolio is available for investment now at: https://turbinecap.investnext.com/portal/offerings/8449/houston-storage/ — You've found the number one resource for financial education for aviators! Please consider leaving a rating and sharing this podcast with your colleagues in the aviation community, as it can serve as a valuable resource for all those involved in the industry.Remember to subscribe for more insights at PassiveIncomePilots.com! https://passiveincomepilots.com/ Join our growing community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/passivepilotsCheck us out on Instagram @PassiveIncomePilots: https://www.instagram.com/passiveincomepilots/Follow us on X @IncomePilots: https://twitter.com/IncomePilotsGet our updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passive-income-pilots/Do you have questions or want to discuss this episode? Contact us at ask@passiveincomepilots.com See you at the next one!*Legal Disclaimer*The content of this podcast is provided solely for educational and informational purposes. The views and opinions expressed are those of the hosts, Tait Duryea and Ryan Gibson, and do not reflect those of any organization they are associated with, including Turbine Capital or Spartan Investment Group. The opinions of our guests are their own and should not be construed as financial advice. This podcast does not offer tax, legal, or investment advice. Listeners are advised to consult with their own legal or financial counsel and to conduct their own due diligence before making any financial decisions.

In today's episode, Six and MBP discuss different facets of communication from word usage and knowing your audience. Join us as we take the journey of understanding why words matter!Follow us on Facebook- @cancelledformaintenance, Instagram/Threads - @canxformaintenancepodcast.Twitter- @cxmxpodcastDid you know we have a comic series? Check it out on the Tapas app or visit us at: https://tapas.io/series/CXMXcomicsVisit our website and check out our merch at www.cancelledformaintenance.com. Have ideas or stories for show? Send us a line at our contact us section of our website!Looking for the best lightweight, comfortable, and noise-cancelling headset? Visit: dalcommtech.com and use code "canxrules" to save 15% off their products or special orders!Check out Rockwell Time for awesome outdoor merch and apparel. Use code-CX4MX and save 10%!Tell us how we are doing, leave us a review if you listen to us on Apple, Stitcher, Podchaser, or IHeart Radio!Follow us on Goodpods and Podchaser!https://goodpods.app.link/1Ss1v4ODHlbThanks to our monthly supporters, with special shout outs to:SaKonnaDaniel L.Mike S.Kiel K.Eric S.Dan S.Ryan F.Caleb F.Carm M.Jennie D. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

New Sikorsky Marine One helicopters damage the White House lawn, the airports renamed for U.S. presidents, airline consolidation, DCA crash safety recommendations, controversy over ADS-B In regulations, Air France and Airbus manslaughter verdict, passengers sue Delta over turbulence injuries, a Ryanair window ruptures, and a seaplane makes a hard landing in New York's East River. Also, interviews from the Spurwink Farm fly-in. Aviation News Lockheed Martin Is Covering the Cost of Trump's White House Helipad President Trump said that Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, would cover the cost of building a new helipad at the White House. Lockheed Martin confirmed the report. Sikorsky helicopters have been used to transport the president since the 1970s.  The new VH-92A Patriot helicopter has propulsion exhaust vents located toward the rear of the airframe and pointed downward, unlike the VH-3D’s configuration. Also, with much more powerful engines, the VH-92A generates significantly more downwash than the VH-3D. The hot exhaust gets combined with the intense rotor downwash at touchdown, and the combined heat-and-airflow effect scorches the turf and can physically rip sod loose. Airline consolidation now rules the skies. Has it been good for passengers? Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and US Airways are gone. Spirit Airlines is gone as well. Now, the Big Four U.S. airlines control roughly three-quarters of the U.S. market. Has this been good for the flying public? It depends on who you ask. Former governor Chris Sununu, now the head of Airlines for America, said at a Capitol Hill hearing, “We have more competition per route than ever before. When I go to buy a ticket, I have four, five, or six carriers going from Wichita to Dallas. So now they’re all competing on that exact same route.” There are six airlines serving Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, but there’s only one that flies nonstop to Dallas. Past guest Ganesh Sitaraman, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School and the author of the book Why Flying Is Miserable and How to Fix It said, “From the airlines’ perspective, it makes sense. Bigger is better, and it’ll be more efficient for them, even if there’s a lot of drawbacks for communities and passengers.” A Florida airport is officially renamed for Trump. What does he stand to gain? FAA Details First Official Response to DC Crash Safety Recommendations After the January 2025 midair collision near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people, the NTSB issued nearly three dozen recommendations. As is always the case, the FAA is not obligated to implement the NTSB’s recommendations. Earlier this year, the FAA said it had fully addressed seven of the recommendations and that it would evaluate the others, with further updates to come by May 31, 2027. The Air Current reported that the FAA indicated it is evaluating whether the number of arrivals permitted per hour at DCA is appropriate. This is a key metric that the NTSB said contributed to the airport’s congestion at the time of the crash. Also, any adjustments will be determined after an official analysis in 2027. This $50,000 Safety Fix Is Dividing the Aviation Industry and Washington This could be characterized as a conference-committee fight over how strong an ADS-B In mandate should be, not whether there will be one. ALPA and NTSB are on one side (ROTOR Act), and industry groups like A4A/AOPA/NBAA on the other (ALERT) side.  Senate: ROTOR Act (Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act) Would require all aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B In and repeal certain military exemptions from the technology requirements. Passed the Senate by unanimous consent in December, with strong support, including from ALPA. The House rejected it on February 24, 2026, falling one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed after the Defense Department raised national security concerns House: ALERT Act (Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act) House lawmakers revised the bill to explicitly include an ADS-B In mandate after the earlier version was criticized for failing to clearly require it. The updated version requires that aircraft carry both ADS-B In and ACAS X (Airborne Collision Avoidance System X), integrated so ADS-B In data feeds the alerting function. Opposition: ALPA doesn’t endorse it, arguing that ACAS Xa (the large-commercial-aircraft variant) isn’t yet commercialized, that no integration standards exist, and that the system suppresses alerts below 1,000 feet when situational awareness matters most. The NTSB also declined to support it, saying it falls short of requiring ADS-B In for all aircraft operating in airspace where ADS-B Out is already required, even though it allows compliance via portable receivers with line-of-sight limitations. Air France and Airbus found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash A Paris Appeals Court found Air France and Airbus “solely and entirely responsible” for the 2009 AF447 accident, which killed 228 people when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The companies were cleared in April 2023 but were found guilty after an eight-week trial. Both Air France and Airbus have denied the charges and say they will appeal. In 2012, French investigators found a combination of technical failure involving ice in the pitot tubes and pilot confusion over faulty air-speed readings. Pilot training has since been modified, and pitot tube sensors have been replaced. 20 Sue Delta Over 2.5 Minutes of Terror on Flight Out of Utah A lawsuit has been filed against Delta Air Lines on behalf of 20 passengers of Delta Flight 56, claiming that pilots “recklessly flew” too close to thunderstorms, where severe turbulence caused multiple injuries. The turbulence lasted 2 1/2 minutes over Wyoming, and the flight was diverted to Minnesota. Twenty-five people were transported to local hospitals. The NTSB said the pilots were caught by surprise. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that the National Weather Service issued an advisory warning that turbulent conditions were present in the mountains east of Salt Lake City and that thunderstorms were present along portions of the flight path. Apparent engine fan blade failure preceded rupture of Ryanair 737 window The Air Current reports that the rupture of a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 window resulted from a fan blade failure on the right CFM56-7B engine. Fan blade failures are serious but rare. Aircraft engines are designed to contain fan blade failures and are tested during the certification process.  The FAA issued airworthiness directives to mitigate the risk of fan blade failure through inspections and an engine inlet redesign to ensure containment. The FAA set a July 31, 2028, deadline for compliance. Small plane makes hard landing into New York's East River, officials say A Kodiak 100 seaplane with eight people on board made a hard landing in the East River between Brooklyn and Manhattan. There was “substantial damage” to the plane, but there were no injuries. The plane bounced three times, and the pilot subsequently told the passengers that a pontoon had broken. A pattern of progressive porpoise leading to structural failure appears in NTSB seaplane accident reports across various types, including Cessna 206 and 208 Caravan floatplanes, de Havilland Beavers, and Twin Otters on floats. A few East River/urban seaplane-specific factors that might be in play: Wake and chop from harbor traffic (ferries, tour boats) create a much less predictable water surface than open lake/bay operations. Confined approach corridors near Skyport limit go-around and abort options if the pilot senses a bad touchdown developing. The area has had at least one other recent seaplane mishap (a two-seater damaged by a wave three weeks prior), suggesting water-surface conditions have been a recurring operational challenge this season. The NTSB and FAA will be looking at whether this was primarily a pilot technique issue (porpoise recovery), an environmental factor (wake/wave state at touchdown), or a mechanical issue in the float attachment itself. Spurwink Farm International Fly-In From the fly-in, Micah brings us interviews with Spurwink Farm Manager Christina Mitchell, listener Tad Yergey, and Cessna 185 Floatplane Pilot John Hartz. John Hartz, one and a half of his children, and his Cessna 185. Micah at the Spurwink Farm Fly-In, Mentioned Ever wonder if pilots become frightened during an emergency? In the Stories About Flying podcast, Rob looks at the topic through the lens of a near catastrophe: “Aircraft Emergencies and the Saga of Speedbird 009.” NightSide with Dan Rea, WBZ NewsRadion, Not Just A Plane Topic. Hosts this Episode Max Flight, our Main(e) Man Micah, David Vanderhoof, and Erin Applebaum.

Preview for Later Today: Josh Dean discusses the Lockheed Skunk Works and the U-2 spy plane's history. He details the Soviet Union's frustration as their radar detected the high-altitude aircraft, yet their defenses were unable to intercept it. (1)1920

Last time we spoke about the road to the second battle of Changsha. After becoming commander of the Eleventh Army in early 1941, Anami studied detailed battle maps and intelligence, then met with General Hata Shunroku, who urged him to destroy the core of Chiang Kai-shek's best troops. At Yueyang, Anami reviewed the existing war game materials left by Okamura but criticized the first Battle of Changsha as failing because attacks were too dispersed and lacked a clearly focused main direction. He therefore designed a radical concentration plan: instead of spreading offensives across Hubei and Jiangxi while attacking Changsha, he would pull forces from southern Hubei and northern Jiangxi and mass them before northern Hunan. Meanwhile, the Chinese commander Xue Yue developed a "lure and annihilate" strategy based on the expectation of repeated Japanese dispersion, an assumption Anami's concentration invalidated, making the Chinese counterattack far harder to execute.   #209 The Battle for Dayun Mountain Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. There are places in the geography of war that acquire a significance out of all proportion to their size. Dayun Mountain was one of them. Rising from the north bank of the Changshui River — the upper reaches of the Xinqiang — it commanded more than thirty square kilometres of densely forested, nearly impenetrable terrain. Its summit reached roughly a thousand metres above sea level and appeared to surge more than eight hundred metres above the surrounding lowlands, so sudden and dramatic was its emergence from the valley floor. In winter, snow lay on its heights for months at a stretch, blanketing the forest in silence and making movement even more treacherous than it already was. Its narrow, rugged tracks made wheeled transport all but impossible, confining any fighting to infantry alone. The mountain was, in the most elemental military sense, easy to defend and difficult to attack. But Dayun Mountain was more than a topographical obstacle. It was an anchor point. From its northeastern approaches, the road through Hengxi led to Yanglousi; from the southeast, the track through Beigang reached Tongcheng; from the northwest, the route through Taolin approached Yueyang. Whoever held the mountain held a hand on the throat of northern Hunan. For Xue Yue, the formidable commander of the Chinese Ninth War Zone — the general the Japanese would come to call "the Little Warlord" and whose tactical instincts they deeply respected — it was a position that could not be surrendered without consequence. He had long since deployed a portion of Ou Zhen's 4th Army to garrison it, keeping a reliable force on the heights to observe and disrupt Japanese movements in the region. Yang Sen's 27th Army Group had gone further still, using the mountain as a base from which to launch raids into the Japanese rear. Supply convoys had been ambushed. Patrols had been disrupted. The garrison on Dayun Mountain was not merely passive — it was an irritant, a persistent thorn embedded in the Japanese flank. Every Japanese commander in northern Hunan knew it would eventually have to be extracted. The only question — the question that would define the opening phase of the Second Battle of Changsha — was when, and with what purpose. At dawn on September 7, 1941, Kanda Masatsuka, commanding officer of the Japanese 6th Division, issued the order to attack. His men stood before a mountain draped in dense forest, its contours barely visible in the early morning light. Aircraft came first, followed by mountain artillery, the shells bursting among the rocks and trees where the Chinese defenders had carved their positions. Then the infantry went up — from the east, from the north, from the west — surging against the slopes like a tide breaking against a cliff face. Far to the rear, three Chinese commanders received the same alarming intelligence almost simultaneously. Ou Zhen, whose 4th Army held the mountain, Yang Sen of the 27th Army Group, and Xue Yue himself all watched their staff officers move the 6th Division's insignia across the operations map — tracing its advance south from Yueyang to the slopes of Dayun Mountain. Each of them was left with the same quietly unsettled question. What, exactly, did Anami Korechika mean by this? Anami Korechika commanded the Japanese 11th Army, the formation responsible for operations in central China. He was not a man who committed elite formations to secondary objectives. The 6th Division was one of Japan's most experienced and feared units, a formation with a long and brutal history on the Chinese front. Its soldiers had participated in the occupation of Nanking in 1937 and had fought across the Yangtze basin in the years since. To throw such a division against a mountain garrison — however strategically significant — struck the Chinese generals as disproportionate, and therefore suspicious. Logically, the removal of the Dayun Mountain thorn made sense at any point. Japanese commanders had always known the mountain would have to be neutralised eventually if their lines of communication in northern Hunan were to be properly secured. But why now? And why with the 6th Division specifically? Was this an isolated operation with limited objectives, or was it the opening move of something larger? The Chinese generals watched and waited, withholding judgment, searching the intelligence reports for a pattern. For two days — September 7 and 8 — the 4th Army's two defending divisions were hammered by the Japanese offensive. The combination of air support, artillery, and the sheer ferocity of the 6th Division's infantry assault overwhelmed the defenders' prepared positions. Repeated counterattacks were beaten back. Bai Huizhang, commanding the 102nd Division, sent urgent telegrams reporting the deteriorating situation. And yet, across the rest of northern Hunan, reconnaissance reported nothing unusual. There was no large-scale Japanese mobilisation visible elsewhere. No armoured columns massing on the plain. No bridging equipment being brought forward across the Xinqiang. This absence of corroborating activity was itself a puzzle. It could mean that Dayun Mountain truly was the sole Japanese objective — a limited, self-contained operation to clear a nagging irritant. Or it could mean that the broader preparation was being conducted with unusual skill and secrecy, and that what was visible at Dayun Mountain was intended to consume the attention of the Chinese command precisely while that broader preparation proceeded unseen. Xue Yue, unwilling to surrender such an important position without a fight, chose to probe the Japanese intention. He ordered Yang Sen to commit two additional divisions to the mountain — partly to reinforce the defenders, partly to test the Japanese reaction. If the 6th Division was operating alone, additional pressure might allow the Chinese to recapture the heights. If it was a screen for something larger, the probe would reveal it. On the evening of September 8, two divisional commanders received their orders. Lu Daoyuan, commanding the New 10th Division of the 58th Army, and Dong Yu, commanding the 60th Division of the 4th Army, were directed to break away from the main defensive line in northern Hunan and advance rapidly toward Dayun Mountain. It was a significant redeployment — two experienced formations pulled from the primary defensive positions and sent marching into the mountains. The march had barely begun when the situation changed again. On the afternoon of September 9, while Lu Daoyuan and Dong Yu were still on the road, the 4th Army headquarters began receiving a succession of urgent telegrams from its two divisions on Dayun Mountain. The news was bleak. The Japanese had achieved simultaneous breakthroughs on the eastern and western faces of the mountain, driving wedges through the Chinese defensive lines and threatening to encircle the entire garrison. The positions were no longer tenable. Ou Zhen, assessing the reports, authorised a withdrawal and informed Xue Yue. The mountain had fallen. Xue Yue ordered Ou Zhen to monitor the 6th Division's movements carefully now that it had secured the heights. The situation was serious but not yet catastrophic. The Chinese forces had retreated in reasonable order. The two divisions now marching under Lu Daoyuan and Dong Yu could still be used to mount a counterattack once they arrived. What happened next — what intelligence arrived that afternoon — would prove to be one of the most consequential misreadings of the entire battle. Intelligence agents from the 4th Army, bypassing the normal chain of command, wired the Ninth War Zone Command directly. Their report was specific and, on its surface, entirely reasonable: Japanese troops on Dayun Mountain were felling trees in large quantities and constructing defensive fortifications. Xue Yue read this and drew the logical conclusion. The Japanese had taken the mountain and were now digging in — evidently intending to hold it as a permanent position, to eliminate once and for all the threat it posed to their lines of communication. This was consolidation, not preparation for a new offensive. The mountain had value to both sides; now that the Japanese had taken it, they would fortify it, garrison it, and move on. It was a reasonable deduction. It was also exactly wrong. What Xue Yue did not know — what no Chinese commander yet knew — was that on the afternoon of September 9, Anami Korechika had received the telegram he had been waiting for. It arrived at his command post in Yueyang from Kanda Masatsuka: The enemy in the Dayun Mountain area has been cleared, and there will be no large number of enemy troops north of the Shagang River. With those words, the opening phase of Anami's plan had succeeded. Immediately, he issued two orders. The first went to the 40th Division: move quickly and covertly into the positions on Dayun Mountain just vacated by the 6th Division, and maintain the appearance of continued occupation of the area. The 40th was to keep Chinese attention fixed on the mountain, to look like the 6th Division from a distance, to hold Chinese forces in place while the real operation developed elsewhere. The second order went to the 6th Division itself: reassemble immediately in the area north of the Xinqiang River and prepare to join the main Japanese offensive. The elite formation that had just spent two brutal days seizing Dayun Mountain was to become the cutting edge of the attack on Changsha. The fortification work Xue Yue's agents had observed — the felling of trees, the construction of positions — had not been the 6th Division digging in for a long winter. It had been the 6th Division preparing positions for its replacement before handing the mountain over to the 40th and slipping away. The intelligence was accurate in every detail and catastrophically misleading in its implication. The 40th Division was not an elite formation. It had been established in June 1939, as the manpower available on the Japanese home islands grew steadily thinner and the demands of war across China continued to expand. It was poorly equipped by the standards of the Imperial Japanese Army's front-line divisions, undertrained, and had not been tested in sustained offensive fighting. Anami knew precisely what he had in the 40th. He also knew exactly what he needed from it. He did not need it to fight. He needed it to be seen. From a distance, in the broken terrain of Dayun Mountain, four or five Chinese divisions could be kept fully committed to the mountain if they believed the 6th Division was still there. All the 40th needed to do was occupy the positions, maintain radio traffic at the expected volume, keep its campfires burning, and patrol just enough to be observed without being engaged in force. The division's most capable unit, the 234th Regiment under Colonel Kiyoshi Shigematsu, was assigned the primary task of replacing the 6th Division's main force — the 13th Regiment — which quietly withdrew and began its march northward. The Chinese generals, reading their intelligence summaries and watching their staff officers reposition map pins across the operations board, were tracking a ghost. Xue Yue, persuaded by the intelligence about Japanese fortification work, issued orders for the two approaching divisions — Lu Daoyuan's New 10th and Dong Yu's 60th — together with the two that had already withdrawn from the mountain, to reverse course and counterattack the Japanese forces now believed to be digging in on Dayun Mountain. Four Chinese divisions, representing a substantial portion of the forces available in northern Hunan, were now committed to a battle for a position that the formation they believed to be holding it had already vacated. The trap was not yet closed, but its jaws were open. The morning of September 10 brought events that no one on either side had entirely planned. At noon on September 10, Lu Daoyuan was pushing his New 10th Division rapidly forward from west to east, toward Dayun Mountain. The pace was hard but necessary — the 27th Army Group had set a specific arrival time, and Lu Daoyuan was determined to meet it. He ordered his trailing units to close the gaps between regiments and keep moving. The column was threading its way through a valley north of Gantian when the scouts sent back an urgent report. A Japanese force of approximately three thousand men was approaching from the front. It was now only one and a half kilometres away. Lu Daoyuan had been in enough battles to know what was happening before the thought could fully form. An encounter battle. The most violent and least predictable form of engagement — two forces, neither prepared, walking into each other in terrain that offered no warning and no margin for error. The Shigematsu Regiment had received specific assurances from its division chief of staff before setting out. There would be no large numbers of Chinese troops in the area north of the Shagang River. The 6th Division's sweep had been thorough. The route was clear. When the regiment's advance elements suddenly found themselves looking down the barrels of an entire Chinese division, the reaction — across a force accustomed to the methodical rhythms of planned operations — was one of pure shock. Encounter battles have their own logic. There is no time to form up, no time to bring forward supporting weapons to optimal positions, no time to reconnoitre the ground. The first unit to react, to go to ground and begin firing, gains an immediate and potentially decisive advantage over an enemy still trying to comprehend what has happened. In the valley north of Gantian, on that September afternoon, both sides were equally surprised, and the fighting that erupted was correspondingly savage. The Yueyang County Annals record what followed in spare, vivid language: Gunfire and artillery fire continued incessantly from noon until night. More than a hundred enemy soldiers were killed, but the National Revolutionary Army also suffered heavy casualties. The following morning, corpses could be seen everywhere — on the mountains, in the paddy fields, along the riverbanks, and on the roads — and the Shagang River ran red with blood. At ten o'clock that night, follow-up units from the 40th Division arrived and began enveloping the rear of the New 10th Division. Lu Daoyuan ordered an immediate disengagement and redirected his forces toward Dayun Mountain by a different route. He was pressing forward through country that had just shown him two Japanese formations where one was expected. The scale of the Japanese operation was beginning, slowly, to become legible — though its full dimensions remained unclear. Xue Yue, updated on the encounter battle at Gantian and the confirmation of a second Japanese division in the area, dispatched the New 11th Division as additional reinforcement. The Chinese commitment to the mountain was deepening. By September 13, the nature of the engagement appeared to have shifted in the Chinese favour. What had begun as a confused encounter battle in a valley had evolved, over three days of movement and fighting, into what looked from the Chinese side like a genuine opportunity. More than three thousand Japanese troops — believed to be the 13th Regiment of the elite 6th Division — had been cornered near Gantian by more than ten thousand Chinese soldiers drawn from five divisions. Xue Yue, a general who understood the rarity of such moments, was in high spirits. He began directing the battle personally, sending a stream of telegrams to his subordinates, driving them to compress the encirclement and destroy the trapped force before it could escape. The temptation was understandable, even logical. An elite Japanese regiment, isolated in mountain terrain, outnumbered more than three to one, was an extraordinary prize. If it could be annihilated, the blow to Japanese prestige and operational capability would be substantial. Xue Yue had built his reputation in part on his willingness to press attacks when opportunity offered. He pressed now. What no one in the Chinese command yet understood was that they were not encircling the 13th Regiment of the 6th Division. They were encircling the 234th Regiment of the 40th Division — the decoy formation that had been placed on the mountain precisely to draw Chinese strength in and hold it in place. The ghost had become substantial enough to be grasped, but grasping it served the Japanese plan rather than the Chinese one. On the 13th and 14th, the five Chinese divisions compressed the Japanese positions into an area of less than ten kilometres, launching repeated fierce assaults. The fighting was brutal, conducted in the mountains and jungle of terrain that rewarded endurance and intimate local knowledge over firepower. On the afternoon of the 14th, soldiers of the 4th Army's 102nd Division drove hard from west to east, the sound of battle rolling across the ridgelines. The Japanese regiment was fragmented and thrown into disorder. Bugle calls sounded from all directions along the Chinese lines; morale surged. Victory appeared close. The encircled Japanese began fighting their way out along the route by which they had entered, the only corridor not yet fully sealed. And along that corridor, a Chinese ambush was waiting. Pang Gufeng was a sergeant and deputy squad leader in the 7th Company, 3rd Regiment, 10th Division of the 58th Army. He was not a senior officer, not a man whose name would appear in official histories or command telegrams. He was one of the thousands of soldiers whose individual experiences — of fear, endurance, and sudden violent action — constituted the actual texture of the battle, the reality beneath the operational abstractions. His company's mission was straightforward in its conception, demanding in its execution. Pang Gufeng recorded it simply: "Our company's mission is to infiltrate behind enemy lines and control a road leading northwest from a high ground, or hilltop. This is the only way for the enemy to retreat." Control it, and the encirclement became a cage. The march to that position was itself a trial. Pang Gufeng had been ill for two days before it began: "Two days before the mission, I ate spoiled meat and got an upset stomach, vomiting and having diarrhea. Although I was better when we marched that day, I was still very weak. The medic reported to the deputy company commander, who told me to put my gun and backpack on the wagon that the company headquarters used to transport ammunition. I was sweating profusely and had a dry mouth the whole way." The company set off at noon, moving at full speed. Twice during the march they were caught in the open by Japanese aircraft — strafing runs and bombing that left three men dead and eight wounded. The company commander conferred with the battalion commander and changed to a side road to reduce exposure. Then orders arrived to return to the main road. The calculation was brutally pragmatic: "The side road was shorter but difficult to walk, while the main road was easier but too exposed. 'Better to walk ten miles on flat ground than five miles on mountains,' so to save time, they decided to take the main road." They reached their position, and the men immediately set to digging. Pang Gufeng, having ridden the supply wagon, felt obliged to work harder than most: "Upon arriving at the location, we heard gunfire and grenade explosions from the east. We quickly dug some simple shelters and trenches. Having taken advantage of not carrying anything during the march, I dared not slack off while working on the fortifications." He noted the common sayings that circulated through the unit: "'A bunker, a shelter, to protect your body,' and 'If you don't want to die young, make sure your fortifications are well-maintained.' These are common sayings circulating in the unit. The words may be rustic, but the truth is real." Around 2 p.m., the Japanese came. Company Commander Huang Wei had established the signal clearly: the machine guns would open first, and only then would the rifles fire — the whole company committing simultaneously. The company was arrayed so that the Japanese, funnelled toward Xitang, would run into a prepared killing ground. "With our men on both sides and behind the enemy, the enemy could only break through our defenses towards Xitang, only to run right into our guns." Pang Gufeng had picked out his target early: "The Japanese soldiers charged in from afar, all running, running very fast. I spotted a Japanese machine gunner who was facing me, shirtless, with a white cloth tied around his head, and I listened to the machine gun fire from the company." "400 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters, 150 meters, 100 meters! My heart was pounding. I could see the enemy machine gunner clearly; he was as strong as an ox, with a body full of hard muscles. I panicked. It felt like that Japanese soldier was staring into my eyes, like he was about to step on my gun barrel if he ran a few more steps!" The machine gun did not fire. When the order finally came, it came differently than planned: "At this moment, we heard Company Commander Huang's altered voice shout: 'Fight! Fight! Fight! Damn it!' Only later did we learn that the long-range machine gun was broken." In order to make the whole company hear the order, Huang Wei stood up from his bunker. He did not make it back down: "In order to make the whole company hear the firing order, the company commander stood up from his bunker. After giving the order, before he could lie down, he was hit twice in the neck by enemy machine gun fire and died on the spot." "Company Commander Huang Wei is from Henan and graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy. He is said to be a good flute player, but I have never heard him play it." After Huang Wei fell, his deputy took off his own coat and laid it over the company commander's face, had the stretcher bearers carry him from the field, ordered the whole company to remove their hats, and led three calls of "Avenge Company Commander Huang." "When the company commander's stretcher passed behind me, I saw blood dripping down my clothes. The messenger cried loudly, and I also shed tears." The fighting continued. The deputy company commander eventually disappeared — it was never established whether he was killed or had fled — before the battle ended. With the machine gun broken and command structures collapsing one by one, men held their positions through individual will. Pang Gufeng recalled what happened when the next assault came: "When the company commander gave the order to fire, I involuntarily glanced in the direction of his shout, because the original rule was that the machine gun would be the signal. When I turned back to look for the Japanese machine gunner, he was nowhere to be found. I risked peeking out and saw him run to the left. I quickly set up my sights and aimed at him, about to fire, when I saw him fall headfirst, blood immediately staining the white cloth strip on his head. I cursed under my breath, and as I searched for my target again, the enemy had already charged up. We hurriedly threw grenades. The grenades exploded about twenty or thirty meters from the position, scattering dirt and stones across the ground. I saw a dozen or so Japanese soldiers continuing to run forward, and I could hear them shouting; they were only a dozen or so steps away from the position." Then the grenades seemed to stop mattering: "My mind went blank for a moment. I thought to myself, how come the Japanese aren't afraid of grenades anymore? We've been doing this for so many years, I don't need to hide it from you anymore. Suddenly, I wanted to throw down my gun and run. But at that moment, Dou Rongren, the squad leader of the 6th squad, picked up the machine gun, shouted, and stepped out of the position to fire. Several of the enemy fell down, and the rest ran back. As they ran back, several more were shot down by the brothers." The honest confession of a professional soldier — not a coward, not a man without courage, but a human being under a level of pressure that strips away everything except the most basic instinct for survival. What held him in place was not ideology or orders. It was the man next to him. "Dou Rongren was the only one in our entire company to achieve merit in this battle. Based on that alone, no one could help but admire him." The attack broke. A lull settled over the position: "The enemy temporarily retreated to prepare for another attack. The gunfire subsided, and the stretcher bearers walked continuously behind me. I dared not look back." Darkness brought fresh disaster: "It got dark very quickly. That day was overcast, and once it got dark, we couldn't see anything. The enemy bypassed our company and the 9th Company's two high points and charged directly onto the main road. I also... I'm lost! Isn't this just suicide? The main road is completely blocked by machine guns, but the enemy is still charging in, probably trying to take advantage of the darkness? In the flash of a mortar explosion, I saw the road littered with corpses, the enemy running, crawling, and rolling over their comrades' bodies. My gun was truly 'firing blindly in the night,' firing in the direction of the Japanese soldiers anyway!" The enemy had breached the line to either side. The company's position was now flanked. No orders came: "The enemy occupied the small hill that our company was defending, and fired several signal flares, some red and some green, I remember. The enemy in front surged towards that spot like a tide. The loss of our company shook the entire defensive line, and the 8th and 9th companies next to us also withdrew. The enemy moved in that direction, and our friendly forces fired in that direction as well. I crouched in the friendly forces' trench, my mind in turmoil." "Where is Deputy Company Commander Liu? If he's been killed or wounded, the platoon leader should be acting in his place. Surely all three platoon leaders are present? According to battlefield discipline, anyone could step forward at this moment, because it concerns the overall victory or defeat. But neither the platoon leader nor the squad leader has come forward. If I weren't so weak from diarrhea, would I dare to shout, 'Follow my orders?' It's not that simple. I don't understand who would bear the responsibility for the loss if this happened. Following your orders means taking responsibility. Everyone knows that losing a position and causing serious consequences means losing your head! That's probably why no one dared to come forward." Around nine or ten o'clock, an enemy force crept up from behind — troops from the Xitang direction, moving to reinforce those surrounded to the east: "An enemy force actually crept up behind us, around 9 or 10 p.m. Time on the battlefield is unpredictable; sometimes you feel like half a day has passed, but the company commander checks his watch and says it's only been a quarter of an hour; other times, several hours pass in the blink of an eye. The enemy was coming from the Xitang direction to reinforce those surrounded by our troops. Before I could even think of anything, someone on the position shouted: 'Deputy Company Commander Liu! Deputy Company Commander Liu!' The voice sounded like a platoon leader, but there was no response. Just then, machine gun fire erupted from behind us. It was a small hill, and we hadn't even constructed any fortifications towards it. The enemy had advanced to within twenty or thirty meters of our position." There was one consideration, Pang Gufeng noted with bitter clarity, that no one had thought to address before the mission: "We've been forgetting one thing: our battalions were positioned behind enemy lines to intercept the enemy retreating from Dayun Mountain back to the Yueyang area. Whether or not there would be enemy forces behind us was a matter for the officers to worry about." It had not been worried about. The consequences were immediate: "Worst of all, no one was there to command us. I realized that calling for Deputy Company Commander Liu earlier was to report this dire situation. Without command and surrounded on both sides, many men began to retreat, or rather, flee. In the darkness, no one could see anyone else. Our platoon was scattered. We ran along the defensive line towards the 2nd Battalion's position, shouting as we ran, afraid they would misunderstand and open fire. The 2nd Battalion, unaware of the situation, also ran. In the darkness, we heard their officers yelling: 'No leaving the position, or you will be court-martialed!'" Of the men from the 7th Company who had set out that noon — at full strength, moving at full speed — only a fraction survived to the end. Pang Gufeng recorded the final accounting flatly: "Saying the battle was over was really just a matter of most of the surrounded enemy escaping. Those of us who were cutting off their retreat, along with the troops in front and on both sides, had no choice but to withdraw. The next day, just as dawn broke, we saw corpses everywhere on the hillsides, roads, and bushes — both enemy and our own men. Of the men from our 7th Company who went to the battalion headquarters to be taken in, only 12 remained, including two platoon leaders and two squad leaders." While the fighting around the ambush positions ground on through the night, the strategic reality of what Anami Korechika had accomplished was becoming, gradually, visible to the Chinese command — though it was not yet fully understood. The key fact was the timeline. The 6th Division, which had fought for two days to seize Dayun Mountain, had handed the position to the 40th Division on the evening of September 9 and had been marching northward ever since. By the time Lu Daoyuan's New 10th Division ran into the Shigematsu Regiment on September 10, the 6th Division was no longer on the mountain. By the time Xue Yue was directing his five divisions to encircle what he believed was the 6th Division's 13th Regiment near Gantian on September 13, the real 13th Regiment was already north of the Xinqiang River, taking up its designated position in the main Japanese attack formation. The Second Battle of Changsha was, by then, already beginning to unfold along its primary axis — and the five Chinese divisions that might have been part of the defensive line were tied up in the mountains, chasing a decoy. This was the operational genius of Anami's plan, and it deserves to be understood clearly. The commitment of the 6th Division to Dayun Mountain was not a secondary operation that happened to coincide with the main offensive. It was the indispensable prerequisite for the main offensive. By taking the mountain with an elite division, Anami created the preconditions for Chinese attention to remain fixed on that location. By replacing the 6th Division with the 40th — quietly, at night, maintaining the external appearance of continued occupation — he ensured that the attention would stay fixed long after the elite formation had moved on. And by allowing Chinese intelligence to observe "fortification work" during the changeover, he gave Xue Yue a plausible explanation for Japanese behaviour that was, in every particular, misleading. It was deception layered upon deception: the initial attack itself, as a cover for the main offensive preparation; the quiet replacement of one division with another, as a cover for the 6th Division's redeployment; and the fortification activity, as a cover for the handover. Each layer reinforced the last. At every point where a Chinese commander might have drawn the correct conclusion, a carefully arranged fact or report pushed him toward the wrong one. The cost of this deception was paid in the blood of the Shigematsu Regiment. The 234th Regiment of the 40th Division was never intended to fight a sustained battle. It was a screen, a scarecrow given flesh and made to march. When it unexpectedly walked into Lu Daoyuan's New 10th Division on September 10, and when Xue Yue subsequently committed five divisions to its encirclement, the regiment was placed in exactly the position its commanders had hoped to avoid. It fought — hard, and with the desperate intensity of men who understand they have been put in an impossible situation — but the casualties on both sides in those days of fighting around Gantian were severe. By September 17, the battle in the Dayun Mountain area had settled into a stalemate along the line of Gangkou, Gantian, and Babaishi. The Chinese had not destroyed the encircled Japanese force. The Japanese had not broken out cleanly. Both sides held ground, and both sides had paid heavily for it. The encounter battle of September 10 alone had left the Shagang River running red and the fields and roadsides around Gantian littered with the dead of two armies. Yang Sen, surveying the situation with the clear eye of a commander who had watched the battle consume resources he could not replace, sent his assessment to Xue Yue. The time had come to close the Battle of Dayun Mountain. He recommended leaving the 102nd Division in the area to monitor and harass the Japanese, and marching the remaining four divisions south of the Xinqiang River before midnight on September 18 to reinforce the frontal defences. The true battle — the assault on Changsha — could no longer be ignored. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. By September 13th, Chinese forces seemed to have a breakthrough: ten thousand troops cornered a Japanese regiment at Gantian, and Xue Yue urged an encirclement and destruction. Chinese assaults compressed the pocket, yet Japanese fighters broke out through an escape corridor and hit an ambush guarding the retreat road. As night fell, flanking attacks and command confusion unraveled the perimeter. By Sept. 17 the Dayun Mountain fighting stalemated; both sides were depleted, and China shifted back to the battle for Changsha.

Jim Fanell explains China's "salami slicing" tactics in the maritime domain, using law enforcement vessels to claim sovereign jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan. He recommends the U.S. counter these moves by sending an aircraft carrier strike group through the Taiwan Strait to assert international law. (2)1910 IDAHO

Gordon Chang and Steve Yates discuss the alarm in Beijing after a small aircraft crashed into the CITIC Tower, highlighting vulnerabilities in China's air defenses near the leadership compound. The incident shattered the narrative of an impervious security state, raising fears that drones could easily strike the capital. (4)1930 IDAHO

From bus doors getting destroyed to Michael Jordan's motivating words, and maybe even a future racer in the Earnhardt family - this week's Dirty Thirty is one for the history books. To start us off, Dale Jr. talks about broadcasting from an Aircraft carrier this weekend at San Diego, and the time he saw his bus have an issue live on TV at Pocono. Then, he and Amy talk about Nicole's ride in Justin Allgaier's car to victory lane — and how it may have sparked her interest in going racing someday. After that, the Door Bumper Clear crew discusses the Cup Series drivers' aggressiveness this year under the new points format. Over on Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin sets his goal for San Diego and Sonoma, and shares the words Michael Jordan said during a pre-season meeting with 23XI that sparked DH's tenacious approach to this year. Finally, Red Bull brethren and road course aces, Connor Zilisch & Shane van Gisbergen, discuss what they are expecting heading into the historic weekend in San Diego, racing on a Naval Base. That's all for this week! Don't forget to shop at shop.dirtymomedia.com Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.