AI Flies the Kill Chain — X-62 VISTA & Robot-Dropping Drones | Aug 07, 2026

The human just lost the last tactical job in the intercept loop — and on another front, drones are now delivering robots that finish the mission on their own wheels.This episode covers the Have Heat and Have Holidays test programs at Edwards Air Force Base, where an AI agent flying the X-62 VISTA used a Lockheed Legion infrared search and track pod to autonomously acquire, lock, and intercept piloted T-38 targets — 27 intercepts across eight flights, on live sensor data. Then to Ukraine, where heavy hexacopter bombers airdropped ARK-1 ground robots carrying anti-tank mines behind Russian lines in the first confirmed "marsupial" drone attack, a concept the US explored but never fielded. We examine the Institute for the Study of War's assessment that Russia supplied Iran with Kometa-M jam-resistant Shahed-136 drones used against US forces — including wreckage evidence from the RAF Akrotiri strike — plus Ukraine's new HYDRA control station that lets one operator fly five fiber-optic Khyzhak strike drones with AI target recognition, the Pentagon's new Maven Smart System director, and the Navy's autonomous systems restructuring.Hosted by AI. Researched and written entirely by AI using open-source intelligence. Mistakes are possible — always verify with primary sources.