Don Dawson

The 357 SIG is one of those cartridges which are great on paper, yet outside of heady abstractions, comes up a big “meh” in reality.   One of the most surefire ways to figure out a self-professed “gun person” is actually a BS salesman with a mind loaded with figurative & a mouth full of literal sales samples; is when they’re trying to evangelize a particular handgun caliber as being: “[insert hype]”.   Virtually all handgun calibers are terrible when compared to rifles. They’re all compromises of sToPpInG pOwEr for portability. It’s just a matter of what compromises you want to make.   My personal favorite, the 10mm started off as Jeff Cooper’s attempt to make a (relatively) powerful autoloader cartridge. He very much succeeded in doing so, but at the cost of high recoil making it hard for new shooters. So a watered-down 10mm load was developed. This in turn lead to the .40 S&W.   The early 90’s was a heady time for #Music (not so much for fashion). It was also the death knell of the revolver for #LawEnforcement #Guns. The .357 magnum had spent decades as the gold standard for police agencies. So enterprising engineers at SIG SAUER, Inc., came up with the concept of trying to duplicate the magnum’s performance in an autoloader.   They took a .40 S&W case & necked it down to 9mm. In some loadings, it was able to match the magnum’s theoretical performance in lighter, 125gr loadings. But at the cost of recoil & muzzle blast. This made it harder to learn to competently shoot. So many ammunition companies watered their 357 SIG loadings down to a general equivalent to a +P 9mm so that #Police agencies wouldn’t have issues training new recruits to shoot the cartridge.   People were spending generally 50% much more per round than 9mm & getting less rounds per magazine, all to get higher end 9mm performance. Like the Chewbacca Defense, “that does not make sense!”. This is part of the reason that agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service & Texas Department of Public Safety have ditched the 357 SIG for 9mm.   That being said, I still think a narrow niche for the 357 SIG can be argued for. But with 2 conditions: 1. Full powered ammo loaded to the 40k max psi pushing a 9mm projectile 100-200 fps faster than 9mm. 2. Shooters that can competently shoot such rounds.   For agencies working in rural, open areas where there’s a very reasonable chance that officers will have to engage targets at longer range and/or through a barrier such as car doors or auto glass, I think a very reasonable argument can be made for the 357 SIG. Again, that's not because 357 SIG is “good” for those situations, only that it’s better than 9mm.   But those all go out the window without the full power ammo & officers who can effectively use #Weapons loaded with such ammo. At the end of the day, you’re still paying ~50% more for a ~10% increase in performance with a ~10% decrease in magazine capacity.

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I have a theory, completely not based on math, analysis, or any research, just sense and gut: - If you're gonna play VC in defense (product or services) then you need to go in for $100M's-$1B's, minimum, and go after a king's share of the pie. - If you look at Anduril and PLTR, this is what they're doing, massive investments, buying out rather than building, hitting the hill, funding think tanks, hiring Revolving door candidates as fast as they can. - In sum, they're acting like a major prime to compete against major primes so they can IPO like major primes. - If you're not gonna do that, then you're going to 0 or you're in a PE game and don't know it yet. If you can't/won't do the above then you're going to end up getting bought at a 3-5 multiple in a rollup or a buy to kill, if at all. - FWIW, there's probably an opening for an Anduril-scaled play against the large services primes, but services are boring and the realm of PE. I could be / probably am totally wrong, but if I'm not, what's the investment thesis for VC'S that aren't swinging that hard, and more importantly, does the (government) customer know/care that all these new, exciting startups are going to get gobbled up by the old boring primes?

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*****Please Leave Us A 5* Review on Your Favorite Podcast Player***** EPISODE 100---We have hit the century mark for our published episodes, and we want to thank each and every one of you for tuning in to us. This episode is a very special one for us because this is where we are giving our listeners insights into our past, ringside seats to our present lives, and a vision board to how we are trying to shape our future and our daughter's futures as well. The definition of the word "Legacy" is something that is passed on. Yet like most things, Legacy can take on many forms. A Legacy may be monetary or your assets, or like we discussed in earlier episodes about Generational Wealth compared to Generational Assets. In the year of 2024, we as African Americans are seeing increases in certain areas. but decreases in others. These conditions have come about mainly due to legacies that were established well before the time captured at this moment. Those legacies left influence, money, and power to control the factors, measures, and decisions that benefit them the most. In this episode we talk about how we are now dealing with Legacies that are now spanning multiple generations, connecting past, present, and future, relaying messages of hope, fight, determination, knowledge, and perseverance. #businesstips #podcastinglife #businesspodcast #entrepreneurpodcast https://lnkd.in/gcVA_jyW

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Happy Father's Day to the dads. Fr. Greg Sakowicz at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago had the following message in his weekly newsletter. I thought it was worth passing along: .....and on this Father's Day – reflect upon the following: 1.   Throw out unnecessary numbers. This includes age, weight, and height. Let the doctor worry about them but do your part! That is why you pay them. 2.   Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3.   Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. 4.   Enjoy the simple things. 5.   Laugh often, long, and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6.   The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7.   Surround yourself with what you love: family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8.   Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9.   Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, or to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is -- especially unnecessary guilt. 10. Tell the people that you love that you love them at every opportunity. Happy Father's Day https://lnkd.in/gazVV2_Z

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#DisruptiveTech 🔴 Robots and other smart machinery will comprise up to one-third of the U.S. military in the next 10-15 years, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at an Axios event today. ⚫ Why it matters: Such widespread adoption of unmanned and artificial intelligence-fueled tools of war would be a major reshaping of the force — one that would also raise serious ethical questions. ⚫ What they're saying: "It'll be a fundamental change, and I would argue that other nations' militaries are going to be similarly designed," Milley said at Axios' Future of Defense event. The number of human troops, he added, "will probably be reduced as you move toward robotic systems." ⚫ Catch up quick: Militaries have for years tinkered with armed drones, robo-dogs, mechanical mules and more. #robots #robotics #autonomoussysyems #drones Campaign Catapult, Pravo Consulting

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Here is a summary of some key new #laws and #regulations taking effect in #California on July 1, 2024: New Laws: - Hidden #fees prohibited - #websites must show actual cost of services/items upfront, including for hotels, event tickets, food delivery. - Increased #minimumwage for fast food workers to $20/hour. - 5 days of "reproductive loss leave" for pregnancy loss, failed adoption, etc. Applies to both people in a couple. - Restrictions on specialty #contractors engaging #subcontractors with same license type on a single project unless certain conditions met. - #Noncompete agreements in employment contracts invalidated. - Expanded paid #sickleave - minimum 40 hours for full-time employees, cap increased to 80 hours. - #Righttorepair electronics law requiring manufacturers to provide parts, tools and instructions to repair devices. - Further limits on police #concealedcarry permits and 11% tax on #firearms/ammo to fund violence prevention. - Prohibits "excited delirium" from being considered valid medical diagnosis or cause of death. New Regulations: - Updates to fees collected by the California #Gambling Control Commission - Changes to curriculum requirements for Board of Registered #Nursing - New #corticosteroid injection rules for #horseracing from the California Horse Racing Board - #SpeechLanguagePathology assistant supervision requirement changes - Amendments to the #CalSavers Retirement Savings Program - Changes to #continuingeducation requirements and exemptions for #registerednurses So in summary, Californians will see an expansion of worker benefits and protections, more pricing transparency, new gun restrictions, and various industry-specific regulatory updates starting July 1. The new laws span labor, healthcare, criminal justice, consumer protection and other key policy areas.

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So Silicon Valley (my old stamping ground!) is getting into battlefiedl UAV/Drones with a vengeance! Suspect we might see more of this type of UAV technology/invention coming from the Bay Area? "UAV/Drones have changed war. Small, cheap, and deadly robots buzz in the skies high above the world’s battlefields, taking pictures and dropping explosives. They’re hard to counter. ZeroMark, a defense startup based in the United States, thinks it has a solution. It wants to turn the rifles of frontline soldiers into “handheld Iron Domes.” "The idea is simple: Make it easier to shoot a drone out of the sky with a bullet. The problem is that drones are fast and maneuverable, making them hard for even a skilled marksman to hit. ZeroMark’s system would add aim assistance to existing rifles, ostensibly helping soldiers put a bullet in just the right place." “We’re mostly a software company,” ZeroMark CEO Joel Anderson tells WIRED. He says that the way it works is by placing a sensor on the rail mount at the front of a rifle, the same place you might put a scope. The sensor interacts with an actuator either in the stock or the foregrip of the rifle that makes adjustments to the soldier’s aim while they’re pointing the rifle at a target." "A soldier beset by a drone would point their rifle at the target, turn on the system, and let the actuators solidify their aim before pulling the trigger. “So there’s a machine perception, computer vision component. We use lidar and electro-optical sensors to detect drones, classify them, and determine what they’re doing,” Anderson says. “The part that is ballistics is actually quite trivial … It’s numerical regression, it’s ballistic physics.” "According to Anderson, ZeroMarks’ system is able to do things a human can’t. “For them to be able to calculate things like the bullet drop and trajectory and windage … It’s a very difficult thing to do for a person, but for a computer, it’s pretty easy,” he says. “And so we predetermined where the shot needs to land so that when they pull the trigger, it’s going to have a high likelihood of intersecting the path of the drone.” #uavdronetechnology #uavdronedefense #militaryuavdrones https://lnkd.in/ekYHNq9V

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ICYMI: a media snippet ✂ Post: Revisiting Rocket Lab and Neutron Is Rocket Lab’s Neutron development a realistic response to a changing market? What are Neutron’s other competitors? Many Rocket Lab and Peter Beck stories have circulated during the last few weeks. Based on that, it is time to examine the company’s progress and see if any changes have occurred over the previous 3+ years (when I wrote about Rocket Lab’s Neutron) and whether they might impact Neutron or the launch market. The big thing that hasn’t changed for the company is Neutron is still a ghost rocket. There’ve been Neutron engine and tank tests, but no flight and, more importantly, landing tests. Why the About-face? While analyzing Rocket Lab’s about-face from its smallsat rocket business back then, I believed the company’s turn to develop Neutron was because the rocket would be more useful than Electron, more flexible in the payloads it could deploy, and less expensive for the company and customers to use. While useful, a dedicated small satellite launcher didn’t make sense commercially. The overall price for launching with Electron was $7.5 million (about $25K per kilogram). The per kilogram price was not only expensive compared with larger launch vehicle options, such as the Falcon 9 or Soyuz, but it was also expensive compared with its direct competitors. However, Rocket Lab had something that many rocket companies didn’t (and still don’t) have during the time–a working rocket. And maybe it was expensive because the company priced it based on realistic business assumptions. Even if it was a small rocket, the company successfully conducted six launches that deployed 50 satellites in 2020. When Rocket Lab introduced Neutron, its initial design looked like a grown-up Electron with some Falcon-9 landing legs tacked on its bottom. The Neutron would have a reusable first stage and an upmass capability to low Earth orbit (LEO) of 8,000 kg. At the time, Peter Beck, Rocket Lab’s CEO, noted in the press release that: “Efficiently building the mega constellations of the future requires launching multiple satellites in batches to different orbital planes. It’s a requirement that all too often sees large launch vehicles fly with payloads well below their full lift capacity, which is an incredibly expensive and inefficient way to build out a satellite constellation. Neutron’s 8-ton lift capacity will make it ideally sized to deploy satellites in batches to specific orbital planes…” Later that year, Beck upped Neutron’s LEO capability to... Read it in full at: https://lnkd.in/eBmcPD3G

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ICYMI: a media snippet ✂ Post: 1H24 Space Industry Activities: More Launches, Less Launched? It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2024. So many launches have occurred that looking closely at what’s happened so far might be beneficial. After July 4 has come and gone, it’s time to review some space industry numbers generated from the first half of the year: total successful orbital launches, spacecraft deployed, nations deploying spacecraft, rideshares, and estimated mass. These will be from January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024. A few numbers won’t be surprising, but some might, especially when compared with the previous year or the previous four years. These numbers will also guide towards answers to some questions raised earlier in 2024. More Launches and Mass than Ever The biggest nonsurprise is that successful orbital launches conducted by mid-2024 exceeded 100, at 122. That’s more (a 35% increase) than launches from the same period the year prior–91. That’s also more (in six months) than the total successful launches conducted annually through 2020. Unsurprisingly, it’s the most launches conducted during the first six months of each year during the last five years. Two major launch providers, Arianespace and ULA, contributed little to no orbital launches during 2024’s first half. SpaceX-conducted orbital launches, however, made up for their launch deficits, increasing nearly 56% from 43 in 2023 to 67 launches during the same period in 2024 (not counting the suborbital Starship launches). Rocket Lab conducted an equal number of launches in the first six months of 2023 and 2024–eight. China’s launch providers also increased their launches during the first half of 2024. However, their increase was more modest, from 24 in 2023 to 30 in 2024, a 25% increase. Russian launches fell from 19 to 8 (a ~58% decrease) during the same periods. Projected launches for the remainder of 2024 might be ~35% more than total launches conducted in the year's first half. The two years before 2024 each saw about a 35% increase in successful orbital launches from the year's first half to the second half. 2021 saw nearly 30%, and 2020 saw 53%. Whatever the percentage increase, chances are good, based on the previous four years, that there will be more launches conducted during the second half of 2024 than in its first six months. Does this mean that SpaceX could reach its goal of 144 launches for 2024? After all, the trends point toward total launches for 2024, breaking launch records again at an estimated 280+. During the second half of 2023, SpaceX managed to... Read it in full at: https://lnkd.in/enDbzRxT

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I love ❤️ #space, and I worry that talk and headlines like this do the #spaceindustry a disservice. The idea of SpaceX "building 1 Starship Megarocket each and every day and launching 10 times a day" anytime soon is certainly only aspirational 🙄. This is not in any way discounting the improvements in Starship over its recent tests or the achievements of the engineers and other workers behind it. Instead, let's talk about #economics or, more specifically, in this case, about supply and demand. Currently, SpaceX has a situation where they meet demand for launch. This demand comes from #NASA, #SpaceForce, other DoD entities, and commercial. After using the Falcon 9 for paying customers, they can use the room onboard left, or on the next trip when it's reused, to deliver their LEO-based internet service Starlink cheaply. The supply and demand for Starlink is separate from launch, and the business model (I believe it's real estate) is a topic for another time, but it's a line of business and essential to point out. Thus far, SpaceX has been a company since 2002 and has turned its first profit only recently in one quarter. The profit was $55M in 1Q2023—some report it's currently worth $200B. The private company valuation is, according to a secondary sale late last year, $180B 💰. The previous funding round also last year, but earlier, led by Andreessen Horowitz, had a valuation of $137B. These are not public stock values decided by large numbers of participants on an exchange, so keep that in mind. Also, remember that at $200B, that's what bankers call a megacap alongside the valuations of Coke, Costco, Toyota, and Pfizer. SpaceX, however, does not have paying customers with demand for Mars 🔴 today. Megacap companies might go #zombiecompany status with no profits for several quarters, sometimes adding to debts, but historically this isn't sustainable for long. SpaceX, only recently finding a profitable quarter, would be unlikely to turn from solid demand for LEO to provide supply for Mars logistics. Which firms in The Space Economy today are sending out strong demand signals for these types of trips? And to the best of my knowledge, what demand may exist is not anywhere near the amount needed to warrant the supply Elon is talking about. It's not that I don't want astronauts to go to Mars. Believe me, I do! We just have a lot of other work to do first with the space economy in Cislunar first before the demand is great enough and the profits available for a private company to go. What do you think? -GSP- #5ir #spaceeconomy

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Logic Logic is a powerful tool! It comes in different forms. It is sometimes as simple as it is indestructible. It is sometimes as obscure as it is useless. Some call it elegant, others call it unfathomable. It follows and it leads. It can unlock secrets or keep them locked forever. It can be the master or the slave. It can absolve or convict. It is spoken by nature. It can serve to create or destroy. Logic can build enormous structures. Logic explains and teaches. Logic is often misused. Logic is not everything, but it is worth learning.

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When I was in High School in the late 90s, reading gun magazines, dreaming of all the #Guns I was going to buy when I became an adult; the Heckler & Koch GmbH USP in 45ACP was one of my dream guns.   Caught up in the mystique of Teutonic Space Magic & the legendary sToPpInG pOwEr of the .45 #AARP, sorry, 45ACP; I could not imagine a more awesome gun. When I turned 21, I ended up getting a 1911, but that’s another story.   Despite growing up & moving on from the 45ACP cult; practical maters such as magazine capacity, shootability, ammo cost & concealability, have not at all whittled away at my nostalgic yearning for a USP in 45ACP.   Plus as #Film buff, more than ½ guns I own are because they were featured in #Movies. Obviously, I “needed” the pistol that Tom Cruise's character Vincent used in Michael Mann’s brilliant 2004 movie, Collateral.   So Sean Connolly scored me this pristine, first year of manufacture example which like most all the guns I buy, I’ll put a magazine or two through, then like The Ark in Indiana Jones, put back it box & relegate it into my safe somewhere only to be seen during quarterly inventories.   While I love dunking on the 45ACP as outdated relative to newer versions of the 9mm, that doesn’t mean that pistols like this USP in 45 are only good as collectors’ pieces. They can still be a great choice in certain situations.   The 45 losing its advantages in sToPpInG pOwEr isn’t because 45 suddenly quit working, but rather that 9mm JHP cartridges caught up with 45 performance wise. If each individual cartridge has the same general lethality, magazine capacity & reduced recoil become much harder to argue against.   The 9mm relative superiority to the 45 is entirely based upon the performance of the JHP. That can be affected by a whole host of factors. One of the biggest, is clothing clogging the hollow-point & preventing it from expanding. If my expensive JHPs are going to end up being de facto FMJs, the 45ACP starts reasserting some of its traditional advantages.   If I were a #Police or #LawEnforcement agency up north where they may have to engage threats wearing parkas & other heavy clothing, my choices in both caliber & ammunition would be different than here in #Texas where virtually nobody is wearing a parka.   Also, if I lived in certain states which limited me to 10 round magazines, the 9mm’s advantages in magazine capacity are negated & a more persuasive argument for the 45ACP can be made.   I’m always going to favor magazine capacity & being able to rapidly put rounds on target over the performance of individual rounds. But that doesn’t mean others can’t arrive at a different decision based on their own particular situation.   So this #ThrowbackThursday is dedicated to thinking for yourself & selecting the proper #Firearms based on knowledge & experience, not idiot #Influencers or #Marketing hype.

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The Shuttle was a Frankenstein of a vehicle. 1 massive solid, several liquids, non-centre COG, 2 additional solids - all manufactured in different US states. Once upon a time, a (very) senior NASA told me that NASA has become a "Self Licking Ice Cream Cone" when talking about the politics behind how money was allocated. Everyone says new-Space is successful because it's vertically integrated. That's partly true - but the truth is deeper. The reason new-Space is successful is that they treat internal teams as collaborators, with flexible Requirements that may need to change. They use them as internal contributors rather than formal contracts that may not change The NASA approach is the opposite - they treat internal stakeholders as external parties. This is where "shall" statements come from - legalese as requirements are quasi-contracts that enable the suing of 3rd parties for missed contracts. NASA are improving - but not as fast as new-space. Collaboration, flexibility, urgency - that's the three-part recipe for modern systems engineering success.

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Check out My Favorite Mistake (nearly destroying a $500M Mars Rover) In re-watching it, I liked my own realtime observation: "Match your risk-posture with the length of the iteration cycle you're working." For Mars rovers, where your attempt might be 2-5 years (or more) away, your tolerance for risk is low. For rockets and satellites, the cycle can be much faster, and hence, your can take more risks. Hope you enjoy my conversation with Mark Graban!

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Defensive missiles cost multiples of the price of an offensive missile. The same is true for drones. The cost to take out a drone by the US military is $100,000, according to this article. There are two implications of this. 1. Whoever can lower that cost seems to have a contract opportunity with US DoD. 2. You can make war very expensive for the US by putting up a lot of drones that require a $100k response. I would bet that lesson has not been lost on the Chinese.

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As a founder, asymmetry is your superpower. This is how you use it to win 🇺🇸🇺🇸

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GOP PLATFORM - ‘Migrant invasion,’ mass deportations top 2024 GOP platform 1. SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION 2. CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY 3. END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN 4. MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR! 5. STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER 6. LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS! 7. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS 8. PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY -- ALL MADE IN AMERICA 9. END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 10. STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS 5 11. REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN. 12. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD 13. KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY 14. FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE 15. CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS 16. CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN 17. KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS 18. DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN 19. SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP 20. UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS 

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Cold fusion. Hydrogen. And now... "Dr. Charles Buhler, a seasoned NASA engineer and co-founder of Exodus Propulsion Technologies, claims his company’s propellantless propulsion drive defies the laws of physics. The NASA veteran states the propulsion drive is capable of generating enough thrust to counteract Earth’s gravity without expelling mass. It’s a bold claim, and this may end up being filed alongside similar controversial concepts like the propellant-free EmDrive. However, Buhler’s history as NASA’s subject matter expert on electrostatics has forced people to take note. New claims of propellant-free space travel Buhler and his team set out to explore propellantless propulsion concepts more than two decades ago. Their propulsion drive is based on a novel approach that takes advantage of asymmetry in electrostatic pressure to propel the drive forward. The team presented their drive concept at a recent Alternative Propulsion Energy Conference (APEC). There, Buhler detailed his team’s progress over the years. From 2016 to 2020, for example, the team’s best devices were producing a little over one hundred thousandth of a gravity. Ultimately, though, they set out to achieve “unity,” Buhler told The Debrief in a recent interview. Unity refers to the moment the drive produces enough thrust to lift itself in Earth’s gravity. As with similar projects like the EmDrive, Buhler and his team have worked exhaustively to eliminate any alternative explanation for the tiny, though measurable, force they were seeing in experiments. In 2023, Buhler said the propellantless drive finally reached one full Earth gravity. He and his team claim that their propulsion system has demonstrated the ability to exert a force equivalent to Earth’s gravity without emitting mass via propellant. Essentially, they believe they have discovered a new force that was previously unknown. “This discovery of a New Force is fundamental in that electric fields alone can generate a sustainable force onto an object and allow center-of-mass translation of said object without expelling mass,” Buhler told The Debrief. “There are rules that include conservation of energy, but if done correctly, one can generate forces unlike anything humankind has done before,” he added. https://lnkd.in/eqh4sjFP

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