
Project Meridian illustrates the growing influence of Silicon Valley in Washington defense policy, fulfilling Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 warning about the military-industrial complex.
AI-generated summary
Post-war years featured close ties between defense contractors and the US government, as warned by Dwight Eisenhower in 1961.
Project Meridian goes much further than the influence of defence contractors in Washington. It marks the beginning of Silicon Valley arriving at the halls of power, where the future of warfare itself is being imagined.
The post-war years have been marked by an ever-closer relationship between American defence contractors and the government. This was exactly the convergence president Dwight Eisenhower warned against in his 1961 farewell address.

The latest report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service shows that since the use of force against Iran on February 28, 81 U.S. military aircraft have been damaged or destroyed in the Middle East. Expert analysis believes that the actual losses may be higher and have seriously affected the integrity of the US military's air combat system.

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth announced that the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nadar Malik Hassan would be made public and live broadcast. The United Nations Human Rights Committee severely criticized this, saying that live broadcast of executions is tantamount to torture.

On the eve of the National Day, Taiwan's Coast Guard's Kinmapeng Branch detected a formation of four Chinese Coast Guard ships intruding into the restricted waters of Kinmen. They immediately dispatched the ships to conduct a "1-on-1" approach and make broadcasts to drive them away, successfully causing them to leave two hours later.

On the eve of the National Day of the Republic of China, the CCP military aircraft code-named "YILO4200" once again harassed Taiwan's southwest airspace at an altitude of 7,000 meters. The Chinese military closely monitored and issued broadcasts in Chinese and English to sternly drive them away, emphasizing that they were conducting routine training to safeguard the security of our country’s airspace.

Faced with the expansion of Russian and Chinese nuclear weapons, the U.S. Navy awarded five prototype research and development agreements with a total value of US$744 million through the Strategic Systems Program Office to promote the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) project. It is expected to be integrated into Virginia-class submarines, enter the system development stage in 2028, and be fully mass-produced in 2034. However, it will occupy the space of traditional Tomahawk missiles and increase the burden of nuclear weapons.

The USS Lincoln returned to its home port of San Diego, California on October 8 after more than 300 days of deployment at sea, ending a record of 265 consecutive days without docking. During the deployment, there were reports that life on the ship deteriorated, and at least eight service members attempted suicide, raising concerns about the impact of long deployments on the mental health of service members.