A Pentagon competition to build out a killer drone fleet ended with a small British company crushing American contractors on their own turf, Axios Future of Defense author Colin Demarest writes.

• Why it matters: The Defense Department's Drone Dominance push is designed to arm American troops with expendable drones on a massive scale in a few short years.

It's also a tacit admission of how ill-prepared the U.S. is to match some combat conditions seen overseas: Roughly 75% of casualties in the Russia–Ukraine war are caused by drones.

🔎 Zoom in: Skycutter — the British company with frontline Ukraine experience — entered the Shrike 10-F, a 10-inch drone that can be operated via fiber optic cable to counter electronic jamming and spoofing.

• The drone is the result of collaboration with SkyFall, a Ukrainian outfit.
• "They make one every 23 seconds, 123,000 units per month," Vincent Gardner, Skycutter's operations director, told Axios. "We redesigned it with them to exclude any Chinese parts or components."
• Gardner was blunt: "A lot of people came with, I would argue, quite overengineered solutions. … These drones, they're like mechanical wasps."

🏆 The result: It was a blowout. Skycutter scored an overall 99.3 at an attack drone fly-off at Fort Benning in Georgia. In second was Neros, a Southern California startup, at 87.5.

• Skycutter, which has a manufacturing footprint in Atlanta, is now under contract for more than 2,500 drones. It plans to boost U.S. manufacturing in the near term.

🔮 Future of war: Here's another story that caught Colin's attention …

• A viral video is making the rounds of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bragging about taking a Russian position with only robots and drones.
• No human soldiers.

Inside the story: Ukraine, outmanned and outgunned by Russia, has spun up a sci-fi-style defense industry.

• Zelensky said Ukrainian ground robots carried out more than 22,000 missions in just three months.
• Frontline footage from the robots helps fuel fundraising for cheap drones and interceptors.

More on the "Gauntlet" ... Get Axios Future of Defense.

Surprise! The S&P 500 nearly hit a record high yesterday despite the biggest energy shock in history, rising inflation and dire warnings about slower economic growth, Axios Markets author Emily Peck writes.

• Why it matters: Investors are shrugging off big risks from the Iran war — and the market's resilience may give Republicans hope of avoiding a self-inflicted economic collapse heading into November.

The index closed up 1.2% yesterday, just 0.2% off its record high reached on Jan. 27.

• A relief rally took hold the day after the ceasefire agreement was announced last week.
• By Monday, stocks were back to pre-war levels — and now they're even higher.

👓 Between the lines: Companies have also just started reporting their quarterly results, and Wall Street is expecting a big earnings season driven in part by AI.

• Keep reading.

You can't run an organization at AI speed without this book. And you can't change at AI speed without it:

• "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less" — by Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and me — is coming Sept. 15.

Why it matters: The three of us want to show you how you can bring the same clarity to your life and company that our bestselling Smart Brevity brought to your communication.

💡 Toxic complexity clogs our meetings, inboxes, calendars — even our daily habits. We can do so much more, but first we need to do less.

• Simplify shows you how. It's a step-by-step playbook for spending the most time doing things that make you feel and perform better.

The backstory: Jim, Roy and I have been living this book for years. Now we'll reveal exactly how we optimized Axios and our own calendars — with actionable ways you can instantly start to Simplify.

The bottom line: You can't run your team, you can't run your company without everyone reading — and living — Simplify.

• 📚 Preorder here.

Two stats from new Pew polling show the American public's stance on China is softening:

• The share who hold favorable views of China has nearly doubled since 2023 (charted above).
• Those who view China as an enemy dropped from 42% in 2024 to 28% now.

Why it matters: The U.S. and China are the world's two superpowers, locked in a competition for technological dominance and global influence, Axios national security editor Dave Lawler writes.

• How their citizens see one another could have some bearing on that competition.

✈️ What's next: President Trump is scheduled to visit China next month. He has sought warmer relations with Xi Jinping since agreeing to a trade truce last November.

• Share this story.

Joann Muller, our Detroit-based automotive expert, writes that there's a new "Big Three" in mobility.

• 📉 Who's out: GM, Ford and Chrysler.
• 📈 Who's in: Waymo, Tesla and Uber.

Autonomous driving technology is no longer science fiction. It's here.

• Robotaxis are operating in about a dozen cities — with tests underway in many more — and driverless semis are hauling loads across Arizona and Texas.
• But safe deployment is only the start. The next phase of the AV race is about who can operate at scale.

This will require building the infrastructure and large-scale operations needed to support a viable robotaxi service.

• That means depots for charging, cleaning and vehicle maintenance, plus route optimization technology to deploy vehicles efficiently to meet fluctuating demand.

Go deeper: How Waymo, Tesla and Uber stack up ... Get Axios Future of Mobility.

🇬🇧 Shot: King Charles and Queen Camilla announce that their state visit to the U.S. from April 27–30 will include a White House garden party, a state dinner and an address to Congress by the king. They'll also visit New York + Virginia.

• Royal Communications says this'll be the second time a British monarch has addressed a joint session of Congress. The first was Queen Elizabeth II, who spoke to Congress during a state visit in 1991.

Chaser: Asked about the state of the fabled "special relationship," President Trump tells London-based Sky News: "With who?" He called U.S.–British relations "sad."

• Full itinerary.

Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes: Conservative women are filling a growing influence vacuum as the MAGA media ecosystem fractures and the movement's "manosphere" becomes increasingly critical of President Trump.

• Candace Owens has had the fastest-growing right-wing podcast for the past two quarters, according to data from Howard Polskin of TheRighting blog.
• Megyn Kelly's podcast entered the top 20 U.S. shows last year. A spokesperson attributed her success to video. Kelly's YouTube videos alone had 323 million views in the first quarter of 2026.
• Bari Weiss, who is now leading the charge at CBS News, continues to see growth for her media startup, The Free Press.
• Ainsley Earhardt and Dana Perino are helping fuel Fox News' non-cable business growth with successful faith-based books, streaming shows and podcasts.
• Brett Cooper, Riley Gaines and Tomi Lahren — political influencers — are contributors for the network. All three women have more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
• Katie Miller, a loyal former Trump aide, launched a podcast aimed at conservative women last summer.

Keep reading ... Get Axios Media Trends: Sara's weekly newsletter.

A new baby at the National Zoo is ready for the spotlight, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel writes.

• Linh Mai — a 463-pound Asian elephant calf — is the first of her kind born at the zoo in 25 years.

The 2-month-old makes her public debut on April 22 (Earth Day).

• Share this story.