future

THE beloved “Hogwarts Express” steam train could be heading for the buffers thanks to a bitter health and safety row.

The iconic service, made famous by the Harry Potter film series, is under threat after rules forced a major overhaul.

The iconic train, known as The Jacobite steam train, runs through Scotland’s stunning countryside between Fort William and Mallaig, crossing the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct.

But now the popular locomotive – which is enjoyed by around 70,000 passengers a year – is at a crossroads due to a long-running dispute over safety regulations and the resulting financial strain.  

Old-style carriages used in the films have effectively been banned because their doors don’t have central locking.

Operator West Coast Railways says being forced to swap them out has caused huge problems.

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Newer coaches are unpopular with tourists and far more expensive to run. They even require a diesel engine at the back just to power air conditioning.

The train, which should have started running this month, has yet to begin its 2026 season.

Bosses are now begging regulators at the Office of Rail and Road to allow the return of the original carriages.

James Shuttleworth of West Coast told The Telegraph: “I don’t know what we would do. We were losing money working like that and you don’t go into business to lose money.”

Local businesses are already feeling the pain, with trade slumping as visitors stay away.

Fears are now growing that unless a solution is found soon, the world-famous Hogwarts Express could run out of track for good.

Secretary of the Navy John Phelan says his service is looking to wrap up a review of its aircraft carrier plans within the next month or so. The Navy has been taking a deep look at the design and capabilities, and associated costs, of the Ford class as compared to the older Nimitz class. The question has been raised about whether this might point to a major shift in the service’s carrier acquisition strategy on the horizon, including the potential cancellation of planned orders for more Ford class ships and even a transition to a new design.

Phelan talked about the carrier review yesterday at a roundtable on the sidelines of the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2026 exposition. When asked, Phelan said that there was nothing in particular about the Ford class that prompted the Navy to take a new comprehensive look at the program and that the service is looking for ways to cut costs and be more efficient across the board.

A key question the review has been focused on is “are we getting the appropriate bang for our buck, i.e., how superior is the Ford [class] to the older Nimitz class, etc,” the Navy’s top civilian leader said. “To be honest, we’re reviewing every program, so it’s – carriers [are] just one of them.”

That being said, President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the Ford class, and its electromagnetic catapults (also known as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS) and weapons elevators in particular, which have faced serious reliability and maintenance issues. Last October, he pledged to sign an executive order that would compel the Navy to go back to using steam-powered catapults and hydraulic elevators on new aircraft carriers, which has yet to materialize. Two months later, in announcing plans for the Trump class “battleship,” the President also said that “we have the Ford class. We’re going to be upping that to a different class of aircraft carrier,” but did not elaborate.

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

Watch the Advanced Weapons Elevators on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford

Phelan’s comments yesterday about the ongoing review were prompted, in part, by a question about whether the Navy has actually been looking at acquiring a new class of aircraft carrier. There is no indication that this is the case currently. The service has explored alternatives to the Ford class, including smaller designs, on several occasions in the past decade or so.

“What I would say on the carriers is, we are looking at [CVN-]82 and [CVN-]83 to review the costs, the designs, the systems, to make sure that they make sense and they have all the systems and requirements that we want going forward,” Phelan explained. “I think it’s a prudent and practical thing for us to do, given the costs of them, as a percentage of the budget, and how we are thinking about the force design and our needs going forward.”

CVN-82 and CVN-83 are the hull numbers assigned to a pair of future Ford class aircraft carriers currently set to be named the USS William J. Clinton and the USS George W. Bush. Construction has not begun on either of those ships, and the Navy has not even awarded contracts yet to order them. The service is asking for advance funds to support the future procurement of CVN-82 in its newly released budget request for the 2027 Fiscal Year. The budget documents also still show plans to seek funding for CVN-83 in the coming years.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is the only member of its class currently in service. It is now in the midst of a marathon deployment that has lasted some 10 months already, the longest for any carrier since the Vietnam War. In its time at sea so far, the ship and its air wing took part in the mission to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, and more recently supported operations against Iran. Ford suffered a fire in March, underscoring concerns about strains on the ship and its crew, as you can read more about here.

There are three more Ford class carriers in various stages of being built. The second ship in the class, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), left port for the first time for initial sea trials in January and is set to be formally delivered to the Navy next year.

John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) Successfully Completes Builder’s Sea Trials

Kennedy and all subsequent ships in the class are already set to have notable differences from Ford, including AN/SPY-6(V)3 radars in place of the design’s original Dual Band Radar (DBR). The immensely troublesome DBR is just one of a laundry list of issues that Ford has had to contend with over the years. The Navy has been trying to leverage lessons learned from those experiences to streamline work going forward.

However, Kennedy, as well as the next two ships in the class after that, the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), have all continued to suffer further delays. As of last year, the estimated total procurement costs for Kennedy, Enterprise, and Doris Miller were nearly $13.2 billion, almost $14.25 billion, and just over $15.2 billion, respectively, according to the Congressional Research Service.

This, in turn, has created complications for Navy plans to begin retiring Nimitz class carriers. In May, the service announced it was extending the USS Nimitz‘s service life into 2027, in line with the latest delivery schedule for Kennedy.

“So the President knows we’re reviewing it [the carrier plans], and want [sic] us to put in a review,” Phelan said. “And I think, like any businessman, he’s – okay, make sure you look at all these programs, understand the capabilities and what they’re doing.”

The Secretary of the Navy was asked what metrics the service might be looking at in order to assess the comparative capabilities of the Ford class and the preceding Nimitz class. Phelan was given, as an example, statements the Navy has made in the past about the new EMALS catapults offering improved sortie generation rates and reducing wear and tear on aircraft during launches.

“I think you’ll see the sortie rate come out and it will be eye-watering,” Navy Rear Adm. Ben Reynolds said just yesterday at the Pentagon during the rollout of the service’s proposed budget for the 2027 Fiscal Year, according to USNI News. “The capability is just absolutely incredible.”

Reynolds is currently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget and Director of the Fiscal Management Division within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

USS Ford Launches, Recovers Fighters With Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

“So these are all things you’ve heard. These are all the same things I’ve heard,” Phelan said at the roundtable at Sea Air Space. “I go to the Ronald Reagan School of trust, but verify. That’s what I’m doing.”

“Trust me, we measure and monitor a lot of things in the Navy, including that – the airframes and how that works. So I think it’s a function of just understanding it, for example, is the sortie rate generation that much greater? And then what are the cost implications of this electric catapult, and did it really generate the savings?” Phelan continued. “You know, the Navy would like to say we’ve saved $5 billion in terms of savings in number [sic] of men and maintenance. I just need to check that back up, and that’s what I mean by that.”

“I think, like anything, it’s both understanding the cost-benefit analysis of it, because we really want to make sure we’ve got a good handle on the costs,” the Navy Secretary added. “I think one of the things we have to do a better job of in the Navy is kind of what I call total cost of ownership. So what does it really cost to sustain and maintain these things? I think we do a reasonable job at that, to be honest. But the infrastructure needs on these are also costs you have to understand going in.”

As Phelan noted, the Navy has been conducting reviews of major programs across the service. The Navy Secretary has also shown a willingness to curtail high-profile, but seriously underperforming efforts despite high sunk costs. Last November, the service axed the Constellation class frigate program, long touted as a major priority, but which had become mired in delays and at risk of ballooning costs. Earlier this month, the Navy finally abandoned plans to return the Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Boise to active service, closing out a more than 10-year-long saga that had already cost it $800 million.

Yesterday, Phelan was also asked whether the Ford class could be curtailed as a result of the ongoing review. The possibility of truncating the program has been raised in the past.

“It’s too early to say, but we will have carriers. So, carriers are an important component to [sic] the force, and we will need that,” the Navy Secretary said. “I think it’s more, how do we figure out – like, again, this comes back to every program we’re looking at. What can we do to cut costs? What can we do to make this more efficient? What can we do to make the design more simple [sic]? What are the areas where we think we can save or not save?”

Even just cancelling future orders for Ford class ships would have major downstream impacts, including on the shipbuilding industrial base and its many suppliers. At the same time, the Navy’s shipbuilding priorities also now include the Trump class “battleships,” the first of which may cost $17 billion, according to the latest official estimates. If that price point holds, these large surface combatants will be more expensive than a Ford class aircraft carrier.

“These are very important decisions to be made, and you’re locking into very big contracts and very big platforms that are going to be around for a long time. And so I just think we’re trying to make prudent decisions across everything,” he added. “I think what I found a little bit is, I have a lot of people who know how to do finance. I don’t have a lot of people who necessarily understand finance, understand incentives and deal structures, and that’s something we just need to fix.”

How the Navy’s plans for the Ford class, and aircraft carriers in general, may evolve going forward will likely become clearer after the current review is completed.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Xavier Becerra needed to land a knockout punch, even more so than the five other candidates for California governor he was facing at Wednesday night’s debate.

Instead, he fired off some slaps.

He needed to roar about his many accomplishments in his 35-year career in Sacramento and Washington, to distinguish himself from the relative political neophytes around him.

Instead, Becerra recited his resume with the vigor of someone rattling off his LinkedIn page.

He needed to uplift Californians with a vision of hope, when many feel the state is going in the wrong direction.

Instead, he offered the oratory equivalent of a pat on the shoulder.

No candidate had more at stake that night than Becerra, who went from an afterthought to a contender after Eric Swalwell dropped out and resigned his congressional seat over sexual assault allegations.

Five weeks ago, Becerra and other candidates of color were protesting their exclusion from a USC debate because they were all polling so low. Now, the 68-year-old has a chance to become California’s first Latino governor.

This possibility seems to have uncorked California’s silent majority — the rancho libertarians turned off by hard-right politics but also the wokoso politics they feel have left them behind. The people who yearn for an unglamorous, competent leader after eight years of all-about-me Gavin Newsom and a decade of Donald Trump.

Becerra’s campaign, once as rudderless as a leaf in a river in a race so chaotic for Democrats that many feared two Republicans would win on June 2 and face each other in the general election, suddenly latched onto a palpable wave.

At the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last weekend, I saw people sporting Becerra campaign buttons who had just come from a rally that was expected to draw a few hundred but instead had over 2,000 RSVPs. On social media, friends who had never especially cared for state politics suddenly declared they were for Becerra and fought off their more lefty pals who think he’s a Latino Ned Flanders not up for this fraught moment.

Unglamorous and competent are Becerra’s middle names, and they were on display at the debate — for better and mostly worse. This was his chance to show both his new followers and undecided voters that they could trust him as California’s next governor.

But where he needed to be limber like a prizefighter, the former California attorney general was as tightly wound as a Rolex.

While the other candidates pressed their palms against the podiums, ready to pounce on every question, Becerra clasped his hands like an altar boy. When he did gesture, his movements never went further than the span of his shoulders.

As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton. He stumbled more than he should have — how could someone in his position mistake Iraq for Iran when criticizing Trump’s Middle East quagmire? — and rarely seemed at ease, as if the weight of the moment and the good luck of his surge had suddenly hit him at the worst possible time.

Candidates in California’s gubernatorial race, from left, Matt Mahan, Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, and Steve Hilton look on during a debate Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in San Francisco.

(Jason Henry / Associated Press)

Becerra’s supporters say a level-headed leader is what California needs. But voters almost never go for what they need — they pick what they want. And California wants someone who’s loud, or at least louder than Becerra. There’s a reason why strident partisans like Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton and progressives Tom Steyer and Katie Porter have consistently placed high in the polls, while moderates like Becerra, his frenemy Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose mayor Matt Mahan have lagged.

The weird thing is that Becerra does know how to brawl. Wallflowers don’t go from a working class Mexican immigrant family to Stanford Law School. Wimps don’t survive the ruthlessness of Eastside politics as an outsider to become a congressmember at just 34. Cowards don’t file over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration as California’s top prosecutor or tackle the coronavirus pandemic as President Biden’s health secretary.

I’ve only encountered the Sacramento native a few times but always came away impressed. In small crowds, he makes people laugh and tear up. He’s quick with ripostes, righteous in off-the-cuff remarks and has a do-gooder aura that never comes off as sanctimonious.

We saw hints of that Becerra at the debate. To Hilton, he quipped, “You can be a talking head and not worry about the consequences of what you do” after the former Fox News host babbled on about how one-party ruled had failed California.

After Porter accused him of not offering hard numbers for his economic plans, Becerra responded that he has balanced federal budgets larger than California’s. “It’s easy to say you haven’t done this; it’s easier to prove that you actually have,” he concluded.

But after Becerra described the evils of racial profiling by law enforcement and Bianco, the sheriff of Riverside County, ranted that California politicians need to stop thinking so much about race, it was Porter who responded with a verbal haymaker as Becerra silently looked on.

You don’t fight as a choirboy in a battle royale. Becerra wasn’t bad at the debate but he also wasn’t great — and that won’t win this race.

Voters want someone who’ll do the job, yes — especially if it comes with no drama. They also want to elect someone they think is a human, not a joyless bureaucrat. So how did Becerra respond to the debate’s last question about what was the last series you’ve streamed?

Becerra flashed his biggest smile of the night. It was such a softball query that even a kindergartener could have slammed it à la Shohei Ohtani.

“I wish I could tell you I had time to watch streaming shows,” he replied.

Dude. We’re all overworked, but everyone I know unwinds by watching mindless drivel (my current obsession is “Vanderpump Villa”). We all need to relax, even for a moment. As my dad says when he sees me filing one columna after another and urges me to take a break, “El trabajo nunca se acaba pero uno sí se acaba.”

Work never ends, but people do.

Xavier, you know you’re on the wrong side of California when the only other candidate with a similar answer was Bianco, who said he doesn’t watch television at all.

Being careful has served you well, but this is the greatest opportunity of your life. You don’t have to suddenly become a flamethrower, but some sparks would help. It’s six weeks until the primary, so time to throw down — channel your inner cholo and go get what should be yours.

General Atomics is calling attention to a new mission for its Mojave short takeoff and landing (STOL) drone: hunting uncrewed aerial threats with laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rockets. The company put a heavy focus on this planned capability in a larger vision for Mojave that rolled out today.

Mojave is also envisioned as launching its own kamikaze drones, escorting friendly helicopters, spotting targets for artillery, and even transporting small cargoes. With its short and rough field capabilities, the drone could also push these capabilities far forward, including to island outposts during a future conflict in the Pacific. This was all showcased in a new computer-generated video, seen below. General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems, Inc. division (GA-ASI) showed the video first today at the Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) 2026 Warfighting Summit, at which TWZ is in attendance.

Mojave STOL: Real. Rugged. Ready Today.

General Atomics is also now officially referring to the drone at the center of the video as Mojave STOL. The company has previously used the name Gray Eagle STOL to differentiate planned production models from the already flying Mojave demonstrator, which first broke cover in 2021. Mojave is derived from the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, which itself leveraged the preceding MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper designs.

“General Atomics is all-in on providing the best STOL solution for the Army and U.S. allies worldwide,” General Atomics spokesperson C. Mark Brinkley told TWZ. “Everything you see is a capability we can do right now, things already demonstrated on a real, flying aircraft.”

The new video, set “somewhere in the Western Pacific,” focuses first on the rocket-armed drone hunter mission. A Mojave STOL is depicted using an EagleEye multi-mode radar, as well as its infrared sensor in the turret under its nose, to spot and track a pair of kamikaze drones clearly modeled on the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 pattern. EagleEye is another General Atomics product, which was first unveiled in 2022 and has a demonstrated air-to-air target acquisition capability. It also has surface search, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging, and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) modes.

The drone is then shown alerting a forward U.S. outpost to these approaching uncrewed aerial threats via satellite. Using a ruggedized laptop, an operator on the ground then orders the kamikaze drones to be destroyed. A Mojave carrying two 19-shot 70mm rocket pods, one under each wing, then swoops in and shoots them down. Afterward, it is also depicted being rearmed at a very rough-looking, unimproved jungle airstrip.

“We’ve shown APKWS [BAE Systems’ 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II laser-guided rocket] mounted to Mojave in a static display at some of the recent U.S. Army shows where Mojave STOL was present,” General Atomics’ Brinkley told us. “Integrating new weapons is a multi-part process. Fit tests, weight considerations, captive carry for airworthiness, software, [and] actual live-fire.”

“For Mojave STOL and other GA-ASI aircraft, we’re inside that process now with APKWS,” he added. “It’s flying and firing soon, [in] weeks not months.”

“APKWS has already been demonstrated on other aircraft against airborne targets, so we know the weapon itself works for this mission,” he also noted. “GA-ASI has successfully destroyed other airborne targets using various weapons, including AIM-9X and Hellfire, so we know we can track, target, and hit flying objects of various sizes and speeds.”

APKWS II has had a meteoric rise in popularity in the air-to-air role since the U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters first began using the rockets this way in combat against Houthi drones in 2024, which TWZ was first to report. APKWS II was originally designed as an air-to-surface weapon and then also adapted to the surface-to-air role against drones. The total number of U.S. military and foreign aircraft cleared to use a variant of the rocket specifically optimized for air-to-air use continues to grow. Other companies that make similar laser-guided rockets are also now adapting them for employment in the anti-air role.

As an anti-air weapon against slower-flying and less dynamic targets, APKWS II offers immense benefits over traditional air-to-air missiles when it comes to cost-per-engagement and magazine depth, as you can read more about here. Just carrying two 19-shot pods, Mojave has an impressive 38 engagement opportunities. The drone has six underwing pylons and could carry additional pods, as well as other stores.

After the drone-hunting vignette, General Atomics’ new Mojave video moves on to show one of the drones leading a group of AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters into apparent hostile territory. The drone fires an AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munition to destroy an enemy mobile surface-to-air missile system to help clear the way. GA-ASI, in cooperation with AeroVironment, has previously demonstrated the ability of Switchblade 600 to be air-launched from the MQ-9 Reaper.

The video also shows Mojave being used to find and fix enemy forces, which are then engaged by friendly 155mm howitzers, as well as to carry cargo in underwing pods to forward locations. GA-ASI has previously showcased the potential value of Mojave in the latter role as part of a larger construct to provide logistics support during future expeditionary and distributed operations, even in actively contested environments.

The new video caps off with a Mojave firing on unseen targets with a pair of underwing Minigun pods. This is another capability General Atomics has previously demonstrated in real life. The drone can also carry other stores, including AGM-114 Hellfires and AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles (JAGM), on the pylons under its wings.

General Atomics is pitching the overall vision presented here for Mojave heavily to the U.S. Army, though it has also been engaged with other potential customers. Testing in cooperation with authorities in the United Kingdom and South Korea has demonstrated how the drone’s short-field capabilities could also translate to naval operations from aircraft carriers and big deck amphibious assault ships. Last year, GA-ASI announced a partnership with Hanwha Aerospace in South Korea to produce what was still then being called Gray Eagle STOL in that country.

Mojave Aircraft Carrier Takeoff and Landing

“Mojave STOL provides the versatility that the U.S. Army and others need for the future, with the endurance and persistence they’ve come to rely on, underpinned by experience gleaned from almost 10 million total flight hours,” General Atomics’ Brinkley told us. “That’s why Hanwha jumped in as our partner on this, bringing international investment to further buy down risk.”

“The U.S. Army wants to be successful right out of the gate. No stumbling, no fumbling,” he added. “They’re already integrating tactical drones into the force and experimenting with how that will change the nature of American warfare. They’re bringing a new tiltrotor online. It’s a period of massive change for Army aviation.”

The tiltrotor in question is the MV-75A, now officially nicknamed the Cheyenne II, which Bell derived from its V-280 Valor design. You can read more about the Army’s current plans for this aircraft here.

The Army is now in the early stages of formulating plans to acquire uncrewed companions for the MV-75A and its existing fleets of crewed helicopters. However, the focus so far has been on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capable designs rather than a fixed-wing type like Mojave, as TWZ has explored previously. In general, greater independence from traditional runways has been a major area of focus across the U.S. military in recent years when it comes to planning for future aviation operations, especially in the context of a high-end fight in the Pacific against China.

“Our engineers are obsessed with developing the next-generation of uncrewed aircraft. More than a decade ago, they dug deep into VTOL and runway independence,” General Atomics’ Brinkley explained. “What they discovered was payload and endurance tradeoffs with VTOL create a lot of challenges when applied to real combat operations. It’s a tough hand to play.”

“Mojave STOL is flying right now. We have five million square feet of existing manufacturing, ready to go,” he added. “We can help the Army integrate a real, rugged, ready today Mojave STOL into the force with far less risk to success.”

Questions have also been raised in the past about the survivability and general utility of drones like Mojave, as well as predecessors like the MQ-1C and MQ-9, in future high-end operations. The latest conflict with Iran has underscored the vulnerability of the Reaper, in particular. Air-launched drones and stand-off munitions, as well as new self-protection capabilities, can help keep these drones further away from enemy defenses. TWZ has also previously highlighted how a drone like Mojave could be used to provide more localized force protection, including against uncrewed aerial threats, at forward outposts and rear areas in the context of a larger conflict.

It’s also worth noting here that while Mojave would not be as quick to respond to incoming drone threats as a tactical jet, it would be able to loiter in a particular area for a longer period of time. It could also provide strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) support while on station. Being able to fly from unimproved forward airstrips would also allow it to operate organically with the forces it is assigned to support.

When it comes to the Army, it remains to be seen how that service’s visions for its future drone fleets and crewed-uncrewed teaming evolve. As mentioned, the Mojave STOL’s capabilities, including its ability to act as a rocket-armed drone hunter, could be attractive to other potential operators, who might fly the drones from bases on land or ships at sea.

In the meantime, General Atomics continues to expand on the Mojave concept, which now includes the planned integration of APKWS II laser-guided rockets.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

PHOENIX — Golden State coach Steve Kerr is contemplating his future, the four-time NBA champion coach suggesting after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that there is a chance he might not be back with the club next season.

“It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr said after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and were eliminated from the play-in tournament.

He shared an embrace with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the team’s two constants from the Warriors’ title runs with Kerr, near the team’s bench in the game’s final moments and appeared to mouth the words “thank you.”

Kerr wouldn’t reveal what he said in that moment.

“None of your business,” he said, smiling.

Green and Curry both made clear that they want him back. Kerr’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, fueled in part by him coaching this year on the final season of his existing contract. The Warriors missed the playoffs this season for the fourth time in the last seven years.

“I want Coach to be happy. I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe you know he’s the right guy for the job,” Curry said. “I want him to have an opportunity to again enjoy what he does. So, whatever that means for him, you know, everybody’s plan is their own. And I’m not going to try to tell anybody what to do. He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn’t even need to be said.”

Added Green, when asked if he could even fathom the Warriors without Kerr on the sideline: “I just don’t deal with change well. I don’t love it. So, I don’t want to think about that. I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see what happens.”

The 60-year-old Kerr just finished his 12th season with the Warriors. He’s 604-353 in that span, led Golden State to the NBA Finals in each of his first five seasons — and once since then as well — plus guided the U.S. to Olympic gold at the Paris Games in 2024.

His playoff record of 104-48 is nearly unmatched; among coaches with at least 100 playoff games in their career, his .684 playoff winning percentage is second only — and barely — to Phil Jackson, who went 229-104 (.688).

Kerr said he’ll meet with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy to chart a path for what’s next. He suggested that might come in a week or two.

“We’ll talk about what’s next for the Warriors, what the plan is this offseason,” Kerr said. “And we will come to a collaborative decision on what’s next. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching. But I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.

“And, if that’s the case, then I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise, in front of our fans in the Bay and to coach Steph Curry, to coach Dray and the whole group.”

Kerr wouldn’t say what some of the factors are that might sway his decision, calling those private.

“If it’s right, it’s right,” Kerr said. “And if it’s not, it’s not.”

There will be talks with Curry as well; the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, who just finished his 17th season — all with Golden State — said he plans to play for “multiple” seasons after this and would be interested in an extension.

“It’ll be a busy summer for the Warriors,” Curry said, smiling.

The Warriors were 37-45 this season, dealing with injuries the entire way. They rallied Wednesday from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers and move into Friday’s play-in finale, only to fall short against the Suns.

And now, the Warriors wait to see what’s next.

“This was as tough a season as you can have, with the injuries, with all kinds of adversity,” Kerr said. “And they battled, and they battled the entire season. They kept going the other night just to, you know, continue the season, to show that kind of fight. And then tonight, we just didn’t have it. But the competitive desire was there. And I’m proud of the group for finishing the season the right way by continuing to fight and trying to win every game.”

Kerr — who won five championships as a player, to go along with his four rings as a coach — has spoken often of his good fortunes within the game. He played for Lute Olson at Arizona, played with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, played with David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio and played for Jackson and Gregg Popovich as a pro.

And coaching Curry — the greatest face of a franchise he’s ever seen, he said — is another honor, Kerr has insisted.

“The only thing I’ve learned is that I’m the luckiest guy in the NBA’s history,” Kerr said.

With orders for the twin-rotor helicopter still rolling in, Boeing has provided details on its future plans for the venerable H-47 Chinook, including adding launched effects and creating a path toward a crewed version of the aircraft. The latter would offer an unprecedented vertical-lift capability, and one that could be of great interest to the U.S. Army and other operators.

At the Army Aviation Association of America’s Army Aviation Warfighting Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, today, Boeing released a computer-generated promotional video showing launched effects being delivered from the rear ramp of a Chinook.

Launched effects, previously referred to as air-launched effects (ALEs), describe a category of various uncrewed systems that you can read more about here. The new launched effects terminology reflects the fact that they might be launched from land or maritime platforms, as well as crewed and uncrewed aircraft. Launched effects drones include types that operate as scouts, electronic attackers, decoys, and suicide drones. They are typically highly autonomous, operating independently or in more complex networked swarms.

When it comes to the Chinook, Boeing confirms that launched effects are yet to be tested from the helicopter, but the company is working toward that goal.

Kathleen Jolivette, the vice president and general manager for Boeing’s Vertical Lift division, said today that the company is investing its own funds in the initiative and is currently looking at how rapidly it might be able to move into the demonstration phase, based on expected U.S. Army and international interest.

It’s worth noting, meanwhile, that Boeing and the Army are already pushing ahead on launched effects demonstrations from the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, including recently announced trials with Anduril’s ALTIUS-700 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) launched from an AH-64E. The Army says that this program progressed from a requirement to a live demonstration in less than six months.

With its capacious hold, the Chinook would be able to accommodate huge numbers of launched effects, allowing multiple missions to be fulfilled over an extended period, especially when compared with other helicopters that typically launch these drones from externally mounted tubes.

The Chinook would also be much better able to handle larger launched effects. In the past, the Army has issued descriptions of ‘large’ drones in this category. These are envisaged as having a combat range of up to 350 kilometers (217 miles) and a total flight time of 30 minutes. However, there has also been an aspiration to increase those performance specifications to up to 650 kilometers (404 miles) and an hour of total time in the air. These would weigh up to 225 pounds each, compared to around 25 pounds for an ALTIUS-600, for example.

There is a possibility that Chinooks, specifically special operations MH-47Gs, are already using some kind of launched effects. As we discussed at the time, there is strong evidence that the U.S. military may have used kamikaze drones during the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro earlier this year. Whatever the case, launched effects are increasingly key to the survival of rotary-wing aviation going forward.

As well as launched effects, Boeing is pushing ahead with work on what it calls an optimally crewed Chinook, reflecting U.S. Army terminology. As far as we understand it, the terms optimally crewed and optionally crewed appear to be interchangeable, although the former could also include reduced-crew flying with the help of an AI copilot. Boeing also pushed us toward an Army press release for the H-60Mx Black Hawk helicopter, described as an optimally piloted vehicle and extensively modified to fly with or without a pilot at the controls.

Heather McBryan, the vice president and H-47 program manager at Boeing, said the company is now “working very closely” with the Army in terms of what additional capability it wants to add to future Block II production lots.

According to McBryan, the Army “publicly stated their desire for what they’re calling an optimally crewed aircraft, where they can, in some instances, reduce the workload for pilots, but in other instances, eliminate it completely, and we’ve made a lot of great progress in those efforts.”

McBryan says that this work is also responding to demand from international customers.

As part of this effort, after years of development and post-production modifications, Boeing recently added its Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem (APAS) to the Chinook production line. A hardware and software system, McBryan describes APAS as working “like lane-assist in your vehicle.”

Tested on the special-missions MH-47G for some years now, APAS reduces pilot workload, but also provides additional situational awareness and enables safer maneuvering, especially at the edges of the aircraft’s envelope. For now, APAS is mainly for the MH-47G and for the United Kingdom’s new Chinooks, but McBryan confirms that Boeing is looking at how to bring additional elements of autonomy into the CH-47F as well.

In February, for example, a CH-47F successively completed its first fully automated approach and landing test flight, something that Boeing calls “approach to x.”

This used the company’s upgraded Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS), the software ensuring the Chinook touched down all four wheels on a runway without any pilot intervention. While DAFCS is currently deployed on the CH-47F fleet, the upgraded version further reduces pilot workload and brings autonomy to tactical approaches, boosting flexibility and operational capability.

Right now, every Chinook coming off the production line has the basic DAFCS, while APAS essentially provides an enhancement, building on the same flight control system with a combination of hardware and software.

As Chris Speights, the chief engineer for Boeing Vertical Lift, explains, with APAS, “the parallel actuation system actually amplifies, provides a higher-bandwidth control mechanism for it that the software can then take advantage of. So we get more precise control and augmentation with APAS when you add it on top.”

Boeing CH-47F Block II Chinook Helicopter: Next-Level Heavy Lift

Speights added that Boeing is also looking at the future beyond APAS.

“APAS is the foundation, then there would be other capabilities, whether it’s algorithmic or whether it’s sensors or the integration of those that would give further autonomous capability in the future,” he said.

Potentially, this could lead to entirely autonomous Chinook flights, from takeoff to landing, for an optimally uncrewed or even a fully uncrewed Chinook.

Speights described the work on the upgraded DAFCS and APAS as “foundational,” should the company pursue an optimally crewed Chinook.

“That puts us on the path for the flight automation, not necessarily full autonomy, but flight automation, which starts today with pilot workload reduction, and approach to x,” Speights said. “But it enables further capabilities in the future, as the customer desires, based on their concept of how the aircraft would be used.”

It is worth noting that Sikorsky has been working on both optionally crewed and uncrewed versions of its H-60 Black Hawk series. Late last year, the company unveiled its U-Hawk demonstrator, a fully uncrewed version of the Black Hawk helicopter, intended to carry cargo and deliver launched effects. The U-Hawk leverages the company’s past work on a Pilot Optional Vehicle (OPV) version of the Black Hawk, which has been flying for years.

Introducing the S-70UAS™ U-Hawk™

For now, however, Jolivette said that Boeing is “gonna wait and see what happens” with the Army’s uncrewed/optimally crewed vision. “I think there’s more to come on that,” she added.

As well as APAS, Boeing is looking at how it can bring a digital backbone to the CH-47F. A digital backbone essentially provides a shared network of data and tools that connects both production design and sustainment. The result is that everyone who is working on the aircraft gets the same data points and the same information at the same time. In practice, this would mean adding multiple redundant networks and distributed interface units to ensure precise monitoring. With reliably collected data, the Chinook should be easier to upgrade, safer to operate, and quicker to fix.

The Chinook remains very much in demand, meanwhile.

The latest budget request includes funding for additional MH-47G aircraft. In terms of CH-47F Block II, Boeing is ramping up production to meet the Army’s rapid-fielding ambitions. Six Block IIs were delivered last year, and Boeing received a contract award for nine more in September 2025, with another six orders since then, for a total of 24 under contract. McBryan confirmed that, as of today, three aircraft are in production, with two of those in final assembly.

“We expect to deliver one of those aircraft towards the end of this year,” McBryan said. The total U.S. Army Block II requirement is still to be determined.

In terms of international orders, the first deliveries for new orders from Egypt, South Korea, and the United Kingdom are expected this year. Production of the first German CH-47F is also underway, with expected delivery in 2027.

Although it was first flown back in 1961, the Chinook appears to have a bright future ahead of it. With Boeing now focused on new capabilities, we may very well see Chinooks delivering launched effects and operating in uncrewed versions before too long.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

BBC Sort Your Life Out fans were left heartbroken this week when one beloved show came to an end for another series.

Sort Your Life Out’s latest series came to an end this week but now one of the stars has issued a show update.

BBC fans have been watching Stacey Solomon and her team of experts helping families across the country declutter their homes since 2021.

Putting all of their belongings into a warehouse, Stacey and organising expert Dilly Carter then assist the families in deciding whether they want to keep, sell or donate each item that was once in their home.

Over the years, there’s been tears, laughter and heartwarming stories as each family has a touching tale on why they need the team’s help.

This week (April 14), fans tuned in for the sixth episode of the BBC show with the Mann-Monro family.

However, the instalment marked the last episode in the series, with Dilly Carter issuing an update on Sort Your Life Out’s future. Taking to Instagram, she shared a photo of the team together, writing: “AND THAT’S A WRAP. Series 6 of @sortyourlifeout is over and out.

“A hugely emotional last episode going out with a bang. This series has been unbelievable and we are so grateful to every family who has taken part and opened up their homes to us and let us in.

“This show relies on YOU. And we are so beyond grateful we get to help transform such amazing families’ lives forever.”

She then went on to praise the team on the show behind the scenes who work ‘tirelessly’ to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Wrapping up her caption, Dilly confirmed Sort Your Life Out will be back once again in the future. She continued: “But for now, it’s time to start getting ready for the next series. Will we be coming to your road? Keep an eye out.

“Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts, and to my gang, my TV family, I love you all and can’t wait to see you in 2 weeks.”

It wasn’t long before people commented on the post, with many praising the series so far. One person said: “Great show, can’t wait for the next series.”

Another added: “Miss you all until next time.” Someone else commented: “So sad it’s finished, best telly ever xxx”

One fan wrote: “Love the programme and love the team!! Please come back soon.” As another shared: “What an amazing series, absolutely loved it – emotional but so uplifting.”

Sort Your Life Out is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Amid a glittering sports celebration, a team from Los Angeles dominated the WNBA draft.

But it wasn’t Los Angeles’ WNBA team.

The Sparks couldn’t hold a candle to UCLA.

At a Monday event during which six Bruins were drafted among the first 18 picks — a WNBA record — the Sparks didn’t have their first pick until No. 20 in the second round.

Two years earlier, they had traded away their first-round pick for the rights to draft the exciting Rickea Jackson.

Whom they recently traded to Chicago for somebody named Ariel Atkins.

You can see where we’re going with this…

One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.

They’re going old. They don’t have a choice. Five years of lottery missteps have produced exactly one current Sparks player, Cameron Brink, a social media star who’s been an injured basketball bust.

While the national champion Bruins spent Monday dancing across the league from Toronto to Chicago, the Sparks didn’t get a chance to acquire any of them, and wound up with three late picks who will raise no eyebrows and play few minutes.

So, yeah, old.

When the Sparks open the season by hosting defending champion Las Vegas May 10, their fans are going to say, “Oh yeah!” followed by a resounding chorus of, “Oh no!”

Oh yeah, they’re bringing back longtime Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike, a bruising inside force for 14 seasons. She played well for Seattle last year, but, oh no, she’ll be 36 during the season, and one wonders when the physicality will take its toll.

Oh yeah, they’re bringing back Erica Wheeler, who played strong minutes here several years ago. But, oh no, she played for three teams in the last four years and will be 35 during the season.

Oh yeah, they’re bringing in Atkins, who once won a WNBA championship with the Washington Mystics. But, oh no, that was seven years ago, and she’s bounced around with six international teams and two WNBA teams since.

Those three veterans will be joining a team with two returning starters — Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby — but little else.

The league’s celebrated new CBA made all these players rich, but did little for the Sparks, who were unable to make a dent in the league-wide free agent market and were out of decent draft picks and so must survive for one more season before getting a shot at JuJu Watkins.

So they should tank? No! Not yet! I’ve got season tickets! But you’ve got to wonder. And if this aging band gets off to a slow start, you’ve got to wonder if they’re wondering.

“I’m super excited about the roster we have,” said coach Lynne Roberts on a Zoom call Monday night. “We brought in some tremendous leadership.”

But they also lost some tremendous youth by giving up on Jackson, who averaged nearly 15 points last season and provided much-needed energy to another deadly dull squad. While the Sparks made nice with her publicly, one can read between the lines on the following Zoom quote from general manager Raegan Pebley.

”Loved having her here … she’ll be successful wherever she goes,” said Pebley of Jackson. “But we’re focused on winning a championship and finding that fit and balance and getting all those pieces locked in with each other.”

Here’s guessing Jackson, an independent spirit, was never quite locked in. And now she’s locked out of a new culture that will be solid and steady… but will they be any good?

“You have to have that balance of youth and experience and I think our roster has nailed that,” said Pebley.

Who knows? Will Brink stop trying to be an influencer long enough to be an inside presence? Will Rae Burrell take another step in her fifth season? Can the new veterans stay healthy enough to inspire the kids, who could include draft picks Ta’Niya Latson, Chance Gray and Amelia Hassett? Can Roberts, a relative WNBA newcomer who lost more than half of her games in her debut last season, actually coach?

They’ve already had one win with the ongoing construction of an $150-million El Segundo practice facility, which should open next year and serve to attract the type of stars that a Los Angeles team deserves.

They have another steady win with a Crypto.com Arena fan-friendly game experience that ranks among the best in this city’s sports landscape.

Now they just need wins on the scoreboard, lots of them, enough to restore faith in what was once one of this city’s shining basketball operations.

The odds aren’t good — going old usually means going home early — but what else can they do? No Bruins are walking through that door. For at least one more year, the Sparks have to marinate in their past mistakes and hope that their veterans can somehow lay a foundation for their future..

“This isn’t a slow roll,” said Roberts. “We want to do it.”

The rest of the league, which has greatly benefited from five years of Sparks’ bad basketball decisions, will be waiting.

Their passionate fans, who have loyally kept showing up for the last five years to watch the lousy basketball those decisions have wrought, will be wanting.

And JuJu will be watching.

Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison quickly proved to be a record-breaker just days after its debut.

The Madison has made itself at home on Paramount+ with the streamer now announcing its fate.

Famed for hits such as Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown and Landman, creator Taylor Sheridan dropped his latest Western drama The Madison last month on Saturday, March 14.

Starring Hollywood legends Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, The Madison sees the Clyburn family experience a devastating tragedy which leads them to relocate to Montana in an attempt to heal from the events.

Even though it’s just been a matter of weeks since its premiere, Paramount+ has confirmed that The Madison has now been renewed for a third season, much to fans’ delight.

But given the drama’s quick rise to popularity, news of an early series renewal doesn’t come as too much of a surprise.

The Madison received a staggering eight million global views for its premiere episode in its first 10 days on Paramount+.

It’s officially been named as “Sheridan’s most-watched debut ever” with almost one billion minutes viewed during its first full week after release.

There was no doubt that it was going to return for a second series with filming for Seasons 1 and 2 completed back-to-back However, a Season 2 start date hasn’t yet been announced and until this is known, a potential release date pattern cannot be established for the upcoming third series.

When The Madison makes a comeback for Season 2, Matthew Fox won’t be returning as Preston Clyburn’s (played by Kurt Russell) brother Paul. They both died in the plane crash and while they have both featured in the flashbacks, only Russell will be returning for the second outing.

But going forward, this won’t be the case for series three with Russell already confirming his future absence from the show.

He told TV Insider: “This is a contained experience for me in the show, and I’m very happy about that. It’s been an incredible experience.”

The Madison is available to watch on Paramount+.