Californians renewing their public health plans or who plan to sign up for the first time will be in for sticker shock when open enrollment begins on Saturday. Monthly premiums for federally subsidized plans available on the Covered California exchange — often referred to as Obamacare — will soar by 97% on average for 2026.
The skyrocketing premiums come as a result of a conflict at the center of the current federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1: a budgetary impasse between the Republican majority and Democrats over whether to preserve enhanced, Biden-era tax credits that expanded healthcare eligibility to millions more Americans and kept monthly insurance costs affordable for existing policyholders. About 1.7 million of the 1.9 million Californians currently on a Covered California plan benefit from the tax credits.
Open enrollment for the coming year runs from Nov. 1 until Jan. 31. It’s traditionally the period when members compare options and make changes to existing plans and when new members opt in.
Only this time, the government shutdown has stirred uncertainty about the fate of the subsidies, first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and which have been keeping policy costs low, but will expire at the end of the year if lawmakers in Washington don’t act to extend them.
Californians window shopping on the exchange’s consumer homepage will have to make some tough decisions, said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman. The loss of the tax credits to subsidize premiums only adds to what can already be a complicated, time-consuming and frustrating process.
Even if the subsidies remained intact, premiums for plans offered by Covered California were set to rise by roughly 10% for 2026, due to spikes in drug prices and other medical services, Altman said.
Without the subsidies, Covered California said its members who receive financial assistance will see their monthly premiums jump by an additional $125 a month, on average, for 2026.
The organization projects that the cost increases will lead many Californians to simply go without coverage.
“Californians are going to be facing a double whammy: premiums going up and tax credits going away,” Altman said. “We estimate that as many as 400,000 of our current enrollees will disenroll and effectively be priced out of the health insurance that they have today. That is a devastating outcome.”
Indeed, the premium spike threatens to lock out the very Americans that the 2010 Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature domestic policy win — was intended to help, said Altman. That includes people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but who either make too little to afford a private plan or don’t work for an employer that pays a portion of the premiums.
That’s a broad swath of Californians — including many bartenders and hairdressers, small business owners and their employees, farmers and farm workers, freelancers, ride-share drivers, and those working multiple part-time gigs to make ends meet. The policy change will also affect Californians who use the healthcare system more frequently because they have ongoing conditions that are costly to treat.
By raising the tax-credit eligibility threshold to include Americans earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level, the Biden-era subsidies at the heart of the budget stalemate have brought an estimated 160,000 additional middle-income Californians into the system, Covered California said. The enhanced subsidies save members about $2.5 billion a year overall in out-of-pocket premium expenses, according to the exchange.
California lawmakers have tried to provide some relief from rising Covered California premiums by recently allocating an additional $190 million in state-level tax credits in next year’s budget for individuals who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level. That would keep monthly premiums consistent with 2025 levels for a person making up to $23,475 a year, or a family of four bringing in $48,225 a year, and provide partial relief for individuals and households making slightly more.
Altman said the state tax credits will help. But it may not be enough. Forecasts from the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group and think tank, also show a significant drop-off of roughly 400,000 enrolled members in Covered California.
The national outlook is even worse. The Congressional Budget Office warned Congress nearly a year ago that if the enhanced premium subsidies were allowed to expire, the ranks of the uninsured would swell by 2.2 million nationwide in 2026 alone — and by an average of 3.8 million Americans each year from 2026 to 2034.
Organizations that provide affordable Obamacare plans are preparing for Californians to get squeezed out of the system if the expanded subsidies disappear.
L.A. Care, the county’s largest publicly operated health plan, offers Covered California policies for 230,000 mostly lower-income people. About 90% of the Covered California consumers they work with receive subsidies to offset their out-of-pocket healthcare insurance costs, said Martha Santana-Chin, L.A. Care’s CEO. “Unless something drastic happens … a lot of those people are going to fall off of their coverage,” Santana-Chin said.
That outcome would ripple far and wide, she said — thanks to two factors: human behavior and basic economics.
If more and more people choose to go uninsured, more and more people will resort to visiting hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency care, disrupting and overwhelming the healthcare system.
Healthcare providers will be forced to address the cost of treating rising numbers of uninsured people by raising the prices they bill to insurers for patients who have private plans. That means Californians who are not Covered California members and don’t receive other federal healthcare aid will eventually see their premiums spike too, as private insurers pass any added costs down to their customers.
But right now, with the subsidies set to end soon and recent changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements threatening to knock some of the lowest-income Californians off of that system, both Altman and Santana-Chin said their main concern is for those who don’t have alternatives.
In particular, they are concerned about people of color, who are disproportionately represented among low-income Californians, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Any hike in out-of-pocket insurance costs next year could blow the budget of a family barely getting by.
“$100, $150, $200 — that’s meaningful to people living on fixed incomes,” Altman said. “Where is that money coming from when you’re living paycheck to paycheck?”
Find out what this Netflix-Spotify move could mean for sports, entertainment, and your portfolio.
The future of streaming media just got a whole lot more interesting. I certainly didn’t see it coming, and I bet no one else did either. Last week, Netflix (NFLX 0.40%) and Spotify(SPOT 2.01%) teamed up to put some of Spotify’s top podcasts on the video-streaming veteran’s global platform.
Netflix and Spotify’s groundbreaking podcast partnership isn’t just another content deal. It’s a glimpse into a radically different entertainment ecosystem. Former rivals become allies, audio-only podcasts turn into TV shows, and the very definition of “content” becomes beautifully, chaotically fluid.
This is the streaming evolution nobody saw coming: Specialist platforms finally realizing that collaboration might just be the ultimate competitive advantage.
What’s happening?
Early next year, you’ll see a handful of Spotify podcast shows on the American Netflix service. The partnership starts with a couple of true crime talk shows, a larger set of popular culture and lifestyle shows, and a really heaping helping of sports-oriented podcasts. Other markets will gain access to these series later, though the exact timing and geographical reach remains unknown.
Spotify sees the team-up as an effective way to grow people’s access to these podcasts, including ultra-premium stuff like The Bill Simmons Podcast. As a reminder, Spotify paid $185 million for Simmons’ Ringer studio in 2020 and presumably even more for a renewal of that deal in March 2025.
Netflix’s management highlighted the growing popularity of video-style podcasts, giving subscribers one more content type to enjoy.
Image source: Getty Images.
Netflix gets sports content on the cheap
I think it’s a stroke of genius from both sides of the dealmaking table, though Netflix probably gets the sweeter end of this deal.
Netflix suddenly expands its burgeoning sports coverage very quickly by getting podcast rights, and without paying billions of dollars for direct event coverage deals. Leagues like the NFL, the NBA, and MLB want a lot of money for their game-tracking deals. For example:
Comcast‘s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBCUniversal division is reportedly close to a three-year deal with Major League Baseball, priced at $200 million per year.
The National Basketball Association signed an 11-year coverage deal in the summer of 2024, splitting the rights among NBCUniversal, Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN) Prime Video, and Walt Disney‘s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN for about $7 billion per year.
As for the National Football League, Netflix has nibbled on a few specific games, but the big contracts are found elsewhere. Comcast, Disney, Paramount Skydance(NASDAQ: PSKY), Amazon, and Fox(NASDAQ: FOX) are all paying billion-dollar sums per year for their specific slices of NFL media rights. Even YouTube entered this arena, as the Alphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary inked a seven-year deal for Sunday Ticket coverage at $2 billion per year.
The financial details of the Netflix/Spotify partnership are not known, which suggests the payments may be small enough to not require public disclosure. After all, both partners are expecting positive outcomes from this contract. But even if Netflix is spending a few hundred million dollars, it still found a cheaper way to tap into the lucrative sports market.
Audio meets video (and beyond)
I think of podcasts as an audio-centered media format, but this deal was an eye-opener. Adding a few high-end cameras and decent lighting to the radio-like studio instantly creates a video stream instead, and a lot of people prefer that format. From the podcast creators’ point of view, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to upgrade the studio environment and pay more attention to the visuals.
So the edges and borders between different content types are getting smudged. Spotify is doing video content and Netflix is adding audio-centric shows. And it won’t stop there. I mean, Netflix has dozens of video games already, and there’s a hidden “snake” game in the mobile Spotify app. Digital entertainment is digital entertainment, and specialists in one particular media type can easily expand to other fields.
That’s particularly true for the well-heeled global giant that started the video-streaming industry in 2011. Netflix has the resources to keep its business growth going by exploring new media types. Recent examples even include brick-and-mortar stores and the upcoming Netflix House experience centers in Philadelphia and Dallas.
Anders Bylund has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify Technology, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
According to Experian data, the average American driver pays roughly $2,328 per year for full coverage auto insurance in 2025. If you carry only the minimum coverage required by your state, that drops to about $1,546 annually.
Of course, those are just averages. Your actual rate might be far higher or much lower. It all depends on personal factors, like where you live, what kind of car you drive, and your claims history.
So how do you stack up?
My personal rate
For example, my current full-coverage policy runs about $1,047 a year here in California. I’ve got a clean driving record, great credit, a family minivan (yep, full dad mode), and I only rack up around 6,000 miles a year.
I pay less than half the national average — but it didn’t happen by luck. I make it a habit to compare quotes every so often and keep my profile in top shape.
Insurance companies use dozens of factors to gauge your risk and determine your policy rate.
Some of these factors you can control, others not so much.
Here are the biggest ones that matter:
Location: Rates differ wildly by state and even ZIP code. Drivers in Maryland, for instance, might pay more than double what drivers in Vermont do.
Driving record: Tickets, accidents, and DUIs can raise your rate for years.
Vehicle type: Minivans and sedans generally cost less to insure than luxury or sports cars.
Credit score: In most states, a higher credit score can help lower your premium.
Annual mileage: Driving less typically means less risk — and lower rates.
Coverage level: Full coverage offers stronger protection but costs more.
Deductible: Choosing a higher deductible can reduce your monthly premium.
Knowing which levers you can pull gives you real control over your rate.
Why it pays to compare
Every year, your car gets a little older, your driving record gets a little longer, and your situation changes. Maybe you’re driving less, moved somewhere safer, or finished paying off your car.
Meanwhile, most insurance companies raise your rate each renewal — even if nothing about your risk has changed. It’s just how the system works.
That’s why checking rates once a year can pay off big.
In fact, Consumer Reports found that nearly 1 in 3 drivers switched auto insurers in the past five years. And those who did saved an average of $461 a year.
Since it only takes a few minutes to shop around, it’s always worth checking if better rates are available out there.
Personally, I like to check insurance prices once a year. Most of the time, I find I’m already getting the best deal. But every so often, I stumble across a lower rate for the exact same coverage!
Amazon’s line of Fire tablets are great, all-purpose devices for browsing and streaming – especially for shoppers who want to stay away from the big bucks of more powerful devices like Apple iPads and Samsung Tabs.
It also doubles up as an e-reader, though dedicated book-lovers should gravitate towards the retailer’s Kindle range.
The Fire HD 10 is perfect for watching, reading, and gaming, and it’s 25% faster than the old model.
Basically, its engine got a major upgrade – it now has a powerful processor and 3 GB of RAM, which helps everything run super-smoothly.
You get awesome HD entertainment on a big 10.1-inch screen that makes all your games and shows look great with brilliant colour.
(By the way, if you want something smaller and cheaper, the 8-inch Fire HD 8 is also on sale for just £49.99.)
The tablet has serious stamina: you can binge-watch for up to 13 hours without needing to plug into its charger.
The tablet is durable, too, with a strengthened screen that Amazon claims to to be 2.7 times tougher than the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2022) in a drop test.
Need a good device to chat with friends and family? The 5MP front camera is way better for video calls than squinting at your small phone screen.
For storage, it comes with 32GB or 64GB of space, which is expandable by up to 1TB with a separate microSD card.
And this being an Amazon gadget, you can operate it via Alexa – it can help you out with streaming videos, relaying the latest news and controlling other smart devices in the same connected ecosystem.
Amazon Prime Day: early Fire Tablet Deals
Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet (newest gen), £69.99 (was £149.99) – buy here
Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet (newest gen), £129.99 (was £249.99) – buy here
Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet (newest gen), £49.99 (was £99.99) – buy here
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet (newest gen), £79.99 (was £159.99) – buy here
Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids tablet (newest gen), £69.99 (was £149.99) – buy here
“The Amazon Fire HD 10 is a fantastic budget-friendly tablet,” writes one shopper.
“The 10.1-inch screen is bright and clear, perfect for watching videos, reading, or browsing.
“The battery easily lasts up to 13 hours – ideal for all-day use.”
Another delighted customer added: “Quality item… I can’t get over the size of the screen, it’s 10 inches but looks bigger.
“The tablet is lightning-fast, and it does everything that I expect from an Amazon Fire… Well worth the investment.”
A lot more deals are on the way when the Prime Big Deal Days sale starts next week, and it’s worth keeping in mind that these early device deals might become exclusively for Prime members.
So, while this current deal is marked on the Amazon site as ending on October 14th, it’s not impossible it will only be available for Amazon Prime members soon.
Anyone without a Prime account who’s interested shouldn’t hold off for too long on buying.
Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet, £69.99 (was £149.99)
Make sure you bookmark our best Amazon Prime Day deals page, where we’ll be listing all the top bargains when the two-day sale kicks off.
For our top pick of smart gadgets available to snap up right now, head to our Amazon device deals page.
Amazon Prime Day: the 10 best early deals
The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sale doesn’t kick off until next week (7th-8th October), but there’s already some early deals to snap up.
*If you click on a link in this boxout we will earn affiliate revenue
Blink Smart Camera & Doorbell bundle, £31.49 (was £119.98) – buy here
Poounur Fitness Smartwatch, £23.99 (was £129.99) – buy here
Hangsun 12L/Day Dehumidifier, £88.38 (was £118.98) – buy here
LKOUY Portable Charger, £12.99 (was £59.99) – buy here
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Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Lockheed Martin’s famed Skunk Works advanced projects division has lifted the lid on a new, higher-end stealthy Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) type drone named Vectis. The uncrewed aircraft is designed to be highly adaptable to an operator’s requirements, whether they be in the United States or elsewhere around the world, and is expected to fly within two years. Vectis notably follows Skunk Works’ failed ‘gold-plated’ high-stealth bid for the first phase of the U.S. Air Force’s CCA program, but still puts above-average emphasis on survivability compared to the other designs that service is now testing.
Skunk Works has yet to share exactly when development of Vectis began, but has described it as a product of a broader development philosophy it has adopted called the Agile Drone Framework. The framework prioritizes modularity and open mission systems, as well as interoperability in areas like command and control architectures, over any specific hardware. The name Vectis means lever or pole in Latin, and is meant to reflect the ‘leverage’ the platform offers.
“Meet Vectis, a Group 5, survivable, lethal, and reusable, Collaborative Combat Aircraft that embodies not only our pedigree in [crewed] fighter aircraft, autonomy, and uncrewed systems, but [that] is also enabled by that Agile Drone Framework,” O.J. Sanchez, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager of Skunk Works, told TWZ and other outlets this past week. “Vectis will provide U.S. and allied warfighters with range, endurance, and multi-mission flexibility, including air-to-air, air-to-surface, and ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance].”
Lockheed Martin capture
In the U.S. military’s parlance, Group 5 uncrewed aerial systems are the largest and most capable, covering anything pilotless with a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 pounds or more, and that can fly at altitudes of 18,000 feet or higher. When asked, Sanchez declined to offer any hard dimensions or other specifications for Vectis. He did say it was smaller than a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter, but larger than one of the company’s Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT, pronounced ‘comet’) missile-like drones, which is a very broad size range.
An example of a current-generation Block 70 F-16. This particular example, built for Bahrain, is seen during a test flight in 2024. USAFPictures from testing of a variant of the CMMT designed to be dropped via a palletized munition system, giving a sense of the size of the drones in that family. Lockheed Martin
Renderings of Vectis from Skunk Works show a tailless drone with a lambda wing planform and a top-mounted air intake. There is a pronounced chine line around the forward end of the fuselage and a shovel-like shape to the nose, as well as various conformal antennas and/or sensor apertures, all of which are indicative of low-observable (stealthy) design considerations. A short promotional video, seen below, also includes a cutaway view showing an S-shaped duct behind the air intake and exhaust shrouding, features that offer further radar cross-section and infrared signature reducing benefits.
Skunk Works’ Sanchez also said Vectis is runway dependent in its “current instantiation,” something we will come back to later on. Its landing gear configuration has not yet been shown.
Vectis’ core planform is interestingly reminiscent, in some broad strokes, of a rendering of a stealthy aerial refueling tanker concept Skunk Works first showed publicly last year. That aircraft had a much larger design, in line with its intended mission, with large clipped wings that had some lambda-wing attributes, as well as small outwardly-canted twin vertical tails. The look of the new survivable CCA also hearkens back to older concepts for advanced crewed combat jets from Lockheed and other companies, including from studies that fed into the Air Force’s Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program that led to the F-22.
A rendering of a stealthy aerial refueling tanker concept that Skunk Works first showed publicly last year. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
New Chinese air combat drones, including one with a lambda-type wing, on parade in Beijing on September 3, 2025. Chinese internetA rendering of Airbus’ Wingman drone concept. Airbus
Skunk Works has also declined to share details about Vectis’ intended performance or what engine it might use.
“I would say that in the CCA space, our operational analysis doesn’t point towards supersonic [speed as a central requirement],” Skunk Works head Sanchez shared. “We’ll continue to refine that, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say supersonic is what we see as needed in this space.”
Vectis also has “endurance ranges compatible with Indo-Pacific, European, and CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] theaters,” according to a Lockheed Martin press release, which does not elaborate further on this aspect of the drone’s capabilities.
What munitions and other payloads Vectis might be able to carry is unclear. Skunk Works’ Sanchez mentioned “reusable or flexible payloads,” but did not elaborate. The promotional video included earlier in this story shows a vignette in which the drones, operating together with an F-22, use unspecified sensors to spot and track aerial threats before being ordered to fire air-to-air missiles, presumably from internal bays, at those targets. Compact radars and/or infrared search and track (IRST) systems would be logical sensor options for supporting the air-to-air role.
Screen captures from the promotional video showing portions of the air-to-air vignette depicted therein. Lockheed Martin captures
As noted, Vectis is also intended to be configurable for air-to-ground and general ISR missions. Another promotional video Lockheed Martin has now released, which covers Skunk Works’ Agile Drone Framework more generally, seen below, shows Vectis drones firing air-to-surface missiles at an enemy air defense site.
Electronic warfare suites and signal relay packages might also be among the payload options for Vectis drones.
The design is “rapidly upgradable and customizable to align to shifting threat environment priorities,” according to Sanchez. “Vectis’ signature and comms are compatible with fifth and next-gen aircraft. We’ve conducted classified crewed-uncrewed teaming operations analysis, pairing F-22s and F-35s with Vectis, and the results are impressive.”
“One of the most impressive attributes of the Skunk Works is its long commitment to open mission systems, to architectures that enable a large tent of folks to be able to plug in. That’s why we believe that interoperability is foundational to solving warfighter problems in the decades in front of us,” Sanchez said in response to a question about Vectis’ own level of autonomy. “So when we think about the autonomy and the underpinning software, everything about this will be aligned with the [U.S.] government reference architecture. Our experience delivering that level of capability through the MDCX system to the U.S. Navy, for example, is underpinned with the same approach.”
Our Skunk Works® MDCX™ autonomy platform is mission-proven, revolutionizing the future of autonomous systems and advancing America’s drone capabilities.
“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with others,” he added. “While I won’t disclose exactly how we’ll partner or who we will align with on the software space, the fundamental architecture is open mission systems aligned with government reference architecture. And as that tent expands, we’ll be willing and able to adapt with others and potentially bring kit in alignment with other efforts that are being worked [on] by other companies.”
Sanchez highlighted a recently announced partnership between Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems’ FalconWorks in the United Kingdom as an example of how the company is already collaborating with others, but said that initiative is not tied to Vectis. He also touted demonstrations in the past two years of new capabilities to securely share classified data with foreign F-35 operators as additional examples, more generally, of the current internal focus on interoperability.
“We can connect the Vectis system with any other platform, or anybody or anything in the battlespace,” he said.
A rendering of Vectis flying together with other drones, as well as a crewed F-35. Lockheed Martin
In his comments this past week, Sanchez did not speak directly to the matter of physical control interfaces, which has been a matter of contention in recent years, especially when it comes to ordering uncrewed aircraft around from the cockpit of a fighter. Skunk Works has said in the past that its immediate focus is on tablet-like and other touch-screen-enabled devices, but other options may emerge in the future. Questions have been raised about whether tablets, in particular, will create problematic additional burdens for pilots when directing drones during missions.
The Skunk Works’ Agile Drone Framework video shows pilots in F-22s and F-35s using wide-area touch-screen displays to control Vectis drones, as well as CMMTs and a higher-end flying-wing design. The latter drone has a design that looks evolved from Lockheed Martin’s secretive RQ-170 Sentinel, as well as the Sea Ghost concept the company put forward years ago for the U.S. Navy’s abortive Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program. Lockheed Martin has also included an advanced flying wing design, together with various others, in past promotional materials highlighting work on crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities.
A screen capture from the Agile Drone Framework video depicting a touch-screen control interface on the wide-area display in the cockpit of an F-35. A stealthy flying wing uncrewed aircraft and CMMTs are shown along with Vectis drones (labeled SCCAs) as being ready to receive orders. Lockheed Martin captureArtwork Skunk Works released back in 2022 showing a flying wing uncrewed aircraft and other tiers of drones together with an F-35. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
Overall, “as the future of air power takes shape, Skunk Works is charting a critical path with this Vectis program to unlock new integrated capabilities at an ultra-competitive speed and price point. Vectis provides best-in-class survivability at the CCA price point,” he said during the press call this past week.
Sanchez did not provide any hard cost metrics for Vectis. The Air Force has said in the past that it is aiming for a unit cost roughly in the $20 million range for drones being developed under the first phase, or Increment 1, of its CCA program. The service has also said that it could pursue lower-cost (and less exquisite) designs for the planned follow-on Increment 2.
“Our Increment 1 offering had higher levels of stealth than were necessary in the requirements because of the operational analysis conviction of building something that actually had value to the Air Force over the long haul,” John Clark, then head of Skunk Works, had told TWZ and others at the Air & Space Forces Association’s main annual conference last year. “I think, hindsight 20/20, we could certainly armchair quarterback and say, well the Air Force isn’t valuing survivability right now, so we gold-plated something they didn’t need gold-plated.”
Clark added at the time that Skunk Works had shifted focus, at least to a degree, to exploring optionally expendable designs to meet the Air Force’s Increment 2 CCA requirements, which were still being finalized at that point and have yet to be detailed publicly.
“I think that there will … be a reckoning to come at some point when [the Air Force is] looking at [a scenario where] … I’m going to spend $15 million or $20 million an airplane, and the OA [operational analysis] is telling me that 80 percent or more of them don’t make it home,” Clark also said last year. “How many airplanes am I willing to spend that sort of money on before that’s a losing proposition financially as a nation.”
In April 2024, General Atomics and Anduril received contracts from the Air Force to continue developing their CCA designs, now designated the YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A, respectively. Both of those designs put less emphasis on survivability versus cost compared to how Vectis is currently being presented. In addition to Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman had also been in the running for Increment 1.
A composite rendering of the YFQ-44A, at top, and the YFQ-42A, at bottom, now in development under Increment 1 of the US Air Force’s CCA program. USAF composite artwork courtesy General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and Anduril Industries
“When you talked to him at the time, there was certain analysis going for a specific competition that was [what] he was talking to,” Skunk Works’ Sanchez said this past week when asked about how Vectis fits in with Clark’s past comments. “There are design trades that we’ve made in this and mission applications where we clearly see the opportunity for a reusable, highly survivable, and flexible platform like Vectis to create mission effects that are far beyond what you would have without them.”
“So how it applies in each individual mission set starts to get classified … but we absolutely see at Skunk Works that the integration of teams, manned and unmanned teaming, is going to provide battlespace effects that solve hard problems,” he continued. “So that is becoming true, and so Vectis creates a unique space where a survivable platform can deliver effects, in both air-to-ground and air-to-air, by the way – at the time, I believe John was talking to a specific mission set – as well as provide critical information through like an ISR and targeting role, and again, opened up to more than one mission set as we look at both international force design and domestic force design.”
Sanchez also stressed that Vectis is not being developed at present with any particular potential opportunity with the U.S. military or foreign armed forces in mind.
“I would see the Vectis flexibility that’s being built in, along with its survivability, being very attractive to multiple mission problem sets, and then the agility and the way we’re doing the flexible payload design can be tailored towards specific countries or programs as they need,” he said. “So that tailoring will be work that we’ll continue to do with each, but not in direct response to any one [opportunity] – [we’re] more aligned with listening to all those customers, and our knowledge of the battle space has informed our design.”
“We have a lot of overlap with the U.S. Air Force and are supporting their approach to find the right requirements for their specific mission sets. So should the U.S. Air Force find that they need a highly survivable platform with the flexibility that Vectis enables for Increment 2, I think it’ll be a great candidate,” he continued. “We respect their process as they go through and see what’s needed. As you know, every force has specific requirements based on the rest of their force. So this fits squarely in the category of a survivable, reusable, and flexible CCA, and I absolutely think if that’s what the Air Force thinks they need, this would be a great candidate to meet those requirements.”
Vectis drones depicted firing air-to-surface missiles at an enemy air defense site. Lockheed Martin capture
“The flexibility we show in that Agile Drone Framework through, say, MDCX, also says that you can command these in multiple locations. You can use smart autonomy integrated with a fifth-gen [fighter] cockpit, like the F-35, or perhaps you could do it off the deck of a ship if you needed to, like we’re doing with MDCX, or any manner in between,” he added. “And so we’re building in that kind of autonomy, that flexible autonomy, if you will, so that we can work with more countries, more partners to really listen to what their needs are. So that flexibility has been demonstrated through multiple demonstrations. Now we’ll go out and build it, and we’ll work to prove it in the open air.”
In discussing how Vectis could be adaptable to multiple U.S. and foreign operator requirements, Sanchez also spoke in more detail about the drone’s current dependence on traditional runways, as well as its ability to operate from more austere locations. In the United States, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps, in particular, are currently basing tactical crewed and uncrewed aviation force design decisions around the expectation of operating from distributed forward locations, many of which could be remote and with limited supporting infrastructure. This is all intended to create targeting challenges for enemies and reduce vulnerability, as well as bring aircraft close enough to their targets to be effective at higher sortie rates, especially in the context of a potential high-end fight in the Pacific against China. Other countries are coming to similar viewpoints, especially based on observations from the ongoing war in Ukraine. With all this in mind, reducing or eliminating runway dependence, as well as ease of operating and maintainability, have emerged as key areas of interest when it comes to CCA-type drones.
“Our analysis aligns with the U.S. Air Force, that runway accessibility is incredibly important in every theater, particularly in INDOPACOM [the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility]. So we’re very intentional about the flexibility that this system would enable in the theaters of interest,” Sanchez explained. “And so the amount of runways that will be available, the amount of flexibility to implement, whether it be an Agile Combat Employment approach, or a hub and spoke for other countries, depending on how it is, Vectis will be very capable in those spaces.”
Agile Combat Employment (ACE) is the U.S. Air Force’s current umbrella term for its concepts for distributed and disaggregated operations, as you can read more about here. The service has said in the past that the Increment 1 CCAs are the first aircraft being designed from the ground up with ACE in mind.
“We certainly understand the flexibility the U.S. Air Force might need,” Sanchez added. “And if there are other solutions that are runway independent, we would be working with them on those, but this one would be a runway-dependent solution.”
“The importance of sustainability, of reliability, and the ability to easily maintain a survivable airplane is paramount. So we have absolutely baked that into this approach, and I would tell you that we have, for a while, into our advanced systems,” he continued. “We’re leveraging both on the material side as well as just the simplicity of design, where important systems that you might be able to access are, how you get to them, and durable, reliable materials that enable much simpler maintainability. So we will be targeting a very high reliability rate and have it first and foremost, both the operations as well as our maintainers in mind to provide that operational flexibility.”
The head of Skunk Works was also asked about how Vectis might fit into concepts of operations wherein much of a CCA fleet might be kept in storage rather than being flown on a more day-to-day basis, including in routine training. As TWZhas noted many times in the past, the U.S. military, broadly, still has many questions to answer about how CCA-type drones will be deployed, launched, recovered, supported, and otherwise operated, as well as employed tactically.
“If you ask me, I think the ability … for folks to be able to train and integrate is going to be important in the CCA space. So we will have built into it [Vectis] the ability for it to be a daily flyer, reliably work alongside its crewed teammates to be able to integrate into operations for training, as well as for deployment,” Sanchez said. “At the same time, if the requirement is ease of storage and ease of assembly, it’s absolutely built into the design. So we would see that as an operations-defined design trade, as opposed necessarily to one that would be limited by what we’re presenting here. So that’s where we’ll work closely to listen with any individual customers that go from there on their operations choice, but the flexibility is built in.”
Lockheed Martin has itself talked for years now about visions for future advanced drones and crewed-uncrewed teaming that include many different tiers of capability. Vectis is certainly not the only drone design the company is working on. Sanchez highlighted this past week that roughly 97 percent of what Skunk Works does is classified. On the other hand, the public disclosure of Vectis makes clear that the company sees this as an important play in the expanding CCA market space.
Another capture from the Agile Drone Framework video showing renderings of various different drone designs, including Vectis (at lower left), the CMMT (at upper right), and the stealthy flying-wing (at lower right). Lockheed Martin capture
“We’re in progress now on the Vectis prototype. Parts are ordered, the team is in [sic] work, and we intend to fly in the next two years,” Sanchez said. “Our operational analysis shows a wide swath of capability that Vectis provides in multiple mission areas that are going to be relevant and solve hard problems that we couldn’t solve without this kind of collaboration. So we’ll continue to evolve that.”
“As things change, we’ll make changes. We’re not afraid to do that, and this shows that evolution of thought and adaptation to the mission needs,” he added.
It will be interesting to see how the development of Vectis now proceeds, especially within the larger and still evolving CCA space globally.
WASHINGTON — There’s bipartisan support in Congress for extending tax credits that have made health insurance more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. But the credits are in danger of expiring as Republicans and Democrats clash over how to do it.
Democrats are threatening to vote to shut down the government at the end of the month if Republicans don’t extend the subsidies, which were put in place in 2021 and extended a year later when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House. The tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of the year, go to low- and middle-income people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Some Republicans who have opposed the healthcare law, known as Obamacare, since it was enacted in 2010 are suddenly open to keeping the tax credits. They acknowledge that many of their constituents could see steep hikes in coverage if the subsidies are allowed to lapse.
But the two sides are far apart. Republicans are divided, with many firmly opposed. GOP leaders in the House and Senate have been open but noncommittal on the extension, and many of those Republicans who say they support it argue that the tax credits should be reworked — potentially opening up a new healthcare debate that could take months to resolve.
Democrats would be unlikely to agree to any changes in the subsidies, increasing the chances of a standoff and mounting uncertainty for health insurers, hospitals, state governments and the people who receive them.
“In just a few weeks, unless Congress acts, millions of Americans will start getting letters in the mail telling them their health insurance costs are about to go through the roof — hundreds of dollars, thousands in some cases,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said last week.
Surging enrollment
Enrollment in Affordable Care Act plans has surged to a record 24 million people in large part due to the billions of dollars in subsidies that have lowered costs for many people. The expanded subsidies allowed some lower-income enrollees to access health plans with no premiums and capped the amount higher earners pay for premiums to 8.5% of their income. It also expanded eligibility for middle-class earners.
With expiration just a few months away, some of those people have already gotten notices that their monthly premiums are poised to surge next year. Insurers have sent out notices in nearly every state, with some proposing premium increases of as much as 50%.
Lawmakers are facing pressure to act from some of the country’s biggest industries, including the insurers that cover people on the marketplace and hospital executives who say they’re already going to be squeezed by the Medicaid cuts in President Trump’s massive spending and tax bill enacted this summer.
“There’s broad awareness that there’s a real spike in premiums coming right around the corner, both Republicans and Democrats,” said David Merritt, senior vice president of external affairs at Blue Cross Blue Shield. “It’s certainly lining up for Congress to have an opportunity to head off this problem.”
Companies have said they’ll need to raise premiums without the subsidies because healthier and younger people are more likely to opt out of coverage when it gets more expensive, leaving insurers to cover older and sicker patients.
In Iowa last month, the state’s insurance commissioner weighed increases ranging from 3% to 37% against a stream of angry public comments. One woman who runs a garden center in Cedar Falls said she was considering dropping her health insurance.
“I am already living as frugally as I possibly can while working as hard as I possibly can, putting in as many hours as I am allowed to at my job, never missing a day of work,” the woman, LuAnn, wrote in a public comment published to the commissioner’s website.
Feud over Obamacare
On Capitol Hill, the issue has become entangled in a larger fight over government funding as the threat of a shutdown looms at the end of the month. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have said Democrats will not vote to keep the government open unless an extension of the healthcare tax credits is part of the deal. Republicans have said that they want more time to look at the subsidies and potentially scale them back. They will also have to wait for a signal from Trump, who has not yet weighed in.
Jeffries said last week that “we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to rip away healthcare from the American people.”
Republican leaders are eyeing a potential stopgap bill that would keep the government open for a few weeks, but they are unlikely, for now, to include the extension. GOP leaders in both the House and Senate are also under pressure from some members who worry that premium increases will be a political liability before next year’s midterm elections.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said he wants to see a proposal from Democrats on how to extend the subsidies since they are pushing the issue. “Maybe there is something we can do in the middle as a solution,” he said in a Punchbowl News interview Thursday, adding that his members are divided on the issue.
Still, Thune has ruled out quick action, even as he noted that premium notices will go out soon. He has said a short-term spending measure to fund the government for several weeks while Congress finishes its budget bills is not likely to include an extension of the benefits,
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said that many of his members would oppose an extension, but he has not ruled it out.
In recent days, 15 House Republicans in competitive political districts introduced legislation to extend the tax credits for one year. “While the enhanced premium tax credit created during the pandemic was meant to be temporary, we should not let it expire without a plan in place,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), who led the effort with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.).
Middle-class and small-business owners, including many in Kiggans’ coastal Virginia district, will be especially vulnerable to big health insurance hikes if the subsidies are not extended.
Several Senate Republicans also said they’d favor an extension. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said that if Congress doesn’t act, some premiums will “skyrocket, and not by a little bit. We’re looking at massive increases. People will not be able to afford it.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he thinks Congress should scale back the subsidies for the highest-income people who receive them. “I think we all know that access to healthcare is important and we take it very seriously,” he said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), whose panel has jurisdiction over the tax credits, said he’s working with his colleagues to find a solution. “There are a lot of ideas being thrown out there,” he said. “I’m trying to find a solution; I’m not telling you what the solution is.”
Others were firmly against it. “It’s costing us billions of dollars,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said.
Open enrollment begins Nov. 1, and people will begin to see “real sticker shock” as Affordable Care Act plan prices are posted next month, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said.
“Timing is important,” she said.
Jalonick and Seitz write for the Associated Press. AP writers Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines contributed to this report.
Consumers contemplating an early retirement or starting a business should calculate how Trump administration and congressional policy changes could increase their health insurance costs — and plan accordingly.
People thinking about starting a business or retiring early — before they’re old enough for Medicare — may want to wait until November, when they can see just how much their Affordable Care Act health insurance will cost next year. Sharp increases are expected.
Premiums for ACA health plans, also known as Obamacare, on which many early retirees and small-business owners rely for coverage, are going up, partly because of policy changes advanced by the Trump administration and Congress. At the same time, more generous tax subsidies that have helped most policyholders pay for coverage are set to expire at the end of December.
After that, subsidies would return to what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Also being reinstated would be an income cap barring people who earn more than four times the federal poverty level from getting any tax credits to help them purchase coverage. Although Congress potentially could act to extend the credits, people weighing optional life changes should factor in the potential cost if lawmakers fail to do so.
“I would hate for people to make a big decision now and then, in a few months, realize, ‘I’m not even going to qualify for a tax credit next year,’” said Lauren Jenkins, an insurance agent whose brokerage helps people sign up for coverage in Oklahoma. “Coupled with the rate increases, that could be significant, especially for someone at or near retirement, when it could easily cost over $1,000 a month.”
Still, how things play out in the real world will vary.
The key factor is income, as the subsidy amount people receive is primarily based on household income and local insurance costs.
People experiencing the biggest dollar increase in out-of-pocket premiums next year will be those who lose subsidies altogether because they earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level. This year, that’s $62,600 for a single person and $84,600 for a couple.
This “subsidy cliff” was removed in the legislation first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to create enhanced subsidies, but it will be back next year if they expire. About 1.6 million people who earn more than 400% of the poverty threshold bought ACA plans this year, many of them getting some tax credits to help with the premiums, according to KFF data. KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
“A lot of small-biz owners fall around that level of income,” said David Chase, vice president of policy and advocacy for the Small Business Majority, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, which is urging Congress to extend the credits.
And a good chunk of ACA enrollment consists of small-business owners or their employees because, unlike larger firms, most small businesses don’t offer group health plans.
In the Washington metropolitan area, “7 out of 10 people who qualify for lower premiums [because of the tax credits] are small-business owners,” said Mila Kofman, executive director of the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority.
Congress must decide by the end of December whether to extend the subsidies a second time. Permanently doing so could cost taxpayers $335 billion over the next decade, but not acting could cause financial pain for policyholders and pose political repercussions for lawmakers.
Because new premiums and smaller subsidies would take effect in January, the potential fallout has some Republican lawmakers worried about the midterm elections, according to news reports.
Republican pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward warned the GOP in a memo that extending the enhanced credits could mean the difference between success and failure in some midterm races, because support for the premium help “comes from more than two-thirds of Trump voters and three-quarters of Swing voters.”
Although supporters credit the enhanced subsidies for a record 24 million sign-ups for this year’s ACA plans, critics have blamed them for instances in which brokers or consumers engaged in improper enrollment.
“The expanded subsidies were a temporary COVID pandemic policy enacted by congressional Democrats on a party-line vote and scheduled to end after 2025,” said Brian Blase, president of the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative think tank. “They have led to tremendous fraud and waste, they reduce employer coverage, and they should be permitted to expire.”
Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, acknowledged that people earning more than 400% of the poverty level would not be happy with losing access to subsidies, but he expects most to stay enrolled because they want to avoid huge medical bills that could threaten their businesses or savings.
“They are middle-class or upper-income people who are self-employed, or early retirees with significant income, which means they have a lot of assets behind that income,” he said. “These are people who view insurance as financial protection.”
He thinks lawmakers would win political support from voters in this category by addressing two of their other major ACA concerns: that annual deductibles are too high and insurers’ networks of doctors and hospitals are too small.
“If you just give these people money by extending subsidies, it’s only addressing one of their problems, and it’s the one they are least upset about,” Haislmaier said. “That is the political dynamics of this.”
Here’s how the expiration of subsidies could play out for some hypothetical consumers.
People in households earning less than four times the poverty rate would still get subsidies — just not as generous as the current ones.
For example, those whose earnings are at the lower end of the income scale — say, just over 150% of the poverty threshold, or about $23,000 — will go from paying a national average of about $2 a month, or $24 toward coverage for the year, to $72 a month, or $864 a year, according to a KFF online calculator.
On the other end of the income spectrum, a 55-year-old Portland, Ore., couple with a household income of $85,000 would take a big hit on the cost of their benchmark plan. They currently pay about $600 a month in premiums — about 8.5% of their household income — with subsidies kicking in about $1,000 to cover the remainder.
Next year, if the tax credits expire, the same couple would not get any federal help because they earn over four times the poverty limit. They would pay the full monthly premium, with no subsidies, which would be about $1,800, based on initial 2026 premium rates filed with state regulators, said Jared Ortaliza, a policy analyst at KFF.
People should begin to see insurance rates late this fall, and certainly by Nov. 1, when the ACA’s open enrollment season begins, said Jenkins, the Oklahoma insurance agent. That gives them time to mull over whether they want to make changes in their plan — or in their lives, such as quitting a job that has health insurance or retiring early. This year, open enrollment extends to Jan. 15. Under new legislation, that open period will shorten by about a month, starting with the 2027 sign-up period.
Those who do enroll for 2026, especially the self-employed and people retiring early, should closely track their incomes during the year, she said.
It would be easy to bust through that income cap, she said.
If they do, they’ll have to pay back any tax credits they initially qualified for. Their income might rise unexpectedly during the year, for example, pushing them over the limit. An income bump could come from drawing down more money from retirement accounts than planned, landing a new customer account, or even from winning big at a casino.
“Maybe they win $5,000 at the casino, but that puts them $500 over the limit for the year,” Jenkins said. “They might have to pay back $12,000 in tax credits for winning a few thousand at the casino.”
Appleby writes for KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF, an independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
FREEVIEW’S successor will appear on even more screens after landing a deal with one of the world’s biggest TV brands.
Freely, made from the same company as Freeview, is encouraging viewers away from the humble TV aerial to using Wi-Fi instead.
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Now Roku TVs will come with Freely on themCredit: Freely
This means you don’t need to worry about pesky signal issues – nor having to place your telly near the aerial port in the wall.
For the moment, the service is hybrid so it can take Freeview channels the traditional way as well as via broadband.
Just recently, more than a dozen channels you can’t get with an aerial were added.
This includes a channel for game show favourite The Chase, all Channel 4’s best property shows on 4Homes, plus 5 Cops for all ofmi 5‘s real crime hits.
Freely – which is run by BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5’s Everyone TV – has been adding a number of device partners since bursting onto the scene over a year ago.
Fire TV was a big newcomer but now Roku is getting on board too.
Freely will be available on the next generation of smart TVs powered by the Roku operating system.
Roku can be found on a number of major TV models, such as Sharp, Polaroid, and METZ.
“Offering Freely on the Roku operating system is a major milestone for us, as we continue to expand reach for the free streaming platform,” said Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Everyone TV.
Just last month, Freely announced some new features to rival premium services like Sky’s own streamed TV alternative Sky Glass.
A new backward TV guide was introduced, allowing people to scroll back on the screen and instantly see what’s been on recently, with a quick link directly to a catch up stream if one is available.
You can scroll back a full seven days.
A Never Miss feature was also added, which highlight programmes coming up, on now, and those you just missed, alongside the biggest and best shows available on demand.
And My List will let you save up to 50 of your favourite shows from the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters all in one place so you can keep track of them.
RECENT CHANNEL ADDITIONS ON FREELY
The Chase
Saturday Night Every Night
4Reality
4Homes
4Life
5 GPs Behind Closed Doors
5 Bargain
5 The Yorkshire Vet
5 History
5 Crime
Milkshake!
5 Police Interceptors
5 Cops
5 Trucking Hell
5 A&E
5 Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly
Image credit: Everyone TV
FREELY ON A STICK?
So far, Freely has only been made available on new smart TVs for sale.
“We have been working hard to build digital platforms and content to meet changing audience needs, enriching our offer and welcoming the possibilities of a post broadcast world,” he said during a speech at Salford’s Lowry Theatre.
“We want to double down on Freely as a universal free service to deliver live TV over broadband.
“And we are considering a streaming media device with Freely capabilities built in, with a radically simplified user interface specifically designed to help those yet to benefit from IP services.”
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE WE REPLACE FREEVIEW
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
DTT – digital terrestrial television – is the system used for Freeview broadcasts today.
About 18million homes still use it as their main way of watching TV.
Before we even begin to think about switching it off, we have to make sure no one is left behind.
So any internet-based alternative – Freely or otherwise – needs to be just as easy to install and use.
Liverpool won the English Premier League this season, and live football is the focus on many illegal streams
A lack of action by big tech firms is enabling the “industrial scale theft” of premium video services, especially live sport, a new report says.
The research by Enders Analysis accuses Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft of “ambivalence and inertia” over a problem it says costs broadcasters revenue and puts users at an increased risk of cyber-crime.
Gareth Sutcliffe and Ollie Meir, who authored the research, described the Amazon Fire Stick – which they argue is the device many people use to access illegal streams – as “a piracy enabler”.
Amazon told BBC News that it remained “vigilant in our efforts to combat piracy”. The BBC has also contacted Google, Meta and Microsoft for comment.
The piracy problem
Sports broadcasting is big business, with the total value of media rights across the world passing the $60bn (£44bn) mark last year.
The increasing cost of rights deals results in higher prices for fans at home, especially if they choose to pay for multiple services to watch their team play.
To get round this, some resort to illegal streams of big events.
Enders say there are often multiple streams of individual events – such as high profile football games – each of which can have tens of thousands of people watching them.
The Enders report says fans watching football matches, for instance, via illegal streams are typically providing information such as credit card details and email addresses, leaving them vulnerable to malware and phishing scams.
Fire Stick in the firing line
The researchers looked at the European market and focussed on Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft.
While Meta, the owner of Facebook, was criticised for being the source of adverts for illegal streams, the technology of the other three was blamed for the increase in piracy.
The Amazon Fire Stick is a major cause of the problem, according to the report.
The device plugs into TVs and gives the viewer thousands of options to watch programmes from legitimate services including the BBC iPlayer and Netflix.
They are also being used to access illegal streams, particularly of live sport.
In November last year, a Liverpool man who sold Fire Stick devices he reconfigured to allow people to illegally stream Premier League football matches was jailed.
After uploading the unauthorised services on the Amazon product, he advertised them on Facebook.
According to data for the first quarter of this year, provided to Enders by Sky, 59% of people in UK who said they had watched pirated material in the last year while using a physical device said they had used a Amazon fire product.
The Enders report says the fire stick enables “billions of dollars in piracy” overall.
A spokesperson from Amazon, who are sports rights holders themselves, told BBC News: “Pirated content violates our policies regarding intellectual property rights, and compromises the security and privacy of our customers.”
They said Amazon worked hard to protect customers from the risks associated with pirated content, and warned customers about installing or using apps from “unknown sources”.
Amazon has also made changes to its Fire devices to make it harder for people to stream pirated content, they added.
Depreciation of tech allows piracy to flourish
Getty Images
The researchers also pointed to the role played by the “continued depreciation” of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems, particularly those from Google and Microsoft.
This technology enables high quality streaming of premium content to devices. Two of the big players are Microsoft’s PlayReady and Google’s Widevine.
The authors argue the architecture of the DRM is largely unchanged, and due to a lack of maintenance by the big tech companies, PlayReady and Widevine “are now compromised across various security levels”.
Mr Sutcliffe and Mr Meir said this has had “a seismic impact across the industry, and ultimately given piracy the upper hand by enabling theft of the highest quality content”.
They added: “Over twenty years since launch, the DRM solutions provided by Google and Microsoft are in steep decline.
“A complete overhaul of the technology architecture, licensing, and support model is needed. Lack of engagement with content owners indicates this a low priority.”
