FPP213 - Top Gun, Tomcats, and AI Wingmen: "Yank" Cummings on Tomorrow’s War

FPP213 - Top Gun, Tomcats, and AI Wingmen: "Yank" Cummings on Tomorrow’s War

From Fighter Pilot Podcast by E. Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello, Retired U.S. Navy Fighter Pilot

May 4, 2026 · 1h 19m

About this episode

JJ “Yank” Cummings discusses F-14 Tomcats, carrier aviation, and the future of autonomous air combat.

JJ “Yank” Cummings returns to the Fighter Pilot Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on F-14 Tomcats, carrier aviation, Top Gun: Maverick, and the rapidly approaching age of autonomous air combat. From war stories over Afghanistan to his work with Shield AI, Yank brings a rare blend of cockpit credibility, command experience, and forward-looking insight. This one is about more than airplanes; it’s about trust, technology, leadership, tomorrow’s war, and, somehow… robot cats. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations

People in this episode

Host: E. Vincent "Jell-O" Aiello

Guest: JJ “Yank” Cummings

Topics covered

  • F-14 Tomcats
  • carrier aviation
  • autonomous air combat
  • Top Gun
  • military leadership
  • technology in warfare

Keywords

  • F-14 Tomcats
  • Top Gun
  • autonomous air combat
  • military technology
  • leadership
  • war stories
  • aviation

Sponsors

RedCircle

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Shield AI

Products: Top Gun: Maverick

Books & works: F-14 Tomcats

Places: Afghanistan

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