US pilot training is struggling to keep pace with modern warfare. Emil Mikhailov, founder of Sorian Aerospace, discusses why current training methods are outdated and how new technologies like their “Sandman” supersonic trainer jet are essential for preparing pilots for future conflicts, including collaborative combat with unmanned aircraft. He highlights the high cost of training with top-tier jets and the alarming statistic of general aviation fatalities matching airmen losses in the Vietnam War.
Sorian Aerospace is preparing to fly its autonomous supersonic trainer, dubbed the Sandman, in the Mojave Desert as early as Q1 next year, targeting a gap in US military air training that the company’s founder says has left American pilots drilling against threats last updated for 1985. The aircraft is designed for aggressor squadrons — the “red air” adversaries used to sharpen fighter pilot skills — and can function as either a predator or prey in advanced combat scenarios.
Emil Mikhailov, CEO and founder of Sorian Aerospace, said the core problem is that high-end jets are too costly and too fragile for routine training. “Every time you fire up the engine on those planes, you start to draw down the life cycles of those,” he said. The alternative — decommissioned third-generation aircraft — does not replicate modern threats. The Sandman is purpose-built to fill that void, operating in special-use airspace outside FAA Part 23 and Part 25 jurisdiction so the company can iterate quickly without the regulatory and capital constraints that have sunk every previous US aircraft startup.
Mikhailov cited a stark historical record: the United States has a 100% failure rate for every new aircraft manufacturing company that has attempted to launch over the past 70 years, which he attributed to firms starting inside the expensive FAA-certified commercial framework before establishing a revenue base. Sorian’s strategy is to build a military-useful product first, establish an industrial base and balance sheet, and expand from there.
“It has to be priority number one. Whatever you try to build right now, in most of the cases, you cannot find the components from local suppliers. And if they say they’re local suppliers, you see the receiving box with Indian or Chinese markings on the box.”
That supply chain dependence is especially acute for small jet engines. Mikhailov noted that low-thrust engines used on kamikaze drones — traveling at roughly 0.4 to 0.5 times the speed of sound — are cheap enough to be purchased on Alibaba, making swarm attacks difficult and inexpensive to field. He argued the US must rebuild domestic production capacity for thrust-class components across a wide range of vehicles to reduce that vulnerability.
On the drone-warfare front, Mikhailov pointed out that the two most advanced drone nations today are Russia and Ukraine — and that both source their components from the same set of Chinese manufacturers. “The way how they put it together is actually where the know-how comes into play,” he said, arguing that real-world conflict experience, not component origin, determines battlefield effectiveness. His answer is to replicate that learning cycle through high-fidelity training rather than live conflict.
The Sandman is also designed to support the emerging manned-unmanned teaming doctrine — including the US military’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program — where pilots must learn to operate alongside autonomous wingmen. Mikhailov said the playbook for that interaction is still being written, and Sorian wants to give government partners a programmable platform to develop and refine those tactics. General aviation safety underpinned the urgency: Mikhailov noted that from 2005 to 2025, general aviation fatalities in the US will total roughly 8,000 — the same order of magnitude as US airmen killed over nearly 20 years of the Vietnam War.
Sorian Aerospace’s Sandman autonomous supersonic trainer is targeting a first flight in the Mojave Desert in Q1 of next year, designed to replace Cold War-era aggressor aircraft for US military training.Mikhailov cited a 100% failure rate for new US aircraft manufacturers over the past 70 years, attributing it to launching inside costly FAA-certified frameworks without first building military revenue.US drone defense faces a dual vulnerability: cheap kamikaze engines available on Alibaba and near-total reliance on foreign suppliers for key drone and jet-engine components.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
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