A technology 20 years ago took Ukraine to the Russian bombers. Moscow’s response comes from China: a laser cannon

With the passing of the days, more data about The covert operation which carried out Ukraine in the heart of the air bases of Moscow. Recall: a swarm of more than 100 drones hidden in trucks managed to destroy an important part of the Russian fleet of Strategic bombers. Now the technology that made Spiderweb, and what is Russia’s response to contain Ukrainian drones: a laser weapon … from China has been revealed.

Cheap drones and free software. As I counted The medium 404behind the flight of the army of drones was not a sophisticated and secret technology. On the contrary, the devices were driven By Ardupilotopen source software created two decades ago by unmanned aviation enthusiasts.

The use of this software, a free system originally designed for civil tasks such as agriculture, rescue or mapping, allowed Ukraine to coordinate that swarm of drones with autonomous navigation functions, air stabilization, waiting modes and contingencies for signal loss, even in a hostile environment saturated with interference and without GPS.

Born of leisure … for war. Ardupilot He was born in 2007 of the personal project From Chris Andersonformer editor of the Wired media, who with Lego and Arduino pieces He built a drone browsing system that would later evolve in an open overall source community. What began as a homemade and collaborative experiment ended up being the operational core of a great impact military offensive.

As He counted the mediumthe astonishment of its creators in the face of the war use of its software was notable: they never imagined that a tool designed for civil use would end up helping to destroy Russian strategic fighters. Although The website De Ardupilot promotes its use “for the peaceful benefit of all”, its open character makes it impossible to restrict. Irony resides that, while large corporations develop closed and expensive armamentUkraine has managed to use free access tools to execute attacks that remodeled the balance of power.

Internet. What happened also leaves another teaching. The technological war between Ukraine and Russia is also a Communities Warforums and repositories. The software that allowed the attack developed collectively over years by programmers and fans distributed worldwide, many of which never imagined that their work would be used in combat.

Neither Ardupilot nor its creators can prevent it, and although its code of conduct explicitly facilitates militarization, there is no restrictive license: knowledge is already in the hands of Who wants to use it. In the context of the current conflict, this means a silent revolution: it is not only the armies that free wars, but also free software developers.

The Made in China answer. Before the gigantic industry Of low -cost drones that is hitting its troops, Russia has revealed an unprecedented development: a Chinese laser system To tear down drones, they report several Telegram proruse channels. Although it has not yet been officially confirmed, Images and videos disseminated They show a military vehicle shooting a laser beam capable of drilling metal plates and setting fire to drones in full flight.

The appearance of the system coincides with the characteristics of the SHEN NUNG 3000 OR THE 5000 MODELan anti -gluvated weapon presented by China and that would also have been delivered to Iran. Analysts of the International Institute for Strategic Studies They point out thatalthough with some modifications, the system used by Russian forces has been derived directly of Chinese design. In fact, Russian military have confirmed that it is already In the hands of units as The Spetsnaz of the nomadic unit, and have even celebrated its effectiveness as an advance against previous technologies considered ineffective or excessively expensive.

China, Iran and Russia. The entrance of this technology expands the analysis. The growing cooperation Technological between Beijing, Moscow and Tehran is reflected in the circulation of systems Like Shen Nungdeveloped by the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics. Although its operational use is still limited and its real abilities have not been tested in high -intensity scenarios, its mere presence on the battlefield indicates a qualitative change: the powers that seek to challenge the western order are sharing advanced capabilities, many of them before reserved for a handful of countries.

Plus: The appearance of this system in Russian territory coincides with recent information that indicates that they will also go I would be using itconfirming that it is available in the market and has already been exported.

From Ukraine to the Middle East. The use of laser weapons is not exclusive to the Moscow-Pekín-Teherán axis, of course. Israel has also recently deployed Your Iron Beam system (known as Magen or in Hebrew) to intercept Hezbollah dronesa weapon that combines response speed, precision and low cost per shot.

The Israeli system, developed by Rafael and the Air Force, is still in the final test phase, but has already been used in combat. United States, meanwhile, has deployed experimental units of laser weapons in advanced positions and ships, although the advances have been slower than expected due to technical challenges such as the sensitivity of the components, thermal limits and reduced efficacy in adverse environmental conditions.

Promise and fragility. Be that as it may, and although these weapons represent a significant advance in the anti -aircraft defense, They are still vulnerable: They have a limited scope, their performance depends on the weather, and require specialized maintenance.

Even so, in an environment where drone swarms are increasingly frequent and difficult to intercept with traditional systems, lasers offer a solution attractive. Their low cost per shoot and their ability to operate without physical ammunition make them an emerging alternative, especially for countries that seek to overcome technological asymmetries.

Between codes and science fiction. The irruption of a Chinese laser system In the Russian-Ukrainian Front marks a turning point in the use of directed energy weapons and in the global geostrategic dynamics. What until recently seemed a matter of fantastic literature is now a real instrument of combat and deterrence.

In parallel, Ukraine has been able to hit the heart of the Russian Air Force transforming Free tools of civil use in surgical weapons. Thus, what seems like a science fiction story (dwelling of drones released from trucks, guided by written free code twenty years ago in front of weapons with laser cannon) is already a military reality.

And with this, in Ukraine a new chapter has opened in the war of the 21st century.

Image | Telegram

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