bastion

An “invisible” Russian submarine has set off alarms in the Arctic. Europe’s response: Atlantic Bastion

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The launching of the Khabarovskthe new and ultra-quiet Russian submarine capable of deploying nuclear torpedoes Poseidonhas reactivated a fear that had been latent for decades in cities like London: the possibility that the naval balance of the Atlantic is once again tilting in favor of Moscow. The response from the United Kingdom has been forceful, and it is called Atlantic Bastion. Submarine warfare. Although the public image of the Russian threat usually revolves around research vessels like Yantarsuspected of mapping and potentially manipulating underwater cables and pipes, European specialists know that what is truly disturbing lies much further down. Russia has spent decades reducing the acoustic signature of its submarines to levels that they border on invisibilitycombining new propulsion systems, composite coatings and virtually undetectable cooling pumps. In this environment, where silence is power, a ghost submarine with nuclear capacity alters not only the sea routes, but the very heart of the strategic infrastructures that connect Europe with the world. UK reinvents itself. Faced with the resurgent threat from Khabarovskthe Royal Navy has launched what they have called as Atlantic Bastiona plan designed to restore British strategic advantage in its own and allied waters. Its origin is not new and it we have counted before: the United Kingdom has been monitoring the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap (GIUK gap) since before the creation of NATO, and the Second World War already demonstrated that controlling that maritime corridor was essential to prevent enemy forces from slipping into the North Atlantic. But what used to be destroyers and acoustic sweeps is becoming a hybrid framework that combines Type 26 frigates equipped with new generation sonar, aircraft P-8 Poseidon capable of patrolling thousands of kilometers and, above all, swarms of underwater drones equipped with artificial intelligence. According to the Ministry of Defensethis architecture aims to detect, classify and follow any enemy submarine that tries to penetrate British or Irish waters, and to do so constantly, autonomously and with an unprecedented range. The algorithms arrive. The core of the project will be Atlantic Neta distributed network of autonomous underwater gliders equipped with acoustic sensors and guided by artificial intelligence systems capable of recognize sound signatures with a level of precision that until a few years ago was little less than the preserve of science fiction. Unlike the SOSUS of the Cold War, based on gigantic fixed hydrophones placed on the seabed, the new generation will be mobile, expandable and adaptable to the routes and behaviors of increasingly soundproof submarines. The ultimate ambition is to deploy hundreds of cheap, persistent units that together create aa surveillance mesh much harder to evade. The metaphor is revealing: if finding a silent submarine is like searching for a needle in an oceanic haystack, modern technology makes it possible to exponentially multiply the number of searching hands. Khabarovk The technological challenge of hunting shadows. However, even with this technological revolution, experts warn that detecting new Russian submarines will continue to be an extremely complex undertaking. Since the 1980s, Moscow has drastically reduced lacoustic emissions of its fleet, which requires combining passive and active sensors and complex configurations such as bistatic sonar, where one vessel emits a pulse and another collects the echo. These techniques require coordination, multiple platforms, and significant sensor density, something that Atlantic Bastionaims to provide but it is still far from being deployed on a full scale. The arrival of the Type 26 frigates, designed to be the flagship of British anti-submarine warfare, is fundamental to this purpose, as is the cooperation with Norway and other allies that are also strengthening their capabilities in the North Atlantic. The Russian Bastion Puzzle. Even if Atlantic Bastion managed to limit the presence of Russian attack submarines in the Atlantic, there is one dimension that no Western system can solve: Russian strategic submarines already they don’t need to abandon its own bastion in the Arctic to threaten Europe or the United States. Its intercontinental ballistic missiles can hit targets thousands of kilometers without moving from the Barents Sea or the White Sea, protected by layers of defenses and favorable geographical conditions. There they play a hiding place lethal where the West cannot penetrate without significantly escalating the conflict. The paradox is clear: the United Kingdom can reinforce its waters and monitor every meter of the GIUK gapbut it cannot deny the Russian nuclear capacity deployed in its natural refuge, a reality that frames the entire British effort within a logic of containment rather than domination. An underwater chess. If you want, Atlantic Bastion ultimately represents the recognition that underwater competition has returned with a vengeance, now fueled for digital capabilitiesdistributed sensors and autonomous platforms that transform the nature of ocean surveillance. The North Atlantic once again becomes a stage silent maneuvers where Russia and the United Kingdom measure their technological resistance in an environment reminiscent of the Cold War, but with algorithms and autonomy as new weapons. A career that is not decided by great battles, but by the ability to listen better, process faster and anticipate invisible movements. In this theater of shadows, the advantage is not whoever shoots the most, but rather whoever is able to detect first (already happens in Ukraine). Thus, Atlantic Bastion aspires to return that capacity to the British, although the contest that is opening now does not look like it will be brief nor simple: In the depths of the Atlantic, the prelude to the next era of strategic rivalry between Russia and the West is underway. Image | SEVMASH/VKONTAKTE In Xataka | A Russian submarine has appeared off the coast of France. And Europe’s reaction has been surprising: have a laugh In Xataka | Russia’s most advanced nuclear submarine was a secret. Until Ukraine has revealed everything, including its failures

Renewable gasoline and diesel are the last bastion of combustion cars to be able to circulate in Europe: they have a difficult time

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Whether for lack of infrastructure, strict regulationsocial perception, or by many other factors, electrification is a process that is advancingbut very slowly. Meanwhile, more than 20 million diesel and gasoline vehicles continue to circulate in Spain, many of them more than a decade old (or two). However, there are solutions that try to make this energy transition more bearable, and one of them involves the use of renewable fuels. What exactly are these fuels?. They don’t have a single drop of oil. They are produced from organic waste such as used cooking oils, animal fats, forest waste or crop remains. The catalytic hydrogen generation process transforms these wastes into fuels with properties similar to those derived from petroleum, but with a key difference: the CO₂ they emit when burned is the same as that which plants have previously absorbed from the atmosphere. Here we would therefore speak of a closed cycle, unlike fossil fuels, which release carbon stored underground for millions of years. Emissions. Repsol states that its Nexa diesel can reduce net CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel, while your Efitec Nexa gasoline discount more than 70%. In this case, although the engine continues to emit CO₂, it was already in the atmosphere before being converted into fuel. However, there is a nuance: nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) continue to be generated during combustion, because they come from nitrogen in the air when exposed to high temperatures. And for now, studies show conflicting results, with some indicating slight increases in NOₓ with certain biofuels, while others like the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory they conclude that renewable diesel reduces both CO₂ and NOₓ. What is consistent is the reduction of particles and soot. Full compatibility with current cars. This is probably its biggest practical advantage. Any diesel or gasoline vehicle can use these fuels without technical modifications. There is no need to change the engine, adapt the tank, or install new pumps at gas stations. In the case of Repsol, its Nexa diesel also complies with the European standard EN 15940 for paraffinic fuels, and Efitec Nexa gasoline with EN-228. In addition, the company ensures that, thanks to its high cetane number, it improves combustion, reduces engine noise and has a cleaning effect on the injection system. Where to find them in Spain. Repsol clearly leads the deployment, with more than 1,000 stations that offer Nexa diesel and with the goal of reaching 30 stations with Efitec Nexa gasoline by the end of the year. BP too offers HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) in strategic locations such as Tafalla, Getafe, Villacastín Norte or Olaberria, although its network is more limited and is oriented towards professional transport. To locate them, the most practical thing is use web search engines of each company, since they include filters to find gas stations that offer renewable fuels. It is worth remembering that the conventional diesel sold at practically all gas stations in Spain already contains up to 7% biodiesel (B7 label), but it is not comparable to a 100% renewable fuel if we stick to emissions. Cost and availability. Price is one of the main obstacles. Nexa diesel costs approx. 10 cents more per liter than conventional diesel, placing it in the range of premium fuels. Renewable gasoline follows a similar trend. Furthermore, although Repsol has expanded its network, coverage remains limited outside large urban centers and main corridors, especially in terms of renewable gasoline. Industrial production. Repsol produces renewable diesel in its Cartagena refinery and 100% renewable gasoline at the Tarragona plant. The company assures that it has been researching these processes for more than twenty years in collaboration with Honeywell. In 2026, the opening of a new facility in Puertollano with capacity for more than 200,000 tons per year is planned. Who is using them already?. In addition to the fact that anyone can now go to a Repsol gas station to try these fuels, their use has transcended commercial vehicles. And they have been tested in competitions like the Dakar Rallyand even sustainable fuels are used on commercial flights. Also transport companies such as Scania, Alsa or Grupo Sesé have signed agreements for adoption. An intermediate solution. The current European regulations The CO2 emissions test for new vehicles measures emissions from the tailpipe. With this approach, the result is zero for an electric car, but not for one that uses renewable fuel, even if it is carbon neutral in its entire life cycle (from production to consumption). It is for this reason that the industry and defenders of these fuels are asking for a change in the methodology so that the complete life cycle of the fuel is considered. Repsol and other players in the sector They ask for adapted taxation and long-term objectives that provide stability to investments. The Spanish mobile fleet has an average age of 14.5 years and it has more than eight million vehicles that are more than two decades old, according to data from ANFAC (Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers). Therefore, renewable fuels could be an intermediate alternative in this stage of energy transition, especially since they do not leave millions of drivers behind. Cover image | engin akyurt In Xataka | In 2001, Renault launched a car ahead of its time: it was a miserable failure that now has another chance

Gibraltar airport was born as a British military bastion. Now Spain has imposed a veto that will be very expensive

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Since its construction during the Second World War on the narrow strip that separates the Rock from the isthmus, the Gibraltar airport It has been much more than a landing strip: an RAF military enclave, a nerve center for British logistics in the Mediterranean and, at the same time, a constant source of diplomatic friction with Spain. Today, and after Brexit, that old tension resurfaces in new forms. More restrictions. The United Kingdom has confirmed that the restrictions imposed by Spain on the overflight of British military aircraft remain in force, affecting flights arriving or departing from the Royal Air Force (RAF) air base in Gibraltar. Despite this, the British Ministry of Defense insists that the measure has no operational impact and that the base continues to operate as a sovereign military airfield under full authority of the United Kingdom. So he reiterated it Under Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, Alistair Carns, in response to a series of parliamentary questions posed by Liberal Democrat MP Helen Maguire, who asked for clarification on the logistical and financial consequences of this situation. Carns claimed that RAF aircraft simply They trace alternative routes to avoid Spanish territorial airspace, in accordance with the restrictions imposed by Madrid, and that Gibraltar’s operational capacity has not been compromised. The big doubt. Nevertheless, admitted that no formal study has been carried out on the economic costs derived from diverting flights through other international air information regions, despite the increase in fuel costs and flight time that this implies. The dimension of the blockade. The debate about the military overflights reflects a historical conflict between London and Madrid that has survived all diplomatic stages, from the Cold War to Brexit. Spain, relying on international law and its claim of sovereignty over Gibraltar, maintains that all British military activity in the area must comply with its air traffic rules. For the Spanish Government, overflight restrictions are not a sanction, but a legitimate expression of its jurisdiction over the airspace it considers its own. An RAF Hawk at the airport What do the English say? From the British perspective, however, these limitations are a inheritance of tensions that surround the sovereignty of the Rock and a technical rather than political obstacle. In the Westminster Parliament, the issue continues to be a recurring theme, periodically reactivated by particularly combative deputies who see every Spanish gesture as a threat to the British integrity of the enclave. To them, successive governments of the United Kingdom have always responded in the same way: reaffirming their full sovereignty over Gibraltar and the right of its inhabitants to self-determination, without opening any loophole for territorial negotiations with Spain. A Lockheed Hudson of No. 233 Squadron RAF lands at Gibraltar in August 1942 Gibraltar after Brexit. Brexit introduced a new framework of relations that fully affected Gibraltar’s position. After months of negotiationSpain, the United Kingdom and the European Commission reached an agreement that established a joint system customs and border control. Under this pact, Spain will assume controls on the European side at the Peñón port and airport, which will allow more fluid transit to destinations within the European Union. However, the military issue was left out of those understandings. The Liberal Democrat Helen Maguire brought this sensitive point back to the table by asking whether the impact of restrictions Spanish reports on the operations and costs of the British Ministry of Defence. Carns’ response was blunt: air limitations continue, aircraft avoid Spanish space and the base maintains its sovereign status. But, as we said before, the absence of an official calculation on additional spending reflects political will to publicly minimize any consequences derived from the dispute, preserving the narrative of autonomy and absolute control over Gibraltar. Strategic impact. Although London maintains that the Spanish veto does not interfere In its operational freedom, the diversion of military routes involves a considerable logistical effort. Instead of crossing the Iberian Peninsula, aircraft must border it by the Atlanticprolonging the journeys from the British Isles to Gibraltar and complicating supply at a point of strategic value for British operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa. The RAF base in Gibraltar, next to the port used by the Royal Navy, constitutes an essential axis for surveillance, supply and military transit missions to Africa and the Middle East. The United Kingdom has not revealed figures on the economic impact of the diversions, but parliamentary sources acknowledge that fuel and planning costs are inevitable, especially in rapid deployment exercises or emergencies. Even so, the Ministry of Defense avoid recognizing officially these damages, aware that admitting them would imply granting Spain a political advantage in a matter where each diplomatic gesture has symbolic weight. A geopolitical symbol. If you also want, the conflict over Gibraltar’s airspace condenses centuries of friction between both nations and is projected as a microdemonstration of the balance of power in the Mediterranean. A pesar de los acuerdos pos-Brexit y de la cooperación en materia fronteriza y económica, la defensa del Peñón continúa siendo un terreno de maximum political sensitivity. The RAF base and the port of Gibraltar are more than simple military infrastructure: they represent the last vestige of British projection in southern Europe, a symbolic platform of sovereignty in disputed territory. The Spanish restrictions They do not prevent the operation of that presence, but they require a constant effort of logistical adaptation and a careful diplomatic balance. In this context, the United Kingdom maintains its usual line: denying any operational impact and reaffirming that Gibraltar continues to be, both in the air and on land, an unbreakable piece of its strategic identity. Image | Dicklyon, Harry Mitchell In Xataka | The Strait of Gibraltar was very different eight million years ago. So different that there were two In Xataka | In World War II, Hitler gave Spain the keys to Gibraltar. He did not have what Franco demanded in return

The future of the European cloud is being written in Aragon. AWS has made him his most ambitious bastion in Spain

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What until now was an ambitious announcement has just become a reality. The Aragon government has published in its official bulletin the approval of the General Plan of Interest of Aragon (Piga) that will allow Amazon Web Services (AWS) expand your infrastructure in the region. This is a project presented in May last year that contemplates an investment of 15.7 billion euros and that comes with the promise of promoting thousands of jobs, both direct and indirect. The process has been resolved in just 15 months, an unusually brief period for these types of procedures, and that places the American multinational in a position to immediately start the works in the municipalities where it already has a presence and in others in which it will be installed for the first time. We do not talk about a starting point, but of an extension: Amazon already operates three centers in Aragon And now he plans to lift five more. The Aragonese bet to become a strategic cloud enclave The key that this advance has promoted is in the Pigawhich acts as a fast route for large -draft initiatives. The regional government declared AWS’s expansion in 2024 INVESTMENT OF AUTONOMIC AND GENERAL INTERESTwhich opened the door to a preferential process. In the social network XThe Executive highlighted the publication in the BOA and the words of the counselor Octavio López, who valued the fifteen months that the entire process lasted. Click on the image to see the original publication in x As we indicated above, the planned investment amounts to 15.7 billion euros. It is the greatest technological operation approved in Aragon and one of the most ambitious in Spain. The regional government emphasizes that this figure reflects not only the size of the works, but also Amazon’s commitment to consolidate its presence in the region. The execution, of course, will be progressive, with an estimated temporary horizon of ten years. The plan contemplates a remarkable scale jump: of the three existing campuses It will be passed to a total of eight locations in Aragon. These will be located in Villanueva de Gállego, Huesca, Ebro Burgo, Zaragoza-La Cartuja and Sotonera. Each campus will integrate not only data centers, but also auxiliary facilities necessary for its operation. The plan foresees new access roads, fiber optic and High voltage lines for campus. In water matters, specific conduits for process water and evacuation networks will be enabled. Data centers are the machinery that supports digital life. There photos, videos and documents are stored, processes that work the social networks are executed and transactions that move the economy are managed. Every time you see a series in streaming, you participate in a video call or make an online payment, there are servers by processing the information in the background. Companies such as Google, Microsoft or Amazon operate this type of infrastructure. In Aragon, the extension corresponds to AWS. All the site planned in Aragon will be interconnected by fiber optics and managed as a single unit. In the company’s jargon it is called the AWS region, in this case identified as AWS Europe (Spain). The model is based on dividing the region into several areas of availability, so if one suffers an incidence, the others maintain the service. The extension ensures more capacity, lower latency and greater resilience for customers who use services in the Peninsula. Official documents stand out that campus will be equipped with redundant energy, cooling and communications systems. This means that, although a component fails, the service remains active. Fire detection measures, water leak control and operational continuity protocols are also included. In parallel, the plan incorporates energy efficiency and water management commitments, with infrastructure designed to optimize consumption. The goal is to sustain growth that combines technological capacity and environmental sustainability. Not everything is lights along the way. As the country collectedAt the end of 2024 Amazon requested to expand in a 48% water availability for its three complexes already active in Aragon. The petition ignited the alarms of groups as environmental environment and your platform your cloud dry my river, which question the water impact of this type of facilities. In their allegations they recalled that climate change should already have been considered and that, in full structural drought, what corresponds is to limit consumption. The Aragon government presents this extension as part of its strategy to attract technological investment and reinforce the role of the community on the European digital map. In the official communication it is noted that projects of this scale allow diversifying the economy and modernizing key infrastructure. Beyond the numbers, the institutional message aims to consolidate Aragon as a cloud reference enclave. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 | İsmail Enes Ayhan In Xataka | Spain is becoming an authentic mecca of data centers. Uruguay has some lessons about it

OnePlus was the last bastion of the silence button. He has just replaced him to get into the AI ​​car

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Apple was the first company to bet on A button that facilitated access to the functions of silence and sound. A simple idea, well executed … and with margin of improvement. There was OnePlus in 2015, to achieve it with the OnePlus 2 and his Alert Slider. OnePlus’s idea allowed something related to Android’s own nature and its three sound modes: silence, vibration and sound. It is a button that had been accompanying us for ten years, and that was destined to follow The same destination as Apple’s: Be replaced by something different. OnePlus was one of the companies back I was staying in the. He always opted for the balance between power and price, but artificial intelligence is already an essential in every smartphone that wants to aspire to fight the best. The death of alert slider The immediate consequence has been The death of alert sliderwhich has been replaced by what OnePlus now calls Plus Key. The first point to highlight is that this button will become customizable. Yes, it is exactly the same change you made Apple with the iPhone 15 Pro. We can start multiple actions, such as changing sound profiles, open the camera, start recordings or start translations. But, beyond the programmable functions, OnePlus wanted to go one step further and differentiate thanks to AI. This button will serve to activate AI Plus Mind, a new function centered on the Mind Space. Many new names, but the concept is easy to understand. Mind Space is a space within the phone (an app) in which We can save information related to events, photographs, audio recordings… is something very similar to what we recently saw with the Essential Space of Nothingand use artificial intelligence to make summaries out of the contents we have stored. The operation is easy: when you are sailing through any app that shows information that is of value (schedules, reservations, details of an ad), you press the new button (if you have it scheduled) or slide with the three fingers up. The content will be saved automatically in the Mind Space, it will analyze its content to extract the key data and can add them directly to your calendar. This function will be released in the OnePlus 13s, a brother of the brother of the OnePlus 13. For those state -of -the -art devices, such as 13, this function will come by OTA update. Climbing to the AI ​​car In addition to working in this new button and accompanying him from the Mind Space, OnePlus already has his “OnePlus Ai” ready. A set of artificial intelligence tools. Ai voicestrce: Record calls and meetings directly from messaging apps or video calls, then summarize them and translate them automatically. Ai Call Assistant (soon in India): Integrated in the ONPLUS 13S phone app, it will allow you to summarize calls or translate them in real time while talking. Ai translation: Unifle in a single app all translation functions – text, live voice, camera and screen – to facilitate communication in several languages. Ai Search: It allows to search naturally and conversational between files, notes, adjustments or calendars. Ai Reframe: Analyze your photos, detect the main subject and propose different automatic frames to improve the effortless composition. Ai best face 2.0 (Available in summer by OTA): Automatically correct group photos where someone has come out with closed eyes or bad face. It works with up to 20 people and even with images taken from other mobiles. With these new functions, OnePlus wants to start fighting in a competed land already mandatory for any manufacturer. Image | Xataka In Xataka | The mobile the AI ​​promises, but I only see repeated tricks. The real ace under the sleeve is called “agent” and comes on the way

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