bombs

how to blow up a bridge without tons of bombs

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In May 1943, the RAF launched the famous Operation Chastise: 19 bombers with the so-called “bouncing bombs” of Barnes Wallis to destroy german dams. It was the most sophisticated solution of its time to a classic problem: how to break a gigantic structure with precision. Eight decades later, that same obsession lives on, only now it fits in an operator’s backpack A bridge as an eternal military obsession. There are few things more valuable in a war than a bridge. Concentrating troops, armor and logistics in an obligatory step turns these structures into strategic arteries, and that is why destroying them has always been a military priority. The problem is that they are hard targets by nature: decades of doctrine taught that to knock one down bombers, heavy artillery or high-cost missiles were needed. An alternative has just appeared in Ukraine that breaks that logic. It is not more powerful or faster, but it is much cheaper and more persistent: dozens of small suicide drones working like a colony of termites until the structure is emptied from within. Solve an old problem with new things. What is really important here is not only that Russia has demolished a bridge with 43 FPV dronesbut it demonstrates something that for years was almost a laboratory hypothesis: that tons of explosives are no longer needed to blow up critical infrastructure. During World War II, sinking a bridge could require hundreds of tons of air-dropped bombs. Then came weapons like the ATACMS either the JDAM to do it precisely. Now the equation changes again: less than 250 pounds of ammunition distributed in small impacts can achieve the same effect. The military obsession of “how to cut off the enemy” has just become radically cheaper. The structural logic of collapse. The key is not to destroy it in one fell swoop, but to understand how does a bridge hold up. Reinforced concrete is strong because it combines two materials with different functions: concrete supports compression and steel absorbs tension. The FPVs they don’t need split the entire column. They just have to go tearing off layers of concrete until the metal skeleton is exposed. At that moment the structure loses much of its load capacity. The steel is still there, but it is no longer enough to support the weight. The bridge begins to collapse on itself and collapse due to structural fatigue. The war of accumulation. This introduces a completely different logic to military destruction. Before, power concentrated in a single blow mattered. Now it matters sum of many blows small, extremely precise and always directed to the same point. The first impacts barely remove fragments of cement. The following deepen the crack. The latter turn the column into an empty shell. It’s something like the industrialization of wear: a slow, but surgical method. What once required an aerial window, tactical superiority, and millions of dollars can now be done with patience, coordination, and a backpack. full of quadcopters. Ridiculous cost, enormous strategic effect. The most brutal fact is economic. The 43 FPVs used in the attack They would have cost less than $25,000. That’s about half of a single American guided bomb and a ridiculous fraction of the price of an ATACMS missile. The comparison is devastating for any classical military planning, because for the cost of a single strategic missile you can launch forty similar attacks. And without exposing pilots, planes or large platforms. It is the democratization of tactical demolition: destroying critical infrastructure is no longer the privilege of those who have heavy aviation. What comes next. Possibly, the big impact of this is not on the bridge in question, but on what it redefines as a viable objective from now on. If a handful of FPVs can knock down a highway structure, railway bridges, overpasses, logistics warehouses and even tall buildings start to come into the equation. Even more so if the drones use linear hollow charges capable of directly cutting steel bars. Systems like Pasikawhich allow a single operator to control entire swarms, further accelerate that process. The question is no longer whether they can do it. The question is how many critical structures in the world are still designed under the old idea that only big bombs can bring them down. Ukraine is showing that that era is over. Image | Rasal HagueDmitro Zavtonov In Xataka | “Speed ​​is not the key”: the trick against all logic of Ukrainian drones to hunt the fearsome Russian shahed In Xataka | “They are preparing the deployment of 80,000 soldiers”: satellites indicate where Russia is heading in Europe after Ukraine

released the energy of 10 atomic bombs

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On December 18, 2018, American satellites saw a “small” flare over the Bering Sea, in the Pacific Ocean. From space the flare may have seemed small, however it was the second largest asteroid explosion recorded in the last 30 years. Off the coast of the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka, energy equivalent to 173 kilotons had just been released. The asteroid was initially detected by US Air Force satellites, as well as by infrasonic stations installed to detect possible nuclear detonations. However, the CNEOSwhich tracks dangerous objects near Earth, took months to record it. Many times it is necessary to analyze to know exactly what it is about. On the other hand, It occurred in an area of ​​the planet far from the populationso there were no witnesses who could see it and report it. According to indicated on the BBC At that time, the asteroid was actually only several meters in diameter. At a speed of 32 km/s that size is more than enough to explode with the force of several atomic bombs. More than enough also for the explosion to be seen from space. There is a photograph (at maximum resolution) in which we can see an orange flame in the vast ocean with its white clouds. We are increasingly able to detect and track the orbits of more asteroids and in general potentially dangerous near-earth objects. In recent years we have even learned to divert them from their orbit. However, there are still many to be recorded and to be able to predict when they will impact the Earth, if there is a possibility that they will do so. So big that it only occurs two or three times every 100 years Asteroids reported by the US government from April 15, 1988 to March 15, 2019. Via CNEOS. This explosion in the Bering Sea is the second largest on record. The largest of all is still that of the Chelyabinsk asteroid in Russia, in 2013. On that occasion andThe asteroid unleashed an energy of 440 kilotonsfell near the city of Chelyabinsk and caused various accidents and injuries. The shock wave and flash of the Chelyabinsk meteorite caused harm to people, including temporary blindness from the flash and injuries from broken glass or debris. There were no confirmed deaths. Some people managed to record it: If it’s for records neither the Bering Sea nor the Chelyabinsk asteroid are the largest ever recorded. In 1908 an asteroid caused a 12 megaton explosion in Tunguskaa remote region of Siberia (again). But there are still louder explosions, or at least that have been heard louder, like the one that caused the Krakatoa volcano eruption. Luckily, most asteroids that hit Earth they disintegrate in the atmosphere and They only produce small amounts of “debris” on the earth’s surface. On the other hand, due to the fact that most of the surface is ocean, it can be said that it acts in a way as a shield and also prevents human damage. Image | CNEOS In Xataka | We have been trying to answer the question “where do meteorites come from” for years. And it’s harder than it seems A version of this topic was published in 2019. We have updated it.

No missiles, no rifles, no bombs. Ukrainian drones are carrying a type of cargo unprecedented in war: elderly people

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During the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948, an American pilot began to throw chocolates tied to small cloth parachutes on children watching the planes from Tempelhof airport. That improvised initiative ended up becoming the famous “Operation Little Vittles“, one of the most unexpected images of the Cold War: military aircraft used to carry hope instead of weapons. Decades later, Ukraine is finding equally unusual uses for its war machines. Lifesaving robots. For years, unmanned vehicles were associated with a very specific idea: transporting weapons, ammunition or explosives where the risk for soldiers was too high. The war in Ukraine is expanding that definition with an image that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. In some of the most dangerous sectors of the front, the same ground drones that are part of the war machinery are being used to evacuate elderly people trapped between bombings, mines and artillery fire. In a conflict marked by the automation of combat, one of the most unexpected loads carried by these vehicles are not projectiles or supplies, but old people who no longer have a safe way to leave their homes. Rescue through no man’s land. The last known operation took place near Limánin the Donetsk region. While carrying out a logistics mission, a ground drone unit from the Kraken group was approached by a woman who asked for help to leave the area along with three other people, one of them injured by shrapnel. After coordinating the procedure for days, the operators sent a Zmiy Logistic vehiclea kind of remote-controlled four-wheeled buggy capable of transporting up to about 500 kilos of cargo. The drone traveled about 16 kilometers to the agreed point, rpicked up the four evacuees and began the return journey to a river crossing where Ukrainian soldiers completed the rescue and took the wounded to a hospital. The impossible life in the gray zone. These rescues They show a less visible reality of war. Despite years of fighting, there are still civilians living in the so-called “gray zone”, a strip of land disputed between both armies that can reach between 16 and 20 kilometers wide. There are practically no public services, shops, schools or hospitals left there. Power outages are common and bombings are part of the daily routine. However, many older people continue to resist in those places because they don’t want to leave the houses where they have lived all their lives, because they care for sick relatives or because they hope that the war will end before being forced to leave permanently. Iron soldiers on a new mission. It is not an isolated case. They remembered in Insider that in early April, another 77-year-old Ukrainian woman was evacuated from the same area using a ground drone operated by the 60th Mechanized Brigade. The images They went around the world because the soldiers approached her with a blanket on which a message as simple as it was revealing could be read: “Grandma, get on.” The scene summarizes the extent to which these systems are evolving. Originally designed to transport supplies, plant explosives or even assemble remote weaponry, the so-called “iron soldiers” are beginning to take on rescue tasks that previously would have required exposing soldiers or volunteers to extreme danger. Total automation. Behind these stories there is a much deeper transformation. Ukraine and Russia are accelerating the incorporation of unmanned ground vehicles to carry out missions that They are too risky for people. Some carry ammunition, some carry medical supplies, and some incorporate remote-controlled weapons. The Ukrainian goal is especially ambitious: Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has announced the purchase of 25,000 ground drones during the first half of 2026 and aspires for all frontline logistics to one day depend on these systems. During the first quarter of the year alone, unmanned vehicles performed more than 21,500 missions. Unexpected consequences. The usual image of military innovation may be associated with increasingly destructive systems, but the Ukrainian experience is showing an unexpected consequence of that technological revolution. The same robots that were born to keep soldiers away from danger are being used to remove vulnerable civilians from some of the most dangerous places in Europe. As militaries race to automate combat, ground-based drones are proving military technology can play a role, too completely different: become the ultimate escape vehicle for those trapped in the ruins of an endless war. Image | ArmyInform In Xataka | Storks have become the best anti-drone weapon of war. And Russia and Ukraine are taking note In Xataka | Ukraine has been terrorizing Russian soldiers with its heavy drones for years. Now they are literally giving it back.

one where the US does not discuss Iran’s missiles, bombs or uranium

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During the so-called “tanker war,” a single Iranian missile against a ship in the Persian Gulf was enough to skyrocket the price of oil and forcing the United States to escort civilian ships between mines and maritime attacks. Decades later, the Strait of Hormuz still has the same capacity to unnerve the entire world economy in a matter of hours. The war that was going to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. The great paradox of the possible agreement between the United States and Iran is that the war officially began to stop the Iranian nuclear program and could end, at least dand momentwithout resolving practically any of the issues that justified the conflict. Washington and Tehran are close to cmiss an understanding temporary focused above all on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, stabilizing the energy market and avoiding an even greater regional escalation, while issues such as Iranian ballistic missiles, uranium enrichment or the future of the nuclear arsenal are postponed for later negotiations. The situation turns out especially striking because Trump and Netanyahu had presented the offensive against Iran as a historic opportunity to definitively dismantle Tehran’s strategic military capabilities. Months later, Iran continues to maintain tons of nuclear material enriched, it maintains a large part of its missile capacity intact and has also managed to demonstrate the extent to which it can threaten the global energy supply. Strait of Hormuz The true center of the negotiation. The core of the agreement does not revolve around centrifuges, nuclear warheads or international inspections, but on a much more immediate issue: reopen the maritime passage through which approximately a quarter of the world’s oil circulates. The Trump administration has finished accepting that the absolute priority was to unblock Hormuz before the economic impact began to spiral out of control inside and outside the United States. The possibility of a prolonged war with oil soaring and gasoline approaching politically toxic levels began to seriously worry the White House, especially ahead of the legislative elections. The negotiated draft contemplates a ceasefire sixty day temporary during which Iran would remove mines from the strait, allow maritime traffic without tolls and could sell oil again with certain relaxations of US sanctions. In other words, Washington has ended up negotiating the global energy flow first and leaving for later exactly what supposedly made war inevitable. The surprising transfer. Until just a few days ago, the US administration insisted that there would be no agreement that he did not address the Iranian nuclear program from the beginning. However, strategic reality ended up imposing itself on political discourse. US officials recognize now that negotiating the gigantic Iranian nuclear framework in a matter of days was simply impossible and that even Obama’s nuclear deal required almost two years of talks and hundreds of technical pages. The result is an extraordinary change in tone by Trump, who went from demanding Iranian “unconditional surrender” to talk about a relationship “more professional and productive” with Tehran. The problem for Washington is that this turn fuels criticism from both Republican hawks as from Israeli sectors who consider that the United States has ended up giving up pressure precisely when Iran was most economically weakened. Iran holds its cards. Although Washington assures that Iran would have verbally agreed to discuss limits on uranium enrichment and possible deliveries of highly enriched nuclear material, the reality is that it does not yet exist. no solid commitment nor clear mechanisms to verify these concessions. Tehran has also not agreed to seriously discuss restrictions about their ballistic missilesa fundamental issue for Israel and for the Arab allies of the Gulf. In fact, much of Iran’s negotiating power continues to rest on exactly the elements that the United States I wanted to delete: its ability to close Hormuz and its stock of enriched uranium close to military grade. Iran seems to have understood that the more it manages to link global energy stability with its own economic survival, the more difficult it will be for Washington to maintain a purely military or maximalist strategy. The fear of Israel. Behind the agreement, a growing tension between the strategic interests of the United States and Israel also emerges. Netanyahu would have expressed directly Trump expressed his concern about several points in the draft, especially because the understanding would include a broader reduction in regional tensions that would even affect the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The White House try to reassure to Israel assuring that any rearmament of Hezbollah would justify new Israeli military actions, but the implicit message is clear: Washington wants to stabilize the region and reduce the risk of an all-out war even if that means accepting temporary and imperfect solutions. For many Israeli and Republican sectors, the agreement means assuming that the initial objectives of the war were probably unattainable. An “energy” negotiation. If you like, what is happening in the Middle East reflects the extent to which modern wars they may end up redefining completely their original priorities. The military campaign began with the promise of destroying Iran’s nuclear program and ending Tehran’s strategic threat. However, after weeks of global tension, crossed attacks and real risk of regional escalation, the negotiation has ended up pivoting on something much more basic and urgent: prevent the collapse of global energy trade. The most revealing detail is that there is not even a definitive agreement yet on enriched uranium, sanctions or Iranian missiles, but even so both sides seem willing to move forward. if oil circulates again normally. Ultimately, the crisis has shown that Iran retains a much greater capacity for pressure than many expected and that, for the United States, the economic and political price of a prolonged war ended up being more dangerous than accepting a truce full of unknowns. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | A drone has just set fire to the perimeter of the first Arab nuclear power plant: we have entered uncharted territory In Xataka | Iran is about to … Read more

Russia turned gliding bombs into Ukraine’s nightmare. 17 months later Ukraine is giving him his own medicine

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Two years ago Russia launched a FAB-3000 pump of three tons over Kharkov and the shock wave was so powerful that several local seismic sensors recorded it as if it were a small earthquake. Until then, Ukraine barely had a way to respond to a weapon capable of striking from tens of kilometers away. The nightmare that changed the war. For much of 2023 and 2024, Russian gliding bombs became one of the most devastating weapons of the entire war. Moscow discovered that it could transform old Soviet bombs into long-range munitions simply by adding relatively cheap wings and guidance systems. The result It was devastating: huge FABs of 250, 500 or 1,000 kilos launched from dozens of kilometers away, out of the reach of many Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses, capable of destroying fortified positions, bridges, logistics centers or entire neighborhoods. For Ukraine, this became a problem almost impossible to solve. Shooting down each bomb was extremely difficult, attacking the launching planes forced them to get too close to the front and each new Russian kit multiplied the pressure on cities like Kharkiv, Sumy or Zaporizhia. Seventeen months searching for an answer. The appearance now of the first gliding bomb Ukrainian marks something much more important than the presentation of new ammunition. It represents the moment in which kyiv believes it has found your own answer to one of the weapons that have done the most damage during the last two years. Development reportedly began in December 2024 and has required 17 months of work until reaching the final tests and the first official order from the Ministry of Defense. The weapon, named like Vyrivniuvach (“Equalizer”), uses a 250-kilogram warhead and has been designed specifically for the real conditions of the Ukrainian war. It is not simply a question of copying a Western or Soviet model: Ukrainian engineers tried to build an adapted pump to a scenario where planes fly at low altitude to avoid radars, where anti-aircraft defenses cover enormous areas and where each weapon must be cheap, quick to manufacture and easy to integrate. The importance of manufacturing at home. The great advantage of this bomb is not only military, but also industrial and strategic. Until now Ukraine depended on Western kits like the JDAM-ER American or French Hammer to convert conventional bombs into long-range guided weapons. The problem is that these systems arrive in limited quantities, depend on external political decisions and often include restrictions on where they can be used. kyiv had been trying for months to escape that dependence by building its own war industry. The Vyrivniuvach fits perfectly into that logic: according to its developers it costs approximately three times less than a JDAM-ER, can be prepared in less than half an hour and is designed to be integrated into already operational platforms such as the Su-24, MiG-29, Su-27 and even Western F-16 or Mirage 2000. A Russian UMPK gliding bomb attached to a Su-34 An increasingly cheaper and more massive war. The evolution of gliding bombs also reflects a profound change in modern warfare. For years, cruise missiles seemed like the ultimate symbol of precision strike. Ukraine and Russia have proven otherwise: It is often more efficient to adapt old weapons with relatively simple kits and mass produce them. Russia understood this earlier and converted its FABs with UMPK modules into a true constant attrition machinery against the Ukrainian defenses. Ukraine has ended up following the same path. The logic is brutally practical: a gliding bomb does not need complex engines, can be launched from great distances, costs much less than an advanced missile and forces the enemy to expend much more expensive anti-aircraft interceptors or accept the impact. The problem of attacking from outside enemy range. They counted the TWZ analysts that what made Russian bombs especially dangerous was the possibility of launching them outside the radius of many Ukrainian defenses. Russian planes could get relatively close to the front, release their ammunition, and return without directly entering areas covered by Patriot or NASAMS. Ukraine now wants exactly that same ability. Your new bomb is designed to hit targets located “tens of kilometers” behind Russian lines, including fortifications, command posts or logistics centers. This allows you to attack without constantly exposing the pilots to the densest air defenses on the front. Furthermore, as it is a national system, kyiv can use it against any target it deems necessary without depending on external authorizations or political limitations imposed by Western allies. Ukraine’s industrial war. The Vyrivniuvach It also symbolizes the extent to which Ukraine has ceased to be simply a country that receives Western weapons and has become a power. of improvised military innovation out of necessity. In just two years, kyiv has developed long-range kamikaze drones, unmanned naval systems, new munitions and electronic warfare solutions built at high speed and at low cost. The glider bomb is part of that same transformation. Ukraine understood that it could not win a long war by relying solely on limited foreign arsenals or deliveries subject to political debates in Washington or Brussels. That’s why the message behind this new weapon is so important: Russia turned gliding bombs into one of the biggest symbols of Ukrainian vulnerability, but seventeen months later Ukraine seems to have managed to hit back using exactly the same weapon. industrial and military logic. Image | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russian Ministry of Defense In Xataka | Satellite images reveal how much Russia fears Ukraine’s drones. 7,000 km away they are covering their nuclear missiles In Xataka | Once again, Ukraine has opened a missile launched by Russia. Once again, surprising manufacturers have been found

bombs have turned dogs into other animals

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Wars were never limited to the front nor did they end when fighting ceased. Throughout history they have altered landscapes, cities, customs and even everyday behaviors in unexpected ways, leaving silent transformations that only become visible over time. Some of them do not appear in history books or official balance sheets, but they reveal the extent to which a conflict is capable of reordering life itself on its margins. Also from your animals. The war beyond humans. Various studies hrevealed in recent months that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only left a devastating mark on the civilian population, but is also quietly transforming to the animals who shared that human environment, especially domestic dogs, whose fate has changed radically since the beginning of the conflict. Many were abandoned during evacuations, others were trapped in occupied territories or combat zones, and in a very short time they went from being dependent pets. to forced survivors from an extreme environment, becoming a hybrid population between the domestic and the wild. A studio born on the front. The latest research, published in the journal Evolutionary Applicationsanalyzed data from 763 dogs in nine regions of Ukraine thanks to the joint work of shelters, veterinarians and volunteers, including dangerous areas near the front lines. A key part of the work was carried out by Ihor Dykyy, a zoologist at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, who collected observations while serving as a volunteer with the Ukrainian armed forces in Donetsk and near Kharkiv, where he lived with dogs injured, traumatized by explosions and dependent on the improvised care of soldiers. Abandonment and breaking of the human bond. According to the lead author of the study, Mariia Martsiv, from the University of Lviv, the start of the war caused a especially dramatic situation for pets: some owners managed to escape with them, but many animals were left at train stations or abandoned in occupied areas. Although the study focused on domestic dogs, a large part no longer living under the direct care of humans and had passed into what was closest to a wandering existence, marked by scarcity, constant danger and the need to adapt quickly. The brutal selection. The data reveals that, in a surprisingly short period, the front dogs began to look similar more to wild species such as wolves or dingoes than domestic breeds. Extreme snouts, heavier bodies, or light coats became less common, while specimens increased smaller in size, with erect ears, straight tails and fewer white spots. As the researchers explainwar has acted as a ruthless filter favoring traits that improve survival: lighter animals that set off fewer mines, hide better, and present a smaller target for shrapnel. It’s not evolution, it’s survival. Scientists emphasize that these changes do not represent accelerated biological evolution, since the time elapsed is insufficient for profound genetic alterations. In fact, what happens they say is more similar to an immediate selection: Dogs with less adapted characteristics simply do not survive. It was also detected that in combat zones there are fewer old, sick or injured animals, and that dogs they tend to group togethera typical strategy of wild species to increase the chances of resistance in hostile environments. Between feralization and dependency. The work indicates that, despite the increasingly “wild” appearance and behavior, the majority of dogs continue to depending in part of humans for food, supplementing their diet with plants, small animals or carrion, including remains of fallen soldiers, and many have been informally adopted by Ukrainian troops. However, the team from the University of Gdansk, led by Małgorzata Pilot, also observed clear cases of feralizationdogs that no longer depend on people and have returned to a completely independent life. War as an ecological disaster. Although the study focuses only on dogs, its conclusions point to a much larger problem. As ecologist Euan Ritchie, from Deakin University, warns, if a species as adaptable and mobile as the dog is being affected so profoundly, the consequences for less flexible animals can be devastating. War, beyond the brutal human tragedy, also emerges as an environmental disaster that reconfigures entire ecosystems and leaves invisible scars long after the guns fall silent. Even dogs stop being dogs. Image | Ivan Bandura, Jorge Franganillo In Xataka | If the question is what Russia is going to do after the war in Ukraine, Europe has found a disturbing clue: millions of projectiles In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine, but this is unprecedented: Russia is not launching drones, it is launching “Frankensteins”

China is building a megastructure for deep-sea research. For whatever reason, resist nuclear bombs

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China is building a mega thing. It doesn’t matter when you read this: the Asian giant always has a mega dam underwayhe highest bridge in the world either an impossible road in the bag. However, one of the country’s latest projects is not a mega-construction, but a floating artificial “island,” which can navigate and designed to be self-sufficient. Oh, and most importantly: prepared for the end of the world. The “island”. Waiting for it to receive a somewhat more “commercial” name, in a report by South China Morning Post They refer to the facility as the “Deep-Sea All-Wather Resident Floating Research Facility.” It is a name that is equivalent to “what do you want this station to do” and the answer is “yes,” and it is basically a mix between a research center, command center and nuclear bunker. It will be a semi-submersible platform with a 78,000 ton twin hull design and considerable dimensions: 138 meters long. 85 meters wide. Main deck 45 meters from the waterline. Long duration missions. The project specifications show that the platform is projected to house almost 240 people for four months without the need for any replenishment. In addition, it can sail at a speed of up to 15 knots and something that gives us a clue to its colossal ambition is that the engines allow a displacement comparable to that of the Fujian, the brand new Chinese aircraft carrier of 80,000 tons. Bomb proof (nuclear). If you’re thinking about a fortress that could be worthy of a Marvel movie, here’s the shot. The structure will resist waves up to nine meters high and category 17 typhoons, the highest for this type of cyclone. But the most striking thing is that it will have special armor to resist nuclear explosions. Instead of conventional steel armorthe walls of the complex will be built with a design that converts the powerful shock waves of a nuclear explosion into ones that the structure can assimilate. As a “dissipator” of the power of the wave, wow. To do this, they have resorted to a metamaterial which, when subjected to pressure, compresses, creating a denser and stronger structure than much thicker steel panels. According to simulations, its walls resist more pressure than those of a submarine and four times more than those of a conventional ship, but with a plate thickness of only 60 mm. Back.To withstand these long periods at sea, and as describe from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in an article in which they talk about the superstructure, the installation contains critical compartments that guarantee emergency power, but also backup for communications and a navigation center equally protected against nuclear explosions. China is taking leaps and bounds in its fleet Strategy. The SJTU describes it as a research center and, although the project has been described as “civilian”, its specifications make it comply with the Chinese military standard GJB 1060.1-1991 against nuclear explosions. Therefore, although it can be used for deep-sea research, it could also operate in areas where warships could not be accessed (such as waters near diplomatically sensitive countries or territories). This is something that does not frighten a China that does not hesitate to deploy its ships in disputed territoriesand from SCMP they point out that the installation could function as a resilient command center, a logistics center or a surveillance station that, in addition, is less invasive than a fixed structure built on land. It’s not that far away. Although we now know of its existence, this station has been on the drawing board for a decade and is expected to reach operational status in 2028. Once completed, we will be able to see what it is capable of and, above all, what use it is given. Because therein lies its importance as a research center to support the “blue economy” (extraction of deep sea resources, renewable energies and marine research), but also its military component. The photo, by the way, is not of a real structure, but of an interpretation of the SJTU. Images | SJTU, 中国新闻社 In Xataka | China is immersed in a nuclear revolution and needs industrial quantities of uranium. His solution: “fish” it in the sea

The United States needs nuclear energy for AI and already knows where to find it: in dismantled atomic bombs

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The rivalry between China and the United States is not only freed in markets or The tariffs. It is also played In the field of energy. And, in full rise of artificial intelligence, Donald Trump has decided that the way to ensure abundant and stable electricity for military bases, laboratories and data centers will be through nuclear energy. His plan is as ambitious as controversial. An explosive plan. The Trump administration has sought to quadruple the nuclear production of the country. To do this, the White House wants the new reactors not to depend solely on fresh uranium, but also on recycled fuel from radioactive waste and the military plutonium surplus dismantled eyelets. As Washington Post explainedit is an “national security imperative.” The idea is simple: guarantee a stable supply for the most sensitive infrastructure, from military bases to AI data centers, without depending on the electricity or imported fuels. The recycling now an ally. THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT has identified in its inventories All uranium and useful plutonium to reconvert it in fuel. Among them is the plutonium from dismantled weapons, one of the most dangerous materials on the planet. To make it possible, startups like oklo and curio They work in piroprocessinga method that introduces fuel bars spent on molten salts and uses electricity to separate the usable components. Unlike the chemical processes used in the past, these companies ensure that the technique is safer, more economical and less polluting. In addition, Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, founder of Openai, has announced an investment of almost 1.7 billion dollars in an advanced fuel center in Oak Ridge (Tennessee), the same land where uranium was enriched The Manhattan project Eight decades ago. Only the tip of the iceberg. A couple of months ago, in one of the executive orders signed by Trump forced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) To complete any reactor license in 18 months, when until now the process could take more than a decade. The White House also ordered to rewrite the rules of radiation exposure, considered “excessively cautious.” The official statement issued in May established specific deadlines: The Army must operate a reactor at a national base before September 2028, and the energy department will have to inaugurate at least one advanced reactor in any of its facilities in 30 months to supply AI data centers. To this is added the release of 20 tons of Haleu (high -rehearsal low enrichment uranium) for new reactors and the intention of signing 20 international nuclear cooperation agreements in the current congress. The depth of the matter. Despite political and business enthusiasm, the scientific community contrasts with reality. Ross Matzkin-Bridger, exassor of the Department of Energy, He pointed out that it is “The same technologies that developed and rejected decades ago”, with the same background problems. The MIT physicist and former secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, It was more blunt: recycling plutonium of arms not only makes nuclear energy more expensive, but also “threatens to create material that can be used in pumps.” Along the same lines, Matthew Bunn, from Harvard, considers it unrealistic to think that public opinion accepts reprocessing plants that would also require their own waste deposit. And Frank von Hippel, from Princeton, recalled that the US has already abandoned civil recycling at the time of Jimmy Carter, after India used that technology To manufacture your first bomb. Not everything is warnings. For the White House, nuclear recycling is a strategic tool. The official statement insists that AI data centers and military facilities need “Dense energy sources, safe and resistant. ” Also, defenders such as Bradley Williams, from the National Laboratory of Idaho, They argue that using recycled plutonium It could become a need to guarantee sufficient fuel. And startups ensure that new processes include safeguards that prevent reuse of that material for military purposes. The weight of waste. The matter is even broader because the country already accumulates about 90,000 metric tons of fuel spent, stored in containers in active and dismantled plants, According to The Washington Post. Recycling part of that material would relieve a dilemma that has been resolved decades. Meanwhile, the private sector tries to position itself. Oklo signed a contract with Switchdata centers operator, to build modular reactors that contribute up to 12 GW before 2044. The company promises to open its first reactor, Aurorain 2027, although the agreement is not binding and the NRC rejected its previous application in 2022. The idea of ​​recycling is not unique. More countries have found in this method in a way to find a more source without depending on other countries as the case of Francewhich does so through subsidies and strict security measures. For its part, Japan accumulate delays and cost overruns In its Rokkash Plant, which has not yet produced fuels after decades of development. At the opposite end, United Kingdom decided to abandon the idea of ​​recycling. With about 140 tons of stored civil plutonium, he has chosen to immobilize him in a solid and stable way to bury him in a deep geological warehouse in Sellafield. Something similar occurs in Spain, which has reactivated his plan For a deep geological warehouse, planned for 2073, and in the meantime use containers such as Hi-Storm FW for intermediate storage. The contrast is evident: while some countries try to give new life to waste, others bury them forever. Everyone looks for the same: prevent nuclear legacy from becoming an eternal problem. Forecasts. The United States is committed to resuscitating old nuclear recycling technologies to sustain its energy safety and the AI ​​career. The defenders see it as a historical opportunity to reduce foreign dependence and give new use to forgotten materials. Critics fear that the same failures and risks of half a century are repeated. The experience invites prudence: the last reactors connected in the USA, In the Vogtle (Georgia) plantthey arrived seven years late and 17,000 million dollars of extra cost. Image | Oklo and Kelly Michals Xataka | 60 years … Read more

The countries with more nuclear bombs in 2025, gathered in this graph with two protagonists: China and India

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In January 2007, the Watch of the Last Judgment remained at five minutes of the devastation. In January this year, I was barely 89 seconds of midnight. This clock represents, symbolically, if we are close to a nuclear devastation, and the data of 2025 was the most bleak in its 78 to those of history. Although the United States and Russia continue to dismantle nuclear arsenal, they are still the powers that more atomic bombs have. However, China is putting the batteries And another country wants to demonstrate that it has no qualms about arming: India. And this graph perfectly represents the situation of world nuclear arsenal in 2025. The photo in 2025. Prepared by Visual Capitalist From data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or Sipriin the graph we can eloquently see the state of the nuclear arsenal until January this year. The United States and Russia evidently dominated The world nuclear arsenal during the Cold War and, although they are still the two nations that have the most ojas in their possession, that arsenal has been diminishing. During the last months, it is estimated that the United States would have discharged eight eyes while Russia would have ‘retired’ another 71. France and the United Kingdom, which recently confirmed actions to combine their arsenalThey are maintained, like Pakistan, Israel and a North Korea that has a secret arsenal, but with an estimated 50 heads. As can be seen in the image, the US and Russia continue to dominate the segment incontestable, but there is a third country that, also evident, is taking leaps and accelerated to get a good arsenal. China. About a year ago, A SIPRI report He surprised everyone by showing that China was increasing its nuclear arsenal at a stupid speed. Now is in a position that allows Ask for both the US and its allies With nuclear arsenal and that Chinese expansion has been the perfect excuse for the “Rearme” that the Pentagon has asked for. Of the 500 estimated heads of China in 2024, we went to 600, which represents 20% more in a few months that allows to see in an evident way that the Asian giant has taken the renewal of its forces seriously. Nuclear weapons investment is not the only thing we have witnessed, since China boasts electromagnetic catapults of his new warships, of latest generationof New combat fighters and Even a huge poaching plane. India puts the batteries. Despite those 600 heads, it is estimated that they have less than 30 strategically deployed (those that are ready to launch). The United States and Russia have less than 2,000 deployed, France has almost all lists to launch and the United Kingdom half, more or less. The one estimated that it has zero deployed bombs is India, but the new SIPRI report shows that the country’s nuclear investment is paying off. In fact, and without knowing really how things are going in North Koreait would be the only country that has increased its arsenal, adding another eight heads in recent months. They have reached 180 and arrive just at a time of high voltage in the Indo-Pacific region, with continuous demonstrations of force As the other big in the contest does, China. New generation of bombs. The current situation is … complex. With the invasion of Russia to Ukraine the Fear of nuclear war. With the recent conflict between Israel and its neighbors, Those drums have sounded again And, meanwhile, China promotes pacts not to attack first with nuclear arsenal while the treaty expiration is approaching START III which limited the amount of strategic weapons deployed by nuclear powers. Russia se He disconnected of that treaty, directly, in 2022. We will see in a few years how graphics of this type evolve, since France confirmed In 2024 a program to produce Nuclear bombs New generation and more recently they bet on new Actions to consolidate your role as one of the pillars of nuclear deterrence in the West, something that blocks with the Objectives of Rearme launched by Europe. In Xataka | In the Cold War, China feared a Soviet nuclear attack: its response was the largest underground nuclear base on the planet

It is not that the US has warned Russia about Ukraine, is that it has just sent nuclear bombs up to 50 kilotons to Europe

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And, suddenly, Washington left slightly from the rhetoric that had prevailed in the last months in his conversations with Moscow. Trump raised the tone giving Putin a really short maximum period, 10 to 12 days, to agree on a High fire in Ukraine or “face more severe sanctions.” We would say that few people interpreted the message beyond an economic issue. However, the facts also speak of a nuclear movement. Satiety. Yes, Trump It hardened his position in front of Moscow by drastically shortening the deadline granted to Putin to agree on that alleged fire in Ukraine: of the 50 days initially announced to only 10 or 12, warning that, if an agreement is not reached, it will impose more harsh secondary sanctions that will hit Russia and the countries that buy their oil. From his resort in Scotland and together with the British prime minister Keir Starmer, the US president was “very disappointed” with Putin, ensuring that he no longer trusts his conversations, because as long as they speak “people die in missile attacks.” The turn reflects an evolution in your speech, more favorable to Zelenski From his encounter at the NATO Summit, and responds to the intensification of the Russian offensive in the Eastern Front and the increase in drone swarming attacks. But there is much more. Kilotones Actually, it is a confirmation of What we count Last week after the appearance of a military emblem that left little doubt. Now it has been Bloomberg The one that has put name and capabilities to action. We talk about the reappearance of nuclear weapons in the United States in British soilfor the first time Since 2008in an unequivocal gesture to Moscow in full climb of tensions. The episode was known thanks to a flight recorded on July 16, when A C-17 plane of the American Air Force, belonging to the Nuclear Prime Airlift Force (Specialized unit in the transport of nuclear weapons), moved from the base of Kirtland in New Mexico to Lakenheath, in eastern England. The remarkable thing is that he did it with The transpondent onallowing their route to be publicly observed, which Analysts interpret as A direct message Putin that Washington not only maintains its commitment to European security, but is willing to reinforce it visibly. Not even. Both the Pentagon and the British Ministry of Defense maintain the traditional policy of Do not confirm or deny The presence of these weapons, but the accumulated evidence, together with Budget documents that detail nuclear safety works in Lakenheath, it indicates that it is a very real transfer of Ojivas B61-12the latest generation of American thermonuclear bombs. Transport of a b61-12 pump The importance of B61-12. It We have counted These months. The armament in question, The B61-12it is a modernized free fall pump model with a variable load that goes from 0.3 to 50 kilotons and incorporates precision guidance systems, which makes it more flexible compared to previous versions. This adaptability allows us to use it both against specific military and urban areas, giving it an added strategic value. His deployment in the United Kingdom also reintroduces a nuclear mission for the Royal Air Force that had disappeared After the cold warwhen London withdrew their own nuclear aviation weapons. The British Ministry of Defense had already advanced that it will acquire at least twelve f-35a fighters, Specifically designed to carry this type of pumps, which places the RAF again in the center of NATO nuclear deterrence. Tighten the button. With Lakenheath They already add seven bases distributed in Six European countries that house American tactical nuclear weapons under the supreme command of Washington, since the use of these weapons, even deployed in allied territory, always requires the direct authorization of the president of the United States. Impact on NATO nuclear strategy. What doubt fits, the Nuclear Weapons Return British soil is not a simple symbolic gesture, but a sign that the Atlantic Alliance is adjusting its deterrent to respond to tactical nuclear imbalance With Russiawhich has a wide arsenal of short -range weapons. The introduction of the B61-12 offers NATO greater operational flexibility, expanding the response options and partially compensating for the Russian advantage in the European theater. Analysts as Sidharth Kaoushal They emphasize that this modernization constitutes a way of limiting the effects of Russian superiority on non -strategic nuclear armament, while experts as Hans Kristensen They insist that the movement confirms the real deployment of this new type of weapons in Europe, a step with deep consequences in the dynamics of deterrence. The political context. Plus: The transfer of these bombs coincides with a Turrous turn in Trump’s policy towards Putin. The US president, after weeks of friction, has approved New deliveries from Patriot missiles to Ukraine, presses Moscow with the threat of secondary sanctions and has unilaterally shortened the deadline for Russia to accept the fire. In this context, maintaining the lighting of the lighting flight acquires a sense of clear warning: The United States is not only withdrawing forces from Europe, but increases its nuclear response capacity in the region. In this way, Washington seeks to reaffirm both before Russia and before European allies that their commitment to nuclear deterrence is still firm and visible. Strategic implications. It is the last of the legs to analyze. The reintroduction of American nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom after more than a decade of absence it cannot be interpreted as an isolated event, but as part of a remodeling of European security architecture. It means returning to London a central role in NATO’s nuclear mission, reactivating the Air nuclear capacity of the RAF and increase the range of military options of the alliance against the growing Russian threat. The brand movement A substantial reinforcement of the transatlantic link in the field of nuclear defense and, at the same time, sends a warning calculated to Moscow: any perception of nuclear advantage In Europe it will be answered with new deployments and with a reaffirmation of … Read more

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