helicopter

a helicopter without a cabin that launches combat drones

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In February 2022, a Black Hawk helicopter took off, sailed and landed all alone for half an hour without anyone on board. What then seemed like a futuristic demonstration is now quickly becoming a new category of military aircraft. The end of one era and the beginning of another. Europe has been pursuing the dream of a large sixth-generation fighter capable of competing with the American and Chinese programs for years, but the FCAS lockout has once again highlighted the enormous political, industrial and budgetary difficulties that accompany this type of project. While the future of the European fighter jet is blurred between disputes over intellectual property, the distribution of work and rising costs, Airbus has taken advantage of the Berlin air show to submit a proposal much more aligned with the real trends that are transforming current battlefields: a autonomous aircraft, without cabin and designed to operate alongside drones. The contrast is striking because while the great symbol of European air power seems stagnant, the company is betting on technologies that are already demonstrating their value in conflicts such as the one in Ukraine. A helicopter without pilots or cabin. The new U145 is based on the successful H145 helicoptera platform with more than 1,800 examples in service and more than 8.5 million flight hours accumulated worldwide. However, Airbus has completely removed the cabinso that the aircraft cannot be piloted by humans under any circumstances. Instead, it incorporates autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and a set of sensors that will manage the flight independently. The company plans to carry out a first flight with a safety pilot before the end of 2026 and begin entering service at the beginning of the next decade. The philosophy is simple: take advantage of an already proven platform, with a consolidated logistics chain and known maintenance costs, to accelerate the leap towards autonomous operations without having to develop a completely new aircraft from scratch. From transport helicopter to autonomous aerial truck. The U145 has been conceived primarily as a logistics platform capable of operating in dangerous environments where sending human crews poses an increasing risk. With a maximum takeoff weight of 3,800 kilograms and a load capacity close to 1,200 kilogramsincorporates a large folding front door, a folding loading platform and a reinforced floor to facilitate the transport of supplies. Airbus imagines it supplying advanced units, carrying out emergency missions, supporting operations in remote areas or acting in scenarios where the threat of drones, missiles or electronic warfare makes the use of conventional helicopters increasingly difficult. It is a vision that fits with the conclusions that many armed forces are extracting from Ukraine: Logistics has become one of the priority objectives of the modern battlefield. The real bet: mothership. However, the most revealing feature of the project is not its autonomy or its cargo capacity, but the role that Airbus reserves for it in the future. The U145 is being developed to perform as mother platform capable of transporting and launching drones for reconnaissance, surveillance, attack or loitering munitions. Airbus is already working on this concept together with MBDA, one of the main European missile manufacturers, within the ecosystem of the called “launched effects”. The idea is to use relatively cheap and expendable aircraft to deploy swarms of autonomous systems on the battlefield. In other words, while Europe discusses how to build a sophisticated sixth-generation fighter, Airbus is betting on an architecture where an increasing part of the combat will be carried out. by drones launched from autonomous platforms that do not even need pilots. Ukraine as a laboratory. The appearance of U145 cannot be understood without observing what is happening in Ukraine. There the drones have completely transformed the way to fight, from reconnaissance missions to the destruction of armored vehicles, anti-aircraft systems and logistics centers. The conflict has shown that relatively inexpensive platforms can generate disproportionate strategic effects and that pilot survival in highly contested environments is increasingly complicated. Airbus, in fact, is not the only company that has reached this conclusion. Similar projects appear in the United States like the MQ-72C derived from Lakota, the U-Hawk based on the Black Hawk or Boeing’s plans to evolve the Chinook into autonomous configurations. The difference is that Europe seemed focused on chasing the next big fighter plane while the rest of the world explored new ways to automate warfare. European strategic autonomy takes another path. There is no doubt, although Airbus insist In that the U145 does not respond to any specific national program, its appearance coincides with a moment in which Europe seeks to reduce its technological and military dependence on the United States. The autonomous helicopter fits perfectly into this strategy because it takes advantage of a European platform, is integrated into a European industrial ecosystem and allows develop own capabilities in one of the most promising sectors of current defense. The implicit message is difficult to ignore: the great European fighter may be increasingly further away to materialize, but the continental industry continues to look for ways to maintain its military relevance. And while sixth-generation projects are consumed by endless negotiations, Airbus appears to have identified an alternative path much closer to the reality of future conflicts: autonomous aircraft, without a cabin, connected in a network and capable of deploying combat drones where sending a pilot no longer makes sense. Image | Airbus In Xataka | The future European fighter in which Spain participates has received the worst news. And it comes directly from France In Xataka | Airbus has just made the most autonomous commercial aircraft in the world fly. Your goal: 22 hours straight without a stopover

this is what makes this helicopter so special

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Mexico has been operating a European military helicopter for years that has proven to be versatile in very different missions, from humanitarian support to security operations. This background, added to recent signs about the modernization of the air fleet, once again places the Airbus H225M. The operation would mean expanding the presence of a model that is already part of the Mexican Air Force. The program. A key piece to understand the current scenario provided by Military Zone. The media claims to have consulted an investment program that contemplates the acquisition of three Airbus H225M to reinforce the 101st Air Squadron. The document to which it refers sets an estimated budget of 172 million dollars and includes not only the purchase of the aircraft, but also the training of technical personnel and their long-term maintenance. Confirmed. On February 10, during the Mexican Air Force Day ceremony at Military Air Base No. 1 of Santa Lucía, the Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, announced that the institution will promote the modernization of its fleet with new acquisitions. In his words, “the permanent updating of its air fleet will be promoted with the acquisition of 10 multipurpose helicopters,” in addition to other aircraft intended to reinforce operational capabilities. The Airbus H225M on scene. This possible fit gains weight when the previous trajectory of the Mexican Air Force itself with this platform is observed. In 2010, it incorporated twelve EC-725 Super Cougar helicopters, acquired from Eurocopter, today Airbus Helicopters. The first units arrived in 2011 and the delivery process was completed in 2014, the year in which the manufacturer’s restructuring led to the adoption of the H225M name. This previous tour outlines a scenario of operational continuity consistent with the idea of ​​expanding capabilities within the same family of aircraft. A multirole helicopter with proven range. Airbus describes the H225M as the most capable member of the Super Puma/Cougar military family, an 11-tonne aircraft whose reliability and versatility have been proven in demanding combat environments. According to the manufacturer, the platform has accumulated more than 300,000 flight hours in different operational theaters since 2007 and has maintained mission availability levels greater than 95% in high threat conditions. Key data. It can carry up to 28 equipped soldiers or be configured for medical evacuation with 11 stretchers and four paramedics, as well as operate from land bases or ships in adverse weather conditions, including severe icing. Its radius of action reaches 920 kilometers, expandable to 1,253 with auxiliary tanks and capable of being extended by refueling in flight. Advanced technology. Beyond its scope or availability, the H225M incorporates a set of systems designed to facilitate mission management and reduce crew workload. Airbus highlights its four-axis automatic flight control system, capable of providing precision and stability both in normal conditions and in scenarios with a single operating engine, in addition to allowing automatic maneuvers such as automatic hovering with a precision of 1 meter. Added to this is a digital cockpit with enlarged screens, integrated navigation systems and safety alerts that are only displayed when necessary. Survival and maintenance. This helicopter was conceived from the beginning with a clear focus on operational endurance and crew protection. The structure incorporates reinforcements, energy-absorbing landing gear and self-sealing fuel tanks, while the cabin can be equipped with armor and warning systems against radars, missiles or laser designators. The model can also integrate the HForce Modular Weapon Systemwith configurations ranging from side machine guns to rockets or guided missiles, although the specific configuration depends on each operator. Images | Mexican Air Force | Airbus In Xataka | Spain has built a laser that shields the backbone of its Navy: the A400M is now ready for combat

A poster at the University of Granada uncovers one of the big problems of generation Z: “helicopter parents”

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The Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Granada has become famous this week for a simple paper poster that has become viral on social networks. In the message, posted by the Vice Dean of Internships, you can read: “Parents are not attended to. All students enrolled in internships are of legal age.” Among thousands of other users, the poster was spread by the professor at the University of Granada Daniel Arias Aranda in your LinkedIn profile, stating: “When you have to put up this sign at the university, something is going wrong. Dear student: solve your own problems and don’t boss around mom and dad. Remember, the age of majority in Spain is 18.” Debate in networks: autonomy and maturity. The reactions on social networks have not been long in coming, with an intense exchange of opinions between students, families and teachers. There are those who strongly defend that the students “are too old to defend themselves,” as one student pointed out. interviewed by Antena 3and that “it makes no sense for parents to go to manage exams or tutorials.” Tap on the image to go to the original message On the other hand, the general secretary of the Association of Friends of Vicente Aleixandre responded to the message of the professor from his account on Another user went even further, thinking that “It should even be illegal, a person of legal age is no longer represented by his parents in legal dealings unless a judge determines otherwise; I consider that assisting parents goes against the autonomy of the student’s will.” helicopter parents. In the background of the conversation hovered – pardon the redundancy – the concept of “helicopter parents”, a term coined in 1969 by the writer Haim Ginott in his book “between parents and children“. The term describes the behavior of mothers and fathers who are so attentive to every issue of their children that they often intervene in processes that they, as adults, they should resolve on their own. Especially in university or work matters. However, a study revealed that this excess of control can lead to children with problems resolving conflicts and dealing with daily stress, something that would make them more anxious and dependent. Although the staff of the University of Granada I remembered in The Country They remember that, fortunately, these are “completely isolated cases”, the placement of the poster was motivated because some parents have come to make complaints, manage enrollment or request explanations directly from the university staff on behalf of his children. “In these cases, I explain to the mother that what needs to be promoted is the student’s critical reasoning, that he is the one who refutes a correction, not his parents,” he declared to The Country José Ángel Morales García, professor of Neurosciences at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). A new parent profile. Beyond the helicopter parent phenomenonanother of the social keys that explain the rise of the debate is that current university students belong to generation Z, whose parents belong to generation X or millennials, born between the seventies and the nineties. This generation of parents was the first to go massively to university in Spain and is made up of professionals who have worked in multinationals, which gives them sufficient solvency to feel like legitimate interlocutors with teachers, academic staff and even before recruiters for a jobcoming to assume a more leading role than the student or candidate themselves. Compared to previous times, the fact that a greater proportion of parents have university experience has changed the relationship with the centers. Now they feel entitled to intervene or debate because they know the system from within. Even so, teachers insist that “the academic relationship is between the student and the university.” The research reveal that encouraging independence during youth improves their maturity and self-esteem. In Xataka | Silicon Valley’s “tech” generation Z has given up alcohol: its new fun is 92 hours of work Image | Pexels (Arina Krasnikova), Daniel Arias Aranda

They have needed six years, dozens of patrols and a helicopter

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Czech police He has managed to arrest To the driver who for years surprised all the Internet for appearing sporadically on the highways of the country at the wheel of a car. The 51 -year -old man was arrested after a persecution that involved several patrol cars and a helicopter. One last time. It all started last Sunday 8:15 in the morning when the agents They received the notice of a formula 1 car reposting in a gas station near Dobříš, about 40 kilometers southwest of Prague. Two minutes later a second call arrived: the vehicle circulated at high speed on the D4 highway in the southern direction. In just 15 minutes, the driver was intercepted in the town of Buk. There was resistance. The images of the arrest, where the police claim that they were recorded by the driver himself And his son shows a tense confrontation of almost ten minutes. The pilot, dressed in his red monkey and helmet, refused to leave the car arguing that the police were invading a private property. “There is a policeman everywhere,” you hear screaming in the recordings. He finally gave up and was transferred to be interrogated, although he refused to declare. Six years of search. The persecution of this “ghost pilot” It began in 2019when the first videos of the car appeared circulating on Czech highways. In 2022 he was sighted again, but on all occasions the helmet prevented the driver. The speed radars captured the images, but the investigation stagnated again and again. According to Czech police, They had already located And questioned the vehicle owner in the past, who denied having driven him by road. The legal problem. In case there was any doubt, circulating with this type of vehicles on public roads is prohibited in the Czech Republic. The car lacks lights, flashing, registration and other mandatory security elements. “Race cars of this type cannot legally circulate on the roads because they do not meet the legal technical requirements,” They explained The authorities. There is also the theme of the sharp edges of the vehicle, since they represent a danger for both the driver and the people circulating around. The truth about the Ferrari. Although the driver himself and the media have described him as a Ferrari of Formula 1, automobile experts They have identified The vehicle like a Dallara GP2/08, a car developed by the Italian manufacturer for the GP2 series, a category that functioned as prelude to Formula 1 and that is now known as Formula 2. It is commented that the driver came the entire car to look like a F1 ferrari. The consequences. The case has now passed to the corresponding administrative body to determine the sanction. The driver faces a fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 Czech crowns (between 200 and 400 euros) and the withdrawal of the driving license for a period of six months to one year. The detainee’s son think That the police response has been disproportionate, with “several dozen patrol cars and a helicopter for an alleged traffic infraction.” In Xataka | For Shaquille O’Neal the biggest obstacle to conducting a supercar is its height: they have manufactured a tailored corvette

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