military

Tencent has a significant stake in US military training tools. Trump is going to stand up to it

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The Trump administration is debating if it forces the Chinese giant Tencent to get rid of its stakes in the largest Western video game companies. At stake are Riot Games, Epic Games and Supercell (more than a billion players) and the Unreal Engine, used in military simulations. The ghost of TikTok returns, but this time the affected market is different. Why Tencent. Tencent is not only the largest video game company in the world. It is also the largest silent shareholder in the Western industry: it owns 100% of Riot Games, 28% of Epic Games and majority control of Supercell, the Finnish company behind ‘Clash of Clans’. To this we must add participations in Larian, Remedy, Ubisoft and Discord, among dozens of other studios. For years, that capital has flowed to the West: the studios needed investment, Tencent had liquidity, and no one was looking for trouble. The White House sniffs. Washington, however, he has had doubts for years. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) began to review these investments during Trump’s first termand the case became one of the longest in the history of the organization, going through two administrations without reaching a clear resolution. What worries the White House is that video game platforms collect financial information, personal data and chat logs from hundreds of millions of users, many of them Americans. These databases are candy for any intelligence agency. The Epic case. The Unreal Engine adds an extra issue in which the White House has a special interest. The engine not only gives life to video games like ‘Fortnite’; It is also used by defense contractors and the US military itself for military simulation and training. In fact, the country’s Armed Forces have worked directly with Epic for years on that development. That Tencent is a shareholder in the company that builds this technology is what turns this issue into a national security problem. So much so that in January 2025, the Pentagon formally classified Tencent as a company linked to the Chinese military. Tencent rejected that classification, but the Pentagon did not withdraw it. There are problems. During the Biden administration, the issue was entrenched by an internal disagreement that no one knew how to resolve: Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco defended forced disinvestment, but the Treasury Department preferred to keep investments under data segregation protocols. Without consensus, the case was frozen. The cabinet meeting scheduled for March 4 was postponed due to scheduling conflicts. That same day, Tencent shares fell 1.72%. Parallels with TikTok. There are similaritiesbut also differences. With ByteDance, the US forced the creation of a new entity with 80% in the hands of US investors, as a condition of operating there. But the problem with Tencent is that it does not operate on American soil, but rather is a shareholder in companies already established there. Getting rid of these stakes is not the same as closing an app, it is more a restructuring of private capital. The consequences in the case of Tencent would go beyond Riot and Epic: the Chinese company has been the main injector of capital into studios for a decade, and a forced disinvestment would change the financing conditions of the entire sector, favoring large publishers. When will there be a solution? The decision has an undeclared but known deadline: Trump travels to China in April to meet with Xi Jinping. Forcing Tencent to sell would send a message of maximum pressure before sitting down to negotiate. In any case, neither the US Treasury, nor Tencent, nor Epic nor Riot have made public statements. Silence, in this type of situation, is louder than if they were discussing it loudly. In Xataka – China has made a drastic decision: prioritize ‘its’ technology, even if it is worse

no to all military use

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The race to dominate artificial intelligence has narrowed to a handful of actors capable of competing at the highest level. Anthropic is part of that small group along with names like OpenAI or Google, and their models Claude they have gained ground in areas such as programming. In that big moment, however, the company faces a delicate decision: maintain certain limits on the military use of its technology, even at the cost of straining its relationship with the United States Department of Defense. The standard that changes everything. According to Axiosciting a senior administration official, the Pentagon is pressuring four leading AI laboratories to allow the use of their models for “all lawful purposes,” including in especially sensitive areas such as weapons development, intelligence gathering or battlefield operations. Anthropic, however, would not have accepted those conditions after months of difficult negotiations, which has led the Department of Defense to consider reviewing its relationship with the company. The lines you don’t want to cross. Faced with this broad demand, those led by Dario Amodei have made it clear that they maintain specific limits. The company insists that two areas remain out of discussion. A spokesperson told the aforementioned media that the company remains “committed to using cutting-edge AI in support of US national security,” but clarified that conversations with the Department of Defense have focused on “our strict limits around fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance,” and that these issues do not “relate to current operations.” The episode that ended up raising the tension. The Wall Street Journal statedciting people with knowledge of the matter, that Claude was used in a US military operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro through the relationship with Palantir. In that same text, the AI ​​company responded that they cannot comment on whether their technology was used in a specific military operation, classified or not. And he added that any use, whether in the private sector or in the Government, must comply with its use policies. What is at stake. Beyond that episode, Axios reported that from the US military level “everything is on the table,” including the possibility of reducing or even breaking the relationship with Anthropic. The same senior official cited by the media added that, if this path is chosen, there would have to be “an orderly replacement,” which suggests that the process would require a certain amount of time. WSJ provides another interesting fact: last year a $200 million contract was signed between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. The substance of the dispute. At a time when AI companies seek to consolidate incomejustify valuations and demonstrate usefulness in critical environments, the relationship with the defense sector is a showcase and a source of first-rate business. At the same time, it is also an area where ethical and strategic limits become more visible. Anthropic’s decision to maintain certain restrictions may reinforce its identity as a security-oriented company, but also limit its access to million-dollar contracts. Images | Anthropic | Oleg Ivanov In Xataka | Data centers in space promise to save the planet. And also ruin the earth’s orbit

build a “military Silicon Valley” in the heart of Madrid

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In recent years, security has become the new silent motor of European industrial policy. Wars and pressures between allies have modified plans. It is no longer just about manufacturing more, but about deciding where, how and under what control strategic capabilities of the future are built. Spain, in fact, is in search and capture of a node that amplifies its defense. The obstacle of the ground and an ambition. Spain wants to accelerate its military modernization and the centerpiece is to concentrate talent, engineering and technological development in a single large complex. Here appears Indra who, apparently, is looking for 77 hectares in the area of ​​Madrid to build a macrohub of up to 300,000 square meters dedicated to radars, electronic defense, communications and industrial digitalization, with a investment of 385 million backed by the European Investment Bank and the promise of thousands of skilled jobs (speaking of more than 3,000 new positions). The project, initially linked to Torrejón de Ardoz, has been slowed down by administrative slowness and is now considering other locations in the Henares Corridor, an area that the company considers strategic to reinforce a technological hub capable of responding to the new modernization programs of the Armed Forces. A military Silicon Valley. The ambition, on paper, goes beyond a simple corporate center. The idea is to create a complete ecosystem where laboratories, simulators, advanced manufacturing and auxiliary companies come together, turning the Madrid axis into a kind of Military Silicon Valley Spanish. The strategic plan Leading the Future aims to consolidate Indra as a driver of the defense and aerospace sector, attracting suppliers, research centers and technological startups that revolve around a strong industrial core. It is not, therefore, just about constructing buildings, but about articulate an innovation network that places Spain in a more autonomous and competitive position on the European board. Corporate engineering to avoid losing control. In parallel, the Government is moving to ensure that this national defense champion does not escape public control. As? Apparently, Moncloa is studying transferring Indra’s defense assets to a new subsidiary that allows the integration of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering and eventually other companies in the sector, all without diluting state participation through SEPI. counted the newspaper El Mundo There is a compelling reason behind this movement. The formula aims to avoid the conflict of interest derived from Ángel Escribano’s dual status as president of Indra and co-owner of EM&M, and to avoid a loss of control over an industry considered strategic. Industrial consolidation under pressure. The merger by absorption initially approved generated tensions due to shareholder balance and the risk of litigation, but undoing the path is not easy either. I remembered the media that Indra and EM&M have signed contracts under the heat of public credits linked to military programs and, in practice, they have operated as if integration were already underway. Added to this is the pressure of new international investors who see consolidation as a clear opportunity to create value. The result is a pulse between industrial ambition, state control and political times, one that will define whether Spain manages to articulate that “sovereignty mode” with a technological-military pole, or if societal complexity slows down the project that aspires to transform the heart of the country at the epicenter of its new defense industry. Image | RawPixel, Felipe Gabaldon In Xataka | Spain has been a weapons exporting power for decades. Now he has made a decision: keep them In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Spain has just surprised Europe: 5,000 million for 34 warships and four submarines

We don’t know if the US is going to attack Iran. We do know that it is carrying out the largest military deployment in the Middle East since Iraq

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In major international crises there is a almost imperceptible moment in which the tension stops being rhetorical and begins to be measured in real movements. History shows that when the pieces begin to be placed with that precision, the outcome It rarely depends on words alone. Therefore, when they pass 20 tanker aircraft across Europe in a single day and the maps tell us that the largest aircraft carrier in the United States is four days to reach its destination, the outcome can only be an ockham razor. A display that is already historic. Of course, we don’t know for sure whether the United States is going to attack Iran. What we do know is that it is running the largest air deployment in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a concentration of power which cannot be explained as simple diplomatic pressure. There are currently dozens of stealth fighters, command and control aircraft, anti-missile systems and two aircraft carrier groups taking up positions while the White House insists that diplomacy still on the table. The question is not whether Washington has the capacity to strike, but when and to what extent it would decide to do so. And if the satellite maps they don’t lieon Sunday morning everything would be ready. Stealth fighters in motion. The radars have indicated For several days now, the F-22, F-35 and F-16 have been crossing the Atlantic in waves, reinforcing bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia that are becoming launching pads for a sustained campaign. Them F-15E are addedelectronic warfare aircraft and air communications nodes that allow complex operations to be coordinated. It is not the pattern a specific attack like the one perpetrated in Iran with the Operation Midnight Hammerbut rather the architecture of a “heavy” and prolonged air war, one capable to last weeksbut more, with targets ranging from nuclear facilities to missile depots and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps centers. AWACS to the limit. There are six Boeing E-3 Sentry, That is, almost 40% of an aging fleet with low availability, warning and control systems that have been sent to Europe and the Middle East. We talk about the floating brain that manage air combatcoordinates interceptions and detects drones and cruise missiles at low altitude. Its massive deployment indicates that planners are setting up an environment “high intensity battle”but at the same time it reveals a structural vulnerability of Washington: the United States depends on a small and old fleet to direct one of the most complex campaigns on the planet. U.S. Ford Patriots, THAAD and defending against retaliation. There is no doubt, in such a movementreinforcement is not just offensive. Patriot Systems and THAAD They have come forward to protect the surrounding 30,000-40,000 soldiers Americans scattered in the region and allies like Israel. This gives us an idea of ​​what to expect. Washington assumes that any attack would trigger a response with ballistic missiles, kamikaze drones and possibly attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz. The deployment seeks to ensure that, if retaliation comes, it can absorb the blow without paralyzing the operation. Two aircraft carriers and a “navy” visible in space. He USS Abraham Lincoln already operates in the area with Aegis destroyers and nuclear submarines, while the USS Gerald R. Ford keep it up from the Atlantic after crossing near Gibraltar. As we said, if it maintains its current speed, it will be off the coast of Israel on sunday morning and will be able to reinforce air defense in the event of an immediate Iranian retaliation. Two combat groups with F/A-18, F-35C and electronic warfare aircraft provide mobile power, missile defense and sustained strike capability. That is to say, it is not a symbolic presence, it is an unequivocal sign of preparation for real combat. Trajectory of the American aircraft carrier US Ford Tehran, Moscow and Beijing for internships. While Washington concentrates forces, Iran is currently carrying out naval exercises with Russia and China in the Strait of Hormuz. The presence of Russian and Chinese ships does not alter the military balance against the United States Navy, but it adds a layer if you want. politics and risk which requires planning with greater caution. In this regard, Iran has also closed parts of the strait for maneuvers with anti-ship missiles and drones, stressing that any war would not be a limited exchange, but an escalation with global impact on the oil and sea routes. An outrage for ambiguous objectives. The accumulation of forces It allows, a priori, multiple scenarios: from a limited attack against nuclear facilities to a campaign aimed at degrading missile capacity or even weakening the regime. Be that as it may, technological and aerial superiority does not resolve the political mystery of what would happen next. Without ground forces or a broad coalition, a protracted war would depend almost exclusively on air and naval power. In that regard, The New York Times said that the White House has received plans designed to maximize the damage, but has not yet made a final decision. Pressure as a strategic weapon. With such a scenario there are not many options. Either the deployment is a prelude to an attack, or we are dealing with a tool unprecedented pressure aimed at forcing concessions at the negotiating table. Some analysts believe that the show of force they have in front of them right now could convince to Tehran that Washington is going all out. Others warn that the same preparation that increases military credibility also reduce the margin to retreat without any political cost. One thing is clear: at this point, the movement of parts It is already historical and hyperbolic, and the only thing left is to know if it will remain a threat or will become an open war of unpredictable dimensions. Image | TREVOR MCBRIDE, US Army Aerial, RawPixel, BORN In Xataka | Tension in Iran is so high that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. And that will have consequences when … Read more

China wants to win the military space race and that is why it is working on a humble project: a space destroyer

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China has underway a space project worthy of ‘Star Wars’. In another context, it could sound like a tremendous exaggeration, but only one thing has to be said: the image that crowns this article belongs to a propaganda video from the Nantianmen Project. Specifically, it is the Luanniao, a larger space aircraft carrier than any aircraft carrier and able to throw hypersonic missiles and unmanned space fighters. More than terrifying, for some, it is simply high-tech theater. Nantianmen. First of all, you have to separate concepts. Nantianmen is a Chinese air force project that began in 2017 focused on the design of a global defense system. This includes practically everything we can think of such as fighters, weapons, autonomous vehicles, transport and launch platforms. It is a program that seeks to explore the paths that Chinese military aviation may have in the future, and it must be understood that, within Nantianmen, there are two types of designs: those that have been brought to the real plane through models and those that are on paper. An example of the first is Baidi, a manned aircraft that would become the jewel in the crown of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. And an example of the second is the monstrous destroyer Imperial Chinese. Luanniao. The video that I leave above these lines is the one that the state channel CCTV published a few days ago in which we can see… a lot of 3D elements doing movie things. In certain fragments the Luanniao appears, but it is not the first time that this space aircraft carrier can be seen. As pointed out South China Morning Postin 2018, shortly after the project started, the AVIC Global Culture Communication Company – a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China – showed a conceptual model of the Luanniao at an air show. We now have some more details thanks to the most recent CCTV broadcast. According to the network’s data, the Luanniao will make any conventional aircraft carrier look ridiculous: 242 meters long. 684 meters wingspan. Weight of more than 100,000 tons. Capable of carrying 88 unmanned Xuannv fighters both inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere. And a full weapons team, with particle acceleration cannons and hypersonic missiles. To give us an idea, the American aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford It measures 337 meters by 77 meters. Pride. In the same video a model of the Baidi appears, a variable geometry wing aircraft that, as we say, seems to be the banner of Chinese aerospace innovation. In fact, the Asian giant is testing its new generation of both combat-ready fighters like those focused on air supremacy and reconnaissance. But, obviously, the one that attracts the most attention is Lunniao. From the network, it was commented that the aircraft carrier will become operational in two or three decades, and military analyst Wang Mingzhi, from the PLA Air Force Command College, affirms that technologies such as those of the Nantianmen Project reflect both the “expectations for future aerospace and space superiority and the directions being pursued to safeguard national security.” “It is not a question of whether they can be achieved, but rather which ones will be done first and when they will be implemented,” pointed out. “China is creating the impression that it is working on technologies that no one else can achieve. It is still ‘Star Wars’ material to inspire the Chinese audience” – Peter Layton Arching an eyebrow. Now, Western analysts are not so optimistic about something that has been described as mere propaganda rather than practical weapons development. Attacking the more earthly issue, defense analyst Peter Layton of Australia’s Griffith Asia Institute point Yes, the Luanniao would surpass both current defenses as storms when flying at an altitude higher than that which surface-to-air missiles and conventional fighter aircraft can reach. The “but” is that the technology to remain suspended at the edge of the atmosphere and launch missiles from there is science fiction. Layton comments that “it would require enormous amounts of fuel and propulsion mechanisms that have not yet been created,” ensuring that China has between 10 and 15 years left to develop the rocket technology necessary to put such an aircraft carrier into orbit. In D.W.space analyst Heinrich Kreft describe the project as “completely unreal from today’s perspective,” but he does not say that it is smoke because “much of what was fiction 20 or 30 years ago is real today.” Other analysts closer to the United States see the Luanniao as something with a single objective: to make the world believe that China has the technology to build this while hoarding resources to do other things. The undeniable. Whether it is psychological warfare, excessive ambition, smoke or something it is really working on, the undeniable thing is that China is taking giant steps in the new space race and weapons. We have already mentioned that they are accelerating the development of combat aircraft with stealth capabilities capable of standing up to whatever the United States deploys near its waters, but they have also joined that “first come, first served” space policy. Beyond satellites and systems that are a threat to security in space – according to the United States – they have been developing satellite technology for years. autonomous spacecraft and of reusable rockets with LandSpacethe answer to SpaceX’s Starship. But, in the end, all that is much more realistic than the enormous ship of 120,000 tons and more than 600 meters in span. But, as Kreft says, 30 years ago we also thought that current vehicles They were science fiction… Image | CCTV In Xataka | The US operation in Iran has staged one of the most impressive milestones of military engineering: the B-2 Spirit

While Europe studies reintroducing military service, Mexico has taken the opposite path: reducing it

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the shift in international policies of the US have caused Europe to no longer trust NATO as a defensive shield, betting on improve your defense resources. Thus, while several European countries debate whether to return to introduce military service mandatory, Mexico decides to take the opposite path and shorten the mandatory military training of its citizens so that it fits better into the lives of young people and is more attractive to them. The change of Mexico. The Government of President Sheinbaum has applied the largest operational change in the conditions of the National Military Service (SMN) in Mexico since 1942. As stated in the article 5 of the Political Constitution of the Mexican States, the service of arms is mandatory for all Mexicans between 18 and 40 years old. This call-up is divided into two modalities: Framed and Available. The former remain quartered for about three months, while the latter remain at the disposal of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) for a year, during which time they are instructed in training sessions on Saturdays. However, with the last reform which has come into effect in January 2026, the training phase has gone from 44 weeks to just 13, with limited classes for those assigned as “On Availability” on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. so that the fulfillment of this duty does not interrupt the studies or work of recruits. New civil-military program. Colonel Juan Sandoval Muñoz, commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, explained to The Universal that the new “Availability” model prioritizes civil-military subjects to reinforce military values ​​and discipline. The dates for this training are divided into two periods: from February 14 to May 9, and from August 1 to October 24, adding a total of 13 sessions. Participants cover 10 subjects focused on basic training, discipline and support for the population, first aid, civil protection and DN-III-E Plan and knowledge of weapons. All subjects are taught by officers and sergeants of the Armed Forces so that recruits become familiar with the military hierarchy. 13 weeks in the barracks. For its part, the Framed option remains with 13 weeks of admission to barracks, with tailored training as if they were professional soldiers. According to Colonel Sandobal, many of these recruits requested this modality to release their SMN Identity Card in less time, which certifies that they have fulfilled their duty, but they ended up requesting entry into the army or military schools. For this reason, it was decided not to change this modality to keep this recruitment route open, despite being equal in time to the other alternative. European rearmament brings the military back. In Europecountries like Denmark accelerate compulsory military service from 2026 for womenwhich was previously only voluntary, and they extend it to eleven months in its basic version. For its part, Germany is discussing bringing back the voluntary military service before the end of the year, after abandoning it in 2011, and Croatia reactivates it on a mandatory basis with a duration of two months for men starting in January 2026. Other countries like france and Poland are starting ten-month voluntary programs for 18- to 19-year-olds, with the option of joining the reserve or the army if a military crisis arises. In Spain the Minister of Defense continue betting by a voluntary reservation instead of resume military servicebut that does not prevent the debate circulate in the army. At least on a theoretical level. In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Europe has realized an unimportant detail: it does not have enough bullets Image | Government of Mexico, Unsplash (JEsus Herrera)

Mexico needs the Mayan Train to work. And they are so desperate that they have put it in military hands

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There are many ambitious trains, but like the Mayan Train there are not as many. And it’s not because this train stands out for its speedby go through impossible tunnels either for luxurybut because few trains in the world must support a load as heavy as this one: being the backbone of the tourism in Mexico. Born with tremendous ambition, he started his engines with promises of wealth. AND is crashing resoundingly. So much so that Mexico has completed the transfer of control of the train to the Secretariat of National Defense. Army, to manage. FONATUR Tren Maya was the organization attached to the Ministry of Tourism that, since 2018was responsible for leading and managing the project. However, things did not work out, the plans were not fulfilled and, already in September 2023, when Obrador saw the arrival of the deadline to launch the train, he began to take steps for the Secretariat of National Defense to take control. After a series of steps, and as we read in Chroniclerit was at the end of 2025 when the process was finalized for Tourism to stop operating the train and Defense to take charge of it. Goals. The program has the following goals: Consolidate responsible transportation with the environment and society. Offer a safe and innovative transportation system. Ensure profitability through efficient management. That last point sounds like an ax to the previous management, but they are going to have a difficult time. Indifference. It was a few weeks ago when, in an article published by El País, the figure was revealed: the Mayan Train moved 5% of the expected demand. Neither tourists nor locals seem to have the slightest interest in a vehicle that was born to unite the different regions of the Yucatan Peninsula. Just because, It is the tourist jewel of Mexicobut also a tremendously unequal region in which Chichén Itzá brings together the majority of archaeological tourism, to the detriment of the others. And it seems that the train is not solving this. The report states that, during the first year, it transported about 3,200 passengers daily. Do we contextualize? The forecasts were for 74,000 passengers per day. Billionaire failure. It is a hard blow for a project that was already born on the wrong foot. It was the most ambitious project of the previous president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, one without private or foreign capital, 100% Mexican, which caused headaches practically from the beginning. Obrador took advantage of that public investment, but from an initial budget My dear between 120,000 and 150,000 million Mexican pesos -about 7,400 million euros-, it ended up costing more than 500,000 million pesos -about 24,500 million euros- for 1,500 kilometers of roads. Current itinerary Expansion. The change in management is not symbolic: a series of actions have been proposed to expand services. On the one hand, passing under military control implies that seeks to operate with greater security for passengers, especially in areas where conflicts with drug traffickers are a problem. Greater professionalization of management is also sought through an administration under military command, but in the background there is an expansion plan. The aim is to transport cargo such as food for isolated indigenous communities or medical goods. Also that the train serves as a humanitarian corridor in the face of misfortunes, and for this they will create more than 3,000 additional kilometerswith an extension to Puerto Progreso. Will anything change? It’s the million dollar question. On the one hand, the Sheinbaum Government has made it clear on more than one occasion that they want the railway to be the backbone of the country not only for the transportation of people, but also as a freight corridor. The goal By 2030, four million passengers per year and 4.7 million goods per year will be moved thanks to the integration with the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Thuantepec. Come on, turn the train into something that can compete against the Panama Canal. But of course, it can become a way to move goods, but we have to see if passengers use it to move. In statements to El País, it is more profitable for locals, and it is also more practical, to get around by bus. And tourists usually arrive in Yucatán with already established itineraries that do not require train services. And, on the other hand, there are the controversies associated with the military and the construction sections that they were in charge of in the past. Sections 5, 6 and 7 were commissioned directly to SEDENA, and there are not few cases of environmental violations, social conflictsviolation of human rights against indigenous Mayan communities and extra costs associated with those sections under military control. Images | Mayan Train, ProtoplasmaKid In Xataka | Urban transportation in Mexico City hangs by a thread. Literally: they will have the longest cable car in the world

Germany does not want to depend on Elon Musk for war. So the largest weapons factory in Europe wants a “military Starlink”

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For decades, European security has rested on critical infrastructure controlled from the United States. But with the war back on the continent and space communications becoming a decisive military assetGermany is beginning to assume that it cannot afford depend on Elon Musk nor from Washington for something as basic as talking and fighting in case of conflict. A “military Starlink”. Rheinmetall and OHB are in preliminary talks to present a joint offer to create a satellite communications network in low orbit for the Bundeswehr, a system that in Berlin already is openly described as a “Starlink for the German army”. The initiative aims to capture part of the ambitious German plan for invest 35,000 million euros in military space technology, with the aim of providing a secure, sovereign infrastructure specifically designed for military use, reducing dependence on US services such as Starlink, owned by SpaceX. Technological sovereignty. The background of the project will be one of the great themes of this 2026, and it is both strategic and political, since the war in Ukraine has shown to what extent satellite communications in low orbit can be decisive when terrestrial networks are destroyed or degraded. Although Starlink (and its military version Starshield) became in a key asset for kyiv, many European countries distrust to base critical capabilities on a foreign private provider, which has accelerated plans to build national or European networks under state control. The weight of Germany. With this program, Germany aims to become the third largest investor world in space technology, only behind the United States and China, according to the consulting firm Novaspace. German military authorities have already defined the technical specifications and are preparing the tender, prioritizing coverage of NATO’s eastern flank, where Berlin deploys a permanent brigade of 5,000 soldiers in Lithuania as part of its defensive reinforcement. From armored to space. Traditionally associated with tanks, artillery and ammunitionRheinmetall is rapidly expanding its presence into new domains in the heat of German rearmament. At the end of last year it obtained its first major space contract, up to 2,000 million eurosto develop together with Iceye a constellation of radar satellites capable of operating at night and in bad weatherwhich puts it in a solid position to now aspire to a military communications system in low orbit. HBO and opportunity. For HBOthird largest European satellite manufacturer and navigation system supplier Galileothe project represents a key opportunity to strengthen its military business. The company faces the possible creation of a European space giant as a result of the merger of the divisions from Airbus, Thales and Leonardoan operation that its CEO considers potentially anti-competitive and that could leave OHB at a disadvantage if it does not expand its scale and capabilities. Boiling market. The simple announcement of the talks has OHB price skyrocketedreflecting the extent to which the sector perceives German military space spending as a catalyst for opportunity. That said, the project is still in an early phase, with no official comments from the companies or the Ministry of Defense, and is part of a growing competition for multi-million dollar contracts that will define who controls future critical military communications infrastructure in Europe. Image | Support Forces of Ukraine Command In Xataka | Germany is experiencing a new “industrial miracle” that it already experienced 90 years ago: that of weapons In Xataka | Europe’s largest arms factory faces an unexpected problem: earning an indecent amount of money

military drones with Turgis Gallard

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It is not every day that a car manufacturer steps back into arms production. And even less so when that manufacturer is Renault. The military drone project that is beginning to take shape in France It is not understood as a simple industrial diversification, but as a response to a strategic environment that has changed radically. The war has brought back prominence to mass production, cost reduction and the ability to scale quickly, just the areas where European automotive knows how to navigate. Renault’s turn has a name. The project, known internally as Chorus, aims at a military drone designed for long-distance attack, observation and reconnaissance missions, with a logic of intensive use and contained costs. According to information published by L’Usine Nouvellethe initiative is piloted by the Directorate générale de l’armement (DGA) and seeks to provide France with teleoperated ammunition comparable in concept to the Shahid used by Russia. This approach connects with what the French public debate itself has been assuming since Ukraine: war penalizes those who cannot produce quickly and in volume. An industrial alliance. Chorus is not a solo development nor an industry-driven initiative. The aforementioned medium points out that the technical base of the drone comes from Turgis Gaillardbut it is the DGA that takes control of the program by identifying an operational deficiency and commissioning Renault to provide industrialization capacity. The DGA acts here as client and architect of the project, combining the agility of a defense SME with the scale, costs and processes of a large automobile manufacturer. A key point is that the project is part of the Pacte Drones, a State initiative to boost the military drone industry and better align needs and industrial capacity. What can Renault contribute to the project? Renault’s added value in Chorus is less in the concept of the drone than in how to manufacture it. Sources consulted by L’Usine Nouvelle say that the manufacturer redesigned the device with a dedicated team to eliminate complexities and adapt it to mature industrial processes, with materials derived from automobiles and common assembly line techniques, such as self-piercing riveting. In this same framework, the medium provides the first technical data of the system, a drone of around 10 meters long by 8 meters in wingspan, with a speed of up to 400 km/h and a flight ceiling of 5,000 meters. A historic plant. The Le Mans plant will become the main assembly point for the Chorus drone, although without altering its main automotive activity. Assembly of the drone structure should begin in spring 2025 and will be done on a dedicated chain within the facility. That line would not work permanently, it would only be activated when there are orders, depending on what the DGA requests. The project plans to involve between 100 and 200 employees out of a workforce of around 1,800 people. Even with this flexible scheme, the theoretical capacity could reach 600 drones per month if demand demanded it. The conditions of the contract. The project schedule is marked by a validation phase prior to any large-scale commitment. A first dozen drones are expected to be delivered to the DGA before the summer of 2026 to evaluate the concept in real conditions and the project would be financed mainly with public funds. Only if this phase is satisfactory would the door be opened to a long-term agreement, with an estimated duration of ten years and a volume close to 1,000 million euros, always in potential terms and subject to official confirmation. The decision to accelerate with Chorus comes after realizing that modern warfare penalizes those who cannot produce quickly and in volume. France has assumed that It was behind in consumable drones, just when these systems concentrate a good part of the destruction on the Ukrainian front. The Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, spoke in LCI of unprecedented alliances between automotive and defense to correct this gap, and the same article recalls an explicit political recognition of the delay. a few days ago, Emmanuel Macron summed it up like this:“Let’s be clear, we are late.” When Renault already made history. The most direct precedent for Chorus dates back to the First World War, when Renault became one of the protagonists of the FT tank. The Tank Museum remembers that the FT introduced elements that marked modern armored warfare and that the program was stressed by scale, industrial problems and bureaucratic frictions. The museum estimates that 3,177 tanks were produced until the Armistice, after orders that skyrocketed. So Renault’s move with Chorus leaves an open question that goes beyond the drone itself. Whether this orientation towards defense responds to an exceptional situation or marks the beginning of a new stage for the European automotive industry remains to be seen. Images | Xataka with Gemini 3 Pro In Xataka | The “rearmament” of Europe has begun at a Volkswagen factory in Germany: instead of cars they will produce tanks

For the first time, a military drone has invaded Taiwan’s airspace

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China has taken a new step in its pressure on Taiwanone that until now was only part of the rhetoric and that has become very real: the introduction for the first time of a military drone in its airspace, a brief incursion (just four minutes) but loaded with symbolism and unpredictable strategic intention. The first time. What happened reminds what we had seen with Russia in Europe. The device, identified by Taiwanese sources as a WZ-7 reconnaissanceentered the air of Pratas/Dongshaa small atoll controlled by Taipei in the South China Sea, and did so at a deliberately f altitudeout of reach of defenses available on the island, leaving after Taiwan issued international radio warnings. The maneuver appears to reveal a classic pattern controlled climbing: Beijing is not seeking an immediate clash, but rather to normalize the fact that it can violate Taiwanese sovereignty without suffering consequences tactics, forcing Taipei to accept rape as routine or to react in a way that could be presented as provocation. Pratas as a weak point. Pratas is a perfect target for this type of testing because it combines symbolic value and military fragility: It is about 400 kilometers south of Taiwan, in an area through which American and Chinese submarines would transit in a crisis scenario, and in recent months it had already been harassed by coast guard and militias Chinese maritime forces, that hybrid arm that operates on the border between civil and paramilitary. There, Taiwan maintains minimal defenses (there is talk of short-range systems like Avenger or portable missiles) that serve for low and close threats, not for a high-altitude drone, which turns each incursion into a demonstration of impunity. Furthermore, the problem for Taipei is that this type of movement opens up a dangerous ladder. Tomorrow it can be repeated, but the drone can go a little lower and force a decision whether to shoot it down or tolerate it, and if it is shot down when it is finally in range, Beijing can use it as a political excusearguing that Taiwan “escalated” a situation it had previously accepted. A Wz 7 drone The unpredictable factor. The Financial Times recalled that what is disturbing is not so much the time the flight lasted, but rather what trains: China’s ability to explore doctrinal gaps, measure reaction times, test warning communications and, above all, introduce uncertainty about what each side considers a “first strike.” Taiwan has been warning for a long time that any unauthorized entry of military assets into its waters or airspace can be interpreted as an initial attack that enables a response, but its own rules of engagement are still being refined to decide who, when and under what circumstances can order an action that could trigger a further escalation. From that prism, Pratas works as a laboratory: a place sensitive enough to hitbut remote enough and defended with tweezers so that each decision is a balance between firmness and restraint. The choreography around. The incursion also comes in a context of accumulated pressure, with exercises increasingly frequent and closer to the island from Taiwan, and with a constant pulse in the strait which combines military maneuvers, US weapons packages and Chinese responses in the form of live fire or more aggressive patrols. That backdrop turns a drone into something more: a message that Beijing not only intimidates with large deployments, but can wear out daily with small, cheap and difficult to answer actions. At the same time, the role of the United States adds ambiguity: Washington is committed to helping Taiwan defend and maintain ability to resist pressure, but even within that framework there is doubt about how far it would go if something catches fire, which reinforces the Chinese temptation to press just where the allied response could be less automatic. The new threshold. China presents it as a “legitimate and legal” exercisebut precisely that narrative is part of the change: if it is accepted that these incursions are normal, a precedent is opened that erodes sovereignty without the need to occupy or shoot, and that prepare the ground for more dangerous scenarios. In other words, if Beijing repeats and deepens this tactic, it could force Taiwan to choose between normalizing the incursions or a risky response, and in that margin of doubt (where no one “wants to be first”) is where the strategic pressure is more effective. Image | CCTV, Infinity 0 In Xataka | China’s new futuristic drone is already flying alongside the J-20 fighters. And Beijing has shown it without saying a word In Xataka | One of China’s most disturbing weapons already has a flight date: a huge mother drone with 100 kamikaze drones on board

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