military

that the US has to abandon its military bases

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The US military deployment in the Middle East has been supported in large fixed installations capable of housing thousands of soldiers and operating continuously, a structure inherited from conflicts where air dominance reduced direct threats to those positions to a minimum. However, the advance of drones and precision missiles that logic has changedby allowing even highly protected infrastructures to be reached from long distances with relative ease. Iran empties US bases. The Iranian attacks have modified completely the balance on the ground, to the point of leaving many of the main US bases in the region practically unusable. We are talking about key facilities in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia that have suffered damage on radars, runways, command centers or logistical infrastructures, forcing them to evacuate or drastically reduce their activity. What was a solid network for years military projection It has become a set of vulnerable positions, exposed to missiles and drones that can hit accurately and sustainably. To the hotels. counted the new york times that the most striking consequence of this situation is that part of the US troops have had to abandon their bases and relocate in hotels, offices and spaces improvised ones spread throughout the region. In practice, this has led to a “remote” war, in which many troops operate outside traditional military installations, far from the environments designed to sustain complex operations. It is a certainly unusual image, one where the soldiers of a superpower, perhaps the greatest of all, are working dispersed in civilian environments to be able to continue participating in the conflict. Dispersal to survive. This fragmented deployment is not accidental, but a direct response to Iran’s ability to locate and attack concentrated targets. Keeping troops on large bases has become too riskyso the Pentagon has chosen to disperse them to reduce the impact of possible attacks. There is no doubt that the strategy has an obvious cost, since it makes coordination difficult, limits the use of certain teams and reduces operational efficiency compared to a centralized structure. Satellite image of Al Udeid air base in Qatar in February Further and better. It we have counted before. Unlike previous conflicts such as Iraq or Afghanistan, where threats were more limited, Iran has ballistic missiles and drones capable of hitting targets throughout the region. This has forced a complete rethinking of the security concept of US bases, which for decades were built under the premise that the surrounding territory could be controlled. Now, that assumption is no longer valid, and any fixed installation becomes a potential target. The paradox between civilians. Plus: relocation in hotels and civil spaces introduces an especially delicate dimension, as it blurs the line between military objectives and civilian environments. In fact, Iran has not been slow to take advantage of this circumstance to accuse the United States of use the population as a human shield, while encouraging to identify and report the presence of troops wherever they are. This creates a scenario of great tension, where the protection of the troops depends in part on their invisibility, but that same invisibility increases the risk for the civilians around them. Increasingly difficult to get rid of. Because from the sidewalk of Washington, operate from improvised locations means losing key capabilities. Heavy equipment, advanced command systems or even specialized infrastructure cannot be easily moved to a hotel or office, limiting the scope and effectiveness of operations. Although the US military maintains its ability to act, the quality and speed of response suffers, making warfare more complex and less efficient. The real change. What happened also reflects a deeper change in the nature of modern conflict. The great bases, the same ones that once were the pillar of presence American military abroad, are no longer safe spaces against adversaries with advanced capabilities. The combination of long-range missiles and drones has turned any fixed point into a vulnerable target, and that forces us to completely rethink not only the way we fight, but also where and how a war can be sustained. Image | Plant Labs In Xataka | Iran has found the perfect deal in Hormuz: a “guest list” that can pass after paying two million per ship In Xataka | Iran and Russia had been silently exchanging drones and material in the Caspian Sea for months: Israel has just revealed it

In 2021 a man made a military prediction and since then Taiwan and the US have been preparing for a date: 2027

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In a military sense, there are few things as influential as a date that no one has officially set. Sometimes one sentence in a parliamentary hearing is enough for governments, armies and analysts to begin reorganizing budgets, exercises and strategies for years. In the Indo-Pacific, a figure pronounced some time ago ended up becoming a kind geopolitical clock. In fact, today marks the planning of various powers. The prediction on the calendar. In March 2021, a seemingly technical testimony before the US Senate ended up becoming one of the most influential points of reference in the Indo-Pacific military strategy. Then Admiral Philip Davidson warned that the rapid growth of Chinese military power could endanger Taiwan “within the next six years,” a statement that implicitly set a date: 2027. That estimate, based on intelligence analysis on the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army, quickly became what many strategists called the “Davidson window”. Since then, the number was installed in military planning of Washington, Taipei and their allies, triggering an investment careerwar exercises and military reinforcements throughout the Pacific. 2027 and the centenary. Of course, the reason why that date seemed plausible was closely related to the people themselves. Beijing’s strategic objectives. 2027 marks the centenary of the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, and Xi Jinping’s leadership has set that year as a key stage to complete a major phase of military modernization. The plan is part of a broader calendar that seeks to have “basically modernized” armed forces by 2035 and capable of rivaling any world power around 2049. Although Beijing has never officially announced that this anniversary is linked to an invasion of Taiwan, the temporal coincidence between military modernization and increasing demonstrations of strength around the island has reinforced the perception that 2027 could become a critical moment. The strategy in the Pacific. As the years went by, that prediction took on a life of its own. Washington increased significantly its military spending aimed at competing with China and began to reinforce strategic infrastructure on Pacific islands to facilitate the deployment of forces. At the same time, the United States approved billions of dollars in arms sales to Taiwan, while Taipei began to adjust its military planning around a possible invasion scenario towards the end of the decade. Even the major Taiwanese military exercises have passed to simulate explicitly a Chinese attack in 2027, reflecting how a single strategic estimate ended up becoming a true geopolitical clock for the entire region. A surprise attack. For a long time, military analysis assumed that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be impossible to conceal. A deployment of hundreds or thousands of ships, troops and equipment along the Chinese coast would generate obvious signals detectable by satellites and intelligence services weeks before the start of the operation. However, some analysts now warn that this assumption could be too optimistic. Recent research has suggested that China could attempt forms of attack faster or surprisingleveraging new tactics and technologies to reduce advance notice time. This scenario is especially worrying to Taiwan, which has historically relied on having enough time to react and mobilize its defenses. Increasingly intense military career. Meanwhile, Chinese military power has continued to expand at great speed. Beijing’s defense budget has increased steadily over the last decade and the country has introduced new capabilities that could be key in an eventual conflict: long-range missiles, advanced drones, new aircraft carriers and ships designed to transport troops and material to hostile coasts. These transformations do not guarantee that an invasion is imminent, of course, but they are changing the balance military in the Taiwan Strait and fueling concerns about the future of the region. The domino effect of other wars. The international context adds another layer of uncertainty to this strategic calculation. Conflicts in other regions, especially the Middle East, are forcing the United States to consume large quantities of ammunition, interceptors and military resources that were originally intended to reinforce deterrence in Asia. Analysts warn that a prolonged war in other theaters could delay deliveries of weapons to Taiwan and further strain US defense industrial capacity, where there is already a significant delay in military orders destined for the island. A strategic watch. Although neither China nor the United States have officially set a timetable for a conflict, the idea of ​​2027 has become a point psychological reference for governments, military and analysts. Some believe that this date has fueled unnecessary fears and an arms race in the region, while others believe that it has served to wake up Washington and its allies facing a historic change in the balance of power. In any case, the prediction made in 2021 has left a more than profound mark: today, in the barracks, offices and strategy centers of the Indo-Pacific, the calendar advances with a figure marked in red. 2027… and China. Image | 中文（臺灣）：​中華民國總統府, 總統府, Al Jazeera In Xataka | “We have never seen anything like this”: if China invades Taiwan, Taiwan will not notice because a drone has been disguised as an optical illusion for months In Xataka | An island has become the new red line against China: it has Taiwan in front of it and Japan is going to fill it with missiles

While in the US there is a civil war over military AI, a European one has sneaked into the French Armed Forces: Mistral

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One of the big topics of conversation in recent weeks is the civil war in the United States. between two of the AI ​​giants and the Government itself. To sum up, Anthropic gave in his artificial intelligence Claude to the Pentagon to integrate it into all its systems along with Palantir. It is estimated that it has been a key tool for capture Nicolás Madurobut also to attack Iranbut since the US wanted to go further and Anthropic refused, OpenAI took its place. It is a very strange situation because the result could be that The US blacklists Anthropic as if it were Huawei. It would be the first time they have done that to an American company and it is something that tells us two things. The first is that governments need big technology companies and their tools. The second is that technology companies also have a lot to gain. And, while all that noise is happening in the United States, in Europe another AI company has ‘sneaked’ into its country’s security systems. We refer to a Mistral that, without making noisehas been building its portfolio of contacts in European defense systems for some time. A local AI for the security of Europe With all the spotlights pointing to ChatGPT, Claude and Chinese equivalents such as DeepSeekothers have been carving out a niche for themselves. Almost without a sound, and overnight, a French company called Mistral was building multilingual models that rivaled the American alternatives that captured all eyes. Founded in June 2023, Mistral will soon converted in the French technological jewel, but also in the Europe’s AI gem. Its managers, engineers who came from Google (deepmind) and Meta, managed to attract the attention of NVIDIA, ASML, Samsung, IBM, Salesforce or a Microsoft that invested 15 million euros and incorporated Mistral models into Azure. Mistral’s policy is to release the code of its models so that anyone can analyze, use and adapt it. According to them, it is something that will accelerate innovation and, without the muscle of the American giants, their approach is to a large model with other smaller and specialized ones. At the beginning of this year, the bombshell arrived. The Ministry of the Armed Forces of France arrive to an agreement with Mistral AI to integrate the company’s models, software and services in public entities related to the ministry. For example, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Office of Aerospace Studies and Research, the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy and, also, the Armed Forces. It is the Ministry of Defense Artificial Intelligence Agency that will supervise all operations, but the idea is to “deploy Mistral tools in France’s infrastructure, ensuring full control over data and critical technologies.” From the Government, it was noted that, with these new tools, they can prepare the Armed Forces for the challenges of the future. However, the fact that Mistral is the Defense model in France may matter little to us… unless we take two things into account. The first: shortly after this agreement became known, public information on how Mistral is seeking Defense contracts outside France. They are getting more and more into this path, signing agreements with Helsinga German defense startup, and Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral, argued that its AI models will be “instrumental in the development of a new generation of defense systems.” Here comes the second thing to take into account. Mensch himself commented that these tools “will ensure Europe’s strategic advantage on the global stage”. This is important because Europe is now at a point where it has realized that the partners and allies of the past may not be the same as those of the future. European sovereignty At the user level we see movements like those of independence from American technologiesbut at a political level, Mistral responds to that search for European sovereignty. Instead of leaving your Defense-related systems in the hands of a foreign company, these agreements mean that it is a European company that is on the inside. And, in the end, this is not just about AI. In recent months we are seeing how Europe is moving to have a more powerful voice in terms of semiconductors, computing for artificial intelligence and even in the new space race. For a long time it has been said that others innovate and Europe legislates, but the current situation It has caused Europe to continue legislating while doing everything else. Images | Mistral AI, Amio Cajander In Xataka | The United States wants to be “sovereign” on a technological level. The problem is that everything it builds depends on other countries

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

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