sky

If the US attacks Iran with drones, it will be in for a surprise. Russia shielded its sky with an explosive weapon: Verba

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It we count last week. In the Middle East, crises rarely erupt overnight. First pieces move away from the spotlight, discreet commitments are signed and deployments multiply that seem routine. Only later, when everything falls into place, do you understand that the board had been preparing for something bigger for weeks. Now we know that Washington has not been the only one that has prepared. Agreement sealed in the shadows. counted this morning in an exclusive the financial times that Iran and Russia signed a secret contract of almost 500 million euros for delivery of 500 lVerba portable spears and 2,500 9M336 missiles. It would be Tehran’s most significant move to rebuild air defenses devastated after the 12 day war against Israel. The Iranian request came just days after its integrated network was seriously degraded by Israeli and American attacks, which allowed enemy aircraft to operate with superiority over large areas of the country. The agreement provides deliveries until 2029although the media explained that there are indications of early shipments, and it is complemented with night vision devices and other equipment that points to a phased but urgent reconstruction. What are Verba and why do they matter. The Verba system is a portable guided missile infrared designed to shoot down drones, cruise missiles and low-level aircraft such as helicopters, operated by small mobile teams that can deploy dispersed defenses without depending on fixed radars vulnerable to bombing. These are not heavy strategic systems like lthe S-300 or S-400but rather a flexible tactical layer that complicates helicopter operations and low-level flights. Its adoption is rapid, requires less integration and allows Iran to reinforce critical points at a relatively acceptable cost for Moscow, which can supply them without weakening substantially its own defense against Ukraine. Verba missile carrier A military alliance despite sanctions. Apparently the contract was negotiated between Rosoboronexport and the Iranian Ministry of Defense, with intermediaries already sanctioned by Washington, in a context of growing cooperation that includes Iranian drones employed by Russia in Ukraine and a bilateral treaty signed in 2025. Moscow thus demonstrates that it has no intention of abiding by Western sanctions or the arms embargo reactivated by European powers, while Tehran tries rebuild the relationship following the perception that Russia did not come to their aid during the latest conflict with Israel. The flow of cargo flights and the reception of attack helicopters Mi-28 reinforce the image of a active and sustained military association. The largest deployment since 2003. It we count last week. The agreement emerges in parallel to a massive accumulation of American air and naval power in the Middle East, with dozens of F-35, F-15 and A-10 fighters deployed at bases such as Muwaffaq Salti in Jordan and Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia, in addition to two aircraft carrier groups led by the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford. In total, about 40,000 troops and a fleet comparable to the one before the 2003 invasion of Iraq support Donald Trump’s threats to impose a nuclear ultimatum on Tehran. Iran, for its part, warns that it would respond by attacking US bases in the region if hit. A reinforcement that changes the risk calculation. The new systems They will not turn Iran into a conventional rival comparable to the United States or Israel, of course, nor will they prevent sustained air campaigns if these are executed with technological superiority. However, they can raise cost and risk of specific operations, especially helicopter raids or low-altitude attacks, and prolong a possible conflict by making initial phases of aerial suppression difficult. In an environment where each shootdown would have a disproportionate political and strategic impact, the mere presence of hundreds of mobile launchers introduces a tactical deterrence variable. A preparation race. What does seem quite clear is that the combination Iranian rearmament and American deployment draws a scenario of maximum tension in which diplomacy and force advance in parallel. Tehran seeks to buy time, rebuild defensive layers and negotiate from a less vulnerable position. Washington tries to pressure with a demonstration of power without recent precedents in the region. What happens in the coming weeks will not only determine whether there is an attack or an agreement, but also whether the Russian-Iranian alliance is consolidated as a military axis capable of openly challenging the sanctions regime and reconfiguring the strategic balance of the Middle East. Image | ТАСС In Xataka | It is so small that it can barely be seen from space, but this secret island is the main problem for the US to attack Iran In Xataka | If the most advanced US nuclear aircraft carrier maintains its speed it will reach its destination on Sunday: a bad omen for Iran

now everyone wants to fill the sky

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Launching the first commercial satellites, Telstar-1 and Telstar-2, cost almost $400,000 per kilogram in the 1960s. Today it costs about $6,500 per kilogram if you use the program Falcon 9 of SpaceX to send cargo, according to data from the Kfund venture capital fund. The drastic reduction in costs has enabled organizations and companies to send more and more satellites per year and, consequently, the Earth’s orbit to become saturated at an unprecedented rate. filling the sky. What was once the exclusive territory of governments and large corporations is now within the reach of startups with modest budgets. FOSSA Systems, a Spanish company, has deployed more than 20 satellites with less than 10 million euros in total financing, according to Kfund. In Spain, the number of objects launched into space has more than tripled between 2021 and 2024, going from 21 to 69 payloads. At a global level, the change is even more dramatic, because while it previously took decades to deploy entire constellations, now this is achieved in a matter of months. Changes. The drop in prices is mainly due to a series of converging factors. On the one hand rocket reuse that they have perfected since SpaceX. In addition, there is now a satellite standardization (from giant, customized machines to modular microsatellites), while also taking advantage of economies of scale. Everything indicates that the cost per kilogram would continue to trend downward, and the next jump could come from StarshipSpaceX’s heavy-lift rocket that promises to reduce costs even further. More satellites, also more problems. This democratization has been a complicated scenario. Now the barrier to entry for sending objects into space is much lower than before, so the risk of launching satellites without centralized coordination also increases. A while ago we also talked about the risk of collisionwhich has accelerated in recent years due to the massification of low Earth orbit. Among the consequences we find space junk that grows exponentially (each collision generates fragments that can cause new collisions), interference between communication frequencies, and a growing orbital militarization difficult to monitor. Insufficient legal frameworks. Outer space operates under international treaties designed since the Cold War, when only two powers had orbital access capacity. Today, with hundreds of private and state operators, these legal frameworks are insufficient. For this reason, the limitations on how many satellites an operator can launch, where they should be located or where they end up at the end of their useful life are issues that They are not managed by any global authority. The result is a kind of orbital “tragedy of the commons” in which everyone benefits from cheap access, but no one fully bears the costs of this massive traffic. Fragmentation. “The world is continually changing, in some places faster than before,” points out Silviu Pirvu, Chairman and CTO of Optimal Cities, to the firm Kfund. Space infrastructure serves us more than ever to respond to crises, manage risks or make decisions in real time, although the control and governance landscape of this same infrastructure is difficult. Meanwhile, Europe is trying to gain sovereignty with initiatives such as IRIS² to reduce dependence on non-European suppliers, but regulatory fragmentation persists. The long-term risks. The scientific community has been warning for years about the Kessler syndrome: a scenario in which the density of objects in low orbit reaches a critical point where cascading collisions make the use of certain orbits unfeasible for generations. Although we are far from that extreme, each year that passes without effective regulation brings us closer to that reality. The European Space Agency esteem that there are already more than 36,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters in orbit, most of them junk. Regulate a common good. There are several questions on the table, but perhaps the most interesting would be to know how a global common good is regulated when there are commercial and strategic incentives that push in the opposite direction. Although there are numerous spatial monitoring systems, such as the SSA (Space Situational Awareness) of the ESA, this capability is not a solution to the underlying problem of setting limits. Cover image | THAT In Xataka | The Challenger explosion: 40 years of the accident that forever changed the course of NASA and space exploration

They live glued to an app looking at the sky as if it were 1939

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Greenland had been installed for decades in a feeling of security, as if its geography and distance protected it from everything, and that certainty was has suddenly broken: in a matter of days the population has gone from joking that “nothing ever happens there” to talking seriously about evacuation, preventive flight to Denmark, or what will happen to their children if one day they wake up being “Americans”. Live in fear. counted on an extensive report the Guardian that these days on the island we are grappling with a question: how do we survive psychologically when a military threat stops being a movie and becomes a concrete possibility. The impact is not only political: insomnia, anxiety, daily nervousness, questions that are not answered with speeches but with emergency plansand the feeling that no one is prepared for something they have never experienced, because Greenland has no historical memory of modern invasions and its public life was built precisely on the idea that the world was far away. Look at the sky like in 1939. The British media recalled the parallelism. The most powerful image of this moment is civil surveillance become routine: inhabitants of Nuuk following flights on applications, observing the port and the sky as if waiting for a storm that has not yet struck, interpreting every movement as an omen, getting scared by a plane transport that takes off from a nearby base and fearing that it is the beginning of “the inevitable.” That wait has something from 1939 not because of the exact military comparison, but because of the emotional climate: the certainty that we are entering a dangerous time, the impression that prior guarantees They are no longer useful, and the feeling that the coup (if it comes) will not be diplomatic. In this tension, the telephone becomes a domestic radar and life becomes tiny. The threat of “necessity”. The key to fear is not just that there is strategic interests in the Arctic, but the language coming from Washington sounds like appropriation and force: the idea that Greenland is “necessary” for American security, even if it is part of the kingdom of Denmark, shifts the debate from the political to the existential. When a power speaks like this, the smaller population automatically feels powerless, and that feeling repeats. At that point, even the hope that everything remains rhetoric no longer calms its inhabitants, because the recent precedent of harsh interventions feeds the idea that the unthinkable is no longer impossible, just a matter of time. The Thule base in the United States Diplomacy to the limit. The encounters that youtook place in Washington They offer momentary relief because they suggest dialogue, but what remains is a cold feeling: the fundamental disagreement and, at its core, the American position have not been resolved. hasn’t changed. The presence of top-level figures adds gravity and uncertainty, because it is not perceived as an exchange between allies, but as an asymmetric negotiation where one party feels they can “afford” to impose conditions. Even when the tone first becomes somewhat conciliatory (Trump vaguely promising that “something will come out”), the underlying message remains disturbing: options are not ruled out, Denmark’s inability to deal with Russia or China is insisted on, and the idea that American control would be the solution is maintained, which for Greenlanders sounds less like protection and more to substitution. The European military turn. The great visible change has come in the last few hours, when Europe has begun to put troops in Greenland: France, Sweden, Germany and Norway have announced sending military personnel on a reconnaissance mission in Nuuk, and Denmark frames it as part of an effort to explore security options in an Arctic increasingly disputed by Russia and China. It is a movement that, by itself, is already historic in terms of atmosphere: Greenland goes from being a remote territory with a discreet military presence to becoming a Allied deployment scenario and a narrative of “reinforcement” that is normally associated with “hot” borders, not with an ice capital where public life breathed calm. People notice the change in the most basic: more flights, more ships, more uniforms, more signs that something is moving beneath the surface. The exceptional within NATO/EU. What is striking is not only the shipping itself, but what it represents: the idea of ​​deploying European forces in a territory linked to NATO and the EU sphere as a preventive response to a political crisis with the United States is something that break the script usual of the alliance, where military reinforcement is intended against external threats, not to manage the risk of an internal struggle. Although it is presented as recognition and training before Russia and China, the social perception is another: This happens because there is a specific threat and because time seems to speed up. In other words, the deployment suggests that Europe is trying to convert the symbology in deterrence: demonstrate presence, unity and material reality on the ground so that the discussion stops being just a game of statements. Fear of another colonization. Furthermore, beneath geopolitics lies a deeper wound: the memory of Danish colonization and the fear of repeating the pattern with another “owner.” For part of the Inuit population, the idea of ​​“another colonization” is not a metaphor, it is rather a real ghostand that is why fear is not expressed only in terms of sovereignty or resources, but also human: what will happen to studies, rights or daily life or identity. The crisis, paradoxically, also activates a reinforcement indigenous identitya more marked cultural separation with respect to Denmark and a visceral rejection to be treated as an interchangeable object in a global conversation where Greenland appears as a “prize” mineral and strategic position. A disturbing conclusion. Deep down, what emerges is an uncomfortable truth that the population perceive clearly: in a world where we are seeing invasions, wars and border changes, “international legality” not enough as an emotional shield, and that is why … Read more

When the sky throws lightning, but the rain never reaches the ground

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These are not your feelings: this summer’s storms have been more brutal and destructive than ever. AND AEMET data says so. But to understand it well, we have to go one step further: we have to understand what is perhaps one of the key elements of the current enormous problem, dry storms. What are dry storms Luis Marina a storm It is, in essence, a crash, an impact, a violent ‘argument’ between two air masses with different temperatures and pressures. The warm, humid air rises quickly and this generates atmospheric disturbances accompanied by electrical discharges (lightning and thunder), strong winds and precipitation of rain, snow or hail. However, sometimes, even though the storm does contain moisture in the upper levels of the atmosphere, it’s not raining. There are lightning bolts, there are angry winds, there are clouds of great vertical development; but there is no precipitation that reaches the ground. We call that dry storm. Characteristics of dry storms As we said, the main characteristic of this type of storm is electrical activity (lightning and thunder) without significant precipitation on the surface. However, explaining the process and its characteristics is a little more complicated: It’s not that it doesn’t rain, it’s that the precipitation evaporates before hitting the ground. This occurs because these droplets pass through a layer of very warm and dry air. It is what is known, in technical terms, ‘virga’. For obvious reasons, it usually forms in arid, desert environments or during extreme heat waves. If the air in contact with the ground is exceptionally dry, the probability of evaporation in the fall increases. None of this has to do with its electrical activity, which is a lot. If these types of storms attract attention for something, it is the amount of thunder and lightning that develop. And if they are worrying for anything, it is because of the downward gusts of wind (caused by this rain evaporation process) that very dangerously increase the risk of fires. How a dry storm forms In reality, there is nothing strange about dry storms. They are, for all intents and purposes, normal storms. The “strange” thing is what happens on the ground: high temperatures and low humidity that favor the evaporation of rain. This simplifies things because the process is identical to that of any conventional thunderstorm: unstable air, sufficient humidity at high and mid levels, and a rising mechanism (intense heat, in this case). Everything else, including precipitation generation, is very similar. Relationship between dry storms and fires Max Larochelle Let’s not beat around the bush: the relationship between dry storms and wildfires is direct and dangerous. In fact, these types of storms are one of the main causes (unintentional) of fires. What’s more, due to the meteorological conditions that characterize them (dryness, heat, etc…), these types of events also facilitate the rapid spread of fire. You don’t have to be very imaginative: electrical activity without precipitation, low humidity, very high temperatures and strong (and gusty) winds are the perfect recipe for a macrofire. How to detect a dry storm A dry storm can be sensed by the presence of electrical activity without significant rain on land. But, as with almost everything in meteorology, to have an overview you need lightning detectors, weather radars (especially Doppler) and satellites. Consequences of dry storms David Moum The main consequences of this type of storm are also the most dangerous: fires. Its structural characteristics entail a high risk of forest fire (the combination of intense electrical activity and lack of rain) and, if that were not enough, promote the rapid spread of fire. Not in vain, the atmospheric conditions associated with dry storms (high temperatures, low relative humidity and strong gusts of wind) create a favorable environment for an incipient fire to spread at high speed and become uncontrollable. The main consequence of dry storms is, in short, to verify again and again that we do not have enough capacity for stop today’s fires. Image | NICOLA In Xataka | What are sixth generation fires: the megafires that create their own weather

OpenAI has purchased a software called Sky. And the loser in this equation is Apple

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OpenAI has bought Skyan AI application for macOS that had not even been released on the market. Behind them are Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer, the creators of Workflow, the automation app that Apple bought in 2017 and became Shortcuts. Why is it important. Three people with years of experience within Apple, a deep knowledge of macOS, and a unique understanding of automation have decided it was better to build outside than inside. And OpenAI has just signed them to integrate ChatGPT precisely into Apple’s operating system. The context. Sky promised to be exactly what Siri should be by 2025: An AI that floats above your desk. Who understands what you do. That sees the context of your screen. And that executes complex actions with a simple instruction in natural language. The vision of AI-assisted computing taken to the maximum. The founders of Software Applications Incorporatedthe company behind Sky, spent years within Apple after purchasing Workflow in 2017. They left in August 2023. 26 months later, OpenAI buys them. The entire cycle has lasted less than two years. That’s speed. That’s what happens when you have a clear vision and there aren’t a hundred committees holding you back. What has happened. Kim Beverettthe third co-founder, also came from Apple. Almost ten years working on Safari, WebKit, privacy, Messages, Mail, FaceTime, SharePlay. They are product people. People who understand macOS better than almost anyone on the planet. And this is not just any startup. It’s a startup founded by people who know the ins and outs of macOS intimately, who know exactly what it can do and how to do it. And they decided that it was better to do it outside of Apple than inside. Between the lines. OpenAI does not buy Sky for the technology. Buy Sky for the talent. The twelve team members join OpenAI to, according to ChatGPT’s vice president, accelerate “deep integration with macOS.” Apple trained these people, gave them access to their systems. Now OpenAI is going to use that knowledge to build exactly what Apple should be building. Apple has been promising for months that Siri is going to improve, that Apple Intelligence It’s the future. But beyond hardware increasingly specialized in local modelswe’ve only seen delays and a fairly muted value proposition so far. Meanwhile… OpenAI has launched Atlasyour browser with deep ChatGPT integration. Now buy Sky to bring that integration to all macOS. With people who know exactly how the innards of the system work. Apple is being outplayed on its own turf. And it’s not just Sky. Jony Ive, the most important designer in Apple’s history, left in 2019. Now work with OpenAI on an AI device. With financing from SoftBank. With Sam Altman directly involved. The alarm signal. Apple has a cultural problem: it is too slow. Too cautious. Privacy is an important differentiator, but it may cost you to be left off the generative AI map. The talent that Apple trained is leaving because it can’t build what it wants inside. At least not with the desired speed. Sky will at some point arrive as an OpenAI product or as an integration into ChatGPT desktop app. But it will also be a symbol of what can be done with deep knowledge, clear vision and freedom to execute without twenty layers of approval. And now what. Apple needs speed. You need ambition. You need to be willing to take risks. Because talent doesn’t wait. And AI does not forgive slowness. In Xataka | OpenAI is already a binary bet: either get AGI, or everything blows up Featured image | OpenAI

China’s sky has just given us another track of its air ambition. A plane so radical that costs to guess its function

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In the month of June Some images In the sky of China they went viral. The future furtive hunt for the nation appeared on the scene, The J-36and did it clearly leaving behind the clues and indications of a technical ambition rather than remarkable. Now, a month later, another figure has just appeared thundering the sky of Beijing. But this time it seems something else. A new device without a tail. Yeah, Recent images They have revealed the existence of a new furtive combat apparatus in the test phase in China, whose Design without tail You have aroused doubts about whether it is a man -generated manned plane or an advanced combat drone with functions From “Loyal Wingman”. Although it is not clear if the aircraft has a cabin, the model presents features of a design of great sizepossibly manned, with wide fuselage and significant fuel capacity and internal armament. The absence of cola vertical surfaces, the wings in configuration with a “W” -shaped escape edge and the integration of twin air inputs suggest an effort by Maximize rankiness. The double wheel front landing train and the data probe in the Morro point to an early test of tests, but also to a considerable weight design, even suitable for aircraft carrier operations. Odds. The fact that the device shows similar characteristics TO CHENGDU J-36but in a seemingly more compact format, it has led to speculate that it could be a direct competitor of the SHENYANG J-XDS/J-50as part of the struggle between the two main aeronautical houses of China. This hypothesis makes sense if it is considered that The J-36due to its size and conception, it does not compete in the same segment as the J-XDs. A derivative smaller, bimotor And optimized as more traditional mission hunting, would fit in Chengdu plans to diversify its range and rival Shenyang. The possibility that it is an optimized design is also considered For aircraft carrier or of a sixth generation hunt in medium version, although the scale of the device cannot be determined with the available images. Another image of the new device The alternative of a drone. Another interpretation indicates that this model could be one of several Chinese projects inspired by the American program of Collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). In that case, it would not be a manned plane but A high performance UCAV With advanced autonomy, designed both to operate together with manned fighters and for independent long -range missions. Experts like Andreas Rupprecht They have identified Similarities and differences with other designs “without a tail” detected recently, which reinforces the idea that China simultaneously develops multiple prototypes of furtive drones, informally known as “tea cups”in contrast to the manned fighters nicknamed “teapots”. The diversity of configurations (from Deltas modified to diamond wings and mixed configurations) suggests that the country experiments with several solutions before consolidating an operational fleet. Tests and indications. Plus: The revelation of this new plane coincides with satellite images taken in Yangfangnear Beijing, where at least five different designs of CCA drones were identified in preparation for the September 3 parade, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan in World War II. Among them you can see models 9 to 12 meters long, some without tail and others with more traditional configurations, partially camouflaged under canvases. The same base also houses Balistic and UCAVS missile launches already known, such as the GJ-11 Sharp Swordwhich reinforces the idea that the parade will publicly exhibit the new generation of unmanned combat systems. In parallel, another large fuselage appeared in Shenyang’s plantwith a modified Delta design, which adds more unknowns about the different ongoing programs. China vs.euu. It We have counted. The accelerated rhythm of the Chinese military aerospace industry It is undeniableand this new plane (whether or not manned) demonstrates Beijing’s ability to generate Strategic surprise In a recurring way. In this field, the comparison with Washington is inevitable: the American Air Force currently develops The YFQ-42a of General Atomics and YFQ-44a de Andurilwith flights planned for next year and with an approach based on iterative design and deployment cycles. China seems to be emulating this modelmultiplying prototypes and moving rapidly in autonomy, AI and swarm capabilities. The biplaza fighters J-20s They have been profiled as drone swarm controllers, while early alert planes KJ-500 either H-6 bombers They are intended to become key nodes of this manned-nokened collaborative network. The strategic importance. Although it is not yet known with certainty if the new plane is a sixth generation hunting or An advanced UCAVthe truth is that China is developing a Range of platforms ranging from disposable drones to long -range pools. If it is confirmed that it is an unmanned plane, the model could constitute a more powerful and autonomous version than The GJ-11with the ability to accompany To the futures H-20, J-36 and H-6 in Missions of great action radius. If instead it was a new manned fighter, industrial rivalry would be consolidated Between Shenyang and Chengdu and would reinforce China’s jump towards a diversified fleet of sixth generation. In both cases, the message is clear: Beijing accelerate your advance In air combat technologies and seeks to reduce the gap with the West, positioning itself as a power capable of combining furtive aviation, AI and collaborative operations in a single air war ecosystem of the future. Image | X In Xataka | China seems to be molding a huge poaching plane called J-36. This image is emerging as proof of its ambition In Xataka | A number has revealed what was a secret until now: China already has its “invisible hunt” ready for action, and double

A huge blue spiral appeared in the sky of Europe at 9 at night. It was the wake of a spacex rocket

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It is hard to believe, but the last night were not aliens either. If you were looking at the sky at 20:55, European central time, you could see a bright blue spiral illuminating the night. It was a Spacex rocket. A strange show. In United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland either Ukraine. From The clean skies of Sierra Nevadain Granada. Virtually all of Europe has managed to capture the spiral light that crossed the sky last night. They soon appeared photos on social networks. People asked what that strange phenomenon was. It is not a usual show, although it has already been seen in Hawaii, Alaska either Iceland. A Falcon 9 of Spacex. Neither a missile, nor a satellite, nor a galaxy about to swallow us. Nor a UFO. The object had a name and surname because it was a Falcon 9 rocket of Spacex by recentrating in the earth’s atmosphere. He had taken off from Cabo Cañaveral, east of the United States, two hours before. The Spy Nrol-69 satellite of the American National Recognition Office (NRO) had put in orbit. And he was returning to the earth to disintegrate in the atmosphere in a controlled way. What caused the spiral. Before a controlled reentry, the 13.8 -meter length rocket rotates to get rid of the fuel that is still in its deposits; A process called passivity. The low temperatures instantly froze the propellants released by the rocket, which added to the turn movement and the position of the sun caused the light show over Europe. The turn is what made it look like a spiral, and the sunlight was what illuminated the frozen wake. Nothing to do with the incident of Poland. In February, the second stage of a Falcon 9 rented without control over Europe. Several pieces of the rocket fell into populated areas of Poland, without causing damage (except the dismissal of the president of the Polish Space Agencyfor its management of the incident). In this case, and as is usually the case, the second stage of Falcon 9 successfully turned on its engine to fall controlled in the atmosphere, far from populated areas. They were the light conditions and the flight profile that made its wake visible in the European night sky, without further consequences than the scare of some European spectators. Images | Jay in Kyiv, High Calar Observatory In Xataka | Elon Musk has revealed the plan after Starship explosions: v3 earlier than expected, but with half a capacity

Emirates has fallen in love with shows with drones. It already moves millions of dollars and aims to have no rival in the sky

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More than a decade ago It was held next to the Danube Riverin Austria, the first show of drones of which you have registration. It was during a local music festival, with Few flying devices But with a huge technical deployment. Since then, this type of exhibitions has not stopped evolving. Today, drones have become an increasingly popular alternative to fireworks. The United States and China have taken the lead with mass shows, but the United Arab Emirates want to take the proposal a step further. And are willing to strive to achieve it. Emirates wants to lead the future of shows in heaven Talking about Arab Emirates is talking about a country accustomed to megaprojects. From the Burj Khalifa to the artificial island Palm Jumeirahgoing through The future tower with the highest watch in the worldtheir ambitions do not know limits. Behind this deployment there is a clear strategy: diversify the economy and reduce oil dependence. One of the last steps in that direction is to turn Abu Dhabi into a cultural and technological pole. Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed al Nahyan has opted for an unpublished show: The largest exhibition of drones in the world. The objective is to launch more than 10,000 illuminated drones, coordinated in real time to form three -dimensional images. The challenge is not less. Until now, few have managed to operate such a number of drones simultaneously. The record is held by Shenzhenin China, With 10,197 devices in 2024in a sample that beat two Guinness records. The United States has also advanced, With exhibitions of up to 5,000 drones in Texas. Although Abu Dhabi has not yet confirmed the date of the ambitious event, it is known that it will be in charge of Nova Sky Stories (a Colorado firm) with Analog, a Emiratí company specialized in mixed reality and physical intelligence. Arab Emirates was a pioneer in adopting this technology, and the shows began to gain popularity in 2020. Today they are a usual part of great conferences and festivals. According to Rest of Worldan average show in the region costs some $ 112,000 and implies around 400 drones, well above what a traditional fireworks show costs, which is around $ 13,000 and $ 41,000. The global market is also taking off. In 2023 it was valued at 338.9 Millions of dollarswith the Middle East representing 41 million. And, from what we have seen, there is still a generous margin of growth. The AI ​​is already changing the way these shows are designed. Skyvertise, one of the most active companies in Emirates, explains that algorithms allow reducing manual labor time to Automize much of visual planning. The future of air entertainment is changing, and the Emirates want to be in charge. Images | Cyberdrone Drone Show In Xataka | Emirates financed a study to know if it can cause rain in the desert with solar farms. The answer is yes

Sky Shield and its 120 combat planes

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On that chess board that has become the Ukraine conflict into geopolitical key, it touches it, and how, to move to Europe. After the United States decision of cut military support (including intelligence) to Ukraine against Russian aggression, the old continent He has talked about “Rearme”but in the last hours a plan that It started in 2022 and that has never come to materialize. In essence, Europe seeks to activate a shield in the sky. Shield the Ukrainian sky. The current situation in Ukraine has led several military experts to present an update of the Sky Shield Planan air defense initiative led by Europe that seeks display 120 combat planes to protect Kyiv and the west of the country. Unlike NATO’s direct intervention, this proposal would work independently and be aimed at stopping Russian missile attacks and drones, without involving the battle front or east of Ukraine. In this way, the implementation of the protection system would cover critical infrastructure, such as the three operational nuclear plants of Ukraine, as well as the strategic cities of Odessa and Lviv. According to A recent report That has been made public, the strategy could be more effective in military, political and socio -economic terms than the deployment of 10,000 European soldiers on the field. What is Sky Shield. Originally known as European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI)it is an ambitious antimile defense system plan that seeks to create a protective shield on the continent, one Similar to Iron Dome Israeli. Founded in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it currently has 21 member countries, including the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Greece and Finland, which have agreed to cooperate in the acquisition, maintenance and use of defense systems. The idea has always been for the project to be integrated into the pre -existing Missions of NATO, always as a objective to protect the allied territory against aerial threats and missile attacks. In fact, its design contemplates three levels of defense: Short range (up to 15 km away and 6 km altitude) Half range (15-50 km away and up to 25 km altitude) Long range (more than 50 km away and up to 35 km altitude) Sky Shield’s key components. Originally, the plan combines various defense technologies Air from different manufacturers, both European and American. First, the Arrow 3 system long -range developed jointly by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing (United States). Its characteristics: intercept long -range ballistic missiles before they reach their target, operated totally automatically and designed to intercept threats to great altitude and hundreds of kilometers away. Then you have the Skyranger System 30 short -range developed by Germany. It is a defense turret, a mobile system that detects and neutralizes air and land threats. The third leg is the Missile Earth-Aire Iris-T-SLM half range. Manufactured by Diehl Defense (Germany), it uses infrared technology to intercept attacks and, in fact, Ukraine has used this system since 2022, which has demonstrated its effectiveness in combat. Finally, The well -known patriot long range. Developed by Raytheon, it is a system widely used in Europe, so much that NATO signed a contract for 5.6 billion euros to acquire 1,000 Patriot missiles shared between Germany, Netherlands, Romania and Spain. Resurgence of the plan. And so we get to this week. Although the idea of ​​an aerial exclusion zone has been discussed since the Russian invasion, until now concrete progress has been made. However, the recent tense meeting between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his American counterpart has caused a turn in the European position. The Interruption of military aid flow and the restriction of Intelligence exchange On the part of the United States they have forced Europe to take a more active role in the defense of Ukraine and in the construction of long -term security guarantees. The Guardian told that among the main drivers of Sky Shield High profile figures in European defense are found, such as Philip Breedlove, a supreme excomandant of NATO in Europe, Sir Richard Shirreff, former general of the British and former deputy army of NATO, and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former president of Poland. The former Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, has also joined that this plan represents an essential step for Europe to assume a leadership role in Ukrainian security. Risk of climbing and challenges. Yes ok The proposal It has been presented to various European defense ministries, so far there has been no clear response to authorize aerial patrols about Ukraine. The main concern in the West lies in the risk of climbing from the conflict to something much larger, since the deployment of European combat aircraft could result in direct confrontations with Russia if any aircraft were demolished. However, Plan defenders argue that the risk is minimal, since Moscow has avoided operating combat planes beyond the front line Since the beginning of 2022, which would maintain a distance of separation greater than 200 kilometers between European fighters and Russian forces. In that sense, the plan would not only reinforce the air security of Ukraine, but also would decongest your defense systems Antialea, currently overloaded and armament dependent manufactured in the United States such as Patriot interceptors, whose refueling has been suspended after the new restrictions of the White House. Reinforce the Ukrainian defense. The urgency of a Solution as Sky Shield It becomes evident with the recent Russian attacks. An example: in just one day, Russia launched 181 drones and four missileswhich, although they were mostly intercepted, caused the death of at least one person in Odesa and damaged infrastructure in the region. Ukraine has responded with long -range attacks through ATACMS missiles Americans and Storm Shadow Anglo-Frenchhitting objectives in Russian territory, including military refineries and facilities. Attacks and defenses that will become impossible over time without the help of the United States. Guarantee security (world). So things, with American support in question And a conflict that does not give signs of resolving soon, Europe faces the need to assume a more decisive role in the … Read more

For five years we have tried to decipher a television signal that came from the sky. The mystery has been resolved

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The news for the year in the cosmos has a name and surname: 2024 YR4, that asteroid whose probabilities of impact on Earth do nothing but up. But thousands of kilometers from our planet continue to happen fascinating events. Without going very far, X -ray telescopes have just revealed A superstructure of more than one billion light years. There are more, because for five years astronomers had been looking for a response to a television signal that came from space. The enigma has just been resolved. The mystery of the signals. For five years, astronomers who analyzed the data of the Murchison Widefield Array radio in Western Australia found an unexpected enigma: A television signal from heaven. Since the telescope is located in A radioelectric silence zone Designated to avoid human interference in radioastronomy, the detection of said signal was particularly disconcerting for the community. Even more strange was the fact that the signal It seemed to move through the skywhich led to all kinds of speculation about possible reflections of our own transmissions until, of course, theories about extraterrestrial activity. The answer, as almost always, It was something simpler. The discovery: airplanes. Apparently, the turning point came when Jonathan Poly, physicist at Brown University and leader of the United States research team, He had a revelation: “We said: ‘I bet the signal is being reflected in a plane’”. While this hypothesis had already raised before, no one had confirmed it with certainty. To check it, the equipment used advanced signal processing techniques, as close field corrections and beam formationwith which they managed to better focus close sources of interference. What happened? That the analysis revealed that The reflected signal corresponded to the Channel 7 frequency bandan Australian digital television station. Perhaps more important than that, the calculations on the altitude and speed of the reflective object indicated that It was a plane in full phase of cruiseflying at 11.7 kilometers of altitude at a speed of 792 km/h, data that coincide with the usual characteristics of a commercial flight. A problem for astronomy. As indicated in your recently published studythis type of interference represents a serious problem for astronomers, since Contamin the data and can force the elimination of large amounts of valuable information. According to Jade Chucharmefrom Brown University, “It’s like trying to listen to a friend whispering on the other side of the table while a child screams in your ear.” In this way, every time a television signal is reflected in a plane, It overlaps cosmic waves That astronomers seek to analyze, which can make large sets of observations must be ruled out. Not just that. As they underline, the team’s discovery is key to Develop interference elimination methodswhich will allow filtering these reflexes without losing important astronomical information. However, the problem is not limited to airplanes: satellites in orbit represent an even greater threat. Are we too loud on earth for astronomy? It is the big question that slides from the finding. The number of satellites in orbit It is still increasingwhich aggravates the problem of radio interference. Although scientists are improving data filtering techniques, some begin to question whether planet Earth himself remains adequate place for radioastronomy. According to poor“If we cannot find a silent sky on earth, maybe the earth is no longer the indicated place.” Be that as it may, some astronomers have begun to consider The possibility of moving radioastronomy to spacewith projects that propose the installation of telescopes in the hidden face of the moon, where the terrestrial interference would be minimal. In that sense, the discovery of Poly and his team not only solves a five -year mystery, but also marks a crucial step for the preservation of radioastronomy in an era where electromagnetic pollution is a growing problem. With the advancement of technology, the struggle between the exploration of the cosmos and the signs generated by the human being could define the future of astronomy. Unfortunately for believers, no one was watching TV in space. Image | Pexels, Nara In Xataka | X -ray telescopes have revealed an unimaginable object: a superstructure of more than one billion light years In Xataka | The impact probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 has risen to 3.1% (1 of 32): why the UN waiting for May to act

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