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Italy snuck a bridge between Sicily and Calabria into NATO as “military spending.” Not even tanks can cross it

December 5, 2025 by usatoday24

The hyperbolic idea of a mega suspension bridge record to unite the Italian peninsula with Sicily is something that the Romans already dreamed of. We are talking about an infrastructure that, if carried out, would become the largest suspension bridge on the planet. However, its chronicle as the driving force of rearmament in Europe is comparable to the project of underwater tunnel between Spain and North Africa. The old dream of the Strait. The ambition to link Sicily with the Italian peninsula by means of what would be the longest suspension bridge in the world reappeared at the center of the national debate not as a technical proposal, but as a head-on crash between political power and institutional control. Although the project It has been orbiting the imagination of different governments for decades, it was the combination of Matteo Salvini’s personal impulse and the political will of Giorgia Meloni’s executive that tried to reactivate it with an extraordinary sense of urgency. However, that speed caused the breakup: the Court of Accounts, constitutional guarantor of the control of public spending and compliance with national and European standards, rejected the file considering that the 2005 competition could not legally support a work that has tripled its estimated cost, that presents significant documentary gaps and that could violate essential rules of competition and environmental evaluation. Stand by. The decision made a few weeks ago, preventive and not definitiveexposed deep fissures in the management of the project, where political urgency prevailed over internal technical warnings from the Ministry of Transportation itself, which had requested more time to complete the documentation. The duel for two. The government’s reaction was immediate and furious. Meloni accused The judges were accused of overstepping their bounds and Salvini, who had turned the bridge into a symbol of his political survival, denounced a political gesture disguised as a technical judgment. They both had to moderate tone after recognizing that, although the Court of Auditors does not have the “final word”, its reservations are binding in the sense of raising the political responsibility of the executive: if the government decides to move forward without satisfying its objections, the Court will register the reservations and send them to Parliament, leaving an official record of the risks, including legal, budgetary and procedural ones. Continue without permissions. This warning is especially important given the possibility of future litigation promoted by groups opposed to the work. Still, the law allows the government go ahead even without the full endorsement of the institution, a path that Meloni and Salvini do not rule out, although aware that putting maximum pressure on the Court could open an institutional fracture that is difficult to manage and increase the likelihood that the courts will overthrow the project in later phases. The figures and the promises. The bridge 3.7 kilometers It is not just an infrastructure: it is a political symbol. Salvini presents it as a public work most important in the worldcapable of regenerating southern Italy, generating more than 36,000 jobs, stimulating economic growth of more than 23 billion euros and reducing crossing times across the Strait ten minutes away. But these arguments compete with other factors: its cost has escalated from the 3.8 billion expected in 2005. up to 13.5 billion current, and the Sicilian railway routes remain precarious. Furthermore, the local population asks before improvements in internal mobility that an iconic megaproject and the seismic risks of the Strait, one of the most active points in the Mediterranean, still lack a fully convincing technical response. For Salvini, however, abandoning the project would mean accepting a decline in his influence within the Italian right, especially at a time when Meloni dominates the political scene and his own bases are looking for evidence that he retains capacity. The technical fissures. The decision of the Court of Auditors was based on concrete elements: missing or poorly presented documentation, procedural shortcuts, inconsistencies between old figures and current projections, doubts about compliance with European procurement standards and an environmental file that, according to the judgesis based on claims of “imperative public interest” without the required technical support. The institution denounced that part of the essential documents They weren’t even pointed out. by the ministry, forcing the magistrates themselves to identify them. In parallel, the ministry’s technicians had warned Salvini months before that the precipitation could lead to exactly this scenario. The minister decided move forward anywayaware that delaying the process would have meant admitting that the work schedule set for the end of the year was impossible to meet. That political obstinacy is now turning against him, in the form of doubts about his ability to manage such a monumental project. The labyrinth of the contest. The most explosive element for the immediate future of the bridge is the question of the tender. Salvini opted to reactivate the contract awarded in 2005 to Eurolink consortiumled by Webuild and accompanied by companies from Spain and Japan, precisely to avoid a new contest. In 2012, when the project was paralyzed, the consortium demanded 700 million euros in compensation, which it will only withdraw if works resume. But the judges have pointed out that financial changes and uncertainty about the updated cost could force a new tender, which would delay the work for years, perhaps more than a decade. Environmental objections. The government tried to shield the project with a document that proclaimed reasons of public interest imperative to overcome environmental obstacles, but the Court of Accounts he replied that these justifications lack solid technical support and do not adequately detail the impact on extremely sensitive coastal and marine areas. Thus we arrive at the executive’s attempt to present the bridge as an infrastructure of strategic value. for NATO (arguing that it would facilitate rapid movement of troops in the central Mediterranean), an idea that was welcomed with skepticism and even irony: for regional experts, the bridge would be “at most a military objective,” not an operational tool. The use of international security as an … Read more

send an army in front of Russia with its most advanced tanks

November 6, 2025 by usatoday24

Since 1945, Germany has lived cautiously everything related to the use of force beyond its borders. Even when he participated in international missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan or Mali, he always did so in a rotating, temporary format and under strict frameworks, avoiding establishing a permanent presence. The memory of the Second World Warthe initial demilitarization and the subsequent political reconstruction left a doctrine where stable deployment abroad was, more than a red line, a taboo. And then came the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The German deployment. Germany’s decision to establish its first brigade permanently deployed abroad since 1945 marks a historic turn in its defense policy and European military architecture. The creation of the 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania, with 4,800 soldiers and civilian support personnel, responds to an increasingly clear reading of the Russian threat and the recognition that the defense of NATO’s eastern flank is, in reality, the defense of Alemani herselfto. The Chancellery in Berlin not only assumes this presence as a symbolic gesture, but as a structural pillar of a new military era, in which Europe must assume greater responsibilities strategic, reduce absolute dependence on the American umbrella and rebuild capabilities what were deliberately dismantled after the end of the Cold War. The brigade is, therefore, both a message to Moscow as an internal message: Germany is abandoning its former military prudence to occupy the role that its economic weight demands, and that its partners (and adversaries) take for granted. Kamikazes, software and more. He German rearmament It is not limited to heavy armor or territorial presence: it extends to the domain of war through saturation and accelerated adaptation, where kamikaze drones have become one of the most decisive tools of contemporary combats. The plan for acquire 12,000 drones suicide bombers, with contracts of around 300 million euros for each manufacturer, reveals a clear doctrinal change: the armed forces should no longer accumulate equipment in static arsenals, but rather maintain them in permanent update cycles, with the bulk of the arsenal under the custody of the industry itself to be modified almost in real time. The war in the background. The reference is direct: in Ukraine, innovation cycles are measured in weeksnot years. Every change in software or payload redefines the tactical value of the dronewhile traditional systems become obsolete due to the frenetic pace of electronic countermeasures. This massive purchase points to a military on the edge facing Russia that understands that the battlefield of the immediate future will be hybrid, digitalized and deeply dependent on agility to adapt to an enemy that learns as quickly as it attacks. Leopard 2A8. The deployment of the 45th Armored Brigade cannot be conceived without it Leopard 2A8the most advanced version of the German battle tank, updated based on the lessons learned from the systematic destruction of armored vehicles in Ukraine. Far from abandoning tanks, Germany has concluded that They are still essential for combined operations, but only if they adapt to an environment where the priority threat is no longer anti-tank missiles guided from hills, but cheap drones capable of descending on vulnerable domes. A tank to anticipate. Hence the integration of Trophy system active protection, early warning sensors, modular armor and electronic packages prepared to counter swarms or loitering munitions. The brigade is thus deployed not as a symbol of the European industrial past, but as a platform that attempts anticipate war to come: coordinated mobility, continuous real-time intelligence support, layered anti-drone defense, and a distributed weapons network that prevents excessive concentration of risk. The presence of the Leopard 2A8 is less a reaffirmation of the tank as an icon and more a doctrinal statement: the ground battle is still valid, but only if it is handled with precision, integration and constant adaptation. Rearm to last. On the whole, these movements They express a conclusion that is already beginning to be accepted unambiguously among European capitals: the peace of the last thirty years was a historical exception, not the norm. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced Europe to rebuild military industryreactivate strategic reserves, reinforce borders and recover the idea of an integrated defensesustained and modernized. Germany, which for decades was considered the “weak link” in European defense, is reconfiguring itself as the core potential continental rearmament operation. The 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania, the 12,000 kamikaze drones and the Leopard 2A8 are not isolated pieces, but pieces of a same transition: preparation for a scenario where deterrence no longer depends solely on political will, but on technological capacity, speed of adaptation and territorial firmness. If you also want, the sign to Moscow is direct: the baltic border It is not a negotiable void, but a very clear line on which the greatest economic power in Europe now stands, permanently. And this time, with armored vehicles, drones, reactivated industry and a strategic mandate that looks decades forward. Image | nara, Boevaya mashina, 7th Army Training Command In Xataka | The most pacifist city in Germany lived off its legendary train factory. Now they will make it from a gigantic tank factory In Xataka | The “rearmament” of Europe has begun at a Volkswagen factory in Germany: instead of cars they will produce tanks

fighters, tanks and frigates will be bought, but not to the US

September 26, 2025 by usatoday24

If the question is how the Rearme in Europethe answer right now has taken an unexpected turn. In the summer we count that the old continent had realized that he should start on the roads And that, if necessary, could find a problem derived from industries that compete for the same gears: cars and trains. However, what there were few doubts was that the United States was waiting to start signing contracts. Until a plan B has appeared. The strategic turn of Germany. Yes, Germany has decided to undertake an ambitious rearme program valued in More than 80,000 million of euros, which will mark a deep change in the industrial balance of defense in Europe. According to documents obtained by politicianBerlin plans to sign 154 contracts of great size between September 2025 and December 2026, modernizing all branches of its armed forces. Without American help. However, if the German plan surprises something is because it practically seeks Washington do without. Documents talk about just 8% Of those acquisitions will go to the American industry, in contrast to Germany’s role as one of Washington’s main clients in recent years. If in 2023 Berlin came to buy almost 14,000 million Of dollars in American military material, now he chooses to reinforce the European industrial base. In fact, the largest budgeted item is for the program of F-127 frigatesdesigned by the German TKMS, with an estimated cost of 26,000 million euros. He Eurofighter Tranche 5the vehicles Rheinmetall Boxer, a new wheel destroyer, the modernization of the missile of Taurus cruise or the commitment to national air defense systems Like the Iris-T They complete the portrait of a strategy that prioritizes European industrial autonomy against transatlantic agency. Eurofighter Tranche 5 The transatlantic balance. This reorientation clashes with the Trump wisheswhat after seal an agreement Commercial with Ursula von der Leyen proclaimed that the EU would buy “hundreds of billions” in American weapons. But in Europe decisions are national, not Brussels, and Berlin sends an unequivocal sign that the financial muscle will turn into the continental industry. The purchase Patriot Americans and some complementary missiles will barely reach 6,800 million of euros, while most of the resources will go to European programs, even to problematic projects Like Eurodronethat despite delays and cost overheads receives additional funds. In other words, Germany thus consolidates its role as the locomotive of the European rearme, not only modernizing its army but also marking the way to follow for the whole of the Union. Germany as leader of the rearme. In parallel to his own plan, Berlin has presented to Brussels a proposal of continental scope, collected in a leaked document For the Financial Times. There he claims to become the engine of the European response to the Russian threat, promoting the creation of “collective capacities coalitions”: groups of countries that develop and acquire weapons systems in priority areas such as anti -aircraft defense. Germany claims to be ready to assume leadership and asks that the projects focus especially on protect the eastern flank of the EU, today the most exposed area against Moscow. To achieve this, he proposes that the European Defense Agency become the central coordination and “pairing” platform of needs, with all governments forced to share data to identify deficiencies and avoid duplication. Opening towards Ukraine and tensions. The German plan has a significant political nuance: unlike Paris, which defends a strict European industrial protectionism, Berlin wants these projects are open to Ukraine Already third eligible countries, reinforcing the integration of kyiv into the Western Defense Architecture. It is, therefore, a clear pulse with France, but also a wink to Eastern Europe, which demands an agile and effective rearma Before the Russian threat. At the same time, Germany asks for soften the rules of state and competition aid, so that industries can increase their production production quickly in case of conflict, even with some deregulation that allows responding to a “state of defense” of emergency. The money debate. In the financial field, Berlin frontally rejects the idea of mutualizing European debt, as they demand South countriesand bets on using existing instruments: A loan scheme for 150,000 million euros, a subsidy program of 1.5 billion still in negotiation and the contributions of national budgets. This ensures that each country maintains its own fiscal responsibility while driving common rearmament. The strategic horizon. If you want also, Germany, which until recently was criticized for its lukewarm and Russian energy dependenceit seems to be facing a radical turn that now positions it as the center of gravity of the European rearma. Your internal plan of 83,000 million of euros, together with his aspiration of Lead coordination EU armed, draw a panorama in which Berlin seeks so much to reinforce his Bundeswehr how to forge a continental industrial base that can sustain European defense Without depending of Washington’s fluctuations. The message, a priori, seems clear: while the war in Ukraine extends and Russia remains the main threat, Germany aims to be the country that not only rearms its army, but marks the pattern of the rest of Europe as a whole. Image | US Army Europe, André Gerwing In Xataka | Spain promised to invest 2% of GDP in defense but does not look for soldiers: it needs 96,000 qualified employees In Xataka | The “rearme” in Europe has encountered an obstacle that neither US imagined: Spain

Ukraine has just opened the tanks used by Russia. The surprise is capital: West has manufactured them

September 3, 2025 by usatoday24

In the war there are also “unboxing”, but of combat drones. In fact, this is how they have been revealed from hidden messages of the troops of Moscow, until The origin of the vast majority of technology components (with big surprises). It was also revealed to what extent China is part of the war machinery, or even that the power of these unmanned combat planes has Nvidia as an engine major. What we did not know so far is what was inside the Russian tanks. Foreign dependence. Yeah, Revelation of Ukrainian intelligence on the massive use of Western and Asian teams in the production of Russian tanks has revealed to what extent Kremlin’s industrial self -sufficiency It is compromised. He Updated report Del Gur details more than 260 high precision machines employed by uralvagonzavodthe only great manufacturer of combat cars in Russia and responsible for the entire range of T-seriesfrom the V-72 veterans to him T-14 Armata. Made in the West. The majority of these teams, which include American vertical lathes, Italian folding German machining centers and presses, were acquired in the fifteen years prior to 2022during military modernization prior to the invasion of Ukraine. In other words, although they do not constitute violations of the most recent sanctions, their presence in Russian factories raises a continuity problem: Without spare parts or software updates, armored production runs the risk of degrading quickly. The central role of Uralvagonzavod. Based in the urales, Uralvagonzavod It concentrates the heart of the Russian capacity of armor, holding a production that is estimated at 20 to 30 new tanks per month, despite the pressure of the war. In 2024 he opened a equipped engines plant with European CNC machinesevidence of how even in the middle of the war campaign Russia continued to benefit from foreign technology through indirect routes and third countries. The gur warns That these deliveries, although more complicated and expensive due to the sanctions, have not stopped, which keeps alive the assembly line of the Russian armored ones. The paradox is that the Soviet industrial prestige, once a symbol of self -sufficiency, now rests largely on the legacy of foreign machinery. The strategic dimension. The Published list By Ukraine, which also collects 42 types of equipment from Austria, Japan, South Korea and China, points to a broader pattern: Russia uses a total of 1,396 foreign machines in 169 factories linked to the invasion. Each of these teams It is documented through contracts, recordings and files of state acquisitions, which gives the probative weight to the complaint. The Ukrainian message seems clear: when cutting access to spare parts, technical fluids and software licenses, the Russian military industrial base can be strangled. kyiv has proposed Reinforced diligence measures, such as adding GPS trackers to exported machines and demanding in situ inspections, in order to prevent their products from ending up holding the enemy war industry. Vulnerability mirrors. We have counted before. The finding of Western components and Chinese in drones long -range manufactured by Moscow, local versions of the Iranian Shahed, reinforces the thesis that the Russian military industry depends critically on foreign pieces. Kremlin can hide this weakness With propaganda On its technological autonomy, but in practice its war machine is based on gears manufactured in countries that are today part of the Block that sanctions it. Putin himself, aware of the limits of production, He publicly admitted In April that “there are not enough weapons”, reflecting the tensions between the self -sufficiency discourse and the reality of an industry that, without access to the West, runs the risk of being paralyzed. The industrial Achilles heel. If you want, the Ukrainian complaint converts the Russian dependence on a strategic Achilles heel: while its army spends armored in the front at a higher pace, the ability to manufacture new depends on Machines that do not control. If the sanctions manage to isolate Moscow with spare parts and services, the ability to sustain their war effort could deteriorate irreversibly. When exposing these vulnerabilities, kyiv not only seeks to weaken the enemy, but also directly involve To Western manufacturers and governments in the supervision of their export chains, remembering that another battle is fought in the Ural workshops: that of the industrial pulse that can decide war. Image | Вталий кзьин In Xataka | Ukraine has opened the most advanced Drone Kamikaze in Russia. Now they know what the key to their power is: nvidia In Xataka | Ukraine has hunted an “invisible” drone of Russia. The surprise has been capitalized when opening it: it is “made in USA”

Russia has a truck with a hunting turboreactor to clean its tanks

July 14, 2025 by usatoday24

The Soviet Union is fertile terrain for science fiction dystopias. Both the Communist architecture that hugged brutalism Like your weapons They keep calling attention. The Cold war It was a time when the USSR was characterized by Develop revolutionary armament and for creating huge vehicles such as the Ekranoplan (that China wants to rescue) or the rocket transport. And what they could take advantage of, took advantage of it. The best example was a monstrous truck to which they hit a hunting turboreactor and that allocated to the chemical war. The best? Now Russia uses it to wash its tanks and ships. Recycling. Striking combat fighters there are lots, but one that attracts attention is the MIG-17. The reason is that it seems that Morro is missing, which gives a very curious presence to hunting. Another of its differentiating aspects was the TURBOJET KILMOV VK-1a derivative of the British engine Rolls-Royce Nene that allowed the MIG-17 to reach Mach 1 speeds. He made his first flight in January 1950, but for the 60s, the Soviet development had advanced with the MIG-19 and the mythical MIG-21. These new fighters did not assemble the VK-1 turbojet, which was used exclusively in the MIG-15MIG-17 and in the IL-28 bomberwhich left the Soviets with a lot of engines for scrapping. “Nothing is thrown here,” they had to think, and they were devised to create something quite crazy. TMS-65U. Although modern chemical weapons began to be used in large quantities during the First and Second World Warin the Cold War they lived A terrifying expansion. As these weapons were developed, countermeasures were investigated to decontaminate. And that’s when Soviet engineers were lit the bulb. They took a Ural 375 6×6a huge military truck with six wheels that can circulate on any land and that has great resistance and load capacity, and set up a 900-liter deposit in the rear, as well as a turret in which they embedded one of the VK-1 turboreactors. The photos of the result are of science fiction and could have left the Videogame ‘Red Alert’ perfectly. Your name? TMS-65U. That is: look at the size of that thing Decontaminant. And the idea was not bad. The reaction engine can generate a good stream of both heat and air, but by modifying to expel vaporized liquid, a very potent gauge of gas is achieved at a large temperature. And its operation was simple: turbojet generates that burst of hot air and a nozzle throws that decontaminating fluid. The huge engine power spray that liquid and the turret allows the operator to point directly wherever. In the context of the Cold War, it had all the meaning to decontaminate other vehicles such as tanks, transport, airplanes or ships, since the reach of the turret is considerable, but the funny thing is that it continues to be used today. Turbokarker. That jet at hot air and decontaminating agent is a great mixture because detoxifies while decontamin (thanks to heat) Chemical and biological agents that may be attached to the surface of the vehicles, being a faster and more efficient way than manual scrubbing for this type of tasks. Is Like a karcherbut vitamin, which can also be used to decontaminate areas. The problem is that it consumes a lot of fuel and, if you do not sign up, you can disperse vaporized chemical contaminants in the area. In this video you can see working: Turbomultiusos. Now, it would be a waste to use a turboreactor just to clean and, as we have already said, the Soviet era takes advantage (although the Ukraine War that arsenal is being carried ahead inherited). And the TMS-65U serves much more than to decontaminate vehicles. A example It is its function on the battlefield deploying dense smoke curtains to allow moving allied units without the enemy being able to see them. Here is deploying a smoke curtain Long life to VK-1. And apart from the uses of TMS-65U, which is worth mentioning is the very long life that VK-1 turbojets are having. For example, they are used to Clean debris On the aircraft carrier track such as the Kuznetsov, as if it were a huge blower, but also to clean the snow that affects the takeoff of commercial airplanes. And, well, for reuse the turbojets … we can also mention the train that I went to 250 km/h in the 70 thanks to them. It is evident that it is very exaggerated to mount a turboreactor in a truck to be a giant blower, but it is also clear that, although this creation is 60 years after its back (plus the more than 80 that has the own engine on which it is based), if something works, do not touch it. Images | VITALY V. KUZMIN, A thousand.ru In Xataka | Russian Shahed drones were the deadliest weapon in Ukraine. Now they are the anticipation of something much worse: the double impact

China is attending a crazy race to demonstrate who has the safest battery. That’s why they crush them with tanks

June 1, 2025 by usatoday24

If I point to the volume, I am not sure if I learned a lot or little in the university. But I am clear about one thing: I learned what was news or, at least, the criteria to point out whether an event is news. When the issues that can be discussed are put on a wording, different aspects are valued. Truthfulness, current, proximity … and novelty. And if an event comes out in the media it is because it is usually “unique, unpublished, unlikely or out of the ordinary.” I don’t say it, University institutions say. That is why it makes little sense to affirm that electric cars are dangerous based exclusively on news. We could do it if we had relevant studies that pointed out that the number of electric cars is notoriously higher than those of combustion. But it is not the case. We do know that the fire of an electric car is more complicated to turn off and more virulent. That is why it is logical that take action on ships where they are transported or working on New protocols in fire bodies. That does not mean that the risks of this technology are greater. In spite of everything, it also enters within a certain logic that when a fire is given or any other risk situation, the alarm voices are multiplied. From municipalities where They consider whether to continue buying electric cars a parking lots that prohibit their step. In that case, companies only have to show that their batteries are as safe as any other component of a car. As if I could pass them a tank over them. The crazy idea of a tank Although it seems nonsense, it makes sense that manufacturers refine ideas when demonstrating the safety of electric car batteries. Keep in mind that, for example, In South Korea, an intense debate has been lived on whether or not these cars may accumulate in garages after A Mercedes Eqe will explode last year. When Byd arrived in Spain he had a challenge ahead. I needed to make themselves known and, above all, demonstrate that it was a company in which you could trust. We already know the prejudices towards the Chinese product. As a journalist, I don’t know how many times I could visualize This video in which a nail is going through an LFP battery without anything happening. It was one of the classic images. The other was the pressure tests. When too much pressure is applied to a battery (electric car or any other device) runs the risk of experimenting A thermal leak. Heat grows inside, chemistry is released and the pressure increases to cause an explosion with the consequent fire. To avoid this, the housings are designed to release the accumulated pressure inside, with the aim that if we have an accident, the pressure exerted on the battery does not cause an explosion. And the company can already tell us about figures and data and everything we want. But nothing better than the visual. Click on the image to go to the original tweet That is why Geely, explain in Carnewschina He has taken his new “Aegis Gold Brick Battery” a 36 -ton tank and has passed it over. And what happened? Nothing. Nothing at all. The battery did not give any sign of damage despite receiving 1.8 times the minimum pressure required by Chinese institutions to standardize a new battery. You can see the video on this link. They point out that the tank not only He crushed the battery On one occasion. He passed over it, returned on his steps and continued to crush her repeatedly. And did the same going over individual cells. The battery package “maintained its structural integrity without bulges, leaks, fires or explosions,” they emphasize. To overcome the test, the aegis Gold Brick Battery has been designed with a double wet coating that facilitates the dispersion of heat and thermal leaks since it is especially heat resistant to heat generated by aluminum oxide. It also has liquid-electrical separation of the materials. Photo | Geely In Xataka | Samsung has just revolutionized batteries for electric cars. In autonomy, in load time and in useful life

hide your tanks and artillery underground

May 12, 2025 by usatoday24

In the war that is fought in Ukraine after the invasion of Russia we have seen a large number of unpublished tactics in the front. For example, drones that are precisely looking for They catch themeither unmanned boats capable of knocking fighters. We have also seen using “tricks” from the First World War, such as The optical illusion or the use of shotguns of double cannon. However, what had not been seen so far was literally burying a combat tank. The buzz of a drone. The story comes, in reality, months ago. In the dense forests that surround toletsk, a flame city east of Ukraine, the sound of the war had changed the bell in October: it was no longer only the rumble of the artillery that defined the battlefield, but the constant buzzing of the drones that furrowed the heavens in search of objectives. In Donetsk, the soldiers of the 28th Mechanized Brigade separate awaited instructions with their Modernized T-64although they are no longer the imposing protagonists that used to be. The era of the dominant tank has given way to a new stage: the of the cautious tankforced to adapt to a war dominated by electronic eyes and miniature air attacks. The loss of invulnerability. That scene has been repeated in many other stages of the war in Ukraine. The T-64 is the best example, since it was at the time a symbol of invincible power: that which was said that when the engine felt under his feet, the illusion that nothing could touch him. However, that feeling It has vanished. What was previously a strategic advantage today has become exposure to danger. Tanks, whether Soviet or modern models M1A1 Abrams Americans are being removed from the front, not due to lack of power, but for their vulnerability in front of FPV drones low cost, which for just 500 dollars can destroy machines valued in millions. War has become a technological asymmetries equation where small colossal. Invisible air war. Today is already a war reality: in the extensive line of the Ukrainian front, of more than 1,100 kilometers, the modern war is no longer freed on the ground, but also also in the airwhere those swarms of small explosive drones fly without rest on a lethal flight of Surveillance and destruction. Every month, both the Ukrainian forces and the Russians throw around Two million FPV dronestiny distance guided machines capable of transporting enough explosive loads to destroy vehicles or end a life. Their size, speed and maneuvering capacity make them relentless hunters of mobile or static objectives, especially artillery pieces, tanks and fortified positions. These aerial threats, no doubt, have completely transformed the strategy on the front, displacing the combat from the surface Towards the subsoil in what is already emerging as an era of those cautious armored armored ones that we commented. A Ukrainian tank emerging from Earth The underground artillery is born. Given this scenario, more and more Ukrainian artillery units have begun to excavate deep burrows In the field, hiding not only its crews but also its bulky artillery pieces. There are examples of Widespread videos that show a Ukrainian battery operating a 2S1 GVOZDIKAa self -propelled howbow, hosted underground in An excavated shelter With heavy machinery. The entrance is covered by trunks and a thick network that aims to intercept enemy drones. The depth of the position is such that even the vehicle has a hard time emerging to shoot. There are also Official photographs of the 36th Ukrainian Marine Infantry Regiment that reveal that these underground positions are not isolated cases, but a trend that extends along the front, especially in exposed areas such as the border with the Russian region of Kursk. Trinchera 2.0. The evolution of the conflict has returned to the modern soldier to a form of buried lifebut this time with 21st century technology. The constant threat from heaven has forced a complete redesign of deployment and concealment tactics. From that prism, visual camouflage is no longer enough: layers of land, reinforced structures and one Logistics capacity that allows to bury heavy machinery safely. They counted in Forbes That when they do not shoot, vehicles must remain hidden underground, ready to emerge only the necessary time to execute a fire mission before disappearing again under soil protection. This logic of movement translates into a stealthy, methodical and essentially defensive form, away from the traditional dynamism that characterized the armored ones. Drones and tactical response. While FPV drones They are mortalThey are not invulnerable. Radio controlled can be neutralized by Electronic interferencewhile guided by fiber optic cable They can betray the operator’s position if the cable is tracked. Even so, its proliferation has reached such magnitude that the land no longer offers sufficient protection without intensive mechanical intervention. Networks, armor, traps, improvised structures … in the war in Ukraine nothing seems sufficient in the face of the constant surveillance of those thousands of eyes Flying Hence the earth, thick and silent, offer a truly effective defense. This also explains why so many Ukrainian units have started Collection campaigns To acquire excavators, understanding that their survival no longer depends solely on weapons, but on access to civil machinery capable of opening a refuge under the surface. Adaptation to urgency. Thus, what began as a improvised reaction Given the increase in unmanned air attacks, it has established itself as a New tactical pattern. In a technologically saturated war, where visibility means vulnerability and mobility implies risk, hiding has become a strategy. Artillery, once a symbol of power and visibility on the battlefield, is now buried as a swag endangered. A strange turn, but perhaps inevitable, in a conflict where artificial intelligencethe Technological miniaturization and Asymmetric war They have relegated the human being and their machinery to seek in the subsoil a way of persisting. Image | Ukrainian Defense Ministry, 36th Marine Brigade In Xataka | The last tactic of Ukraine is a drone that seeks to catch him. When Russia opens … Read more

Instead of cars they will produce tanks

March 14, 2025 by usatoday24

To economic pressures and commercial confrontations, an element has been joined that has ended up dynamiting the already convulsive geopolitics in the old continent. Russian invasion in Ukraine and that Chess game that is fought with the arrival of Trump made Europe speak A few days ago “Rearme”understanding itself as the need to invest again in “security” for what can happen. It was not a lantern, and Germany has already begun. Ahead of VW at the pace of tanks. Few data to understand what is happening as the one offered this week. Rheinmetallthe largest defense contractor in Germany, has overcome value Market to Volkswagen, the company with the highest income in Europe, reflecting a structural change in the German economy towards a greater investment in the military industry. While Volkswagen Face challenges In demand, reduction of foreign costs and competition, Rheinmetall has tripled its value from Donald Trump’s choice as president of the United States promoted by the expectation of an increase in European military spending. Trump’s position to distance Washington from his role as guarantor of Western security has encouraged That “rearme” of NATOgenerating a boom in the European defense industry. From car factory to tanks. And as a great symbol of that German industrial change, Volkswagen and Rheinmetall are negotiating an agreement that until a few years ago would have seemed a real dystopia: The sale of the Osnabrück plant that Volkswagen plans as part of its restructuring. Although Rheinmetall’s CEO, Armin Papperger, has indicated that it has not yet been closed, he has talked about using the plant To manufacture tanks and other military systems, thus avoiding the costs of building a new installation. Moreover, it would not be the first or the only factory they are buying. More factories. Because Rheinmetall is in the process of reconverting two other automotive plants In Germany for the production of military equipment, reflecting the impact of the increase in defense expenditure in the region. Apparently, two Berlin and Neuss factories, currently dedicated to the production of auto parts, will be redirected to the Rheinmetall weapons and ammunition division, although They will still keep a part of its capacity for automotive manufacturing. This transition illustrates how few the weakness of the German sector and the rise of military spending are redefining the industrial landscape of the nation. One More Thing. Recently, the Defense Group Knds announced the acquisition of A plant in eastern Germanypreviously operated by the French Alstom, for the manufacture of Leopard 2 tanks and combat vehicles Puma. These conversions, again, show a change in approach to German manufacturing, where industrial infrastructures are being reconfigured for military production. The decline of a sector. It We have counted before. Historically, Germany has been a pillar of the global automotive industry, with Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz as sector giants. However, the combination of factors such as cost up for the War in Ukrainethe Chinese competitionthe demand drop and the slower adoption The expected of electric vehicles (EVS) has significantly weakened the industry. Volkswagen, who in 2023 headed the Fortune 500 Europe With 348 billion dollars In income, he has seen how its market value has fallen to only 60 billion, placing it in position 46 among the most valuable companies on the continent. The company has also had a Hard battle with unions which has resulted in production reductions and template cuts To mitigate your losses. Meanwhile, defense manufacturers such as Rheinmetall have seen their orders and their market value grow exponentially. The impact of military spending. All this culture broth has led the European Union to design a plan to rear. 800 million euros. Germany, meanwhile, has taken even more aggressive measures, allocating 500 million dollars to the modernization of infrastructure and flexible its indebtedness policy to exclude spending in defense of its strict fiscal limits. In total, the country could invest up to 1.3 billion dollars In economic measures, many of which will be linked to the military industry. Hence, the unprecedented impulse in European military spending has benefited defense contractors like Rheinmetall, Thales and Bae Systemswhose valuations have grown significantly. The demand for military team has led to an increase in the production of, for example, tanks, artillery systems and ammunition, reinforcing the German tendency towards a war economy. A challenge. Thus, while the (until nothing) almighty Volkswagen struggles for survive the crisis That the sector lives, the defense industry has become the unexpected growth engine of the German industry and seems to become the symbol and shuttle of That European “rearme” which is presented as a key challenge for the old continent. Image | 270862 In Xataka | Europe before its time of truth: we have entered the era of “rearme” and the EU has a plan not to be behind In Xataka | In the middle of the Cold War, France designed a nuclear rearme plan for Europe. Now sound strongly

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