weapons

We have been looking for new weapons against superbugs for years. We have designed one at 400 km altitude

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Humanity has a big problem right now that can condemn it to its disappearance: antibiotic resistance. This forces science to be in a constant search for new treatments and also for raising awareness of the responsible use of drugs. And the last place where they have found a new path of research is in space. The study. A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has published in PLOS Biology the results of an experiment carried out aboard the International Space Station (ISS), demonstrating that the absence of gravity not only alters cellular behavior, but also accelerates evolutionary processes that would be unlikely on Earth. Something that is undoubtedly very important, since it has been seen how phage T7a virus that has the ability to infect a bacteria to kill it, developed genetic mutations in space that would not have occurred on Earth surely. Some mutations that allowed us to attack a specific bacteria that would have been unthinkable on Earth. A changing biology. On Earth, biologists are quite clear that if a virus binds to a bacteria and infects it, it can kill it. But to understand this you have to know that on our planet the interaction of these two elements in a liquid medium is facilitated by gravity. A key factor for both beings to collide within the medium. On the International Space Station these forces disappear. The movement of the particles is almost exclusively reduced to the Brownian diffusionthat is, the random movement of particles. And here it was seen that this had a great impact on the kinetics of the infection. What happened. The first thing that could be seen is that the bacteria’s ability to divide to give new ‘children’ was reduced, causing it to increase up to four hours, making it difficult for the virus and the bacteria to meet. However, after 23 days of culture on board, the infection was successful. In this way, the viral population not only reached the bacterial population, but the selective pressure of the environment forced the virus to optimize its attack mechanisms with different mutations. Genetic engineering. By analyzing the DNA of viruses that arrived from space, the research team discovered the evolution that had taken place. In this way, it was seen how it had mutated in record time in different genes that are key, such as the one used to synthesize the ‘legs’ with which it anchors itself to a bacteria. The most relevant thing is that these mutations were not random, but a direct response to the lack of frequent contacts. Having fewer opportunities to collide with a bacteria because they replicated less, the virus evolved to be more efficient at adsorption (the process of adhering to the cell surface) once it made contact. For its part, the bacteria E.coli also responded to environmental stress. The analyzes showed mutations in the genes mlaA and hldEresponsible for maintaining the integrity of the outer membrane and the synthesis of lipopolysaccharides. This suggests that the bacteria attempted to “shield” their surface both to resist microgravity and to prevent phage entry, creating a molecular arms race different from the one on Earth. Its importance. Once this has been proven, the question is clear: why do we care? The key is that the researchers used variants of the virus that evolved in space and pitted them on Earth against strains of uropathogenic E. coli that had developed resistance to phage T7 original. And the result was spectacular: the mutated viruses killed these resistant bacteria. This suggests that microgravity makes it possible to explore an “adaptive landscape” that is inaccessible under Earth’s gravity. On Earth, evolution pushes phages down already known “low resistance” paths. In space, extreme conditions force the virus to unlock alternative genetic pathways that we did not know about until now. A new model. This discovery validates a hypothesis that has been brewing for years in astrobiology and biotechnology: space is not just a place for observation, but a unique manufacturing environment. In this way, if we can use the EES, or future commercial stationsas incubators to direct the evolution of bacteriophages, we could generate a library of therapeutic viruses that are capable of defeating the superbacteria that currently threaten global health systems. That is why it is not about artificial genetic engineering, but about using directed evolution in an environment where physical rules favor the appearance of exceptional biological traits. Images | POT CDC In Xataka | Manufacturing materials to produce chips in space is not science fiction. It is a very real plan that is already underway

Germany is experiencing a new “industrial miracle” that it already experienced 90 years ago: that of weapons

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Germany has been living a transformation silent but very deep. The country that saw the birth of the industrial miracle of the automobile is seeing something similar again, but from a perspective completely different: rearmament, which until recently was a political taboo and a social discomfort, has become a great industrial and labor accelerator. War as a driving force. The country, pushed by the russian invasion of Ukraine and the feeling that the American umbrella is already It’s not so automatic As before, it has been shifting its center of gravity towards defense with a mix of strategic urgency and productive ambition. And that mutation is measured in something very specific: employment, factories, supply chains and a demand that is no longer described as temporary, but as a new normal that promises to last for years, with orders that come in like a wave and companies that prepare to produce at scale, with war economy rhythms without the need to call it that. Mass hiring. German defense contractors have entered into a veritable hiring feverincreasing its workforce by nearly a third in just four years. The data provided by a representative group of large companies and start-ups shows a jump from around 63,000 workers in 2021 to almost 83,000 today Within its defense-focused divisions, a 30% growth which reflects the extent to which the industry is expanding at real speed. I remembered the financial times that, although these figures do not cover the entire sector and there are large companies that did not participate, the portrait is enough to understand the direction of the country: Germany not only buys more weapons, but is rearming its industrial muscle to manufacture, sustain and modernize them, with a labor market that is beginning to reorganize itself around this new priority. Rheinmetall Panther KF51 The budget turn. The great fuel for this expansion is public money converted into contracts. Since 2022, the German Ministry of Defense has signed arms deals worth of 207,000 million eurosand last year alone it concentrated 83,000 million, a figure that contrasts with the 23,000 million in 2021 and that summarizes the break with the previous stage. The most significant thing is that the trend does not aim to stop: Chancellor Merz, in office since May, has relaxed the strict debt rules to allow the level of spending needed in defense, a message that, beyond politics, works as an industrial signal: there will be stable demand, continuity and visibility, just what companies need to invest, expand capacity, hire and plan for the long term without fear that everything will freeze with the next electoral cycle. The real size of the sector. Even with this boom, the German defense industry remains a relatively modest player in terms of employment when compared to the country’s historical giant: the automobile. The Ministry of Economy itself cited around 105,000 jobs direct in defense in 2022, and although the figure will have risen since then, it remains far from the approximately 700,000 workers in the automotive sector, today hit by layoffscompetitive pressure and technological transition. This comparison is important because it cuts to the root a repeated idea: that rearmament can “replace” the car as a great work cushion. Defense can grow a lot, even draw on industry and attract talent, but due to volume it does not seem capable of absorbing the size in the short term. of the engine crisisat least not quickly or massively. Airbus and Reinmetall. Within the employment map, Airbus stands out as the largest employer, with around 38,000 people working in defense worldwide and just over half in Germany, manufacturing key pieces of European military architecture such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the transport plane A400M. right behind Rheinmetall appearswhich has become the most visible symbol of the boom: the producer of tanks, artillery and ammunition has grown from about 15,400 employees in 2021 at 23,500 todaythe greatest absolute leap among the companies analyzed, and its CEO, Armin Papperger, has even projected a target of 70,000 employees in three years. In parallel, Rheinmetall has begun to experience something that in Germany is a cultural indicator: social attractiveness. He speaks of hundreds of thousands of applications in a single year, as if defense had stopped being a dark or secondary sector to suddenly become a bet for the future for engineers, technicians and industrial profiles. Military startups. The big relative surprise is in the new scene of military start-upsyoung companies focused on surveillance systems or weapons not always publicly detailed, that are raising hundreds of millions in financing and growing at a rate almost unthinkable a decade ago. The most striking case It’s Helsing.which makes armed drones and whose workforce has grown 18-fold in four years after evolving from an artificial intelligence software approach to hardware productiona leap that involves going from selling algorithms to build real objects with parts, assembly lines, logistics and maintenance. This movement is, in itself, a statement: European defense no longer wants to depend only on digital innovation, it wants to convert innovation in physical and deployable systemsand for that you need companies capable of manufacturing and scaling, not just programming. The State accelerates. From within the sector, the discourse is one of sustained takeoff. The BDSV employers’ association, in the voice of Hans Christoph Atzpodien, insists that growth will accelerate because Germany has streamlined processes purchase and has given more visibility on future demand, which allows capacity planning with less uncertainty. The phrase is almost industrially literal: now everything is placed so that large orders “arrive at the doors” of manufacturers. If you want and how do we countthe scenario describes a change of era: for years Europe talked about spending more on defense, but it did so with administrative slowness, political doubts and eternal programs; now the feeling is that the system is being reconfigured to buy and produce urgently, because the threat is perceived to be close and the margin for improvisation has been exhausted. The great temptation: “steal” the car. … Read more

turn your rays into accidental weapons

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When we thought that the offshore energy It was the future of renewables, someone looked towards low Earth orbit and exclaimed “hold my tank.” One of the plans conquest of China’s renewables goes through placing farms that harvest solar energy around the Earth. The problem is that there is starting to be too much going on in low orbit and any failure in energy transmission can become a geopolitical headache. Because these solar farms can ‘attack’ the rest of the satellites with laser rays. Ideal. Peter Glaser already formulated the idea of ​​’farming’ solar energy in space and sending it to Earth in the sixties. In his idea, the energy would be sent through microwaves, but with the technology of the time and the structures necessary for sending information, the idea came to nothing. Now, with the possibility of reusing rockets, using lightweight materials and lasers with millimeter precision, things have changed. And it makes perfect sense. In space, and without the influence of the atmosphere, the solar panels They are capable of capturing the light spectrum differently. They are more efficient because the light arrives more directly, uninterrupted, and there is no need to clean dust or snow that interferes with the efficiency of the panel. Almost All advantages. In an article by Harvard Techology It exposes how China, Japan either USA are very interested in this technology. Although the main disadvantage is the very high initial cost and solving the energy loss that occurs in this wireless transmission, the advantages make it very attractive: Constant power supply. Reduced use of land space. Lower carbon footprint than on Earth. Improvement in the global distribution of energy to provide ‘clean’ electricity to areas that, due to terrestrial conditions, cannot install large plants. The plan. And, as we say, China has embarked on a space race tremendously ambitious. On the one hand, they are finalizing your own space station. On the other hand, they develop technologies to synchronize moon clocks and terrestrials that open the doors to more complex missions on our satellite. The Chinese space program is taking giant steps in a short timeand sending satellites that act as photovoltaic farms not only responds to that “first come, first served” plan, but also to the country’s interest in renewables. We see huge plants in their huge desertsand in space they would be even more efficient. He plan It involves having an operational orbital solar power plant for the next decade, before competitors such as Japan or the United States… and a Europe that is evaluating the potential of this technology. And China is not bluffing: they have been testing prototypes on the ground before launching a unit into low orbit at the end of this decade. laser beams. The adjacent problem, because there is an issue that has nothing to do with costs or energy transmission, is that we begin to have too many ‘things’ around the Earth. SpaceX just got the green light to deploy another 7,500 satellites starlink. It adds to all the satellites they already had in orbitthose of other competitorsthe geopositioning ones, all the scientific satellites, the junk that is spinning around and that is useless, but takes up space… and if there is any problem with the laser that transmits energy from those space solar farms, the consequences could be considerable. A investigation carried out by the Institute of Environmental Satellite Engineering in Beijing, and published in the Chinese scientific journal ‘High Power Laser and Particle Beams’ points to the risk that these farms represent for the rest of the satellites. If the laser beams that transfer the energy do not reach their target due to any error or unforeseen event, it could lead to an ‘attack’ on other satellites or even rockets taking off from Earth. Not so that they explode, but enough to overheat the solar panels of these systems, triggering an electric shock that forces the vehicle to stop and, therefore, the need to repair the affected system, with all that this implies. And the risk is greater when shorter wavelengths are used, which is when the laser ‘carries’ more energy. It’s something they’ve tested using laboratory models that recreate the characteristics of the orbital environment and firing ultrashort laser pulses at a test solar panel. Overbooking. With this study, the researchers they warn about the risks and warn those responsible for the systems that it is something that they should take into account in order to, for example, select laser power parameters that are safer or equip the solar panels of what is launched into space with a kind of shield. Obviously, when those space photovoltaic farms arrive, the engineers who perform the launch and trajectory calculations will have to take into account not only that there are more bodies floating, but also the laser segment towards Earth. And it’s a bigger problem when we see that low orbit is not only going to be more crowded in the short term, with all the competitors for offer global internet or the military satellitesbut also because big technology companies have an interest in put data centers in space. The operation would be very similar: collect solar energy, process the AI ​​data in orbit and transfer it by microwave to Earth. Image | H.T.R. In Xataka | We are launching more things into space than ever before. And the next problem is already on the table: how to pollute less

It already has quantum weapons that it is testing in real missions

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The research, weapons and defense departments of the main powers are a black hole. We cannot know what is on the other side, unless we They are the ones who allow us to take a look. It makes sense, since announcing a technology hastily would alert the rival. In this context, China has just taken a step in the war of the future: quantum war. We are very used to talking about traditional computing, and that of cyberwar It is an easy concept to understand. Hacker attacks on critical enemy systemsforms of make your troops invisible to rival radars or cyberespionage are concepts that have become everyday in current conflicts. And the future lies in quantum weapons. The quantum computing It’s not an incremental improvement in a computer’s processing speed: it’s a breakthrough. It is a paradigm shift and that is why researchers are developing these quantum computers which, in essence, allow solve complex operations in much less time than a classic computer. It is not easy, since although important steps have been taken in recent years, it still has challenges to solve so that your results are optimal. In a war and security context, and in a nutshell, this translates into one thing: if it takes a conventional computer hours or days to breach an enemy’s security, a quantum computer It would take minutes or seconds. And China not only says They are not only developing a dozen quantum warfare tools, but are already testing them in combat. “To design a good weapon, you have to think about what the war of the future will be like” As they point out in South China Morning Postthe People’s Liberation Army confirmed through the official newspaper Science and Technology Daily that they have more than ten experimental quantum cyber warfare tools in development. As we say, some of them are being “tested in frontline missions”, ‘capturing’ intelligence that can be used in the future. This is a project led by the National University of Defense Technology and, according to the report, focuses on three areas: Cloud computing. Artificial intelligence. Quantum technology. The fact that they are already testing some of these systems implies that they have left the theoretical framework, and the Army points out that “speed” is the main advantage that these tools offer. It is not just about making smarter weapons, but about giving more tools to those who analyze the situation. For example, quantum computing allows process large amounts of battlefield data in a matter of seconds. This implies that analysts can help make decisions practically in real time. They can also help in terms of both cybersecurity and cyberespionage, better protecting themselves with artificial intelligence systems that rewrite their code in real time – something we already see with malware such as PromtLock– or busting enemy crypto security faster. Related to this, they can help make GPS navigation systems more resistant to jamming or spoofing attacks. Or even perform navigation and positioning based on quantum sensors without depending on vulnerable infrastructure such as GPS or Starlink. It looks kind of steampunk, but this is part of a quantum computer Really, the applications seem limitless when we consider what has already been achieved with classical computing. These technologies also have potential to improve defenses aerial and detection of stealth aircraft, something in which United States with its F-35 and China with its J-36 They are investing a fortune. As they have commented in the magazine, the development of this technology responds to the need to think “what the war of the future will be like”, and how the war in Ukraine and Russian cyberattacks are showing uscyberwar will be the protagonist. They are, in short, tools that allow a conflict to end before the rival knows that it has started. It is the same philosophy that led to the development of the American F-35 fighter and a form of asymmetric warfare. Ok, very good, but what time advantage are we talking about? An example is the Google Sycamorea quantum computer that performed a calculation that would have taken a classical supercomputer 10,000 years in just… 200 seconds. In 2020, China already complete in another 200 seconds an operation that would have taken a supercomputer more than 2.5 billion years. Are they the only ones? Not even close. For Putin, the race for quantum computing is like the nuclear race after the end of World War II If there are hackers with a good reputation, they are the Russians, and the country is already testing prototypes such as quantum supercomputers Lomonosov Moscow State University with 72 qubits and another 70 qubits of the Lebedev Institute. Europe is also immersed in the era of the ‘Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography’ in matters of defense of critical infrastructure (energy, finance, health or telecommunications) with the objective of having operational systems by 2030. Japan is also in itand the United States has high the budget for research and development of quantum systems from 141,000 million in 2024 to more than 179,000 million dollars (part of a total of almost a billion engaged for general defense). They have an advantage: IBM and Google are leaders in quantum systems maturitybut China is estimated to be closing the gap. And they must be confident in the possibilities of their systems if they already talk about them openly. CCTV images (via X), In Xataka | China has achieved something hard to believe: reducing the production of laser weapons and parts for electric cars to one second

The US has just sent an unprecedented package to Taiwan. Inside are the instructions and weapons against an invasion

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USA has announced one of the largest arms sales deals ever signed with Taiwan, a package valued at more than 11,000 million of dollars that includes medium-range missiles, HIMARS systemsself-propelled howitzers, suicide drones, military software and anti-tank ammunition. The message is loud and clear to reach 130 km away. A package with a copyto. Formally, the operation is presented as an upgrade of the island’s defensive capabilities and as fulfillment of the US legal obligation to help Taiwan defend itself. In practice, however, the agreement is a strategic message in every rule, carefully formulated to strengthen deterrence against China without altering the diplomatic framework of ambiguity that Washington has maintained for decades. The fact that the announcement came during a televised speech by Trump in which foreign policy was barely mentioned underlines the extent to which the gesture was intended more as a structural signal than an immediate rhetorical coup. Missiles, HIMARS and drones. The content of the package is not coincidental. HIMARS systems and ATACMS missiles, already tested on the Ukrainian battlefield, they are designed to hit long-range targets with great precision, greatly complicating any Chinese amphibious or air operation (without rhetoric, against an invasion). to it they add up self-propelled howitzers, Javelin and TOW missiles, and kamikaze drones designed to overwhelm and wear down an adversary superior in numbers. It is a clearly oriented military architecture to asymmetric war: It does not seek that Taiwan can defeat China, but that it can inflict costs so high and so fast that an invasion ceases to be a politically acceptable option in Beijing. Washington and Taipei insist that these are defensive weapons, but the type of capabilities included points to a strategy of denial of territory and airspace in the early stages of a conflict. The strategic ambiguity. The size of the agreement also has an internal reading in the United States. During Trump’s second term, part of the establishment security and the hardest sectors towards China had expressed doubts about their real commitment to the defense of Taiwan, especially in a negotiation context trade with Beijing. A package that exceeds 11,000 million of dollars, greater than the total volume sold during the Biden presidency and equivalent to more than half of what was approved in Trump’s first term, serves to dispel these suspicions. Without explicitly committing direct military intervention, Washington de facto reinforces his support for Taiwan and demonstrates that the so-called “strategic ambiguity” does not equal passivity. The message is twofold: to China, that the cost of coercion will continue to rise; and to US allies, that the US security network remains operational in the Asia-Pacific. The red line narrative. The Chinese reaction has been immediate and predictable. Beijing has condemned the agreement as a violation of its sovereignty and has warned that Taiwan is a “red line” that should not be crossed in Sino-US relations. In its official speech, the Communist Party insists that rearmament of the island only turns it into a powder keg and accelerates the risk of war. However, the intensity of the response also reflects an uncomfortable reality for China: each new weapons package raises the military and political threshold for any pressure action. While the People’s Liberation Army increases daily with flights, naval maneuvers and large-scale exercises, the United States reply silently strengthening Taiwan’s capacity for resistance, without the need to modify treaties or formally recognize its sovereignty. Taiwan and the internal cost. For Taipei, the agreement comes at a politically complex time. President Lai Ching-te has proposed a historic special budget of 40,000 million dollars for defense, which includes air defense systems like the T-Dome and a wide range of long-range capabilities, but faces resistance from an opposition that controls parliament and questions both the cost and effectiveness of previous purchases. Even so, there is a growing consensus on the island about the need to increase military spending to at least 5% of GDP in 2030, in line with Washington’s implicit demands. American protection is not free: it comes accompanied by political pressure, budgetary sacrifices and a profound transformation of the Taiwanese defensive structure. Ukraine as a precedent. The parallel with Ukraine is inevitable. The same systems as the United States has sent to kyiv to stop Russia now appear in the package destined for Taiwan. In both cases, the strategy is similar: do not intervene directly, but arm a partner until it becomes a credible military barrier against a revisionist power. In Europe, this model is applied in open war. In Asia, as prevention. The result is an increasingly clear pattern in Western security policy: finance and equip allies key to acting as the first line of deterrence, reducing the need for direct confrontation between great powers. The final message. He arms deal with Taiwan does not guarantee peace in the Strait, but it redefines its balance. The United States does not promise to defend Taiwan no matter what, but it does ensure that any attempt to force reunification will be expensive, lengthy and politically explosive. Taiwan, for its part, accept the role of an advanced bastion, assuming the economic cost and strategic risk that this implies. And China is getting a clear, if carefully worded, message: Washington is not seeking war, but neither will it allow the status quo to be broken without consequences. Like in Ukrainedeterrence is not articulated with grandiloquent words, but with missiles, rockets and drones. And on the global board, that language remains the most eloquent. Image | 中文（臺灣）：​中華民國總統府, NARA, 總統府 In Xataka | China does not need bombs or missiles to impose its law. It is called “panda diplomacy” and it has just been applied to Japan In Xataka | China is sending drones to an island 100 km from Taiwan. The problem is that Japan and the US are filling it with missiles

reduce the production of laser weapons and parts for electric cars to one second

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A team of researchers from China has achieved a technological leap that could alter the energy base of sectors as diverse as electric vehicles, advanced radars or even new generation defense systems. At a time when speed, thermal stability and on-chip integration have become strategic priorities for industry and militaries alike, China claims to have found an unexpectedly fast path to producing one of the most critical components in modern electronics. An industrial leap. China has presented an advance that fundamentally disrupts the production of dielectric storage capacitors, a critical component for hybrid electric vehicles, radar systems, advanced electronics and, especially, directed energy weapons. Two teams from the Metal Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved reduce the manufacturing process of these devices just one second thanks to a technique flash annealing capable of heating and cooling materials at 1,000 ºC per second, forming crystalline films on silicon wafers in a single step. In other words, what previously required between three minutes and an hour now happens literally in the blink of an eye, without loss of energy density or thermal stability, and maintaining stable performance. up to 250 ºCa range that covers, for example, from the inside of a hybrid vehicle to the depths of oil exploration. The advance also offers a scalable industrial path towards on-chip storage devices, a goal long pursued by the electronics industry. A new class of capacitors. Dielectric capacitors stand out because they can charge and discharge energy with extreme suddenness, generating current peaks essential for systems that depend on instantaneous reactions. The new crystalline films created by the Chinese team not only achieve energy densities comparable to those of much slower methods, but they maintain less than 3% degradation even at 250 ºC. This guarantees its operation in severe conditions, from automotive electronics subjected to constant heat to sensors and energy exploitation equipment underground. Researchers say in your work that the rapid solidification obtained by heating by electromagnetic induction and immediately cooling in liquid nitrogen fixes the crystalline structure in a high energy state that multiplies the capacity storage, reaching 63.5 J/cm³, values ​​higher than traditional techniques such as firing in a muffle furnace or rapid thermal tempering. This combination of extreme speed, stability and density opens the door to design leaps in multiple industrial sectors. Strategic implications. As we said, the most delicate, and potentially transformative, impact is found in the military terrain: Emerging technology offers a direct solution to one of the bottlenecks of directed energy weapons, such as high-powered lasers, which require fast, stable flows of electricity to maintain sustained fire, repeated pulses, and minimal reload times. The ability to generate intense electrical pulses from denser, more heat-resistant, mass-produced capacitors with faster times drastically reduced makes this technology a key enabler for ship-borne lasers, anti-drone systems, energy saturation weapons or ground-based air defense platforms. In a scenario where thermal autonomy, stress resistance and the ability to withstand repeated thermal cycles are essential, these new dielectric films offer a decisive advantage compared to previous generations of materials. Although they still depend on improvements to close the gap with lithium batteries in total capacity, their superiority in instantaneous power is exactly what modern laser systems require. World projection. The promise of producing advanced capacitors in a second It represents a disruptive change for industries that, until now, assumed long and expensive processes to achieve similar levels of quality. The ability to extend the procedure to other ferroelectric materials and to apply the method on wafer-scale pellets makes this development in a milestone with direct implications for defense microelectronics, aeronautics and the energy sector. China thus obtains a path towards strategic components that are difficult to replicate in the short term in other countries, consolidating an industrial advantage in dual technologies whose relevance will only grow in the coming decades. For the directed energy weapons (considered the next big leap in anti-missile defense, anti-drone and anti-hypersonic platforms) this evolution in capacitors could be equivalent to missing link– Fast, robust, compact and, for the first time, truly scalable storage. Image | CCTV (via X) In Xataka | It is called Crazy Li and it is capable of cutting metal or causing blindness: China has developed an unprecedented combat laser In Xataka | China has made a science fiction dream come true: an electromagnetic cannon capable of reaching 3,000 shots per minute

soldiers who save lives don’t have medals, they unlock the deadliest weapons

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At the beginning of November Ukraine updated the bloodiest game of the nation, that kind of “Amazon of war” where it borrowed the idea of ​​video games and their reward systems, granting points to its soldiers for eliminating enemy troops. Those points later could be exchanged for weapons and systems. Now, in a twist, the greatest reward does not come from an accurate shot, it comes from saving lives. War innovation. The war in Ukraine has entered a phase in which the technologythe incentive systems and management human resources they intertwine. The scenario is no longer defined only by the clash of armies, but by the ability of a country to transform its internal processes, accelerate the arrival of equipment to the front and keep together a military force subjected to extreme wear and tear. In this framework, the appearance of digital platforms capable of rewarding tactical actions, prioritizing the protection of lives and compressing the logistics chain in a matter of days reveals a country that is trying to compensate for numerical inferiority with structural innovation (ethics are more debatable). The morality. At the same time, this development occurs in a military theater where Russian pressure It’s intensewhere entire cities risk being isolated and where the political leadership is forced to decide between holding symbolic positions or preserve your soldiers for more sustainable lines. The convergence of both phenomena defines a war dynamic in which technology not only shapes the offense and defense, but also the moral and strategic considerations that determine each retreat, each advance and each sacrifice. Amazon and its new incentives. We told it at the beginning, the digitization of the war effort Ukrainian has crystallized into a system of rewards and acquisitions capable of altering the way units obtain weapons, electronic systems and tactical material. The platform Brave1 Market It allows any unit, from drone brigades to mechanized infantry battalions, to directly request equipment from manufacturers that previously depended on slow bureaucratic chains, with deadlines incompatible with the urgency of the front. Their catalogues, which cover weapons more expensive and deadly of the nation, have everything from drones to UGVs, electronic warfare systems, cameras, batteries, motors and satellite communications, devices that are constantly renewed as companies and volunteers integrate new technologies. The result is an almost instantaneous shopping environment, financed by the state but guided by the immediate needs of those who fight. The speed of the model, added to the monitoring of points accumulated by units throughout the country, has generated an internal competition that accelerates the incorporation of innovations and creates incentives to execute missions of high tactical impact. Some of the weapons and robots that can be redeemed in Brave1 Unlock save lives. Thus, on a front where medical evacuations have become one of the most lethal tasks due to the proliferation of reconnaissance and attack drones, unmanned ground vehicles have acquired a decisive relevance. These robots are capable of enter beaten areas by artillery or monitored by kamikaze drones, towing wounded from exposed positions, transporting ammunition and carrying out demolition missions against vehicles and fortified points. Expansion of the reward system to privilege the rescue Companionship introduces a change in focus: saving lives takes a central place in the incentive structure, generating not only practical effects on survival, but also psychological effects on troops fighting in an increasingly automated environment. This priority is reinforced with unit testimonials which have already experienced successful rescues, although not exempt from risks derived from the loss of signal or the need to operate in complex terrain. The strategic dilemma. And as innovation advances, the country faces repeated decisions about the fate of its most contested urban positions. Cities like Bakhmut either Avdiivka demonstrated that holding out for months can inflict severe losses on Russian forces, but also that prolonging the defense after losing supply routes leads to unsustainable attrition. With Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad threatened by Russian advances that seek progressive encirclement, the dilemma resurfaces between resisting to delay the enemy push or withdrawing to preserve essential units in a war of attrition. The difference between holding a position and losing an entire contingent of soldiers is measured in corridors increasingly narrowersubjected to continuous bombings and assaults by Russian groups that take advantage of the staff shortage Ukrainian to infiltrate weakened lines. This pattern has already been repeated in several scenarios where late withdrawal has led to captures, massive losses and the rapid fall of deep fortifications. The fragility of the defenses. The recent Russian advance in different sectors shows Moscow’s ability to exploit gaps that have emerged after months of continuous pressure. The reduction of troops Due to the prolonged defense of urban areas, it can result in an unexpected weakening of subsequent lines, which, if they do not receive reinforcements in time, are exposed to deeper ruptures. In areas such as southwest Donetsk and parts of Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces have captured several settlements in a short periodtaking advantage of both the Ukrainian wear and tear like weather conditions that limit the use of surveillance drones. The possibility that units trapped in cities under siege cannot withdraw affects not only the local balance, but also the entire defensive architecture of the eastern front, where the loss of trained personnel outweighs the loss of territory in a long-term war. A war of technological adaptation. If you like, the combination of a digitized incentive systemthe rise of ground robots and the relentless pressure about strategic cities draws a war in which innovation and survival are closely linked. The accelerated adoption of technologies distributed among brigades, the ability to purchase material in hours and the rescue prioritization Through multiplied rewards they form a network war model that attempts to compensate for resource asymmetry with organizational agility. It happens that this modernization develops in parallel to a front where the territorial decisions They involve the possibility of losing hundreds of soldiers in weeks, where the lack of trained personnel limits each counterattack and where withdrawal or prolonged resistance … Read more

Spain wants to show that it can live without nuclear weapons. The problem is that he is still testing how

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Spain is experiencing a decisive moment in its energy policy. While the Government defends an orderly closure of nuclear power plants and relies on an experimental digital system to stabilize the grid, large electricity companies warn that the transition It is being faster than safe. At the epicenter of this tension is Almaraz, the Extremaduran power plant that refuses to turn off its reactors and that has once again divided technicians, politicians and neighbors. The nuclear dilemma. The closure of the Almaraz nuclear power plant in Cáceres is officially set for 2027 and 2028, but the debate over its future has returned with force. Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy agreed to present to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition a formal request to extend their activity until 2030. They will do so, they say, out of “responsibility with the supply” after the voltage failures recorded in recent weeks that “they reactivated the risk of blackout”. Companies have, for the moment, given up asking for tax reductions. Their message is different: Spain, they argue, is not prepared to disconnect from the atom. “Nuclear is the system’s anti-blackout shield,” says the CEO of Iberdrola Spain. However, the Government does not move. The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, has reiterated the commitment to the closure calendar agreed in 2019, which foresees the nuclear blackout between 2027 and 2035. Only if three conditions are not met: security, guarantee of supply and zero cost for the taxpayer, will the Executive would reconsider his position. A model in testing. The core of the controversy is not only political, but technical. The Executive’s plan involves replacing the stability offered by nuclear and thermal plants with a digital voltage and frequency control system based on renewables. In theory, wind and solar farms will be able to simulate electrical inertia —the ability to resist sudden changes in frequency— through advanced electronics. In practice, the model is still in the testing phase. According to Energy NewsRed Eléctrica (REE) is developing new control tools to integrate non-synchronous generation, but still without complete validation. Additionally, new digital control algorithms have not been tested on a national scaleand its reliability at high power has not yet been demonstrated. Sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition cited by El Periódico They admit that full stability of the system “will only be possible when all renewable plants are digitally synchronized with the operator”, a process that – they acknowledge – “will still take time.” The network under surveillance. Aware of these risks, the CNMC approved an emergency modification of the operating procedures (OP 3.1, 3.2, 7.2 and 7.4) to reinforce the stability of the system. In practice, they are standards that determine how Red Eléctrica must react to variations in voltage and frequency, and allow it to act with more flexibility in times of risk. However, not everything went as planned. As energy expert Joaquín Coronado explains on his networksthe CNMC stopped the complete approval of OP 7.4 when it detected that the new model required responses that were impossible for many conventional plants to comply with. Several generators alleged that too rapid a reaction could damage the machines or generate additional oscillations, something the CNMC acknowledged in its resolution. The regulator asked Red Eléctrica to “intensify coordination and temporarily make the requirements more flexible”, making it clear that the problem was not one of inertia, but rather speed of response. A pulse of time. The electricity companies’ proposal to extend the first Almaraz reactor until 2030 and the second until 2029, would give three additional years to the current calendar. However, the Nuclear Safety Council requires that documentation be submitted before November 1 to begin the decommissioning process. In parallel, the Government of Extremadura has announced that it will reduce the regional “ecotax” by half if the plant remains operational, a gesture that the central Executive views with suspicion. “Taxpayers cannot pay more to maintain a plant that had to close,” recalled the Government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, in statements to Canal Extremadura. Mobilization in the streets. While the technical and political debate becomes entangled, the residents of Almaraz took to the streets. Last Marchhundreds of people marched under the slogan “Yes to Almaraz, yes to the future,” in a protest supported by mayors of nearby municipalities and nuclear sector associations. In their arguments they defend their position in favor of nuclear power for fear of job loss, a population exodus and the fall of the local economy. But not everyone shares that enthusiasm. Ecologists in Action criticized the presence of local authorities at the protest and asked to accelerate a “just transition” that generates employment alternatives. “You cannot continue tying the future of a region to an industry that promotes environmental and health risks,” the organization said in a statement. Europe looks at Spain. While France and Belgium extend the life of their reactors until 2060, Spain remains firm in its nuclear closure. The Enresa fund to dismantle the plants drags a deficit of 11.6 billion euros. The electricity companies cite this as proof that closing early makes the system more expensive; The Government replies that extending it would jeopardize the ecological transition. The peninsula remains an “energy island” with only 3% interconnection with France, which amplifies any failure. And more and more experts repeat the same thing: the problem is not the speed of the transition, but that the network and the rules They are not getting stronger at the same rate.. A still uncertain future. Almaraz has become much more than a power plant: it is a symbol of the tension between climate urgency and energy security. The Executive insists that Spain will be able to sustain its network with renewable technology and digital control; Technicians and electrical companies ask for caution. Meanwhile, Red Eléctrica engineers fine-tune algorithms, the CNMC approves regulatory patches and the residents of Almaraz prepare for a future that, for now, continues to depend on its two reactors. Spain wants to turn on … Read more

Ukraine has opened Russia’s cruise and ballistic missiles. War is impossible if your allies make weapons for you

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He fed up with Ukraine with the hole that exists around international sanctions it is palpable and numeric. kyiv intelligence has hundreds of reports in your possession that reveal that Russian drones have passed those sanctions for the lining. And not just drones, even in the tanks. The latest: Ukraine has begun analyzing parts of Moscow’s latest cruise and ballistic missiles. And what they found is a deja vu. Clandestine circuit. Three and a half years after the start of the invasion, Ukraine continues to dismantle the last Russian missiles and drones and find tens of thousands of parts inside made in the westthe majority of his “allies” (microcontrollers, sensors, connectors, converters) from countries that have theoretically embargoed the supply: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan. Of course also, Moscow’s allies like china. In fact, Zelensky put in more than 100,000 the foreign components found only among 550 vectors used in a single recent bombing, confirming that the sanctions have not turned off the tap: if anything they have made it more expensive and slowed down, but not dried up. The escape mechanism. It we have counted before. The mode of entry does not require sophisticated espionage, but rather exploiting loopholes in global trade: pieces “dual use” sold to civil actors who then they deviatecomponents placed on the market before sanctions, networks of shell companies and brokers in lax jurisdictions, and triangulated purchases via third countries that do not apply or execute controls. The sanctions gave the West three years to close the gaps, but they also gave Russia (and those who traffic for it) the same time to learn to get around them. In practice, it is a market: if you pay more, there is always someone willing to move the merchandise with layers of opacity sufficient to break traceability. Iran and North Korea. Moscow relies on two veterans of the sanctioning regime: Iran (which has spent decades refining the engineering of commercial border hopping) and North Korea (capable of moving components and complete systems despite being formally embargoed). Cooperation with both not only transfers material: it transfers method. Both logistical routes and corporate and financial camouflage techniques now migrate to the Russian military supply chain. What is possible and what is not. They remembered on Insider that the West hardens the perimeter: compliance guides for companies, “catch-all” to block sensitive exports (even if they are not listed), border inspections, criminal threat to repeat offenders, closures of loopholes when Ukraine identifies specific pieces. But even so, the regime is not airtight: global trade in components is massive, triangulation via third countries It is structural and already exists “pirate” production replacement that replicates or falsifies sanctioned parts. By design, control is reactive: it is as if each new closure encourages Moscow to seek an alternative route. Partial effectiveness. Plus: just because embargoes haven’t cut off the flow doesn’t mean they’re irrelevant. London estimates that the sanctions have deprived Russia of at least 450,000 million of dollars and have multiplied by up to six the price of dual pieces, draining war liquidity and adding temporary friction to the Russian military chain. This, a priori, penalizes rhythms, quality, scaling and maintenance, even if it does not prevent the material from arriving. The structural limit. If you want, the export control It is an instrument of soft power: its real power depends on what the rest of the world is willing to do and tolerate. It can raise the cost, strangle necks, penalize intensities, but it can hardly seal an economy-state Russian size connected to global intermediaries willing to charge for the risk. The result is an industrial war where the blockade is never binary (flows / does not flow), but rather marginal: raising the cost per Russian shot, reducing the cadence, pushing failures due to logistical stress and buy time, but hardly prevent a chip made for a laptop I ended up controlling the guidance of a kamikaze drone over a Ukrainian city. Image | Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation In Xataka | After Cubans and North Koreans fighting alongside Russian troops, new guests have appeared in Ukraine: Chinese In Xataka | In 2023, a pilot from Ukraine had an idea for Star Wars. Not only did it go well: his kamikaze plan has rewritten the war manual

China showed the world an indecent amount of unpublished artillery. But the most advanced weapons remained hidden

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Yesterday We enumerate And we draw the Route of China in the field of military arsenal during the parade that commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II. As We countthe message was quite clear and forceful, showing a part of the power achieved by the popular liberation army in its accelerated modernization. However, more than one AS was left in the sleeve. The hidden power. Some of those developments that have not already showed them here, others not so muchbut everyone has something in common: they are the most advanced weapons of the nation, hence their concealment in public light. Many of them remain in secret because they are still in the development phase, for their strategic sensitivity or because they cannot be exhibited in an event of these characteristics. What was seen in the Tiananmén Square was just a fraction of the real capacity of the Chinese Armed Forces, which in parallel develop disruptive technologies with deep implications for the future war. Aviation and “the” electromagnetic. We have treated it. China is testing site generation fighters, provisionally known as J-36 and J-50that after their inaugural flights they have continued in the trial phase, and whose level of sophistication remains under strict secrecy. Similarly, prototypes of Riel and coil cannonscapable of intercepting hypersonic and ballistic missiles at low cost, they are too limited in size and are restricted to large ships, making it impossible for their deployment in a terrestrial parade. The reusable space vehicle is also hidden, in Tests since 2020an analogous platform to the American X-37b which can remain months in orbit and meet classified military missions. Furtive hunt J36 What we did not see of naval power. Naval modernization has been central since the last parade of 2019, with the launch of the Fujian aircraft carriersthe construction of Future Type 004and the amphibious assault ships Type 075 and Type 076. To these is added the development of Strategic Submarine Type 096which will reinforce maritime nuclear deterrence in the next decade. None of these platforms can roll through Tiananmén, although some of its weapons and aircraft systems could be shown. Tests with an electromagnetic rail cannon Cyberdefense and Digital War. The PL considers cyberdefense one of the pillars of its national security. Since the creation in 2015 of the Strategic Support Force and, in 2024, of the new Cyberspace ForceChina has centralized intelligence, cyber attack operations and critical infrastructure defense. Although the parade It included winks To these “new forms of combat”, the authentic arsenal of cyber -cyberms and offensive capabilities, what is doubtful, will remain hidden, leaving in the shadow the true magnitude of Chinese digital operations. New furtive combat apparatus in the test phase in China AI and autonomous systems. Artificial intelligence integration is a strategic priority. The Pla Work in algorithms To process real -time combat data, optimize logistics and maintenance, and generate training scenarios. Attack and recognition drones as the GJ-11the Wing Loong and The Rainbow They already incorporate autonomous navigation, recognition of objectives and coordination with other platforms. Although some of these devices will be shown, their algorithmic “brain” will remain invisible to the public. Drone Rainbow prototype Nuclear deterrence. China deployed Intercontinental Balistic missiles and strategic bombers as a gesture of strength, but the true pillars of their nuclear deterrence did not come to light. The command, control and communications systems, designed to resist a first blow, the reinforced silos of the northwest, the vast network of underground tunnels known as known as The “Great Underground Wall” and nuclear submarines armed with ballistic missiles, both the TYPE-094A assets and The future Type-096. South China Sea, where elements of the Great Submarine Wall System are installed Early alert and antimisile defense. China currently has a strategic network that combines infrared alert satellites capable of detecting ballistic releases anywhere in the world and huge fixed matrix radars, capable of tracking missiles and furtive aircraft in full flight. These systems are vital for strategic defense And they have already overcome multiple interception tests since 2010, but their static and highly classified nature keeps them out of the parade. Fujian, the biggest war boat with China’s leading technology The “great underground wall.” As we said before, in parallel, China builds a underwater surveillance system With hydrophones, sensor nodes and autonomous vehicles to monitor enemy submarines in the Eastern and South China Sea. This framework, known as the “Great Underwater Wall”, is essential to guarantee the safety of its nuclear submarine fleet and reinforce its anti -submarine capacity. Its existence is intuited, but its location and operation remain in the strictest secret. And space. With more than 500 satellites military and double useChina is trying to achieve independence in navigation with Beidou, recognition capabilities with the Yaogan series and safe communications for command and control. It also develops antisatellite weapons, from direct ascent missiles tested in 2007 even orbital proximity maneuvers and possible directed energy weapons. None of these systems appeared in the parade, but represent a key vector of their “computerized” war strategy. The industrial force. It We comment yesterday. China’s greatest hidden trick is not only technological but industrial. The ability to produce in its own territory from rifles to aircraft carriers, through reaction engines and hypersonic missiles, ensures independenceresilience and speed of production. The Military-Civil Fusion Strategy allows civil advances in defense, as occurs in aeronautical engines, where the experience of the CJ-1000A Commercial feeds the development of The WS-10 and WS-15 that drive the J-20 furtive fighters. In short, the parade showed the world a Power showcasebut the most lethal and transformer of the Chinese armed forces was hidden. Under the surface, in tunnels, in satellites, in monitored seas and in high -tech factories, there is a framework of capacities that seeks to redefine global military balance in the next decades. Image | Planet Labs Inc, @WZZJWZ, Office of Naval Research (Flickr), X, Infinty 0 , Ministry of National Defense The People’s Republic … Read more

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