All posts tagged: drones

How Cheap Drones Are Changing Wars Like the Ones in Ukraine and Iran

How Cheap Drones Are Changing Wars Like the Ones in Ukraine and Iran

Published by Sam Flores

A 3-D rendering of an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, a device with two triangle-shaped wings attached to a central fuselage. It has an engine the size of a small motorcycle’s and carries 110 pounds of explosives. Engine the size of a small motorcycle’s Carries 110 pounds of explosives One of the biggest takeaways of the war with Iran is that it has proven itself to be a surprisingly capable adversary against the United States. In addition to its willingness to go on the offensive, Iran has forced the U.S. and its regional allies to confront the rise of cheap drones on the battlefield. Iranian drones, made with commercial-grade technology, cost roughly $35,000 to produce. That is a fraction of the cost of the high-tech military interceptors sometimes used to shoot them down. Note: Estimated price of munitions per unit. In practice, multiple interceptors are fired when targeting a drone. For instance, with the $80 bullet fired by the Centurion Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM), 75 rounds are fired in a second. Sources: Department of Defense, Lockheed …

EU to game out bloc’s mutual assistance clause in case of attack – POLITICO

EU to game out bloc’s mutual assistance clause in case of attack – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The clause states that if a member of the EU is faced by “armed aggression,” other members have an obligation to come to its “aid and assistance by all the means in their power.” The clause does not specify whether such aid includes a military response, and contains language relevant to neutral states such as Austria and Ireland. The gaming out will be conducted in the EU’s Political and Security Committee, which is composed of senior EU diplomats. Most EU members also belong to NATO and so are covered by its Article 5 mutual defense clause, which does refer explicitly to the use of military force to aid other signatories. But transatlantic tensions, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of seizing Greenland, have shaken faith in Article 5 and sparked renewed interest in EU security arrangements. Aspiring members of the bloc now increasingly mention security as an incentive to join the bloc, alongside wealth and stability.   Another factor driving interest in 42.7 is the increased risk of attack against EU states. After being targeted …

Pentagon Disturbed as Its Fleet of Drones Is Left Bobbing in the Ocean When Elon Musk’s Starlink Fails

Pentagon Disturbed as Its Fleet of Drones Is Left Bobbing in the Ocean When Elon Musk’s Starlink Fails

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Two dozen unmanned surface vessels — autonomous boat drones, basically — were left floating in the Pacific ocean after a massive outage of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service left them adrift. That event, first reported by Reuters, left the experimental robots disconnected and bobbing in the ocean for nearly an hour off the coast of California. It was one of several Pentagon experiments disrupted by the Starlink blackout, according to Reuters. That global outage left millions of Starlink customers in the dark back in August of 2025, dealing a blow to the company’s image as an always-on satellite internet provider. While service was eventually restored, the incident left customers frustrated and analysts concerned. According to the company website, Starlink offers “high-speed, low-latency internet with more than 99.9 percent average uptime and reliable connectivity around the globe.” That remaining 0.1 percent clearly represents a lingering pain point, though. Pentagon officials, who are increasingly leveraging Elon Musk’s pet internet company to …

Pentagon says Ukraine support can’t rely on American contributions – POLITICO

Pentagon says Ukraine support can’t rely on American contributions – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

He added that continued assistance to Kyiv “must not rely on significant U.S. contributions,” urging allies to step up funding and production instead. Under Donald Trump, new U.S. military aid to Ukraine has fallen to almost nothing. However, Washington is willing to sell weapons to Kyiv financed by other allies under the NATO-led Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List program, which gathered €3.7 billion last year for arms purchases. U.S. military help to Ukraine fell by 99 percent in 2025, said the Kiel Support Tracker which monitors aid to Kyiv. “At the same time, Europe sharply increased its aid allocations, by 59 percent for financial and humanitarian aid and by 67 percent for military aid compared to the 2022–24 average. As a result, total aid in 2025 remained close to previous years,” it said. This week, Vice President JD Vance said he was proud of the U.S. halting military aid to Ukraine. “It’s one of the things I’m proudest that we’ve done in this administration is we’ve told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but …

Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months

Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months 1:07 At least 15 people died after Russia flew more than 700 drones and missiles across Ukrainian cities, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. By Monika Cvorak April 16, 2026 Frenchman Wins $1.2 Million Picasso Painting 1:33 L.G.B.T.Q. Community Expresses Hesitancy About Hungary’s New Leader 2:03 Hungarian Voters Express Joy and Disbelief After Orban Defeat 2:01 Trump-Ally Orban Trails in Polls Ahead of Hungary’s Election 1:53 Pope Leo Washes Feet of 12 Roman Priests on Holy Thursday 0:34 Artworks Worth Millions of Dollars Stolen From Italian Museum 0:35 Video › Today’s Videos U.S. Politics Immigration NY Region Science Business Culture Books Wellness World Africa Americas Asia South Asia Donald Trump Middle East Crisis Russia-Ukraine Crisis Visual Investigations Opinion Video Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Source link

Russian strikes kill three, including child, as drones and missiles hit Kyiv

Russian strikes kill three, including child, as drones and missiles hit Kyiv

Published by Sam Flores

Russia pummelled Ukraine with drone and missile attacks overnight, killing three including a child and triggering air alerts in the capital Kyiv, officials said Thursday. Moscow has fired hundreds of drones on its neighbour almost nightly since the beginning of the four-year war, and recently expanded daytime strikes.  “As a result of the enemy attack on the capital, two people died – a 12-year-old boy and a 35-year-old woman,” Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram. A separate attack on the central city of Dnipro killed one more person, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the regional administration posted on Telegram. Read moreLatest exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine Ganzha said earlier that the attack wounded 10 people, including a 40-year-old woman hospitalised “in a serious condition”. It was not immediately clear if the woman was the person reported dead. In Kyiv, rescuers pulled a child from the rubble of a residential building that collapsed in the Podilsky district, Klitschko said. The attack on the capital wounded at least 10 people, including several medics, Klitschko said. …

Ukraine unter Druck – mit Vassili Golod – POLITICO

Ukraine unter Druck – mit Vassili Golod – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Während sich die Welt auf den Nahen Osten konzentriert, rückt der Krieg in der Ukraine zunehmend in den Hintergrund. Dabei ist die Lage weiterhin dramatisch: Nach dem härtesten Winter seit Kriegsbeginn kämpfen viele Regionen noch immer mit zerstörter Energieinfrastruktur, an der Front dauern die Gefechte unvermindert an. Im Gespräch mit Vassili Golod (ARD, Kyjiw) geht es um die Realität nach mehr als vier Jahren Krieg: erschöpfte Gesellschaft, hohe Verluste und eine Armee, die sich immer stärker auf Drohnen und Technologie stützt, um das Ungleichgewicht bei Personal auszugleichen. Im Zentrum steht zudem die politische Dimension: Präsident Wolodymyr Selenskyj wirbt in Berlin für eine strategische Partnerschaft mit Deutschland und für weitere militärische Unterstützung. Die Ukraine setzt auf Kooperation, Innovation und internationale Aufmerksamkeit, denn die Sorge wächst, dass andere Krisen diesen Krieg überlagern könnten. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es morgens um 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team bringen euch jeden Morgen auf den neuesten Stand in Sachen Politik — kompakt, europäisch, hintergründig. Und für alle Hauptstadt-Profis:Unser Berlin Playbook-Newsletter liefert jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und …

Zelenskyy will fix Druzhba oil pipeline as he counts on Hungary to lift EU loan veto – POLITICO

Zelenskyy will fix Druzhba oil pipeline as he counts on Hungary to lift EU loan veto – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“We believe this coincides with other commitments by European Union member states, particularly Hungary, which has blocked certain decisions that are important to us,” he added in reference to the loan. The Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia has been at the center of a spat between the European Union and Hungary. After it was damaged during a drone attack in January, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán retracted his support for the €90 billion loan that Kyiv needs to sustain its war effort as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters its fifth year. But Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar’s landslide victory last weekend stemmed European leaders’ optimism about a quick turnaround in Budapest — with Magyar himself indicating Monday he’s ready to lift Budapest’s blockade. “We also want to quickly get the EU loan for Ukraine — agreed upon in December — up and running,” Merz said about the money. “The funds for military aid must be disbursed quickly now. Ukraine needs them urgently.” Merz and Zelenskyy met in Berlin with key ministers from …

The Download: the state of AI, and protecting bears with drones

The Download: the state of AI, and protecting bears with drones

Published by skeptic

For seven years, Sarmento worked to keep both bears and humans out of trouble. He acted like a first responder, trying to defuse potentially dangerous situations. He even got caught in some himself, which led him to a new wildlife safety tool: drones. Find out the results of his experiments in digital ecology.   —Emily Senkosky  This article is from the next issue of our print magazine, which is all about nature. Subscribe now to read it when it lands on Wednesday, April 22.   The must-reads  I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.  1 Human scientists still trounce the top AI agents at complex tasks  The best agents perform only half as well as experts with PhDs. (Nature) + Can AI really help us discover new materials? (MIT Technology Review)  2 OpenAI is escalating its fight with Anthropic while pulling away from Microsoft A leaked memo exposes plans to attack Anthropic. (Axios) + And says Microsoft “limited our ability” to reach clients. (The Information $) + While touting a budding alliance with Amazon. (CNBC)  3 Carbon removal technology is stalling—and that may be good news Better solutions could now emerge. (New Scientist) + Here are …