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 Drones


Air Force secretary plans to ride in AI-operated F-16 fighter aircraft this spring

FOX News

Frank Kendall, the secretary of the Air Force, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations he will get to fly in an AI-flown plane later this year. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told members of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday that he plans to ride in the cockpit of an aircraft operated by artificial intelligence to experience the technology of the military branch's future fleet. Kendall spoke before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel on Tuesday, where he spoke about the future of air warfare being dependent on autonomously operated drones. In fact, the Air Force secretary is pushing to get over 1,000 of the AI-operated drones and plans to let one of them take him into the air later this spring. The aircraft he plans to board will be an F-16 which was converted for drone flight.


Spain on high alert amid ISIS threats as European leaders warn of conflict with Russia: 'prewar era'

FOX News

Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot reports on the state of the suspected terrorists in Russia and the Kremlin's'spin machine.' Spain's Ministry of the Interior, on Tuesday, announced that it is on high alert and has activated all alert and response systems to prevent jihadist attacks during the Champions League quarterfinal matches scheduled to take place in Madrid on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to reports. On Tuesday, Real Madrid will take on Manchester City, while on Wednesday, Atlรฉtico Madrid will play against Borussia Dortmund. As the quarterfinals approach, threats have been made by the Islamic State terrorist network, which has threatened drone attacks on the soccer tournament, a reminder of the resurgence of the network after several deadly attacks earlier this year in places like Iran and Moscow. The ministry, led by Fernando Grand-Marlask, said the "State Security Forces and Bodies have all their early warning and protection systems activated, as well as their response systems ready" in response to preventing a terrorist attack, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 775

Al Jazeera

At least three people were killed and eight injured in the southern city of Zaporizhzia after a Russian missile hit several apartment blocks, an industrial building as well as medical and educational facilities. One woman was killed and three others injured after Russia attacked the town of Bilopillia in the northern Sumy region with guided bombs. The attack struck the centre of the town of 15,000 people, damaging shops and a city council building. One person was killed and five injured, including three children, after Russian shelling triggered a fire and the collapse of a building roof, officials said. Officials in Zvyahel in Ukraine's central Zhytomyr region urged people to stay indoors amid fears of "air pollution" after a Russian drone attack hit infrastructure.


Drones that charge on power lines may not be the best idea

Engadget

Battery life has long been a key limiting factor in drone use. Although there are commercial models that can stay aloft for 45 minutes or longer on a single charge, being able to keep drones in the air for longer would be helpful for many purposes. Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have been working on that issue for several years by developing drones that can recharge directly from power lines. This time around, the scientists attached a gripper system to a Tarot 650 Sport drone, which they customized with a electric quadcopter propulsion system, an autopilot module and other components. When the drone's systems detect that the battery is running low, the device employs its camera and millimeter-wave radar system to pinpoint the closest power line, as New Atlas notes.


Ukraine denies Russian claim of drone strikes on Europe's largest nuclear plant

FOX News

Video captures the moment and aftermath of what appears to be a drone, allegedly of Ukrainian origin, striking Russian drone production facility. Russian officials claimed that only a worker's dormitory was hit. A senior Ukrainian official has denied Russian accusations that his country's army fired exploding drones at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which the Kremlin's forces have been occupying and running in southern Ukraine since shortly after the war began more than two years ago. Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence agency, suggested there had been no attack, saying Russian forces routinely fabricate strikes on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, the strikes on this occasion were confirmed by U.N.'s atomic watchdog agency, though it didn't attribute responsibility for the attack to either side.


Battling Under a Canopy of Russian and Ukrainian Drones

The New Yorker

Members of Ukraine's 1st Separate Assault Battalion describe themselves as firemen. Their job is to rapidly deploy to areas along the front that are in danger of collapse. Lately, their service has been in high demand: the front is burning. A large-scale counter-offensive last year failed to achieve meaningful victories, and since then Russia has been on the attack. One of its priorities appears to be Kupyansk, a city in northeastern Ukraine, some twenty miles from the Russian border.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 774

Al Jazeera

Ukraine's military said that fighting around the front line city of Chasiv Yar was "difficult" and "tense" but that its forces were resisting Russian air and infantry attacks. Ivan Fedorov, the head of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhia region, said three people died in the town of Huliaipole after their house was hit by a Russian shell. A woman was killed in a Russian attack that hit an apartment block in Kupiansk, in the northeastern Kharkiv region. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, five people were injured in a Russian attack. In Russia, meanwhile, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said one woman was killed after shrapnel from a shot-down Ukrainian drone hit a car.


Ukraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning over risks

BBC News

At the time, Mr Grossi said: "For more than two years now, nuclear safety and security in Ukraine has been in constant jeopardy. We remain determined to do everything we can to help minimise the risk of a nuclear accident that could harm people and the environment, not only in Ukraine."


Desperate Zelenskyy warns 'Ukraine will lose the war' if Congress does not send more aid

FOX News

Video captures the moment and aftermath of what appears to be a drone, allegedly of Ukrainian origin, striking a Russian drone production facility. Russian officials said that only a worker's dormitory was hit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored the U.S. to approve more military funding for his country on Sunday, warning that Ukraine would "lose the war" without it. Zelenskyy predicted that if Ukraine falls, Russia will move to invade "other states" next. Republicans in Congress have held up further military payments to Ukraine for months, pointing to the well over 100 billion the U.S. has already sent.


Russia says Ukraine attack hits Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Al Jazeera

Ukraine has struck the dome above a shutdown reactor at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear station, the plant's Russian-installed administration said. It was not immediately clear what weapon was used in Sunday's attack against the nuclear plant, which was taken by Russian forces shortly after their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, although the Russian state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom said the site had come under a drone attack. Radiation levels were normal and there was no serious damage after the attack, according to the plant's officials. But Rosatom later said that three people had been wounded, specifically in a drone strike near the site's canteen. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has experts at the site, said it had been informed by the Russian-run plant that a drone had detonated at the site and the information was "consistent" with IAEA observations.