Drones
The next Yemen war might be different
As the conflict in Yemen rages on and spills over into the Red Sea, developments in recent weeks reveal a new trend worth pondering. The Houthis group, which for years almost monopolised the advantage of drone warfare, has begun facing fire from the same weapon used by its opponents on multiple fronts. This does not mean that the balance of power has shifted, or that the Houthis have lost their missile and drone superiority. However, the increasing use of this type of warfare by the forces loyal to the internationally recognised government may change the nature of the confrontation, especially if it shifts from scattered operations to an organised and sustained capability. They were able to monitor their opponents and strike their gatherings, command centres and facilities far from the lines of contact, while government forces were mostly in a position of defence and interception.
Taiwan passes defence budget after record delay, retains drone funding
Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament has approved the government's annual budget, preserving funding for a drone programme central to the island's defence plans against China. Lawmakers passed the $93bn budget late on Friday, after a record 266 days of political deadlock and its legal deadline, as President William Lai Ching-te's administration, which lost its parliamentary majority in 2024, continues to clash with opposition parties over government spending. The Kuomintang dropped the proposed cut after concluding there was no wasteful overlap between the development and procurement programmes it had initially cited as justification. Other reductions included a 60 percent cut to special allowances for government agency heads, a 2.5 percent cut to military equipment and facilities spending, and a 50 percent cut to media policy and publicity budgets. Before Friday's vote, the government had been operating under a provisional budget mechanism to keep paying civil servants and funding welfare programmes.
Trump drone tariffs: Who is impacted?
Say More Look Up Safety Net Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable Selects Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag VidCon with Mashable All Series Trump drone tariffs: Who is impacted? New Trump tariffs on drones are set to roll out. New Trump tariffs on drones are on the way. On Thursday, Trump announced new tariffs specifically targeting drones made outside of the United States, as well as their components. So, what drones are now subject to tariffs and what will the impact be?
Video Friday: Lift Happens
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Russia says hit Ukrainian railway and port facilities in new strikes
Russia says its forces have struck a railway station at the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail and two vessels near Mykolaiv, as Ukrainian drones hit targets inside Russia, including a Baltic oil export hub and a warehouse near Moscow. The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Friday that the railway station in Izmail was being used to load, store, and transport military cargo and fuel for Ukraine's armed forces, according to state news agency TASS. The developments follow Russian attacks a day earlier that damaged port infrastructure and caused power cuts in Izmail, a vital export hub on the Danube River near the Romanian border. Meanwhile, Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire at Ust-Luga, a major Baltic Sea oil export port in the Leningrad region. Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said the fire had been brought under control and cleared with no casualties reported.
Trump slaps a 100 percent tariff on heavy and 'sensitive' drones
President Trump has imposed tariffs up to 100 percent on drones that are "particularly sensitive" for national security, the White House announced. The move will force operators to find other suppliers or settle for models with lesser capabilities than the Chinese drones that dominate the market in the US. The White House will impose a 100 percent tariff on drones over 25kg (55 pounds), or those equipped with docking stations or thermal imaging capabilities. Those include commercial models from DJI and others used for operations like power line inspection, crop spraying and search and rescue. Drones under 25kg will be hit with a 25 percent tariff, and a 15 percent levy will be applied to models from the EU, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan, provided their components are primarily made in those countries.
Russian regions report new fuel crunch as Kyiv hits refineries
Thick plumes of smoke with flames rise from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Moscow on June 18, in this picture obtained from social media. Several regions of Russia are facing fuel shortages again after Ukraine resumed almost daily attacks on oil refineries in the country. The Orenburg region in Russia's Urals introduced a rationing system starting Wednesday that allows sales based on vehicle license plates, limits gasoline and diesel sales per driver at the pump and bans the filling of fuel canisters. That followed Ukraine's drone strike Tuesday on the Orsk refinery in the region that's some 1,500 kilometers southeast of Moscow, which officials said could take as long as six months to repair. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
AI Helped Me Build a Killer Drone
I asked AI chatbots to help me build an autonomous attack drone. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Can an average guy build a killer drone in his garage? That's the question reporter Matt Smith set out to answer over the course of 11 months, armed with zero engineering background and only a handful of AI chatbots to guide him, in this collaboration between and the . His goal: a fully autonomous self-guided drone, one a theoretical evildoer could walk away from even as it continued carrying out its mission--with no humans involved. AI companies claim their models have built in limits or "guardrails," but Smith wanted to see how well those would actually hold up.