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UK military to help Belgium after drone sightings near airports

Al Jazeera

Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? The United Kingdom is sending military equipment and personnel to Belgium after a spate of disruptive drone sightings forced the temporary closures of two major airports. Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton told the BBC network on Sunday that the military had agreed to "deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them" after a request from Belgian authorities. In the past week, both Belgium's main international airport at Brussels and one of Europe's biggest cargo airports at Liege were forced to close temporarily because of drone incursions.


UK military to help protect Belgium after drone incursions

BBC News

UK military personnel and equipment are being sent to Belgium to help it bolster its defences after drone incursions on its airspace, suspected of being carried out by Russia. The new head of the UK military, Sir Richard Knighton, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that his Belgian counterpart asked for assistance earlier this week and that kit and personnel were on the way. Belgium's main airport Zavantem was forced to close temporarily on Thursday night after drones were spotted nearby . They were also spotted in other locations, including a military base. Sir Richard said it was not known if the incursions were by Russia, but added it was plausible they had been ordered by Moscow.


Six dead as Russia hits energy and residential sites in Ukraine

BBC News

At least six people have died after Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and residential targets in Ukraine overnight. A strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro killed two people and wounded 12, while three died in Zaporizhzhia. In all, 25 locations across Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv, were hit, leaving many areas without electricity and heating. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram that major energy facilities were damaged in the Poltava, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions, and work was under way to restore power. In Russia, the defence ministry said its forces had shot down 79 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched more than 450 exploding bomber drones and 45 missiles.


Deaths, injuries after Russia hits residential and energy sites in Ukraine

Al Jazeera

Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? At least 10 people have been killed, and more parts of Ukraine have been plunged into darkness, after another night of intense Russian attacks across the country, local authorities said, as diplomatic momentum to end the nearly four-year war falters. Ukraine's military announced on Saturday morning that hundreds of Russian drones, as well as missiles launched from the air, ground and sea, targeted critical infrastructure, a frequent Kremlin target as another harsh winter of war looms. Most of the missiles went through defences, with only nine successfully shot down, but 406 of the drones were intercepted.


Belgium rushes to secure drone defences after airport disruption

BBC News

The Belgian government has told the BBC it is urgently trying to acquire drone defences after a sighting forced its main airport near Brussels to close temporarily. Flights were paused at Zaventem airport on Thursday night, after drones were spotted nearby. They were also seen in other locations, including a military base. At first, drones flying over our military bases were seen as our problem, Defence Minister Theo Francken said. Now it has become a serious threat affecting civilian infrastructure across multiple European countries.


Sudanese army intercepts drone attacks on cities after RSF agrees to truce

Al Jazeera

Loud explosions have been heard in Sudan's army-held capital Khartoum, shortly after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it was ready for a truce after fighting the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for more than two years of brutal civil war. The attacks took place early Friday, targeting Omdruman, part of the greater Khartoum area, and army-held Atbara to the north of the capital, and were intercepted by the army's air defence systems, according to Al Jazeera's Hiba Morgan. SAF has yet to give an official response to the proposal, which would see a three-month humanitarian pause followed by a permanent ceasefire that would ostensibly pave the way for an eventual political transition to civilian rule. A Sudanese military official told the news agency The Associated Press on Thursday that the army welcomed the proposal, but would only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and gives up weapons. Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera's Morgan said that it seemed the army would continue fighting until the RSF met its conditions.


Sudan capital hit by drone attacks a day after RSF agrees to truce, reports say

BBC News

Explosions have been heard near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it would agree to a humanitarian ceasefire. Residents in Khartoum, which is controlled by the army, told the AFP news agency that they were woken overnight by the sound of drones and explosions. The blasts appeared to take place near a military base and a power station in the early hours of Friday morning, the residents said. The RSF has not addressed these accounts, but Sudan's military-led government said it would be wary of agreeing to a truce as the group did not respect ceasefires. The two sides have been embroiled in a civil war that has killed at least 150,000 people and forced 12 million others from their homes since it erupted in April 2023.


Belgium's Liege airport temporarily halts flights after new drone sighting

Al Jazeera

Belgium's Liege airport temporarily halts flights after new drone sighting Belgium's Liege airport has temporarily halted flights for a second time this week after another drone sighting, the country's air traffic control service reported. A drone was spotted at about 7:30am (06:30 GMT) on Friday, forcing the airport to close for 30 minutes. Flights have now resumed, said a spokesperson for the Skeyes air traffic control service. Dozens of passenger and cargo flights were cancelled, and some 500 passengers were forced to spend the night at Brussels airport in the Belgian capital. The drone sightings in Brussels and Liege follow a similar incident on Saturday, when three unauthorised drones were spotted near a military base, according to Minister of Defence Theo Francken.


Evaluation of Flight Parameters in UAV-based 3D Reconstruction for Rooftop Infrastructure Assessment

arXiv.org Artificial Intelligence

Rooftop 3D reconstruction using UAV-based photogrammetry offers a promising solution for infrastructure assessment, but existing methods often require high percentages of image overlap and extended flight times to ensure model accuracy when using autonomous flight paths. This study systematically evaluates key flight parameters-ground sampling distance (GSD) and image overlap-to optimize the 3D reconstruction of complex rooftop infrastructure. Controlled UAV flights were conducted over a multi-segment rooftop at Queen's University using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2, with varied GSD and overlap settings. The collected data were processed using Reality Capture software and evaluated against ground truth models generated from UAV-based LiDAR and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Experimental results indicate that a GSD range of 0.75-1.26 cm combined with 85% image overlap achieves a high degree of model accuracy, while minimizing images collected and flight time. These findings provide guidance for planning autonomous UAV flight paths for efficient rooftop assessments.


Sheriff's office tests America's first self-driving police SUV

FOX News

Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office introduces America's first fully autonomous patrol vehicle called PUG, featuring AI-powered cameras and drone deployment capabilities.