Military
Drone games put Ukraine's best military pilots to the test
Drone games put Ukraine's best military pilots to the test TRUSKAVETS, Ukraine - In the sky over western Ukraine, a bullet-shaped P1-SUN interceptor drone dived toward its target as dozens of soldiers looked on. A cheer went up as it cut through a tow line from another drone to a balloon, which drifted away. Ukraine's most skilled military drone pilots squared off this week not against Russia, but against each other in a competition to win bragging rights and state-of-the-art hardware for their units. Drone technology has transformed the war in Ukraine. Young men using video game consoles to operate strike drones packed with explosives -- sometimes from command centers far behind the front line -- are deeply feared by enemy soldiers.
How Saudi Arabia's spending spree reached the end of the line
How Saudi Arabia's spending spree reached the end of the line Autocratic monarchs once left an echo of their glory in the ruins of the megaprojects they commanded at the peak of their unchallenged power. Those monumental physical traces are to be found in the fertile plains, mountainsides and deserts of the Middle East. But one of their most prominent modern counterparts may only have a digital footprint to leave behind for some of his most ambitious concepts. A decade ago, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman - or MBS as he is widely known - decreed a revisioning of his country that leapt from the realm of science fiction. It was called Vision 2030. Extraordinary monolithic structures were to help bring forth new technological marvels not just for the Kingdom but for the world.
Anthropic says Mythos has already found more than 10,000 vulnerabilities
The company has published an update about Project Glasswing, a month after its launch. Anthropic has published an initial report for Project Glasswing, the cybersecurity initiative it launched in April that aims to prevent AI cyberattacks with, well, AI. The initiative is powered by Claude Mythos Preview, the company's unreleased model, which Anthropic says has already helped its partners find more than ten thousand vulnerabilities overall just a month after Glasswing's launch. In addition, it says most of its partners have each found hundreds of critical-or high-severity vulnerabilities in their software using the model. The company said that its partners' rate of bug-finding has increased by more than a factor of ten.
New Zealand to invest in drones and fleet to shield maritime routes
A Philippine Navy band plays music to welcome the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha upon arrival at the South Harbor, for a four-day goodwill visit in metro Manila in April 2017. New Zealand intends to spend about 1.6 billion New Zealand dollars ($936 million) on drones, ship maintenance and naval upgrades to bolster the island nation's maritime security at a time of increasing concern about supply routes. Defense Minister Chris Penk said Saturday that the government will invest in two types of drones: one for the southwest Pacific to provide long-duration intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the other is a polar-capable vehicle that can operate from naval vessels in the Southern Ocean. "New Zealand's prosperity and security depend on the sea," Penk said in a statement. "Recent events have served as a reminder of how quickly disruptions to international shipping routes can affect economies and supply chains across the globe. The oceans are not a barrier to danger, but a vital national interest that must be actively secured."
Red Arrows to fly with fewer jets to preserve ageing fleet
The Red Arrows will fly with fewer aircraft for most of their displays as the RAF seeks to preserve the famous aerobatics team's ageing fleet. Pilots will fly in a nine-aircraft formation for King Charles III's birthday flypast in June and one month later to help the US mark its 250th anniversary of independence but they will fly with seven aircraft for other events from this year. The current fleet of Hawk T1s - which have been flown by the Red Arrows since 1980 - is due to be retired in 2030, with spare parts less readily available. An RAF spokesperson said scaling back would support the sustainable management of the fleet and prepare the team for a transition to a future aircraft type. The Red Arrows are used to display the force's military capabilities and help with recruitment.
'I always hear them before I see them': Drones strike fear in Colombia
'Hear them before I see them': How drones strike fear in Colombia Increasingly, armed groups in Colombia are turning to cheap, widely available drones to fight from a distance. What is the toll on civilians? Military surveillance drones fly in formation past an air traffic control tower in Colombia [Courtesy of Colombia's Batallon de Aeronaves No Tripuladas] Military surveillance drones fly in formation past an air traffic control tower in Colombia [Courtesy of Colombia's Batallon de Aeronaves No Tripuladas] She instinctively reaches for her young son. The noise always emerges from a small mountain behind her home, part of a tree-quilted landscape stitched with winding rivers along Colombia's border with Venezuela. I always hear them before I see them, if I see them at all, she says.
From AI to interceptors, Ukraine is trying to drone-proof its skies
This week, with air raid warnings wailing in the distance, Kyiv held a funeral for two sisters. They had already lost their father who had been fighting on the front line. Their grieving mother is now the family's sole survivor. This is the human cost of the largest sustained Russian aerial assault so far - with 1,500 drones and 56 missiles fired at Ukraine within 48 hours. But the loss of life could have been even higher.