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Arkadia Space tests its first hydrogen peroxide thruster in orbit
June 9, 2025
Spanish startup Arkadia Space has successfully tested in orbit a thruster it has developed that uses hydrogen peroxide as propellant.
The company announced June 9 that its DARK propulsion system, incorporated into a D-Orbit ION vehicle launched in March, has carried out a series of test firings in orbit. Arkadia said the system, featuring a thruster producing five newtons of thrust, performed both hundreds of very short pulses firing for tens of milliseconds at a time as well as longer “steady state” burns of up to five seconds.
Francho Garcia, chief executive and co-founder of Arkadia Space, said in a recent interview that the goal of that test campaign was to compare the performance of the thruster in space to previous ground tests.
“What we have found is that it is exactly the same as the ground data,” he said of the thruster’s in-space performance. “It was much better than what we were expecting, honestly.”
Those tests, he noted, were coordinated with D-Orbit, since the DARK system was a hosted payload on the ION vehicle and not part of that spacecraft’s own propulsion system.
The two companies have worked together well in the testing campaign, he said.
“We are proud to have hosted Arkadia Space’s DARK module aboard our ION Satellite Carrier,” Matteo Andreas Lorenzoni, vice president of commercial strategy at D-Orbit, said in a statement.
“From the very beginning, working with the Arkadia team has been a real pleasure, and every step of our collaboration has been smooth and rewarding.”
Garcia said Arkadia planned to continue testing the propulsion system for as long a sone year, depending on the status of the thruster and remaining fuel, to measure the long-term performance of the system.
The test is a milestone both for Arkadia and for the development of so-called “green” propulsion systems that use non-toxic propellants as an alternative to hydrazine.
He said that the company showed the benefits of green propulsion, including easier and less expensive fueling during pre-launch processing, when preparing the ION vehicle for launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-13 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“We demonstrated in Vandenberg that we could drastically reduce the cost of operations,” he said. “For us, this alone was a successful achievement.”
Garcia said the easier handling is a key selling point for satellite developers, particularly those who want to fly on SpaceX’s rideshare missions.
SpaceX, he said, has limited the number of times its customers can fly satellites with hydrazine because of the additional expense.
“A number of customers in the U.S. have told us they need to go green, otherwise, they will not be able to fly on every SpaceX launch.”
Arkadia is also seeing interest in its hydrogen peroxide propulsion systems from developers of launch vehicles and return capsules, including an agreement in February to provide reaction control system thrusters for MaiaSpace’s reusable launch vehicle in development.
Those customers, he noted, don’t have concerns about the lifetime of the thrusters since they are used on short missions.
“We believe that with the data that we have,” he said of the tests of the thruster in orbit, “we should have no problems signing the first customers.”
https://spacenews.com/arkadia-space-tests-its-first-hydrogen-peroxide-thruster-in-orbit/
https://spacenews.com/a-reinvigorated-push-for-nuclear-power-in-space/
A reinvigorated push for nuclear power in space
June 9, 2025
When reporters revisit President John F. Kennedy’s address to a joint session of Congress in 1961, it is often framed as a bold moment of promises made — and ultimately kept.
The president vowed to land a man on the moon before the decade was out, and return him safely to the Earth. His challenge nevertheless ignited an American space effort that would stretch the boundaries of human exploration.
Curiously, however, the moon wasn’t the only goal or commitment outlined.
“An additional 23 million dollars, together with 7 million dollars already available, will accelerate development of the Rover nuclear rocket,” Kennedy added just moments after his call to place astronauts on the lunar surface.
“This gives promise of someday providing a means for even more exciting and ambitious exploration of space, perhaps beyond the moon, perhaps to the very end of the solar system itself.”
Yet by the time his words echoed through the legislature, NASA and United States defense agencies were already exploring the use of atomic energy to accelerate spacecraft to speeds that chemical propulsion couldn’t match.
Almost simultaneously, those same agencies were developing nuclear-thermal engines through initiatives known as Project Rover and Project NERVA — often considered precursors to the current Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, or DRACO, program, which aims to develop a nuclear thermal rocket by 2027 to significantly cut space transit times to Mars.
At its peak, the Apollo program would consume nearly 4% of the national budget, and would come on the heels of today’s equivalent of a $30 billion Manhattan Project that ushered the world into the nuclear age.
And yet, in the intervening decades, such bold promises for harnessing nuclear power in space would fall far short of those early ambitions.
“We’ve spent nearly $20 billion on nuclear (space) power since the 50s and the only system we currently have is a light-bulb sized, 100-watt radioisotope generator,” Bhavya Lal, former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, told me on the Space Minds podcast.
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Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 — the only two spacecraft to have reached interstellar space — employ the natural decay of plutonium-238 in their radioisotope thermoelectric generators to convert heat into electricity.
NASA’s New Horizons interplanetary space probe, designed to study Pluto and its moons, also generates power through the natural radioactive decay of plutonium dioxide fuel, comparable to that of a household lightbulb in terms of wattage.
It’s hardly the sort of the power that could lessen travel times to the red planet.
Lal, however, along with Roger Myers say they now hope to “confront that disconnect head-on,” with an upcoming Idaho National Lab-funded report, entitled “Weighing the Future: Strategic Options for U.S. Space Nuclear Leadership.”
The report, slated for release this summer, maps “the full space fission landscape — surface and in-space, civil and defense, government needs and emerging commercial markets,” Lal said.
She and Myers conducted more than 100 interviews across NASA, DoD, DOE, national labs and commercial entities, while also reviewing comparable program postmortems, and evaluating historical nuclear efforts — like the Manhattan Project.
“Beyond Mars, we really don’t have a whole lot of solar power … and there is no way to do a whole lot of science without nuclear,” Lal added.
“We went to Pluto with a New Horizons mission [and] the probes whisked past Pluto. Why? Because we didn’t have the Delta V to go into orbit. So … all we have is basically 24 hours worth of data, which took a year to get back.
[Because] we had a light bulb amount of power, and we had to split the power between sending data back and doing more science or processing data.”
“We just get so much more value for our money if we have nuclear,” she added.
Meanwhile, as NASA’s own landscape shifts, commercial entities are exploring how their efforts might align with emerging policy priorities, and where those nuclear efforts might fit in.
In April of this year, Kristin Houston, president of L3Harris’ space propulsion and power systems, told SpaceNews that “we are finally at the cusp for both nuclear electric propulsion and nuclear thermal propulsion,” and that the company is monitoring NASA’s Fission Surface Power program, meant to develop nuclear power systems for both lunar and Mars surface operations.
It’s not clear what such developments could signal in this next era of space exploration, or whether they will involve nuclear energy in the ways Kennedy proposed.
But as space infrastructure needs and developments ramp up, there is an open question of power.
“There’s companies that want to do other industrial processes on the moon,” Lal noted. “And then if we go to Mars, we are going to need to generate propellant on Mars for journeys back.
Especially if we use chemical systems again, we need megawatts of power to be able to do that sort of thing. And that is not coming from solar or batteries or fuel cells.”
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Russia conducts ‘retaliatory strikes’ on Ukrainian airfield – MOD
9 Jun, 2025 11:05
Russian forces have conducted overnight strikes on a Ukrainian airfield in the western Rovno Region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Monday.
The strikes are part of Moscow’s retaliation for Ukrainian “terrorist attacks” against Russian air forces, the statement said.
Last week, Ukrainian intelligence services claimed to have delivered a significant blow to Russian air power by bombing airfields deep inside the country with short-range first person view drones launched from concealed compartments in freight cars.
Moscow has accused Kiev of seriously exaggerating the effect of the operation.
The Russian military has framed several of its recent operations as retaliation for the drone plot as well as the deadly derailment of a passenger train which occurred on the same day.
Investigators have said forensic evidence unequivocally linked the incident to Kiev’s broader efforts to sabotage transport infrastructure and demoralize the Russian public.
The latest retaliation strikes included an attack on an airfield near the town of Dubno, as well as the bombing of Ukrainian weapons plants, locations where Ukrainian kamikaze drones were being assembled, munition depots, and other military targets, the ministry said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the ministry reported that overnight Russian air defense forces had intercepted 79 Ukrainian kamikaze drones, which Kiev launches daily against targets deep inside Russia.
One such recent operation caused a major blackout in the border Kursk Region, according to local authorities.
Ukrainian media claimed that Russia used hypersonic air-launched Kinzhal rockets to strike the Dubno airfield, but Moscow did not specify the weapons involved. Kiev reportedly stations some Western-donated F-16 fighter jets in Rovno Region alongside its Soviet legacy warplanes.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618841-russia-conducts-retaliatory-strikes-kiev/
Ukraine planned drone attack on Russian ships in Asia
8 Jun, 2025 15:45
Ukraine planned to strike Russian warships in the Asia-Pacific with drones similarly to how it attacked airbases hosting the country’s strategic bombers, the Washington Post has reported.
Last Sunday, Ukraine targeted Russian airbases across the nation – from Murmansk in the Arctic to Irkutsk in Siberia – in a coordinated assault, which involved explosive-laden UAVs taking off from commercial trucks.
Kiev claimed that its so-called ‘Operation Spiderweb’ damaged or destroyed several dozen Russian military aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 nuclear-capable long-range bombers.
According to Moscow, most of the incoming drones were shot down, and none of the affected Russian planes were damaged beyond repair.
The Washington Post said in an article on Thursday that “Ukraine has considered a naval version of the sneak-attack tactic” it used against the Russian bases a week ago.
According to the paper’s sources, Kiev’s intelligence services “weighed sending sea drones hidden in cargo containers to attack ships of Russia and its allies in the North Pacific.”
“But, so far, they apparently have yet to launch these operations,” WaPo added.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet has its headquarters in the city of Vladivostok, which is located in the country’s Far East, some 45 kilometers from the border with China and 134 kilometers from the border with North Korea.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin told him on the phone that Moscow “will have to respond” to all of Kiev’s attempts to target its strategic aviation.
This week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported several large-scale strikes using drones and long-range precision-guided weapons against Ukrainian defense industry enterprises; military airfields; drone production, storage and launch sites; arms depots as well as the deployment points of Ukrainian military units and foreign mercenaries.
However, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing unnamed US officials, that Washington believes that Moscow’s retaliation “has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike.”
One of the sources said that the Russian response is expected within days.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Kiev has repeatedly deployed its naval drones against the vessels and bases of the Russian Black Sea Fleet as well as against the 19 km Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea with mainland Russia.
Most of those unmanned surface vessels have been destroyed, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618809-ukraine-drone-pacific-fleet/
Russia thwarts plan to smuggle military contraband to Ukraine – FSB
9 Jun, 2025 10:06
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced that it has thwarted a foreign-backed attempt to smuggle Soviet-era military helicopter parts abroad, including to Ukraine.
In a statement on Monday, the FSB reported that the contraband scheme involved six individuals from Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East, and was coordinated by a “subject” of a foreign state residing abroad, without naming the country.
The group allegedly used commercial contractors to procure new components for Russian-made Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters from manufacturing and operating companies.
The parts were later intended to be illegally transported across the border, the FSB said, estimating that they could have been utilized to restore at least four helicopters.
The total value of the contraband is estimated at over 400 million rubles ($5 million), the statement read, adding that the agency continues to investigate.
A video released by the FSB shows two individuals, one handcuffed and with a concealed face, standing next to two large containers, one of which is filled with items resembling helicopter parts.
The Mi-8, the world’s most-produced helicopter, was first introduced in the 1960s and is primarily used for auxiliary roles on the battlefield, including troop transport and medical evacuation.
The Mi-17, introduced in the late 1970s, is an export variant with upgraded engines and rotor systems, and is generally used for the same purposes.
Since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, Ukraine has been scouring the world for Soviet-era equipment to maintain its existing fleet, often cannibalizing decommissioned units for spare parts.
To assist Kiev, Western countries have supplied Ukraine with large quantities of their own outdated Soviet-era equipment, which Ukraine typically has much less difficulty operating and maintaining than foreign-manufactured equipment.
Russia has consistently denounced Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning that they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618834-russia-thwarts-smuggle-helicopters-ukraine/
Ukraine has lost nearly all US-provided Abrams tanks – RIA
9 Jun, 2025 13:42
The Russian military has reportedly destroyed the majority of US-supplied M1 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine, with only five of them remaining operational, RIA Novosti has reported, citing its own analysis.
In January 2023, then US President Joe Biden announced the transfer of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, with delivery of the armor completed in September that same year.
Since then, Moscow has consistently targeted the vehicles and has shared numerous video clips purporting to show the destruction or capture of the US tanks.
In May 2024, one of the seized vehicles was displayed at the Army-2024 military expo in Moscow, along with other Western-supplied hardware.
According to RIA’s estimates, the Russian military has destroyed a total of 26 Abrams tanks since February 2024, leaving Ukraine’s forces with just five out of 31 of the American vehicles.
The first Abrams was reportedly knocked out on February 26 by the Russian ‘Center’ military group near Avdeevka.
RIA’s latest estimates follow a report from The New York Times in March, which cited Ukrainian officials confirming that 19 of the 31 Abrams tanks had already been destroyed or damaged.
The newspaper added that the remaining vehicles have been withdrawn from frontline service due to their vulnerability to Russian drone and artillery attacks.
Oryx, a Dutch analyst group which tracks visually confirmed equipment losses, has also claimed that as of late 2024, Ukraine had lost at least 22 Abrams tanks.
Last week, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that two Ukrainian Abrams tanks had been seized during an operation in Ukraine’s Sumy Region.
The Defense Ministry released a video showing Russian troops recovering the vehicles, which appeared to be intact.
The tanks were reportedly towed to the rear by the 22nd Motor Rifle Regiment after reconnaissance teams secured the area.
After Biden’s initial announcement of Abrams deliveries to Ukraine, multiple US media outlets hailed the tanks as a “game changer” for Kiev, particularly ahead of its failed counteroffensive in 2023.
However, by September of that year, Ukraine’s top military spy Kirill Budanov admitted that the tanks were unlikely to survive on the battlefield for long.
Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later also acknowledged that the Abrams was “not useful” for Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized Western arms deliveries to Kiev, saying they only prolong hostilities and lead to more bloodshed without affecting the inevitable outcome.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618849-russia-destroy-abrams-tanks-ukraine/
Advance into another Ukrainian region part of ‘buffer-zone’ creation – Kremlin
9 Jun, 2025 11:43
Russia’s recent advance into Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region is part of the push by Moscow to establish a “buffer zone” on the front line, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the 90th Armored Division had reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and continued its offensive into the neighboring territory.
The next day, it reported new territorial gains in the area, without providing details.
On Monday, Peskov confirmed that the recent advance was aimed at establishing a “buffer zone” on the front line.
“It is one of the goals, of course, but if we talk about the nuances of the military actions themselves, then your questions should be addressed to the Defense Ministry,” the spokesman said.
The intention to create a “buffer zone” was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin late last month.
He delivered his remarks amid recurring Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes targeting civilians in Donbass, as well as Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions.
Following his comments, the Russian military also reported advances in Ukraine’s Sumy Region along the border.
The Times has described the news of Russia’s advance into Dnepropetrovsk Region as “a significant symbolic and strategic blow” for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian Senator Andrey Klishas said that Russia had started “an active phase of denazification” in the region.
It comes on the heels of two rounds of direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
Moscow insists that a lasting peace settlement can only be reached once Kiev recognizes Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as part of Russia while committing to neutrality.
Kiev has consistently refused to consider any territorial concessions.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618843-buffer-zone-dnepropetrovsk-region-advance/
Russia downs 49 Ukrainian drones overnight – MOD
9 Jun, 2025 09:27
Russia’s air defense systems intercepted 49 Ukrainian fixed-wing kamikaze drones overnight, its Defense Ministry said Monday. Moscow continues to target Kiev’s long-range strike capabilities.
The number of long-range drones reported downed by Russian forces during recent overnight raids has varied widely, reaching as many as 174 during the night of June 5-6.
On the same night, Moscow intercepted three Neptun-MD missiles over the Black Sea, the military said.
Ukrainian forces have shifted some drone launches to daytime, generating sustained drone activity that Moscow says has peaked at more than 300 in a single 24-hour period.
The change in tactics has coincided with direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul.
A Ukrainian drone strike on a power substation in Russia’s Kursk Region caused a blackout Sunday, regional Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein said, calling the incident an example of Kiev targeting non-military infrastructure.
Russian officials regularly report civilian casualties from Ukrainian drone raids.
Kiev has urged its Western arms providers to supply more advanced long-range weapons, arguing that Ukrainian forces remain outmatched by Russia in that domain.
Automaker Renault confirmed Sunday that the French Defense Ministry had contacted the company about the possibility of launching a drone production facility in Ukraine, emphasizing that no decisions have been made.
Russia has repeatedly used cruise and ballistic missiles to strike Ukrainian military production sites and drone launch facilities, in what it describes as efforts to blunt Kiev’s long-range operations.
Moscow has also ramped up its own weapons manufacturing.
Ukraine’s military intelligence told The Economist last month that Russian forces may soon be able to deploy more than 1,000 long-range drones per night.
Moscow reportedly employs such platforms both as decoys and for reconnaissance, in addition to delivering explosive payloads in coordination with missile attacks.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has blamed Western governments for not providing enough air defenses to counter Russian strikes.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, he accused US President Donald Trump of redirecting anti-drone missile shipments, which had been promised to Kiev by the previous administration, to the Middle East.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618830-ukrainian-kamikaze-drones-russia/
https://www.rt.com/russia/618813-ukrainian-strikes-major-blackout-governor/
Elderly woman injured in Ukrainian drone attack – Moscow Region governor
8 Jun, 2025 17:20
An elderly woman has been hospitalized following a drone attack on Moscow Region on Sunday, according to Governor Andrey Vorobyov.
The woman was injured after debris from a downed drone fell onto a summer cottage community in Ramensky Urban District.
“Unfortunately, a 75-year-old woman was injured – she has been hospitalized with a wound and is receiving all necessary medical care,” Vorobyov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Air defense systems intercepted ten drones across various districts in the region.
The most significant damage occurred in Istra, where a residential building’s facade and windows were impacted by falling debris. No additional civilian injuries and no damage to critical infrastructure was reported.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin also confirmed the interception of drones. The mayor’s Telegram channel reported incursions by one or several UAVs almost every hour early on Sunday.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, air defense units shot down 61 drones overnight on Sunday. UAVs were intercepted over multiple regions of the country, including Bryansk, Belgorod, Kaluga, Tula, Oryol, Kursk, and Crimea.
Ukraine has significantly intensified its drone raids on civilian infrastructure in Moscow and other Russian regions since mid-May, when a meeting of negotiators from the two countries took place in Istanbul, marking the first direct talks between Kiev and Moscow since 2022.
The attacks peaked during the final week of May, when 2,300 UAVs were shot down, according to the Russian MOD.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618814-woman-injured-ukrainian-drone-attack/
One killed by Ukrainian missile attack on Russian cultural center – governor
9 Jun, 2025 09:49
One person was killed and at least five others were wounded in a Ukrainian missile attack on a cultural and leisure center in Russia’s Kursk Region on Monday, Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein has said.
The facility was located in the village of Prigorodnyaya Slobodka, located 53km from Russia’s border with Ukraine, Khinshtein wrote in a post on Telegram on Monday.
“According to preliminary data, a 64-year-old man was killed in the strike… I express my sincerest condolences to his family and friends. We will provide the family with all the necessary assistance,” he said.
Other civilians have been hospitalized with injuries as a result of the attack, the governor wrote. Three men, including the center’s chief engineer, sustained shrapnel wounds, bruises and fractures, while two women suffered concussions, he added.
The strike delivered significant damage to the building and caused a large blaze, spanning some 400 square meters, the governor wrote.
Khinshtein also published a video of the burning cultural center and firefighters working to extinguish the flames.
According to unconfirmed reports on Telegram channels, the building was hit from a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launch system.
In late April, Moscow announced the full liberation of the border areas of Kursk Region, part of which had been seized by Kiev’s troops after they launched an incursion last August.
However, Ukraine has continued to target the region’s civilians with missile strikes, drone attacks and sabotage.
On Sunday, approximately 30,000 people were left without electricity after Ukrainian forces struck a substation in the area.
In early June, a railway bridge collapsed under a moving freight train in Kursk Region, leaving the driver and two of his assistants wounded.
The same day, another bridge went down in front of a moving passenger train in neighboring Bryansk Region, killing seven people and injuring more than 100.
Both incidents were declared “terrorist attacks” by Russia’s Investigative Committee, which has said that Ukraine was responsible.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618836-kursk-governor-culture-centre/
Ukrainian drones hit Russian electronic warfare facility in Chuvashia Republic, military says
Updated: June 9, 2025 10:28 AM
A Ukrainian drone attack struck the JSC VNIIR-Progress facility in the Russian city of Cheboksary in the Chuvashia Republic, causing explosions and massive fires, Russian Telegram news channels reported in the early hours of June 9.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed the strike, saying Ukrainian drone units, in coordination with other units, targeted VNIIR-Progress and ABS Electro in Cheboksary overnight as part of efforts to degrade Russia's capacity to produce air attack systems.
The targeted facilities are part of Russia's military-industrial complex and produce adaptive Kometa antennas, used in Shahed-type attack drones, planning and correction modules for guided aerial bombs (KAB), and other precision-guided weapons, the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian military confirmed that at least two drones struck the site, causing a large fire. The results of the strike are still being assessed.
VNIIR-Progress is a Russian state institute that specializes in developing electronic warfare (EW) systems, including the Kometa antenna, used to jam satellite, radio, and radar signals. The facility has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU.
Oleg Nikolayev, the head of the Chuvashia Republic, claimed that two drones "fell" on the premises of the VNIIR-Progress facility on June 9.
The "responsible decision was made to temporarily suspend production to ensure the safety of employees," he said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
In video footage from local residents purporting to show the attack on the facility, smoke and flames can be seen rising over the city of Cheboksary.
One video, published by the Russian independent news outlet Astra, shows a drone approaching the target and making impact, causing another explosion.
VNIIR-Progress is a major research and development institute for Russian EW systems. It produces the Kometa antenna, which Russia uses to make its bombs more accurate and less vulnerable to Ukrainian interference.
The strike marks the second reported Ukrainian drone attack against Russia's Chuvashia Repbulic.
Ukraine reportedly attacked the Burevestnik oil refinery in Cheboksary on March 9, in its first reported drone strike in the region. The refinery lies over 900 kilometers (559 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
In recent days, Ukraine has launched a number of strikes against military facilities in Russia, including missile bases and airfields.
The most audacious and high-profile attack came on June 1, when Ukraine carried out Operation Spiderweb — a mass drone strike that simultaneously targeted four major Russian air bases, reportedly damaging 41 planes.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on June 9 that air defense units had intercepted 49 Ukrainian drones throughout the country.
Overnight drone strikes reportedly triggered flight restrictions at airports in Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, and Tambov.
https://kyivindependent.com/drone-attack-ignites-blaze-in-russias-chuvashia-republic-media-reports/
Why Turkey Is Threatening India’s Ally Greece After New Delhi Destroyed Its Deadliest Drone
Updated: Jun 09, 2025, 02:46 AM IST
New Delhi: India held the upper hand in its recent clash with Pakistan. Even after losing, Pakistan has not stopped spreading false claims. China and Turkey openly back Pakistan’s propaganda.
Now, Turkey is targeting India’s close friend, Greece. Pakistan says it shot down Indian aircraft. India admits some planes were lost but keeps details quiet. Turkey uses these claims to threaten Greece.
Its media spreads fear by repeating Pakistan’s statements. Greece recently bought 24 Rafale jets from France.
Turkish conservative media outlet TR Haber is pushing new propaganda. It claims Greece doubts the Rafale jets’ capabilities.
The report warns that if Pakistan can hit Indian jets with Chinese JF-17 planes and PL-15 missiles, Greece depending on Rafale is risky.
Turkey and Greece have long-standing tensions. With an aim to intimidate Greece, Ankara wants to use the India-Pakistan conflict for its own ends. But what they do not say is how India crushed Turkey’s drones like they were nothing.
Turkey’s Rafale Fear
Since Greece bought Rafale jets, Turkey has been uneasy. India’s attacks on Turkey’s drones have caused billions in losses to Turkey’s defense business.
After India crippled the Bayraktar TB-2 drone badly, many orders for this drone might get cancelled or dropped.
Quoting unnamed sources, TR Haber publishes in its vague reports says Greece is worried. The publication never named these sources. This unclear reporting shows Turkey’s real goal.
TR Haber also claims India is unhappy with Rafale’s performance. It alleges New Delhi refused a technical audit proposed by Rafale’s maker Dassault Aviation.
The report first appeared in Pakistan and then spread through Chinese media. However, there is no proof to back it.
The publication further claims India doubts France on production quality and source code sharing. The Indian government or air force has not said anything official. So these claims sound doubtful.
Turkey’s real aim is to question Rafale technology and to weaken India-France defense ties. The propaganda tries to plant mistrust and push India toward American or Russian weapons instead.
India May Stand Firm With Greece
Turkey fears India will now openly back Greece. This worry is clear in TR Haber’s reports. Turkish media fears India will boost defense and economic ties with Greece as payback.
Greek newspaper Ekathimerini recently reported that India is exploring big investments in Greece. Deals may happen in ports, tourism and defense.
Rumors of Indian investments in Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB) and Hellenic Defense Systems (EAS) make Turkey nervous.
India defeated Turkey’s drones badly. India’s homegrown Akash and T-4 defense systems destroyed those drones. Turkey fears India might now sell these weapons to Greece.
If India strengthens defense ties with Greece, it will be a sharp response to Turkey’s support for Pakistan. India also has strong ties with Turkey’s rivals Cyprus and Armenia.
The latter is a friend now receiving India’s high-tech weapons proven in the war against Pakistan.
In such a situation, Turkey’s fear is natural. Apart from Akash, India’s biggest threat to its foes is the BrahMos missile. India is rapidly ramping up BrahMos production. It is expected India will use these weapons to counter Turkey and China through its allies.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.
https://zeenews.india.com/world/why-turkey-is-threatening-india-s-ally-greece-after-new-delhi-destroyed-its-deadliest-drone-2913146.html
SUPER SUB Britain’s Bond-style ‘Q’ boffins unveil underwater drone to take on Putin’s cable-cutters…by blowing them to smithereens
Updated: 16:45, 9 Jun 2025
BRITAIN'S top defence brainboxes have unveiled a Bond-style underwater drone designed to stop Putin's cable-cutting saboteurs in their tracks.
The super sub can hunt out and destroy sabotage threats lurking on the seabed - by blowing them to smithereens.
Developed by the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), it is armed and ready to protect the UK's vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), Dstl’s boffins have added cutting-edge sensors, cameras, and explosive systems to high-tech underwater robot.
That way, operators are able to spot unexploded bombs, place charges remotely, and safely neutralise the threat — without risking Royal Navy divers.
John, a Dstl explosives engineer, said: “This technology would be a valuable toolset for keeping our Armed Forces safe whilst providing the public with value for money.
“This unique capability with its sensors, tools and cameras will give operators a real time ability to deal with these underwater hazards in a safe, effective and efficient way.”
The underwater drone goes deeper than any diver can, staying down for far longer and working tirelessly.
It can be launched from a ship or even a shoreline, sending back sonar and video feeds to operators who remain at a safe distance while disarming explosives or fending off hostile actions.
Crucially, it's reusable. Once a threat is neutralised, the drone sub lives to dive another day - cutting costs while keeping seas safe.
The project is also a win for British industry, supporting specialist jobs through partnerships with firms like Alford Technologies, Atlantas Marine, Sonardyne and ECS Special Projects.
Trials have already taken place in Portsmouth's Horsea Island, Portland Harbour, South Wales and as far afield as Norway.
The Royal Navy is now developing tactics and techniques to make full use of the new tech.
The Ministry of Defence hailed the innovation on social media, calling it a leap forward in protecting sailors and vital undersea cables.
The new underwater drone arrives amid warnings about Russian undersea activity in UK waters.
In April, it was revealed that Kremlin spy sensors had been found close to British territory — believed to be tracking the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines.
The sensors, reportedly deployed using Russian oligarchs' luxury yachts, were discovered washed ashore and picked up by Navy minehunter ships.
Officials fear the covert operation could be part of a wider “greyzone” campaign to gather intelligence and target undersea infrastructure.
Royal Navy and RAF assets were scrambled last November when the suspected Russian spy ship Yantar was seen “lurking around pipelines and internet cables” in the Irish Sea.
Around the same time, RAF fighter jets intercepted a Russian warplane over the North Sea, and unmanned Russian underwater vehicles were also detected near communication cables.
One senior source told The Sunday Times: “It’s a bit like the space race. This is a world clouded in secrecy and subterfuge… but there’s enough smoke to suggest something is on fire somewhere.”
In March, HMS Cattistock and a Wildcat helicopter were sent to monitor the Admiral Vladimirskiy, a so-called research ship revealed in 2023 to be a spy vessel suspected of probing Britain’s power supply and internet links.
HMS Somerset and other Royal Navy units were also deployed multiple times to escort Russian vessels including a beach landing ship returning from the Mediterranean.
At least 11 internet cables in the Baltic Sea have been damaged in the past 15 months — some suspected to have been dragged by Russian ships — while surface vessels like the Admiral Vladimirskiy have continued probing waters near the UK.
In response, military chiefs are drawing up Operation Atlantic Bastion — a sweeping new patrol mission using air, land and sea forces to defend UK and Nato interests in the North Atlantic.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/35328085/britain-james-bond-underwater-drone-putin-sabotage/
US Air Force sets up new experimental unit to test drone and fighter jet teamwork
June 8, 2025
Last week, as part of a ceremony held at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the 53rd Wing of the U.S. Air Force formally activated the Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) which was previously functioning as a detachment for the past two years. The EOU has now been upgraded to a fully operational squadron-equivalent unit.
This move represents a key step in the Department of the Air Force’s push to operationalize Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) under Increment 1 by the end of this decade, advancing its vision for next-generation airpower through manned-unmanned teaming.
The Experimental Operations Unit is charged with quickly turning emerging air combat concepts into operational capabilities.
Its mission centers on ensuring uncrewed systems like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) are both technically advanced and tactically integrated from the outset.
New unit to operationalize next-gen drone concepts
Through its efforts, the unit is working to make future air combat systems deployable, reliable, and effective from the start, Army Recognition reported.
The EOU will take the lead in simulating, testing, and validating new operational doctrines that prioritize coordinated integration between crewed fighter jets and autonomous platforms across a range of missions.
The US Air Force sees Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) as a key part of its future fleet.
These uncrewed systems are being built to be affordable, flexible, and scalable, working alongside F-35s, F-22s, and upcoming sixth-generation jets from the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Furthermore, the CCA will harness AI and autonomous systems to perform a variety of missions—ranging from electronic warfare and surveillance to communications relay and strike functions—based on the demands of the operation.
The CCA concept allows one crewed aircraft to control multiple drones, spreading combat power, reducing pilot risk, and increasing survivability.
These drones in the program range from low-cost models to advanced, weaponized platforms.
Countering China and Russia’s drone threat
The CCA program is key to staying ahead of rivals like China and Russia, who are quickly building their own drone forces. By combining manned and unmanned aircraft, the Air Force plans to keep control of the skies in future fights by making operations more spread out and harder for enemies to handle.
To fulfill its mission, the EOU will conduct integrated testing using both virtual simulations and live-flight exercises.
Collaborating with the Virtual Warfare Center and the Joint Integrated Test and Training Center at Nellis AFB, the unit will develop and refine tactics for effective human-machine teamwork.
Moreover, the tests are also essential for creating future training programs, deployment strategies, and command systems that balance high-autonomy aircraft with human control when it matters most.
The creation of the EOU marks a significant shift in how the US Air Force approaches warfare, moving beyond traditional platform-focused methods to a broader focus on developing capabilities, emphasizing a networked, flexible, and adaptive force, with systems like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft at its core.
Thus, by prioritizing capability over individual platforms, the Air Force aims to create a more resilient and responsive joint force that can quickly adapt to evolving threats and operate effectively across a spectrum of missions and environments.
https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-air-force-new-unit-test-drone-fighter-jet-coordination
https://youtu.be/qJi88DEmRCA?si=VR1ULfF1EAfMa9eT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD7wMZL1eZ4
Report: Pentagon deliberately released Area 51 UFO conspiracy theories to conceal advanced weapons programs
2:38 PM – Sunday, June 8, 2025
The Pentagon deliberately spread UFO conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51 in an attempt to conceal secret weapons programs, according to a newly released report.
A report released by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) found that an Air Force colonel visited a bar near Area 51 in the 1980s – providing the owner fabricated material depicting flying saucers around the highly classified military base, according to the Wall Street Journal’s review of the report released in 2024.
The Pentagon reportedly intentionally ran a disinformation campaign on American citizens in an attempt to hide the development of the F-117 Nighthawk, the world’s first ever stealth warplane.
The 1980s were marked by a tense and dynamic period in the Cold War, with the Pentagon concluding at the time that spreading false information was the most effective route at concealing its cutting edge technology from the Soviet Union.
Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, a former chief scientist at the Missile and Space Intelligence Center was chosen to lead the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) in 2022, which delved into the mass trove of government documents and memos pertaining to UFO sightings and encounters.
The Wall Street Journal recounted Kirkpatrick finding that the Air Force would haze members by informing them of a fake project known as “Yankee Blue,” in which they were told was centered around reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
The individuals were told never to mention the project to anyone, and many of the individuals were never informed that the project was not actually real.
During the course of Kirkpatrick’s investigation, the prank was reportedly still being passed down, leading the DOD to issue an order to stop the practice in 2023.
“Investigators are still trying to determine why officers had misled subordinates, whether as some type of loyalty test, a more deliberate attempt to deceive or something else,” the outlet’s report continued.
The report also reveals instances of military officials being kept in the dark regarding advanced military projects.
In one instance in 1967, Air Force captain Robert Salas, who was in control of 10 Montana nuclear missiles, recounted seeing a hovering “glowing reddish-orange oval” over the military base which disabled all 10 nuclear missiles, according to the report.
The next morning Salas was never told to speak of the incident, never informed that the glowing orb was actually a cutting edge electromagnetic generator being tested to disable the nuclear weapons.
“There is a gigantic coverup, not only by the Air Force, but every other federal agency that has cognizance of this subject,” he stated in an interview, still believing that he witnessed an extraterrestrial object disable the nuclear warheads.
“We were never briefed on the activities that were going on, the Air Force shut us out of any information.”
The AARO was founded in 2022, designated to analyze and release information surrounding reports and footage of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).
An additional follow-up report about AARO’s findings is expected to be released later this year.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/report-pentagon-deliberately-released-area-51-ufo-conspiracy-theories-to-conceal-advanced-weapons-programs/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14794597/report-reveals-truth-Area-51-UFO-conspiracy.html
https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/ufo-us-disinformation-45376f7e