All posts tagged: drones

Russia in flames in humiliating blow to Putin as ‘Ukrainian drones set oil depot on fire’ | World | News

Russia in flames in humiliating blow to Putin as ‘Ukrainian drones set oil depot on fire’ | World | News

Published by Sam

More than 10 Ukrainian drones penetrated three Russian districts in the Voronezh region on Wednesday night, a Russian official has claimed. An oil depot in the Liski District was left in flames as attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure continued. Voronezh Region Governor Roman Gusev said the drones that attacked the oil depot managed to penetrate the protective netting on the tanks. In remarks attributed to him by independent Russian news outlet Astra, he said: “At the initial stage, extinguishing the fire was complicated by the threat of repeated attacks on the facility. “At the moment, reinforced fire crews are fighting the fire at several reservoirs: dozens of units of equipment and two fire trains. Additional forces have been sent from two neighbouring regions.” The official claimed there were no casualties and citizens’ property was not damaged. According to the head of the region, there is no threat to the population, and the situation with the availability of fuel and lubricants in the region will not change, he stressed. Gurev insisted: “All emergency services are …

Intel Officials Warned Police That US Cities Aren’t Ready for Hostile Drones

Intel Officials Warned Police That US Cities Aren’t Ready for Hostile Drones

Published by skeptic

In the memo obtained by WIRED, DHS displays less confidence in its ability to detect menacing drones. The document, which authorities were instructed not to make public, states that “tactics and technology to evade counter-UAS capabilities are circulated and sold online with little to no regulation.” In reality, the ability of police to track errant drones is hindered by a range of evolving technologies, the memo says, including “autonomous flight, 5G command and control, jamming protection technology, swarming technology, and software that disables geofencing restrictions.” The mystery in New Jersey and similar phenomena in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, among other states, have put a spotlight on the ongoing efforts of state and federal legislators to expand the government’s access to counter-UAS technology. Speaking to reporters via Zoom on Saturday, a DHS official said the agency is urging Congress to “extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities,” and ensure “state and local authorities are provided the tools they need to respond to such threats as well.” Currently, only a handful of federal agencies—including DHS and the …

What’s going on with those drones over New Jersey?

What’s going on with those drones over New Jersey?

Published by skeptic

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Recent mysterious sightings in our night sky cannot be written off as hallucinations, mass delusions, or hoaxes. Something is indeed happening. But what? For weeks, objects that appear to be drones have been spotted up and down the East Coast, primarily in New Jersey but also in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Nearly every morning brings new photographic and video evidence of odd occurrences, in addition to fresh eyewitness testimony. Here are the facts in their simplest form: Night after night, people are reportedly seeing large aerial machines moving slowly across the sky. Some of these aircraft appear to be as big as cars. Often, they fly solo; other times, they glide in pairs or in groups. They have reportedly hovered for up to six hours at a time. They also frequently fly at lower altitudes than small …

South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

South Korean Defense Chief Sent Drones To Pyongyang To Spark Retaliation, Justify Martial Law: Lawmakers

Published by skeptic

Former South Korean former defense chief Kim Yong-hyun ordered a swarm of drones to North Korea’s capital with hopes of provoking an attack that could be used to justify a declaration of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean legislators have alleged. Meanwhile, ahead of an expected weekend impeachment vote, Yoon used an address to the nation to promise that he would fight “until the very last minute” against being removed from power.   Kim was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged role in aiding Yoon’s attempt to impose military rule, suspend civil liberties and remove checks and balances — and attempted suicide shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Previous reports pointed to Kim’s deployment of troops to prevent lawmakers from convening after Yoon’s shocking Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. If true, the sensational new allegation from Park Beom-kye of the opposition Democratic Party suggests an entirely different layer of dangerous complicity.      Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been accused of sending drones to North Korea’s capital to provoke a response that could be used …

U.S. unveils 8 million aid package for Ukraine including rockets and drones

U.S. unveils $988 million aid package for Ukraine including rockets and drones

Published by Sam

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before a U.S. House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on President Biden’s proposed budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 23, 2023. Michael A. McCoy | Reuters The United States unveiled a $988 million aid package of new arms and equipment to Ukraine for its ongoing fight against Russia’s invasion on Saturday. The package nearly halves the available $2.21 billion remaining in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative as the Biden administration works to commit to buying weapons from industry, rather than pulling from U.S. weapons stocks. The USAI funds will be put toward buying ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) made by Lockheed Martin as well as drones and spare parts to maintain artillery equipment, according to the Pentagon. Announcement of the package came on Saturday as the defense industry and policy makers meet at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California. The Biden administration has often used Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorizes President Joe Biden to transfer excess articles and services …

A drone’s eye view of ‘foodscapes,’ from cattle to soybeans to shrimp : Goats and Soda : NPR

A drone’s eye view of ‘foodscapes,’ from cattle to soybeans to shrimp : Goats and Soda : NPR

Published by Sam

The African nation of Mauritania was a land of pastoral nomads when it gained independence from France in 1960, but it has since become a nation of fishermen as well, with hundreds of pirogues lining the beach of the capital of Nouakchott. George Steinmetz hide caption toggle caption George Steinmetz We usually encounter our food roughly at eye level: stacked on shelves in the supermarket, displayed on stands at outdoor markets, beckoning at the Thanksgiving table. Acclaimed photographer George Steinmetz wanted to bring a different perspective to our daily bread, protein and produce. As he looks at the way food makes its way to feed a constantly growing human population, he works mainly with drones for a bird’s eye view. In his “foodscapes,” human, boats and machines all play a role. George Steinmetz, a pioneer in aerial photography, atop The New York Times building. His new book is Feed the Planet: A Photographic Journey to the World’s Food. Kathy Ryan hide caption toggle caption Kathy Ryan Steinmetz is a pioneer of photographing from above. Before …

The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here

The AI Machine Gun of the Future Is Already Here

Published by skeptic

Amid a rising tide of low-cost weaponized adversary drones menacing American troops abroad, the US military is pulling out all the stops to protect its forces from the ever-present threat of death from above. But between expensive munitions, futuristic but complicated directed energy weapons, and its own growing drone arsenal, the Pentagon is increasingly eyeing an elegantly simple solution to its growing drone problem: reinventing the gun. At the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event in August, the US Defense Department tested an artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous robotic gun system developed by fledgling defense contractor Allen Control Systems dubbed the “Bullfrog.” Consisting of a 7.62-mm M240 machine gun mounted on a specially designed rotating turret outfitted with an electro-optical sensor, proprietary AI, and computer vision software, the Bullfrog was designed to deliver small arms fire on drone targets with far more precision than the average US service member can achieve with a standard-issue weapon like the M4 carbine or next-generation XM7 rifle. Indeed, footage of the Bullfrog in action published by ACS shows the truck-mounted system locking …

Drones are playing a critical role in Milton and Helene recovery

Drones are playing a critical role in Milton and Helene recovery

Published by skeptic

When Hurricane Helene and Milton hit the Southeast US, they left a trail of devastation in their wake. Roads, homes, and chunks of towns were swept away by torrential floods. Thousands of residents were left without homes and forced to take refuge in community centers which were cut off from access to critical supplies and resources. One of those shelters, a senior center in Marion, North Carolina, has received a lifeline from an unlikely source. For a little over a week, a white, buzzing autonomous drone operated by Wing has been collecting prescription drugs, baby formula, and other critical resources from a nearby Walmart supercenter and airdropping them to the senior center.  Walmart has been working with Wing for several years to roll out a commercial drone delivery program but federal regulations currently limit how far those drones can operate. In this case, however, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted temporary approval to extend Wing’s operation beyond the visual line of sight so they could provide potentially life-saving supplies. People housed at the senior center …

‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ rediscovered with underwater drones

‘Ghost Ship of the Pacific’ rediscovered with underwater drones

Published by skeptic

An autonomous drone fleet overseen by Ocean Infinity has rediscovered the USS Stewart, the only US Navy destroyer ever captured by Japanese forces during World War II. The marine robotics company’s trio of orange, 20-foot-long underwater robots found the historic vessel while mapping what is now the 1,286-square-mile Cordell Bank national marine sanctuary off the California coast. Also known as the “Ghost Ship of the Pacific,” the 314-foot-long ship has spent the past 78 years resting roughly 3,500 feet below the ocean’s surface, and appears to remain almost completely intact and upright. The USS Stewart shipwreck as seen in a 3D map of the region. Credit: Ocean Infinity “This level of preservation is exceptional for a vessel of its age and makes it potentially one of the best-preserved examples of a US Navy ‘four-piper’ destroyer known to exist,” Maria Brown, superintendent for both Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones national marine sanctuaries, said in a statement to The New York Times on October 1. The USS Stewart’s story is unique in US maritime history, making it …

Artificial Intelligence & Drones Uncover 303 New Nazca Lines in Peru

Artificial Intelligence & Drones Uncover 303 New Nazca Lines in Peru

Published by José

If you vis­it one tourist site in Peru, it will almost cer­tain­ly be the ruined Incan city of Machu Pic­chu. If you vis­it anoth­er, it’ll prob­a­bly be the Naz­ca Desert, home to many large-scale geo­glyphs made by pre-Inca peo­ples between 500 BC and 500 AD. Many of these “Naz­ca lines” are lit­er­al­ly that, run­ning across the desert floor in an abstract fash­ion, but oth­ers are fig­u­ra­tive, depict­ing human beings, flo­ra, fau­na, and var­i­ous less eas­i­ly cat­e­go­riz­able chimeras. The preser­v­a­tive effects of the cli­mate kept many of these designs iden­ti­fi­able by the time mod­erns dis­cov­ered them in 1927, and thanks to arti­fi­cial-intel­li­gence tech­nol­o­gy, researchers are find­ing new ones still today. “A team from the Japan­ese Uni­ver­si­ty of Yamagata’s Naz­ca Insti­tute, in col­lab­o­ra­tion with IBM Research, dis­cov­ered 303 pre­vi­ous­ly unknown geo­glyphs of humans and ani­mals, all small­er in size than the vast geo­met­ric pat­terns that date from AD 200–700 and stretch across more than 400 sq km of the Naz­ca plateau,” writes the Guardian’s Dan Col­lyns. “The use of AI com­bined with low-fly­ing drones rev­o­lu­tion­ized the speed …