Daily digest, 9 October 2026

Priority 1. UAVs, counter-UAV, military AI and new technologies in conflicts

Ukrainian long-range strikes: a new class of targets and a new range

Ukraine struck a data center for the first time: Yandex's data center in Sasovo has been shut down

Ukrainian drones knocked out a data center for the first time. This shifts the campaign of strikes on the rear from oil refining to digital infrastructure, which is protected noticeably worse than military facilities. Operations at the site in Sasovo, Ryazan region, have stopped completely. The ru-central1-b zone became unavailable in Yandex Cloud. Separately, during the same day there were outages at Rostelecom (cause not disclosed) and at Qrator Labs (an error when changing the network configuration) (source).

The scale of the damage is visible from space. The facility's declared capacity is up to 12 MW, which means tens of thousands of servers (source). In a Planet Labs image, roughly a third of the building burned out (source); Oko Gora estimates the loss at 35% (source). Sasovo is about 600 km from the border. Ukrainian channels allow that jet drones or missiles were used (source).

For Russian AI, this is a direct strike on the computing base. According to Igal Levin, Sasovo housed two of the three supercomputers for YandexGPT; the company did not confirm this information (source). Yandex AI Studio and the YandexGPT API became unavailable, but the Alice chat worked without degradation (source). Yandex shares on the Moscow Exchange fell by 3.4%.

The reaction in Russia split into three lines:

• Concealment. Yandex blurred all four of its Cloud sites on its maps — in Mytishchi, Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir (source).

• Business responsibility. The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, Zhuravlev, said that protecting data centers is a matter for the owners, who "have long been allowed" to build their own air defense (source).

• Regulation. Russkiy Inzhener points out that the operation of the Runet depends on about a dozen data centers in the European part of the country. Laws 152-FZ and 187-FZ prevent quickly moving clouds abroad (source).

In parallel, according to RBC, a government working group is studying placing AI data centers in Belarus and Kazakhstan. About 50 MW of free capacity remains in Moscow — that is two to four large commercial facilities. Meanwhile, by 2032–2033 the country will need an additional 2.5–3 GW (source).

Signal: data centers are becoming a standard target. The response so far is concealment on maps and shifting protection onto the owners, not site air defense.

update FP-1 — the Omsk refinery hit at a range of 2300–2550 km after 16 hours of flight

Ukrainian drones have reached Russia's largest refinery. This effectively puts all industry west of the Urals within reach. Oko Gora cites 2550 km from the border and 16 hours in the air (source), Tretia svitova more than 2300 km (source). Militarnyi points to the FP-1 (source). ShrikeNews writes about an extended-range version — up to 3400 km (source). The last figure comes from a single Ukrainian channel and has not yet been confirmed.

The Omsk governor confirmed that a drone reached the northern industrial hub. Queues formed at gas stations in the city. On the same night, the Salavat refinery and the pilot plant in Redkino, Tver region, were attacked; the plant produces components of Detsilin-M fuel for the Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles (source).

The road strike campaign: OSINT has counted more than 3000 Russian vehicles since May

Ukrainian strikes on logistics at operational depth continue at the same pace, although they have dropped out of the media focus. According to a count by OSINT researcher Clément Molin, more than 3000 vehicles have been hit since May (source). A typical Russian convoy is 3–5 trucks covered by 2–3 MFGs (mobile fire groups). The Ukrainian side's target priority, in Molin's assessment, is: first MFGs, then fuel trucks, then the remaining trucks. The strikes are delivered by fixed-wing drones and long-range FPVs, including fiber-optic ones.

There are also counter-statistics. The Russian Rubikon center claimed to have intercepted 286 FP-2s and 46 Hornets in September. The Ukrainian channel SIGNUM cites 3908 vehicles hit in the first week of October and a record of 727 vehicles in a day on October 4 (source). Molin expects that leaf fall and the muddy season will worsen Russian camouflage and make it harder to pull off the roads.

Ukrainian "wing" drones have begun hunting Russian MFGs near the line of contact

MFGs have proven effective against large drones and have therefore themselves become a target. A Russian channel publishes video of a Ukrainian fixed-wing drone striking an MFG near the line of contact. It recommends always including a shooter with a smoothbore weapon in the group and not getting carried away with firing at the expense of maneuver (source).

Intercepting jet drones: carriers, containers, private networks

update SPYS — air launch of eight interceptors per carrier and a letter of intent for tens of thousands

Quantum WIY Industries showed an air-launch concept for SPYS. This turns a cheap long-range drone into a carrier of distributed air defense. In the published photos, four interceptors hang under each wing of the carrier. By wing shape, it resembles the Ukrainian FP-1/FP-2: Quantum Systems and Fire Point previously signed a memorandum on means of countering air threats (source).

The updated specifications are as follows. Payload — 0.3 kg, radius — about 15 km, altitude — up to 4 km. Speed is now claimed at up to 480 km/h, whereas 600 km/h was cited earlier. On the cruise leg, the interceptor is brought to the target area using radar data; on the terminal leg, a terminal guidance system works.

Over the weekend, an LOI (letter of intent) was signed for the supply of "tens of thousands" of SPYS (source). Quantum Systems promises to produce several thousand a month on the STRILA lines, the first thousands by the end of the year (source). Janes links this to the financing of 20 000 interceptors for Ukraine for the winter announced by Merz. The main unknown is the survivability of the carrier in the Russian air defense zone and the jam resistance of the link.

Indra DRIZZLE: a Spanish interceptor with an unmanned "mothership" pushes the interception line out to 130 km

Indra is building C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems — means of countering UAVs) on the same logic as SPYS: the interceptor launches not near the protected site but from an airborne carrier (source). DRIZZLE itself reaches more than 400 km/h. Guidance is electro-optical and infrared with onboard processing; its own radar will be added in the future.

The carrier lifts several interceptors to an altitude of up to 30 000 feet (about 9 km) and delivers them 80 km. After separation, each travels about another 50 km. Several carriers can work together and release a group of interceptors in the required area.

Rheinmetall and Praetorian Aeronautics showed the AERIE container launcher for 20+ interceptors

Germany's Rheinmetall and Australia's Praetorian Aeronautics presented the AERIE prototype on October 7. It is a launcher in a 20-foot container, designed for more than 20 Arrow interceptors with the Hadrian AI control system (source). Combat trials are planned before the end of 2026.

Wild Hornets is deploying a private air defense network against Gerans

The Ukrainian company Wild Hornets received permission from the MoD to form its own air defense groups. This is the first known case of a manufacturer itself fielding a combat network rather than only supplying products (source). The groups will join the Night Hornets unit, which has worked under an agreement with the AFU since 2024. The network will include remote control centers, remote launchers based on Hornet Vision Ctrl, and field positions. The company states the financing is its own and it will not sell site insurance.

Alongside this, Phantom Defense, whose Blade interceptor has already been codified, reported the codification of a second interceptor — Balaban. Its specifications have not been disclosed (source).

update Geran-5 — in Kyiv it is being shot down by a machine-gun turret and MANPADS over residential neighborhoods

The close-in line in Kyiv works, but with a side effect: drones shot down at short range fall on the city. A Russian channel showed the interception of a Geran-5, presumably by a Sky Sentinel turret, falling near the New England residential complex (source). Another was shot down with MANPADS (man-portable air defense system) near the SBU Academy (source). A Russian developer, for his part, is skeptical of such turrets. According to him, acquiring and tracking a target is easy, but automatically correcting fire by bullet tracers is difficult (source).

Russian strike drones

update Geran-4 — jet drones reached Ivano-Frankivsk for the first time and are striking the TRML-4D radars of the IRIS-T system

Russian jet-powered Gerans have expanded the geography and range of targets. A Russian channel calls the strike on Ivano-Frankivsk the first use of jet Gerans in western Ukraine (source). The hunt for radars continues. Most of the stations hit are Soviet P-18s and 35D6s, but there are also claims of TRML-4Ds from IRIS-T systems (source). A milinfolive roundup separately mentions a "Geran-4 seeker" against a P-18 in the Kherson region and against a TRML-4D in the Dnipropetrovsk region (source).

The number of strikes on moving targets is also growing. A jet Geran-4 hit a convoy of trucks that had piled up in a traffic jam near the damaged bridge over the Dniester at Mayaky (source). Another hit a tanker in the port of Pivdennyi (source).

New Russian K-8 Dvushka drone: up to 150 km/h and more maneuverable than the Molniya

Soldiers of the 23rd Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine published interceptions of the new Russian K-8 Dvushka drone. According to them, it is faster and more maneuverable than the Molniya and accelerates to 150 km/h (source). If the figure is correct, Ukrainian copter interceptors will have to chase a target that is noticeably faster than the Molniya.

Unmanned ground vehicles

update Kurier — a machine-gun counter-drone version: one operator runs three vehicles

Russian MFGs have turned the Kurier UGV (unmanned ground robotic system) into a close-in air defense station. This is a response to the Ukrainian tactic of paired raids, where one drone comes in head-on and the second from the rear. A twin machine-gun module with a remote control panel and all-round view has been mounted on the platform. One operator controls three vehicles simultaneously (source). According to the authors, in a week three Kuriers shot down a Hornet and a B-2. Earlier, a robot from the same developer with the call sign "Eugene" shot down a Baba Yaga.

update Frodo — the first evacuation of a wounded soldier

The unmanned ground systems company of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade evacuated a wounded soldier on the Frodo UGV from Frontline Robotics. This is the first successful evacuation mission of the drone, which was presented a week earlier (source). One of the first versions was used. The manufacturer has already fixed the shortcomings identified, meaning the cycle of refinement based on combat experience took a matter of days.

Farsight Vision: GPS-free UGV navigation by lidar and a digital twin of the terrain

Ukrainian-Estonian Farsight Vision presented a module that allows UGVs to move when GNSS (global satellite navigation) is jammed (source). A laser sensor builds a point cloud around the vehicle in real time. This cloud is checked against a pre-built 3D terrain model on the FSV platform. The operator sees pits, ledges and slope steepness rather than a flat picture. This is a direct response to massive UGV losses when satellite navigation is jammed.

Communications and EW

update Ubiquiti bridges — a real 20 Mbit/s and an operator who could be as far away as Kyiv

The Russian channel UAVDEV clarified how the Ukrainian side builds drone control through directional Ubiquiti antennas (source). About two years ago, Ukrainian units bet on airborne relays, initially with Starlink on board. Then, to save money, they were switched to radio bridges. Such a bridge delivers about 20 Mbit/s to the relay aircraft instead of the claimed 150. Control commands go out from the relay, and video is collected from one or more FPVs and reconnaissance drones.

The key consequence is that the operator can be far from the front. At antennas pointed toward Russian positions there are usually no people, or two people trained to change batteries. UAVDEV admits that Russian units also use such bridges, although not as massively.

Military AI and command systems

Anduril NGC2 moves out of the experiment: a contract of up to $1.8 billion and −90% to the "detection — fire" cycle

The US Army is moving the NGC2 command and control system into full deployment. The base contract is $162.8 million, with options up to $1.8 billion over five years (source). The first major user will be I Corps in the Pacific region. It is based on the Lattice platform, which brings radars, drones, artillery and staff applications into a single loop.

Over a year of trials in the 4th Infantry Division, the network grew to 2500 devices. According to Anduril, the time from target detection to artillery fire was reduced by about 90%. Units also continued to operate after losing communication with headquarters.

The same roundup of notable military AI contracts includes contracts for C-UAS with AI (customer not named) (source):

• Allen Control Systems — Bullfrog autonomous weapon stations with computer vision; up to $500 million.

• DroneShield — drone detection and jamming with AI analysis of radio signals; up to $500 million.

• Digital Force Technologies — the SeraphimOS platform for sensor fusion and threat classification; up to $500 million.

• L3Harris WESCAM — electro-optical tracking of UAVs; up to $500 million.

• Echodyne — MESA radars with machine learning; up to $250 million.

• Smart Shooter — SMASH fire control systems for small arms; up to $150 million.

Scaleout Systems: a Swedish AI drone continues operating and learning without a link to the center

Sweden's Scaleout Systems tested distributed machine learning for autonomous drones at an air base in Uppsala (source). After being disconnected from the lab, the local node continued to further train the model. When the link was restored, it transmitted updates, not raw data, to the center. Earlier, in the ALMA project led by BAE Systems Bofors, a drone itself recognized objects, selected a target according to the task and dropped a training charge. The computation was done entirely on board.

Harmattan AI IRIFI: a French 2000 km strike drone without GPS or radio communication

France's Harmattan AI presented the IRIFI strike UAV with a combat radius of up to 2000 km (source). Navigation is inertial-optical and requires neither GPS nor a radio link. The commander approves targets before launch; after that, the drone guides itself. On October 7, a memorandum was signed on localizing production in Morocco (source).

Denmark — the first contract in NATO for a C-UAS command system with AI

Denmark ordered a C2 (Command and Control) system for countering drones, designed from the outset for the integration of AI analysis. According to Militarnyi, this is the first known contract of its kind in NATO (source). The Czech CSG joined the SwarmShot autonomous system project. It will combine Federal counter-drone ammunition, a lightweight Mossberg weapon module and autonomous control from Palladyne AI (source).

The US Army selected five humanoids in the xTechHumanoid competition

Out of 103 applications, ACES Group, IHMC Robotics, Hydroplane, Ras Labs and Velocity Explorations won (source). The most mature appears to be the Alex robot from IHMC Robotics. Its parameters: height 179 cm, mass 85 kg, speed over 5.4 km/h, endurance of more than two hours, payload over 15 kg, 29 joints. For now this is groundwork for security and logistics, not combat use.

Alongside this, Anthropic tightened restrictions on the use of Claude in military and political spheres but left the possibility of exceptions for government contracts (source).

Europe and other theaters

Poland closed the case on the Gerbera raid: SIM cards of Polish operators were found in the drones

The prosecutor's office closed the investigation into the incursion of Russian Gerbera drones in September 2025, since it was not possible to identify a specific perpetrator (source). More than 30 vehicles and fragments were found in 27 localities. Some of the routes passed through Belarus. Several drones had Polish SIM cards (source). Technically, this points to a control or telemetry channel via local cellular networks, but the materials are classified.

At the Red Storm Charlie exercise in Hamburg, it turned out that German military personnel outside their own facilities are seriously restricted by law when a dangerous drone appears (source). 12 B-1 bombers were urgently withdrawn from the British base at Fairford because of threats: the aircraft stood in the open near the perimeter, with nowhere to shelter them (source). In Moscow, construction of protective anti-UAV frames over substations continues (source).

War with Iran: the US lost or damaged 81 aircraft, including 45+ MQ-9s

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) updated its list of American losses since February 28 (source). It includes 12 F-15Es, 7 KC-135s, 1 F-35A, 1 E-3. More than half of the list is unmanned: 45-plus MQ-9s, 3 MQ-1s and 1 MQ-4C. Heavy reconnaissance-strike UAVs have proved to be the most expendable class in this war.

On the Arabian Peninsula, according to the NYT, Pakistan and Turkey activated the "Mecca" pact to support Saudi Arabia; according to an anonymous Pakistani official, Pakistan's role is expected to be air support against Houthi drones and missiles (source). In Colombia, the ELN is using loitering munitions against police stations and a civil aviation radar (source).

Priority 2. Military innovation

Western electronics in Russian weapons: 83% of items in the Kh-101 are from US companies

According to HUR data analyzed by Fokus, US manufacturers account for 83.3% of the items in the component lists of the Kh-101, 52.5% in the Iskander-M and 47.3% in the Geran-4 (source). This refers to the share of items on the list, not mass or cost. The share of Chinese counterfeits of American components, according to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, has grown to about a third versus one fifth in 2022. A CAR study links them to accuracy problems with Russian missiles. EU ambassadors are to consider about 1650 new sanctions listings, more than half of them related to missile production. The effect will manifest gradually, as stockpiles are exhausted.

UMO Defense brought four fiber-optic strike drones with 25–30 km range to Brave1 Market

UMO Defense brought to Brave1 Market four codified strike drones on 13- and 15-inch frames with a 25 or 30 km fiber-optic spool (source). The price is 115–127 thousand hryvnias. The ground station supports group connection, meaning one position serves several aircraft.

update Linza 3.0 and Zum 3.0 — a contract with the National Guard for deliveries in 2027

The German-Ukrainian joint venture Quantum Frontline Industries signed a contract for the NGU with delivery in 2027 of the Linza 3.0 strike-logistics drone and the Zum 3.0 reconnaissance drone (source). Linza 3.0 specifications: up to 4 kg of payload, 15 km, 60 minutes of flight. Zum 3.0 operates at 20 km and has AI navigation for autonomous operation in the target area.

Ukraine's Roboneers and Germany's ARX Robotics have moved from a joint venture to technical integration of their products (source).

update Switchblade 600 — Lithuania received the first batch after four years of waiting

The 45 million euro contract was signed in 2022 (source). Which version Lithuania received — the baseline with 40+ km or Block 2 with 100+ km and handover of control between crews — has not been disclosed. The four-year delay vividly shows the gap between Western delivery timelines and the Ukrainian update cycle.

Other industry and technology news

• Blackbeard (US) — the first official footage of a launch of the Castellion hypersonic missile has been published; speed Mach 5+, range about 800–1000 km; the Navy ordered 444 units; a ground-launched GL variant is planned for HIMARS (source).

• Blueye X3 — an 8.6-kg underwater drone was launched from a 533-mm torpedo tube of the submarine USS Pasadena without modification of the boat; the adapter costs less than $1000 versus $200 000 for the standard solution (source).

• Elbit and Jugoimport SDPR (Israel and Serbia) — a combat drone assembly plant opened near Belgrade; stakes of 51% and 49%, about 100 employees (source).

• Phantom Defense (Ukraine) — created the countermeasures environment at the second stage of the American Drone Dominance program: Specter EW (electronic warfare), Streamhunter video interception and a C2 system (source).

• Germany withdrew from the joint tank project with France following its withdrawal from FCAS (source).

Russia: the mandatory ERA-GLONASS tracker is blocking civilian drone flights

Since October 1, the state air traffic management corporation has been rejecting flight plans for drones heavier than 250 g without a connection to ERA-GLONASS. In effect, this obliges operators to buy a specific X-Keeper tracker for about 22 thousand rubles in the first year (source). The Aeronext association has appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and calls satellite tracking ineffective for detecting threats (source). The Ministry of Transport reports 90% of applications approved in the first week.

The personnel line has also continued. The People's Front launched the "Na vysote!" project with a GTO standard for UAV piloting in pilot regions. The network of UAV classes is planned to expand from 40 to 100 (source).

KTsPN released a manual on geolocation security for Russian military personnel

The Russian analytical center KTsPN has prepared a manual on how a serviceman can avoid giving away a position with gadgets (source). In addition to EXIF photo metadata and fitness trackers, it separately analyzes the advertising identifier (IDFA/AAID) and the chain of data brokers. Through it, location leaks even without GPS. Practical recommendations: do not carry gadgets that record tracks to the line of contact, and shift geopoints in messengers by at least 100 m.

Priority 3. The conflict around Ukraine: trends and signals

Russia's winter energy campaign began with the shutdown of the Kyiv metro

After a strike on the 330 kV Nyvky substation, the metro and surface electric transport stopped, and power went out even in the Verkhovna Rada (source). Ukrainian intelligence presented in Paris an alleged Russian analytical memo: 60 key targets, up to 75 ballistic missiles, 770 strike drones and 170 FABs with UMPK (source). According to HUR's estimate, one CHP plant takes three Kinzhals or 25 Molniyas, Gerans and Banderols (source).

In parallel, pressure on bridges is growing. These are strikes on Zaporizhzhia and on the bridge over the Dniester at Mayaky. British tabloids link the campaign to Surovikin's return as an adviser; insider channels partially confirm this, but it is impossible to verify. A Russian channel mentions Ukrainian reports of new Russian drones with special warheads against the load-bearing structures of bridges and power lines (source). According to Ukrainian data, in September Russian aviation used a record 9021 glide bombs, about 301 per day (source).

Exchange of strikes on the rear and the fleet

The Ukrainian side is methodically working through the top 10 Russian refineries. There have already been three attacks in October, and the Salavat refinery was hit three times over the summer and autumn (source). British intelligence believes that the drone strike on Novorossiysk on the night of September 9 damaged a Grigorovich-class frigate and a Buyan-M small missile ship. By this assessment, about 40% of the Black Sea Fleet's surface Kalibr launchers have been put out of action (source).

Front and manpower

The Russian offensive is moving slowly: according to DeepState, in October an average of about 4.3 km² per day versus 8.6 km² a year ago (source). The main activity is Dobropillia and the Orikhiv sector. According to Janis Kluge's calculation based on regional payments, contract recruitment in Russia in September amounted to 29.9 thousand. Over nine months — 263 thousand, 10% less than a year ago, while the cost of one recruit for the regions rose from 1.4 to 1.9 million rubles (source). The Ukrainian program for returning after AWOL brought back personnel comparable to 2–3 brigades; first place by number of returnees went to the K-2 unmanned systems brigade (source).

The Baltic and hybrid pressure

The Estonian foreign minister said that NATO could close the Gulf of Finland within a few hours. Russian diplomats respond with threats to use "the full range of means" (source). Lithuania moved about 100 troops to the border with Kaliningrad until October 16. Denmark's PET said that Russia has moved from planning to sabotage against Ukraine's suppliers, although it gave no specific examples (source). Zelensky again demanded that Starlink be opened over Russian territory (source).

What to watch

• Data centers have become a target. The strike on Sasovo showed that Russian digital and AI infrastructure is concentrated in a few points within reach. The first reaction is blurring on maps and shifting air defense onto business.

• Interception of jet drones is moving into the air. SPYS from an FP-1/FP-2 carrier and the Spanish DRIZZLE with a "mothership" push the interception line out tens of kilometers from the protected site. Germany is financing interceptors by the tens of thousands.

• Ukrainian range is growing faster than Russian air defense. The Omsk refinery at 2300–2550 km, and private companies like Wild Hornets are starting to field air defense networks themselves.

• The Russian response to the mass of Ukrainian FPVs and "wings" is a robotic close-in line. The Kurier with machine guns, with one operator for three vehicles. Meanwhile, the MFGs themselves have already become a priority target for Ukrainian drones.

• AI in command is moving from demonstrations to contracts. This is NGC2 with a 90% reduction of the "detection — fire" cycle, AI-C2 against drones in Denmark, and C-UAS contracts with AI from $150 to $500 million.

What's new in UAVs and counter-UAV

• SPYS (Germany and Ukraine) — air launch of 8 units from a carrier's wing; 480 km/h; LOI for tens of thousands (source).

• DRIZZLE (Spain) — more than 400 km/h; carrier to 80 km, total radius about 130 km (source).

• AERIE (Germany and Australia) — 20-foot container, more than 20 Arrow interceptors, Hadrian AI (source).

• Balaban (Ukraine) — Phantom Defense's second codified interceptor (source).

• K-8 Dvushka (Russia) — a new drone up to 150 km/h, more maneuverable than the Molniya (source).

• IRIFI (France) — strike, 2000 km, without GPS or communications (source).

• UMO-13/15 (Ukraine) — fiber optic 25–30 km, group connection to the station (source).

• Kurier (Russia) — counter-drone machine-gun version, one operator for three UGVs (source).

• Farsight Vision (Ukraine and Estonia) — GPS-free UGV navigation by lidar (source).

• aSel Labs H245, H233, H251 (at DronCongress in St. Petersburg) — portable and stationary detectors, as well as a system with an antenna array for drone direction finding (source).

Military space and space-derived data

update Rassvet — a satellite link for cell towers and the first industrial agreement

Bureau 1440 and MegaFon held a video call from the taiga of Krasnoyarsk Krai. A YADRO base station was connected to the network core via Rassvet satellites instead of fiber optics (source). Plans: 500 base stations by 2027, commercial launch in 2027, about 288 satellites for global coverage (source). An agreement was signed with the Elga coal company to test communications in Yakutia and at the port (source). For military use, it is precisely this backhaul scheme (a satellite transport link to the tower) that matters: one tower with a satellite link covers an area without terrestrial lines.

Poland launched three military observation satellites into orbit

The Transporter-18 mission delivered 130 payloads (source). Among them are three Polish military spacecraft, MikroGlob-2, -3 and -4, made by Creotech, probably optical. The PlanetScope constellation was replenished with 18 SuperDoves. Satellogic launched the first satellite of the new Merlin-1 constellation. SatVu launched HotSat-3 with thermal imaging in the mid-infrared range at a resolution of 3.5 m — enough to distinguish the operation of individual workshops and equipment. India's 14 kg MOI-1A carries AI image processing on an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX directly on board.

The Bundeswehr gained exclusive access to a SAR constellation

Under the SPOCK 1 program, worth about 1.7 billion euros for 2025–2030, the Rheinmetall Iceye Space Solutions joint venture provides the Bundeswehr with dedicated SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites with AI processing. The imagery is needed primarily for the German brigade in Lithuania (source). The plant in Neuss is designed for several dozen satellites a year.

Navigation and constellations

Spain's UAV Navigation, together with ESA, is developing navigation for military drones using signals from LEO (low Earth orbit) constellations as a backup in case of GPS jamming and spoofing (source). BAE Systems is fitting the JPALS carrier landing system with the Digar 500M M-code receiver with digital beamforming (source).

SpaceNews notes that the race for satellite constellations is now limited by production, not rockets. China controls about 98% of gallium nitride output for satellite electronics (source). The DARPA&CIA channel reports SpaceX plans to launch Starmind AI computing satellites from 2027; there is no other confirmation in the input data (source).

Access to data

• Planet Labs — images of Sasovo became publicly available within a day of the strike (source).

• Yandex Maps — a source has been closed. The company blurred its data centers; InformNapalm notes that these maps often show facilities that Russians try to hide (source).

• Commercial imagery of Engels shows that construction of 16 hangars of 63×63 m for long-range aviation has moved from frames to finished structures (source).

• AirNav Radar recorded the cancellation of more than 332 flights in Riyadh after the Houthi strike — an example of assessing consequences from open ADS-B data (source).

Under the radar

• [upd] Hornet — antenna measurements showed operating bands of 1300, 2400 and 3500 MHz. [TECH] the post has VSWR graphs at eight points and an analysis of which bands are operating and which are parasitic. The Russian detector developer Kvadro Kod measured Hornet's large antennas. The main band is 2400 MHz with a width of about 150 MHz; at 3500 MHz the band is about 1000 MHz, with a structure resembling a Vivaldi antenna. This is ready-made source data for tuning EW and detectors (source).

• A captured Lazar aircraft with a Belgian Septentrio Mosaic-X5 GNSS receiver. [TECH] the post has a full dump of ArduPilot parameters and the receiver's boot config. Jam resistance is configured by disabling satellite "health" checks and tracking all four systems on L1, L2 and L5. Identical port speeds on GPS1 and GPS2 point to a single firmware template for the entire family of aircraft (source).

• The Anubis warhead — a 42.5 kg SEFP-40ea explosively formed penetrator. A Russian channel established that the strike aircraft carries a single EFP (explosively formed penetrator warhead). This is an armor-piercing rather than a high-explosive payload, which changes the assessment of its targets (source).

• [upd] Korkut — calculation: the guaranteed zone against Shaheds is only about 1.2 km. [TECH] the post has the ATOM 25 round's time of flight, target drift and burst kill probability by range. At 1 km the probability is 0.4–0.6, at 2 km already 0.1–0.2. The Turkish anti-aircraft gun system, by this calculation, works only as a close-in line (source).

• Peppa and Volna share the same hardware. The Russian channel UAVDEV reports that the firmware of the two communication systems can be cross-flashed with a DapLink programmer given the corresponding GCS (ground control station). This simplifies repair and unification in the troops (source).

What are the Chinese comrades up to?

• At a defense education exhibition, a stand with J-36 specifications was shown for the first time: takeoff weight 50–60 t, radius over 4000 km, claimed RCS 0.001 m². The stand claims that the aircraft outperforms the American F-47; this is a propaganda presentation, not test data (source).

• Taiwan's Coast Guard has begun testing the MARTAC T-24 uncrewed boat paired with the JUMP 20 UAV. 25 boats have been ordered; the hulls are being built on the island, and serial production is planned to be moved there as well (source).

• The Pentagon, according to a Poisk roundup, ties readiness to repel a PLA landing to April 1, 2027. The main US vulnerability is the supply line: 21 hours by air or 28 days by sea (source).

• A PLA Southern Theater brigade switched training of armored vehicle repairmen to VR simulators with an automatic error profile for each soldier (source).

• Drone piloting classes have begun in Chinese schools — a mass personnel reserve of operators (source).

• CSIS estimates that the PLA systematizes new drone warfare techniques about four months after their first use in Ukraine (source).

External analysis

• Germany is formalizing what Telegram discusses at the level of contracts. In 2027, the 10th Armored Division will get an unmanned systems regiment with an EW company, and Merz is financing 20 000 interceptors for Ukraine (source). This confirms the scale that the channels write about in connection with SPYS.

• The Bundeswehr is studying OWE 500+ jet loitering munitions as a divisional weapon: about 100 launches per day at 500+ km (source). Europe is effectively borrowing the Russian logic of mass Gerans, although industrial readiness is in question.

• Ukraine used an amphibious UGV for the first time: over 40 km over land and water with ammunition to the front line, with Brave1 funding (source). Russian-Ukrainian Telegram has not yet noticed this episode.

• Navigation by LEO constellation signals in the ESA NAVISP program complements the Ukrainian trend toward GPS-free navigation for UGVs: the West solves the same problem through space rather than lidar (source).

• Lockheed Martin is building, with its own funds, five prototypes of the Vectis stealthy unmanned wingman of the CCA class (Collaborative Combat Aircraft — unmanned wingman) with a radius of over 1100 miles and a first flight at the end of 2027. The American heavy drone segment is going stealthy, while the Ukrainian one is going for cheap mass (source).

• India's DRDO held a reconnaissance balloon at 20 km for more than 30 minutes with real-time video transmission. This is a step toward HAPS (high-altitude pseudo-satellite) — a niche between a drone and a satellite that in the Russian-Ukrainian context is so far occupied only by carrier balloons (source).

Top military-tech signals of the day

1. ↗23 · 👁441 · @theaterVD — 🇺🇦 Farsight Vision presented a navigation module that allows unmann…
2. ↗21 · 👁421 · @theaterVD — ✈️🇺🇦 🇩🇪 A contract to supply the National Guard of Ukraine with reconnaissance and stri…
3. ↗22 · 👁458 · @theaterVD — ✈️🇺🇦 Codification of the Bebradron strike UAV The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine codifi…
4. ↗20 · 👁422 · @theaterVD — 🇺🇦 🇩🇪 Cooperation between Ukraine and Germany in unmanned systems The Ukrainian…
5. ↗20 · 👁435 · @theaterVD — 🇺🇦 Development of unmanned systems in Ukraine Ukrainian companies Partner-VS (develo…
6. ↗20 · 👁448 · @theaterVD — ✈️🇺🇦 Development of unmanned systems in Ukraine The Ukrainian UAV ✈️SHOT-L1 has appeared…
7. ↗16 · 👁385 · @theaterVD — 🚀🇺🇸 Launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile The Comm…
8. ↗21 · 👁516 · @theaterVD — ✈️🇩🇪🇦🇺 Rheinmetall and Praetorian Aeronautics presented a prototype of the AERIE system…
9. ↗14 · 👁354 · @RuporOfBattle — Geolocation security. Guidelines — how a soldier can avoid leaving traces…
10. ↗16 · 👁417 · @theaterVD — 🇺🇦 Codification of the Varkhan UGV The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine codified and appro…