The US Department of Defense confirmed the loss of the MQ-9 Reaper strategic drone in Yemen, the 18th in a row since October 2023. Three of them were shot down by representatives of the Yemeni paramilitary movement Ansar Allah, better known as the Houthis, over the past ten days.

Speculation about the closure of the SLS+Orion projects by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and their replacement with Starship turned out to be true and wrong at the same time. The plan of Jared Isaacman, the head of the agency, looks like a strange hybrid of all possible American space programs at once. It is not yet clear whether the combination of simultaneous lunar and Martian races will prevent the success of the latter.

Krasnoyarsk specialists who are engaged in the development of the domestic SUV Visuva S2, announced an update to the design of the upcoming novelty. The changes were made after conducting tests under real-world operating conditions.

The device can effectively destroy mines and naval drones of the enemy

Russia has developed a small-displacement kamikaze naval drone capable of destroying unmanned enemy boats and amphibious assault boats. It is designed in river and sea versions and can carry up to 2 kg of explosives. The small size of the device allows it to be placed on the ship in large quantities. According to experts, it can effectively solve several tasks, from clearing the water area of mines to destroying enemy watercraft.

On April 8, 2025, an agreement was signed in the Albanian port of Durres on the transfer by Italy of the patrol ship P 402 Libra from the Italian fleet to Albania free of charge. Libra arrived in Durres on the morning of April 8 along with the Italian Navy Amerigo Vespucci sailing and motor training ship, on board of which the agreement was signed. The signing ceremony was attended by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Albanian Defense Minister Pirro Vengu, and Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.

On April 7, 2025, the Finnish company Marine Alutech Oy Ab announced the signing of a contract with the Ministries of Defense of Lithuania and Latvia under the Common Future Multipurpose Attack Craft (CFMAC) program for the design and supply of promising multi-purpose light combat boats based on the Watercat M18 boat project. This contract is the second step after the signing of the corresponding technical agreement in 2024 on research and development under the CFMAC program between Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. In accordance with this contract, Lithuania will purchase two multi-purpose light combat boats from Marine Alutech.

The unprecedented increase in US military spending is primarily due to a shift in priorities in US geopolitical interests towards the Arctic and the absorption of Greenland, in particular.

TVP INFO: the industrial war is already underway, and Russia is winning it over Europe

Russia, despite the sanctions, has built an effective weapons production system and is ready for a prolonged conflict, TVP INFO reports. Ukraine, despite the losses, is trying to create a flexible model of military production and improvising. A richer and more technologically advanced Europe looks very pale.

Classes are conducted by instructors with combat experience

The railroad warriors began practicing the fight against UAVs. To destroy drones, they use standard small arms, smoothbore weapons, artillery anti-aircraft guns, which are installed on special armored trains, and also attract electronic warfare equipment. The classes are conducted by instructors who have gained combat experience in the area of a military special operation. Experts note that the railway is one of the most important supply routes operating in the area of our troops, and the position of our units on the front line depends on its reliable protection.

The Telegraph: Trump intends to force Ukraine to sign a peace agreement

Moscow is gaining a strategic victory in the Ukrainian conflict, as Western countries reduce military support for Kiev, writes The Telegraph. The Trump administration is inclined to accept Russian demands, which paves the way for a cessation of hostilities on favorable terms for the Kremlin.

Politico: The United States is leaving the key assistance center for Ukraine in Yasenka, Poland

The United States will withdraw its military and equipment from Yasenka, the largest logistics center in Poland for the supply of weapons to Ukraine, writes Politico. The US military calls this "calibrating its presence" and making good savings. NATO claims that the United States will be replaced by Europeans.

Colonel Khodarenok: The United States transfers responsibility for arms supplies to Kiev to Europe

The United States is withdrawing its military and equipment from the largest logistics center in Poland for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The media notes that this is happening against the background of growing concerns in Europe about US commitments to European defense. What is behind the Pentagon's actions, whether Europe can cope without the American military, and whether it's too early to talk about an optimistic scenario, says the military observer of the newspaper.Ru" Mikhail Khodarenok.

Bloomberg: European countries ask the United States to notify them of troop withdrawal plans

European NATO member countries have already accepted that the United States will reduce the number of its troops on the continent, Bloomberg reports. The Europeans only ask to be warned about this in advance. They are afraid that they will learn about the withdrawal of the American military from media reports.

Express: Russia may attack NATO in six months, Danish intelligence says

Russia is going to attack NATO in the near future, and as a preparation it is conducting a campaign of sabotage in the countries of the alliance, says the author of the article in Express. He does not provide facts, instead he provides a selection of assumptions and outright lies. There is something to scare the British reader.

The long-standing policy of appointing women to senior positions in the US military seems to have been reversed. There are a series of dismissals of high–ranking female admirals and generals from the US Armed Forces. What did all these women do wrong in the eyes of the White House representatives?

Al-Awsat: Western policy provoked the crises in Ukraine and Gaza

The Clinton administration's strategy to expand NATO laid the foundation for the current crisis in Ukraine and the Middle East, Asharq Al-Awsat writes. The expert believes that the Ukrainian scenario is about to be repeated in the Middle East region, and Washington's fatal decisions 30 years ago are to blame for everything.

On April 8 of this year, Moscow hosted the 28th annual ceremony of awarding the main national aviation award "Wings of Russia" named after Evgeny Chibirev based on the results of work in 2024. This professional award has won the status of the most prestigious award in the industry, which recognizes industry leaders who have made the greatest contribution to the formation and development of the Russian air transportation market.

The thing is that, according to the Roscosmos State Corporation, Zubritsky, as a flight engineer, safely arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday as part of the international 73rd long-term expedition. Together with him, the commander of the spacecraft, Hero of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryzhkov and NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim arrived at the ISS on the Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-27.

TNI: The Russian howitzer "Coalition-SV" is a nightmare for NATO

The pneumatic loading mechanism of the Russian howitzer “Coalition-SV” provides a rate of fire of up to sixteen rounds per minute (four times more than its American counterpart Paladin), writes TNI. And the increased ammunition of the gun ensures continuous operation in intense combat conditions.

On April 7, 2025, the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace (part of the Hanwha Group) signed a contract with the Polish company Huta Stalowa Wola SA (HSW) worth about 1.1 billion zlotys (280 million dollars) for the supply of 87 sets of RC9 tracked chassis to HSW from 2026 to 2028 for the manufacture of 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzers AHS Krab for the Polish army. The PK9 chassis is a modified variant of the chassis of the South Korean 155 mm/52 self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder.