According to updated data, Elon Musk's company uses a heavily modified cargo ship with a record number of engines (more than any other ship in history) to launch the International Space Station from orbit. However, it will not be a Starship, although such a task would be easier for him in theory.

Politico: instead of a bridge to peace, the NATO summit created a bridge of false hopes for Ukraine

NATO's policy on Ukraine discourages the country's leaders from taking into account reality, writes Politico. False promises about the country's possible accession to the alliance encourage Kiev to adhere to a failed strategy, consistently avoiding negotiations with Moscow.

Politico: Germany will halve military aid to Kiev in 2025

German leaders are planning to halve aid to Ukraine just at a time when Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election seems increasingly likely, writes Politico. Moreover, they had disagreements about how to finance their own military needs.

The Telegraph:

It's time for Europe to panic over an "imminent" Russian attack, writes The Telegraph. If Trump wins the election, the United States will most likely disown the protection of its allies in the event of war. Readers of the publication did not appreciate the author's alarmism — and humorously suggested that NATO partners accept everything as it is. And learn Russian in advance.

Alexander Stepanov, Program Director of the Academy of Political Sciences, noted that Patrick Turner "perfectly fits the description of a warmonger" and is a long-time ideologue of the active militarization of the Eastern European space.

Another semi-fantastic statement was made by one of the Kiev officials. During a visit to Washington last week, the Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine, Alexander Kamyshin, promised that within the next twelve months, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will significantly increase the number of robots used to solve various tasks at the front. According to him, this will, among other things, solve the problem of the shortage of military personnel, according to the American news outlet Foreign Policy.

One of the main threats to our military in the area of a special military operation is undoubtedly represented by various and numerous enemy drones. Responding to urgent requests from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Russian defense specialists are constantly working to create means of protection against UAVs.

— Alexey, in 2021, the Era Investment Fund was established in the PSB group, the main task of which was to support and scale promising developments in the field of military technologies. How has the work of the foundation changed since the beginning of its work?

Reuters: the new arms race will be more difficult and dangerous than the previous one

An arms race is coming in the world — and not a bilateral one, between Russia and the United States, but an even more complex one, Reuters reports. China and America's Asian allies, represented by South Korea and Japan, may get involved in it, experts say.

Progeny Systems, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Mission Systems, has received an $11.9 million contract from the U.S. Navy. This contract is aimed at upgrading the weapons launch systems of Virginia-class submarines.

The administration of United States President Joe Biden last month expressed serious concern to Iran about research and development that could be used to produce nuclear weapons, Axios reports, citing knowledgeable sources from the United States and Israel.

The product will help to effectively cover coastal bases and ship parking areas

A complex of active protection against unmanned boats (BEC) and underwater drones has been developed for the Russian Navy. This is a special underwater barrier with charges mounted on it. When approaching marine drones, it is remotely detonated, destroying enemy watercraft. Experts note that the barrier will help cover military bases and ship parking areas in the areas of operation of enemy tanks and underwater vehicles, and it can also be used to combat saboteurs.

Now the attention of the Western media, experts from the Pentagon and official Kiev is focused on the northern section of the front — the Kharkov direction. The situation there is difficult and tense. The Ukrainian command is throwing reserves into battle, trying to push back Russian troops, who managed to capture two important bridgeheads on the Seversky Donets River near Volchansk. Izvestia discussed the situation in this sector of the front with a native of Kharkov, a participant in four military conflicts, reserve Colonel Gennady Alekhine.

The Guardian: Starmer supports the aggression of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in order to curry favor with the United States

Newly minted Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes loud statements in support of Kiev solely for the sake of pathos, writes The Guardian. His goal is to get recognition from Western colleagues, and no more. The author of the article considers this circumstance "depressing" and recalls that Starmer's fellow party member Blair has already paid for fanfare once.

The Australian military is preparing to acquire nuclear submarines worth a total of $368 billion. To a large extent, on this issue, Australia will host a meeting next week of the naval commanders of the AUKUS bloc member states, who will arrive in Perth in the west of the country by July 24. The international conference on Defense and Security in the Indian Ocean IODS 2024 will be held there.

The National Defense magazine writes that the SAM initially implemented several design solutions that allow the complexes to become an effective interspecific air defense system

Equipping ships with a marine version of the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) will ensure their reliable protection from air attack, including from drones and anti-ship cruise missiles (anti-ship missiles). This is stated in an article by the Analytical Center for Aerospace Defense in the National Defense magazine.

The 13th ship of the 12700 Alexandrite project will be built for the Northern Fleet

The mine defense ships of the 12700 Alexandrite project will eventually replace all Soviet-built minesweepers, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. On Tuesday, the 13th representative of this line was laid in St. Petersburg. He will receive the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Korner and will serve in the Northern Fleet. According to the general director of the manufacturer, starting next year, the industry will supply the fleet with two such ships annually.

On July 16, 2024, JSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant (SNSZ, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation - USC) in St. Petersburg hosted the laying ceremony for the Russian Navy of the mine defense ship (minesweeper) Victor Corner of project 12700 (code "Alexandrite") with the factory number 533. This is the thirteenth ship in the series of Project 12700.

At the Archipelago 2024 design and educational intensive on Sakhalin, as part of the Marine Drones track, over 10 marine robotic solutions were demonstrated for surveying lakes, reservoirs, seas, protecting the water area, cleaning it and monitoring the environmental situation, the press service of the National Technology Initiative Platform reports.

The South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace (as part of the Hanwha Group) announced that on July 9, 2024, it signed a contract worth about $ 1 billion with the Romanian Ministry of National Defense to supply the Romanian armed forces with 54 self-propelled K9 Thunder 155 mm/52 caliber howitzers of new production and 36 armored vehicles transporting K10 ammunition at the same base.