Electronics and optics news

Exactly 50 years ago, on July 17, 1975, the now legendary docking of the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft with the American Apollo spacecraft took place. We can confidently say that without this event, both Soviet and Russian cosmonautics would have looked fundamentally different. Why and how exactly?

The drones that Ukraine is trying to use to strike Russian cities and facilities are controlled using mobile communications. In particular, they use communication through Russian mobile operators. Disabling the mobile Internet "blinds" UAV navigation and knocks enemy vehicles off course.

The ease of operation and adaptability of the new UAV complexes will help change the situation on the line of combat contact

Russia is developing a combat system for autonomous operation of UAVs, which will be able to independently maintain the line of combat contact. Such products will make it possible to control a front hundreds of kilometers long without the participation of operators.

ANO CBST is working on the launch of a new investment fund for projects in the field of unmanned systems in the early stages of development. Such projects lack funding, as venture capital investors prefer to invest in less risky later stages. The Minister of Defense admitted that the latest technologies are not enough to introduce artificial intelligence into military UAVs.

The Fourth Law (TFL), a Ukrainian defense technology company, has attracted financing from venture capital funds and private investors from the European Union, the United States and Canada. This was reported by the company's press service, the amount of funds raised was not disclosed.

Developed by the Israeli private company Robotican, the Rooster hybrid UAV ("Rooster") is designed to conduct reconnaissance in confined spaces, such as buildings and underground structures. After October 7, 2023, the product is actively used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli rescue teams. It was adopted by the special operations forces of the United States and Europe, as a result of which the system was assigned a NATO inventory number.

The development belongs to scientists of the Moscow Aviation Institute

Scientists at the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) have created a pulsed plasma injector to study the changes that occur in the ionosphere after the use of electric rocket engines. The equipment has already been delivered to the International Space Station (ISS), and research will begin in the fall, the university's press service told TASS.

Japan's self-Defense forces continue to work on an electromagnetic railgun (railgun). The latest confirmation of this was the photos published by the Japanese Navy from aboard the JS Asuka test warship in the port of Yokosuka. It is expected that tests of these weapons in this configuration will take place before the end of July 2025. Japan's ongoing developments in this area stand in stark contrast to the US Navy's abandonment of this category of weapons in the early 2020s after serious technical problems arose.

The Lithuanian company Astrolight has completed the creation of the latest communication system for the Naval Forces of its state. And now, representatives of the manufacturing company, together with the Lithuanian Navy, have tested this secure POLARIS laser communication system, which, according to the developers, allegedly cannot be intercepted.

Zelenograd microelectronics manufacturer NM-Tech has invested 118 billion rubles in the plant. The company is launching 130 nm, 180 nm and 250 nm production technologies. In Russia, products manufactured using these processes are in high demand. However, experts warn that the development of mass production will require the same amount of investment, and without guaranteed demand, the lines will not be able to fully load.

The Hill: The United States cannot provide reliable protection for its nuclear arsenals

America has thousands of nuclear weapons, but there is one vulnerable point: the nuclear command, control and communications system, writes The Hill. Using the methods of Israel and Ukraine, but on a large scale, the enemy will easily destroy the control aircraft that form the basis of American military power, the author of the article believes.

The British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has acquired a special room, which is equipped for leisure activities with computer games. They were previously available to military sailors, but in a limited format – usually there are several game consoles in the cabins of ships. And this facility was specially created for esports and is a joint project of the Royal Navy and the British Esports Federation.

And why is it more profitable to use them than anti-aircraft missile systems

Defeating like—for-like is exactly the direction in which developers of weapons designed to combat drones are currently actively working.

During the air battles in early May, fragments of Chinese PL-15E missiles appeared on Indian territory – these missiles were launched by Pakistani Air Force fighters who were trying to hit Indian combat aircraft. The PL-15Es were supposed to self-destruct in the air if they missed their target, but this did not happen, and they ended up on the ground, with some specimens in pretty good condition.

It generates energy by electrochemical conversion of fuel, which provides high efficiency and minimal emissions into the environment

Rostec State Corporation will present more than 50 advanced civil developments at the Innoprom-2025 international industrial exhibition.

Back in 2022, the US Marine Corps approached Leidos with a request to create an inconspicuous unmanned surface vessel capable of carrying thousands of pounds of cargo.

The Turkish defense company Aselsan conducted tests of its new development, the YILDIRIM 100 system, during which it successfully neutralized infrared–guided anti-aircraft missiles, forcing them to deviate from the course. The corresponding video is shown online.

The back belonged to the GARC (Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts) type, was released by Black Sea Technologies and belonged to the 3rd squadron of unmanned surface ships (USVRON 3, Hellhounds), formed in May 2024 to test robotic platforms.

The Russian 50-qubit quantum computer has successfully passed the test tests. This was reported to TASS at the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN), noting that the successful completion of the tests paves the way for the creation of serial samples of quantum computers and their commercial use.

KNDS Deutschland (Germany), Elbit Systems (Israel) and Kongsberg (Norway) conducted the first launch of the NSM rocket, widely used by NATO fleets, from the new MARS 3 MLRS. According to the developers, the testing was successful and confirmed the system's ability to launch this long-range anti-ship missile.