Tag: drones

Russian security chief issues drone attack warning to four NATO states

Russia has the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are found to be deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu warned on Thursday.

“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”

Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.

In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on Russia in what Moscow has characterized as “terrorist attacks,” with the Russian military regularly reporting hundreds of UAVs downed in a single night.

Late last month, Kiev attacked Russia’s Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk with swarms of UAVs. The raids resulted in fires in both towns, which house extensive petrochemical infrastructure.

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Trump wages war, his sons get payoff through savvy investments

The U.S. military desperately needs drone capabilities for President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, and fast. Coincidentally, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., are on the case.

Indeed, the Trump brothers are pumping money into defense-tech oriented firms that have already secured Pentagon contracts, or have already put battle-tested products to market. For example, they’ve invested in Powerus, a new drone company aiming to harness its “strong relationship with Ukraine” as a means to acquire and leverage war-tried Ukrainian drone technologies in a competitive U.S. market. Having bought out several competitors, Powerus already does business with the U.S. military.

In other words, the Trump family stands to benefit financially from the war, and already are.

Eric Trump also invests in Israeli drone firm and DoD contractor Xtend, whose “low cost-per kill” attack drones have been used by the IDF in Gaza. Expanding to the U.S., the company opened an office near Tampa last summer.

Donald Trump Jr. has a $4 million stake in, and sits on the board of Unusual Machines, a drone parts startup. In December, it secured a $620 million DoD loan — the largest loan in the history of the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital — to make drone parts.

And Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789, a “patriotic capitalist” venture capital firm which backs a number of defense-tech startups. The firm, which Trump Jr. joined in November 2024 — right after his father was re-elected to the presidency — has since seen explosive growth: the assets it manages jumped in value from $150 million to more than $2 billion by the end of last year.

Suggesting the firm influences U.S. policy outright, Trump Jr. explained at a Future Investment Initiative event last year that 1789 “understand[s] what the administration wants to do, because [the firm] helped craft some of the messaging.”

Conflicts of interest percolate

As William Hartung, a Quincy Institute senior research fellow, tells RS, the Trump family’s defense-tech pursuits can be linked to a larger network of technology firms and venture capitalists that has significant influence within the Trump administration.

“The emerging military tech sector has deep ties to the administration, starting with vice-president J.D. Vance’s relationship with Palantir founder Peter Thiel, who employed Vance and helped fund his Senate run,” Hartung said. “The fact that Donald Trump Jr. — not only the president’s son but a close political advisor and unofficial spokesperson — will now profit personally from the fate of specific military tech firms adds an even more profound conflict-of-interest.”

To this end, 1789’s portfolio includes a number of defense-oriented companies, such as Anduril, Hadrian, SpaceX, and Vulcan Elements, a DOD contractor that makes rare-earth magnets, which are also backed by controversial venture capitalist Peter Thiel or his VC firm Founders Fund. A Silicon Valley kingmaker and Palantir co-founder to boot, Thiel has simultaneously worked to influence U.S. politics, bankrolling Congressional campaigns while many in his orbit now occupy major positions in the Trump administration.

Notably, Trump Jr. also sits on the advisory board of controversial prediction market Polymarket — which 1789 and Thiel’s Founders Fund also back — fostering an environment where people with insider awareness regarding the outcomes of world events could theoretically profit from that knowledge.

Hartung warns such political access — and, in the case of 1789, venture capital funding — can give certain defense-tech startups an unwarranted edge.

“Venture capital allows firms to stay in the market longer before they score their first big government contract, be it with the Pentagon, an intelligence agency, or the Department of Homeland Security,” Hartung told RS. “But once these influential firms have sunk substantial funds in a startup, they may use their influence to get that firm a contract whether or not its technology is ready for prime time, just to get a return on funds invested up to a given point in time.”

“If they can recruit the president’s son to join in boosting a particular firm, whether or not its product has been proven effective, they have a whole new level of influence, which can be wielded to serve their financial interests rather than the public interest,” Hartung said.

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Glam Iranian businesswoman busted at LAX, charged with helping regime sell drones, bombs and ammo

A glamorous Iranian businesswoman with a US green card was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran.

Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was taken into custody on Saturday night and charged with brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition bound for Sudan, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.

Mafi had allegedly conducted the arms deals while in close contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which provided instruction and funds for her to open a business in the US to operate out of, according to court records.  

“She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday, announcing the arrest.

Mafi posted glam pics of herself traveling the world — including posing in a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz roadster.

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Russian Missile Strikes Would Bury EU’s Drone Scheme for Ukraine Instantly – Expert

The key vulnerability in this plan lies in the gap between the European assembly of the “carcasses” and the Ukrainian installation of the “brains,” suggests military journalist Aleksey Borzenko, deputy chief editor of the Literary Russia newspaper.

Speaking to Sputnik, Borzenko argued that the arrangement remains viable only until Russian missiles target the assembly sites.

The main issues lie in logistics and combat efficiency, he explains:

The drones’ fuselages and engines cannot be shipped to Ukraine in low-profile containers, so they will remain viable only until Russian Kalibr missiles strike them.

Splitting the production cycle into two unsynchronized stages — one in Europe and one in Ukraine — creates a bottleneck at final assembly. As a result, even simple disruptions, such as border protests or bureaucratic delays, can easily paralyze the entire process.

Even if Europe manages to deliver thousands of drones, they will likely be shot down by Russian air defenses and electronic warfare systems. Thus, increasing the number of UAVs would merely drive up European budget expenditures without improving outcomes.

“Meanwhile, the European facilities themselves—whose addresses have been made public—become legitimate targets. Attacks on them don’t have to be purely military; targeted acts of sabotage or cyberattacks on design documentation would suffice,” the expert adds.

Ultimately, while the plan may look viable on paper, its actual results will be inversely proportional to the billions of euros spent on it, Borzenko concludes.

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Europe’s Drone Pipeline to Ukraine Could Soon Be In Russia’s Crosshairs – Analyst

The Russian Defense Ministry’s statement on Europe’s plan to scale up drone production for Ukraine contained an explicit warning, says military analyst Ivan Konovalov speaking to Sputnik: Europe is turning into a “strategic rear base.”

The term applies to infrastructure that, while located outside the battlefield, directly sustains combat operations.

Under this logic, European hubs supplying Ukraine with drone components, data systems, FPV drones and heavy fixed-wing UAVs are no longer a “civilian facility in a peaceful country.”

“Once the production cycle on their territory is integrated into Ukraine’s strike capabilities against Russia, the line is crossed – they become a target deep within the enemy’s operational structure,” remarks the analyst.

After Russia’s strikes dismantled Ukraine’s centralized drone production, a workaround emerged: assembly lines were set up in Bavaria and the UK, using foreign-made components, while the finished systems were marketed as “Ukrainian.”

However, European production creates a long, predictable supply chain via Poland or Romania, exposed to disruption, insurance risks, and logistical bottlenecks, says the pundit.

Large shipments would be visible to reconnaissance and potentially easier to disrupt at critical junctions, he argues.

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Divers & police dogs join Hazmat cops’ probe after ‘drones carrying radioactive material target Israeli Embassy’

POLICE dogs and divers have been deployed to central London as cops probe footage of drones “carrying radioactive substances targeting the Israeli Embassy”.

Cops in hazmat suits, divers and fire brigade dogs have been called in to join the search as officers investigate “discarded items” in the popular Kensington Gardens.


Counter terror cops are investigating claims an Iran-linked group targeted the nearby Embassy of Israel with drones “carrying dangerous substances”.

Metropolitan Police divers and London Fire Brigade’s investigation dogs have since arrived in the park and are assisting a search of the area.

Scotland Yard’s chemical biological radiological nuclear van (CBRN) is also on the scene.

As the investigation continued police divers arrived in a large white lorry with a police search and recovery team also assisting the probe.

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‘Legitimate targets’: Medvedev on Russian MOD’s Ukraine-linked drone network list

A list of Ukraine-linked manufacturing facilities scattered across Europe, which was published by the Russian military, should be treated as a register of potential targets, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said.

The Russian Defense Ministry rolled out the list earlier on Thursday, claiming that Kiev’s Western backers have been planning to sharply ramp up production of long-range drones to target Russia. The plan is bound to drag European nations involved in the effort closer to direct conflict with Moscow, the military warned.

Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, urged European nations to take the warning at face value.

“[The] Russian Defense Ministry’s statement must be taken literally: the list of European facilities which make drones & other equipment is a list of potential targets for the Russian armed forces. When strikes become a reality depends on what comes next. Sleep well, European partners!” the ex-president wrote on X.

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Ukrainian Forces Say They Captured Russian Positions With Drones And Robots – Terminator Is Here?

In a significant milestone for unmanned warfare, Ukrainian forces have for the first time seized a Russian position exclusively with drones and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), without deploying any infantry or sustaining casualties, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Monday.

“For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms—UGVs and drones. The occupiers surrendered, and this operation was carried out without the participation of infantry and without losses on our side,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.

The president hailed the operation as a breakthrough in modern combat tactics, emphasizing Ukraine’s accelerating shift toward high-technology systems to minimize risks to troops. He noted that various robotic platforms—including the Ratel, Termit, Ardal, Lynx, Snake, Protector, and Volya—have conducted more than 22,000 missions in the past three months alone, often venturing into the most hazardous areas in place of soldiers, reported SOFX.

“Lives were saved more than 22,000 times—a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a soldier. This is about high technologies in defense of the highest value—human life,” Zelenskyy added.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has reported a dramatic surge in UGV deployments on the front lines. In March 2026, the systems completed more than 9,000 missions, up sharply from roughly 2,900 in November 2025. Across the first three months of 2026, UGVs carried out approximately 24,500 missions in total. The number of units actively employing the technology has also grown significantly, rising to 167 from 67 the previous year.

The latest success builds on earlier demonstrations of unmanned systems in combat and support roles. In June 2025, Ukrainian forces used the Ardal UGV to evacuate wounded personnel from forward positions. Unmanned platforms have also assisted in rescuing captured Ukrainian soldiers with drone support and have been deployed in non-combat humanitarian efforts.

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Newly Released Records Reveal Drone Incursions, Including Triangular Object With Spotlight, Above U.S. Nuclear Sites

Liberation Times has obtained records detailing drone incidents around sensitive U.S. nuclear facilities. The documents point to a spate of activity around critical infrastructure between September 2022 and February 2023. 

Among the most striking cases is an incident at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station in Pennsylvania – a nuclear plant – where a triangular object appearing to carry a large spotlight was reported within the site’s airspace and perimeter for more than two hours.

The material, provided by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the Freedom of Information Act, relates to records the NRC sent to the Pentagon’s dedicated Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO, between 1 January 2020 and 24 November 2025.

In total, 22 drone-related incidents were documented. 

The Susquehanna nuclear power plant accounted for eight incidents in just over a month. In contrast, the Columbia Generating Station in Washington state accounted for nine across a period of nearly three months. 

Taken together, those two sites made up 17 of the 22 incidents.

Several incidents around Susquehanna involved multiple drones approaching from multiple directions.

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NO-FLY ZONE: China is Dominant in Today’s Drone Industry – But It’s Tightening Penalties for Civilian Operators To Include Prison Time

To fly a drone over a Chinese city may result in a jail sentence.

China now dominates the global drone industry, but it has become one of the toughest places to fly an FPV due to the new regulations.

The New York Times reported:

“New regulations are sharply tightening rules for recreational and civilian operators. Since January, officials have ramped up the penalties for unauthorized flying of drones to include possible jail time. Starting in May, all drones must be registered with the owners’ real names, requiring operators to link their flight equipment to their official identification or cellphone number.

Permits will be required at least a day in advance in restricted zones, which cover most cities. The rules make an exception for small drones flying below 400 feet in some open areas, but those areas are very limited.”

Flight data will be transmitted to the government in real time, and in cities like Beijing, a near-total drone ban is now in force.

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