Sunday, March 27, 2022 // (IG): BB //Weekly Sponsor: DiyGarage SoCal
Ukraine is using Elon Musk’s Starlink for drone strikes
FROM THE MEDIA: This is not a first heard. Yet - this is showing a shift in on UAS platforms will utilize satcoms. Elon Musk's satellites are connecting Ukraine with the internet. Starlink was conceived as a civilian program — but Ukraine's military can also use it to guide drones and strike Russian tanks and positions. Just after Russia’s invasion began, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov took to Twitter to ask the Texas businessman Elon Musk to activate his Starlink satellites for use in Ukraine. The billionaire swiftly tweeted his response: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.” Soon after, a number of terminals and powerful batteries arrived in Ukraine. Others followed. Fedorov took to Twitter again to express his gratitude: “Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk.” No secret dispatches, no long debates, no governmental or parliamentary controls: just a very public deal between a politician whose country has been attacked and an enigmatic billionaire who went on to challenge the aggressor, Russian President Vladimir Putin, to “single combat.” What at first looked like a PR coup now seems to be playing a significant role in the defense of Ukraine.
‘Create target acquisition’
READ THE STORY: Indian Express
Experts gather in Amsterdam to promote use of drones
FROM THE MEDIA: Cities, aviation authorities and large companies will gather in the RAI Amsterdam from Tuesday for a three-day conference on drones to discuss how drones can become better integrated into urban transport. Over 250 industry experts will gather at the event, called Amsterdam Drone Week. Representatives of various cities and regions, including Amsterdam, Enschede, Stockholm, Madrid and Bavaria, will exchange ideas in the RAI for greater unity in the regulation of unmanned aviation in the city. The conference is organized by the European aviation authority EASA. Zipline, an American start-up that is developing systems to help drones deliver medicine to difficult-to-reach areas in Ghana and Rwanda, will make an appearance. A drone for medical transport will also be on display. PostNL, KPN, the ANWB and Erasmus MC, among others, worked on this unmanned aircraft together with the Amsterdam developer of drones Avy. In the autumn of 2021, the Zwolle hospital Isala conducted test flights for the transport of blood for transfusions. The number of unmanned aircraft in the Netherlands has doubled in the past seven years. A few years ago there were high expectations around drones, but now that the hype is over, they are increasingly being used by companies and organizations, according to Amsterdam Drone Week.
READ THE STORY: NLTIMES
Eric Adams considering using drones to fight NYC crime
FROM THE MEDIA: Mayor Eric Adams is mulling a mini-army of drones to fight surging crime in the Big Apple — possibly deploying the high-flying robocops from rooftops as watchful guardians of Gotham, sources told The Post. Tel Aviv-based Blue White Robotics and Easy Aerial of Brooklyn were two drone manufacturers featured earlier this month at an event to launch a NYC-Israel Chamber of Commerce. Adams attended the gathering in the Williamsburg Hotel, and sources said the mayor was so impressed with the joint presentation that he suggested his chief technology officer Matthew Fraser and the firms’ honchos begin talks about the city potentially buying drones and expanding the NYPD’s use of them. “Eric is a big booster of drones and how they can be used to streamline government function, but obviously whatever he would try to roll out would be constrained” under existing laws limiting drone use, said a source familiar with the mayor’s thinking. The drone makers – whose clients include the US Department of Defense, Air Force and Customs and Border Protection – say they’ve dubbed the plan the “Soteria Project,” derived from a Greek word meaning “deliverance from a crisis.”
READ THE STORY: NYPOST
Iran now knows its attacks on Saudi could bring Israel’s support
FROM THE MEDIA: Iran’s understanding that its increased attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE could not only move those countries closer together regarding Yemen but also draw Riyadh closer to Israel. The support that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave Saudi Arabia following attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis is a signal to Iran. Media reports at Iran’s Fars News noted that Israel is paying attention to the Houthi attacks. Iran puts on a brave face here, claiming that the “Zionists acknowledge” the power of the Houthis. The fact that Iran can mobilize the Houthis against Israel has been known for years. In January 2020 for instance, reports emerged that Iran had staged drones in Yemen that had a range that could put Israel in danger. Moreover, there have been increasing comments from the Houthis threatening Israel. The Houthis' official slogan is death to Israel and “curse the Jews.” But that is rhetoric, and actual Houthi threats have emerged more recently. The Houthis' threats are backed up by their capabilities, including their long-range missiles and drones. Last year, a drone was used by Iran to attack a ship in the Gulf of Oman. Overall, the idea of Iran is to put in place a threat against shipping off the coast of Yemen and Oman. Iranian media spreads conspiracies about Israel’s interest in Yemen and about Israel-UAE ties.
READ THE STORY: JPOST
MP power company hires drones to detect faults in transmission lines
FROM THE MEDIA: The state-owned Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company Limited (MPPTCL) has hired drones to detect faults in the high voltage transmission lines, officials said on Sunday. The drones are being used on an experimental basis for a year in dense forests, hilly terrains and plains in and around Jabalpur, doing away with the time consuming traditional practice where technical staffers climb on towers to find out faults in the transmission lines, before repairing them manually, MPPTCL's Managing Director Sunil Tiwari told PTI. "The cost efficiency of drones is being studied and if viable, it would be used permanently. Our engineers have been supervising its operations since January,'' he said. The use of drones was showing encouraging results, MPPTCL's spokesperson and assistant engineer Shashikant Ojha said. A fault in a power line near the Amarkantak area was detected with a drone recently, he said, adding that they get the drones from a private company, based on the demand. If there is a spark in a supply line, the drone detects it before it trips, he added. The MPPTCL directs electricity from power generating stations to the distribution companies, which in-turn supply power to nearly one crore consumers across the state, an official of the state-owned MP Power Management Company Limited said.
READ THE STORY: DevDiscourse
Falck Sets Up New Development Unit: Drones, AI And Ecological Transformation In The Future
FROM THE MEDIA: Falck has innovated ambulances and healthcare services for over a hundred years – A new development unit will now give a further boost to the healthcare company’s innovation in the healthcare area, where Falck will strengthen emergency and healthcare solutions through innovation, drones, artificial intelligence and a greener transformation. Falck’s new development unit, Vertical, will work closely with public organizations and partners to create solutions and launch projects that result in smarter and more sustainable solutions for how we optimize emergency, care and health within the prehospital area. “Our drone project, new digital healthcare services and handling of antigen testing have shown that we can rethink the solutions to known problems and develop completely new solutions. It is based on these experiences that we now increase our focus further on innovation and create an independent unit, Vertical. Vertical will develop our existing services and expand our area of expertise through the development of new healthcare solutions and services in collaboration with public organizations and existing customers,” says CEO, Jakob Riis.
READ THE STORY: Emergency Live
Police drone team track suspect hiding on veranda roof in Wednesbury
FROM THE MEDIA: A man tried hiding from a police drone on a homeowner's veranda roof. A suspect was chased by West Midlands Police after he ran off from a "stolen vehicle" in Wednesbury last night, March 26. He leapt over gardens and ran along a disused railway track before trying to hide on a veranda roof. But officers who were equipped with a drone were able to locate the suspect using a thermal imaging camera.
READ THE STORY: Birminghammail
Spectacular drone footage captures the power of Lech Poznan fans at home games
FROM THE MEDIA: European football houses some of the most thrilling atmospheres in the entire world. When a discussion of emphatic home support pops up, a few names quickly follow. These include the likes of Liverpool‘s Anfield, Dortmund‘s ‘Yellow Wall’ at the Iduna Park, the always energetic ‘Stretford End’ at Old Trafford among many others. While the heavyweights get all the attention, the atmospheres at Red Star Belgrade, Celtic Park, Marseille’s Valedome etc often go underrated. Another addition to that list is the Polish Club, Lech Poznań. The Poznan Stadium hosts the side’s matches, and the home support is known for being particularly feisty. Meticulous restrictions, as seen in Premier League venues, are absent, and fans often whip out flares alongside some truly glorious tifos. Those unfamiliar with the stunning support are in luck, as a video has gone viral online showcasing the home end in the best manner possible.
READ THE STORY: Thick Accent
UK prevents Russia from replacing drones destroyed in Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: UK sanctions against Russia defense company “Kronstadt” will prevent the occupier from replacing the Orion drones and other drones destroyed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, spoke about the imposed sanctions in his telegram. The UK Ministry of Defense has said that Russia has limited manned sorties outside the front lines and is forced to use more unmanned aerial vehicles. These sanctions will harm the Russian defense industry and limit the ability to replace lost drones,
the UK Ministry of Defense said.
READ THE STORY: The Times Hub
Police seize drone, $286,000 worth of contraband outside Kingston, Ont. penitentiary
FROM THE MEDIA: Ontario Provincial Police seized $286,000 worth of tobacco, cannabis and cellphones after finding a drone and two packages of contraband near Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont. Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, a drone was seen near the penitentiary on Bath Road. Police say officers located a drone and a package of contraband near the facility and arrested one person in a parked vehicle nearby. Correctional Service of Canada officers also recovered a package inside the institution's walls. Police say a large quantity of tobacco and cannabis products, numerous cellphones and the drone were seized.
READ THE STORY: CTVNEWS
Chinese drone maker says can't stop Russia from using its tech in Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: Ukraine is calling on a big-name Chinese maker of drones to block what Ukrainian officials say is the Russian military's use of its technology to coordinate missile attacks. However, the company, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. and placed on a blacklist, says it can't disable its drones and has limited options to heed Kyiv's appeals for help. The heightened focus on DJI Technology Co., based in Shenzhen, China, shines a spotlight on a major drone producer that's been under scrutiny for its connections to the Chinese government. Last week, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov asked DJI to deactivate some of its technology in Ukraine, suggesting it would be complicit in the deaths of Ukrainians if it didn't do so. "In 21 days of the war, Russian troops have already killed 100 Ukrainian children," he tweeted. "They are using DJI products in order to navigate their missile. @DJIGlobal, are you sure you want to be a partner in these murders? Block your products that are helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians!" In an attached public letter to DJI Founder and CEO Frank Wang, Federov wrote that Russia is using a version of DJI's AeroScope, a system for locating drones and their operators, acquired from Syria. Observers and government officials in Ukraine allege Russia is using AeroScope to find and target Ukrainian drone pilots.
READ THE STORY: ADAMERICA
Items of interest
Drones in Ukraine - lessons for other countries(Video)
The world has been slowly, quietly adjusting to the growing use of unmanned systems in warfare. From the spectre of Predators and Reapers stalking the mountains of Afghanistan during the war on terror, there's been a growing appreciation of what these systems can do, but it's always been coupled with the feeling that 'in a real war' they wouldn't be nearly as useful. Then the Bayraktar TB2 started blasting $25 million anti aircraft systems in Ukraine while Russian drones have played a seemingly important role spotting for precision guided artillery rounds. When an aircraft starts mowing down anti-air systems, you pay attention. In this presentation, I give an overview of what we've seen in terms of the usage of drones and loiter munitions in Ukraine, then I get on to what makes that effectiveness so damn scary...the fact that these things are cheap. Really cheap (at least by defense equipment standards).
Warnings Over JAMMED GPS Signals Near Ukraine Conflict(Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: EASA has published a Safety Information Bulletin warning operators of the issue of GNSS jamming and/or possible spoofing surrounding the conflict in Ukraine and surrounding zones; Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific announced that in February, they carried just 1.1% of their February 2019 passenger numbers, as tough COVID-19 restrictions choke the carrier; Aeroméxico has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a more than 20-month restructuring process, looking to invest $5 billion in fleet rejuvenation over the next five years.
About this Product
These open source products are reviewed from analysts at InfoDom Securities and provide possible context about current media trends in regard to the realm of cyber security. The stories selected cover a broad array of cyber threats and are intended to aid readers in framing key publicly discussed threats and overall situational awareness. InfoDom Securities does not specifically endorse any third-party claims made in their original material or related links on their sites, and the opinions expressed by third parties are theirs alone. Contact InfoDom Securities at dominanceinformation@gmail.com