Engineers at the academy have designed a model capable of sending a payload of about 100 kilograms into low Earth orbit. (Representational image) Originally appeared at Chinadaily China will develop a new generation of rockets launched from aircraft that can put satellites into space, according to Li Tongyu, the head of carrier rocket development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Air-launched rockets can rapidly replace dysfunctional satellites or, in cases of disaster relief, quickly send up Earth observation satellites to assist in the effort, Li said. Designers at the academy, which is the main developer of Chinese carrier rockets, have designed a model capable of sending a payload of about 100 kilograms into low Earth orbit and are ready to produce one if the government asks, he said. They plan to design a larger rocket that could carry 200 kg into orbit. “The Y-20 strategic transport plane will be the carrier of these rockets. The jet will hold a rocket within its

Written and produced by SF Team: J.Hawk, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson The December 9, 2016 Kremlin celebration of the Fatherland Heroes’ Day brought attention to one of obscure components of Russian clandestine paramilitary capabilities, when a photo featuring President Vladimir Putin and the leadership of the so-called Vagner Private Military Company surfaced on social media. Vagner is the pseudonym of Dmitriy Utkin, a retired member of the Russian Armed Forces who at the time of his discharge commanded the 700th Special Operations Detachment of the 2nd Separate Special Operations Brigade of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. He has gained experience in PMC operations while employed by the Moran Security Group where he participated in Somalia counter-pirate operations. Vagner’s deputy commander is also a Russian military veteran, Vadim Troshev. Vagner represents Russia’s most ambitious experiment with the PMC concept. Elsewhere in the world, PMCs such as the

WikiLeaks has published what it claims is the largest ever release of confidential documents on the CIA. It includes more than 8,000 documents as part of ‘Vault 7’, a series of leaks on the agency, which have allegedly emerged from the CIA’s Center For Cyber Intelligence in Langley , and which can be seen on the org chart below, which Wikileaks also released : Click to see the full-size image A total of 8,761 documents have been published as part of ‘Year Zero’, the first in a series of leaks the whistleblower organization has dubbed ‘Vault 7.’ WikiLeaks said that ‘Year Zero’ revealed details of the CIA’s “global covert hacking program,” including “weaponized exploits” used against company products including “Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones.” WikiLeaks tweeted the leak, which it claims came from a network inside the CIA’s Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. Among the more notable di

The Czech Republic and Slovakia do not fear Brussels’ threats to impose economic sanctions against them. Photo: Reuters / Stringer A few days ago, the European Commission urged EU states to accelerate acceptation of Middle Eastern and North African migrants from Italy and Greece in accordance with the quota system, adopted in the autumn of 2015. Brussels threatened that If EU members continue to neglect their duties, they will be expected to face economic sanctions. EU countries from Eastern Europe considered the system of forced resettlement of migrants ineffective solution of the migration crisis and are not going to make any concessions, the Izvestiya newspaper reported, citing the Foreign Ministries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic . According to the newspaper, the countries of Eastern Europe will not change their position and will subsequently refuse to accept migrants in the amount, required by Brussels. They argue that this process should take place on a voluntary basis

Russian and US militaries patrol outskirts of the Syrian city of Manbij. Photo: Business Insider / Paul Szoldra Russian and US militaries patrol outskirts of the Syrian city of Manbij, and it is the closest cooperation between Moscow and Washington on a battlefield since the Second World War, the Times newspaper reported. At that time, in April 1945, Soviet and US militaries met on the Elbe River. Now, they avoid contacts, though are only eight kilometers away from each other, the newspaper noted. The servicemen patrol villages, located 25 kilometers to the south of the Turkish border , trying to keep the warring sides from fighting. The national flags wave at the both sides. “In theory, they [Russian and US militaries] were acting as a buffer between rival Kurdish and Turkish-backed militias, they were also demonstrating the new geopolitical closeness between the nations under President Trump,” the newspaper noted. According to spokesman for the Pentagon, Jeff Davis, the militaries k

According to the Skypress news website, the US forces have trained about 400 servicemen of the Iraqi Special Forces to assassinate commanders of the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq. Photo: US Army / Capt. A. Sean Taylor About 400 servicemen of the Iraqi Special Forces have been trained by the US forces in order to form the so-called Tiger Unit, supposed to assassinate commanders of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, the Skypress news website reported, citing its own unnamed sources. According to the website, only 50 of the trained servicemen became members of the Tiger Unit. Their main task is to eliminate PMU commanders, especially those, who are opposed to the US army’s presence in Iraq. “These forces have been trained by US intelligence officers and technical engineers to find the location of all commanders too,” the website quoted its sources. The news came after last month commander of Asa’eb al-Haq Movement, affiliated to the Iraqi PMU, J