ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Quantum communications is considered by many to be the future of computing technology, as it represents a means by which to create “un-hackable” super-computer networks that perform better and more securely than anything currently in use. But the greatest advancements in this next-level technology  are reportedly taking place in China , not in the United States, which could mean the end of encryption as we currently know it – and the end of cryptocurrency security as well. In just the past several months, China has unveiled a quantum satellite that it says is capable of transmitting data using ultra-secure methods never before utilized for such a task. The satellite establishes a 1,243-mile quantum link between Shanghai and Beijing, a groundbreaking feat that can only be compared to other major milestones like the “space race” that resulted in the Soviet Union launching the Sputnik satellite back on October 4, 1957. Further,  China has also announced  that it is ...

While North Korea has become the primary focus of all things relating to nuclear warfare, Russia has been preparing to test-launch its newest and biggest ever nuclear missile. The so-called “Satan 2” is a 100-ton intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that has been under construction since 2009 and is ready to be tested by the end of the year at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast. If the initial trials prove successful, then the massive warhead could be in use by as early as 2019. Also known as the RS-28 Sarmat, the Satan 2 will be replacing the R-36 Voevoda, which the  North Atlantic Treaty Organization  (NATO) called “Satan” in the 1970s. The Satan 2 is said to have a top speed of seven kilometers (km) or 4.3 miles per second, a range of 10,000 km or 6,213 miles, and is twice as light as the original Satan. The missile is said to have been designed to evade anti-missile shield systems and radar defenses. Moreover, it can deliver over a dozen nuc...

Ilustrative image This article originally appeared in Russian at russian7.ru After the collapse of the USSR the media started reporting on a mysterious weapon developed in the 1960s. Nobody really knows whether it was a hoax, or the “nuclear bullets” really existed. Nuclear machine gun The main material for creating a nuclear bomb is either uranium-235 or plutonium-239. In order for explosion to happen, the charge should have critical mass. The critical mass of uranium and plutonium is 1 kilogram. The nuclear ammo’s caliber for heavy machine guns was reported to be 14.3mm and 12.7mm. Some even reported 7.62mm caliber nuclear bullets for Kalashnikov assault rifles. Such small nuclear projectiles are widely considered to be unlikely even today. According to the sources, Soviet physicists were producing the nuclear bullet fillers out of transuranium element called californium. The atomic mass of this element is 252, while its critical mass is meager 1.8 gramm. Californiu...

Investigators inspect a truck following a shooting incident in New York on October 31, 2017. DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images Eight people  were killed  and eleven injured when a 29-year-old man in a rented pickup truck drove down a busy bicycle path near the World Trade Center on October 31 in Manhattan, New York. The suspect was identified as an immigrant from Uzbekistan Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov. Saipov came to the United States in 2010, and had a green card that allowed permanent legal residence. He had apparently lived in New Jersey and Florida. An official said Mr. Saipov rented a truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey, where a white Toyota minivan believed to be his was found parked. He drove the rental truck down the bike path on the west side of West Side Highway in lower Manhattan for several blocks. Witnesses reported the suspect was yelling “something like Allahu Akbar”.  After crashing the truck into a school bus, the suspect left the vehic...

If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself. When Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) was engulfed in a war for independence, civilians had to invent self defense tools to protect their cars and homes. The more dire the reason, the more ingenious the solutions. It all started with a Rhodesian named Ken Goosen building a DIY four-barrel single use shotgun to defend his homestead in Claremont (near Bulawayo). It was named Kill Quick. Click to see the full-size image The device had four short 12 bore shotgun barrels lined up as a fan. While unarmed they were in a vertical position, and did not pose a threat to people farming. If unwanted intruders entered the premises, the owner would pull a rope connecting the device to somewhere inside the house, pulling out the safety pin. The Kill Quick would move to a horizontal position, striking a fixed anvil in the process, and firing out of all four barrels at the same time. While it fired at the bushes, the defenders had some ...

tsargrad.tv Written by  Evgeny Satanovsky ; Originally appeared at  VPK , translated by  AlexD  exclusively for  SouthFront In Syria, the US allied Kurds took Raqqa after large-scale bombings of the city by the American aviation. Before this in Iraq the pro-American coalition captured Mosul. How did the fall of these cities affect the position of the Islamic State (banned in Russia)? What is happening in the Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk after the referendum on autonomy? What strategy are the Americans trying to implement in the region? The following article touching on these questions is written with material from the expert of the Middle East Institute Y. Schelgovin. Riyadh Will Help Raqqa was liberated from IS on October 19. On that day on its ruins negotiations were held on the recovery of the city. The special representative of the President of the USA of the international coalition in the fight against IS Brett McGurk and the Minister from Saudi...

On Wednesday, Israeli warplanes bombed a copper factory in Hisyah Industrial Area 30km south of Homs city according to the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news TV channel. Syrian local sources added that the factory was targeted with 7 unspecified projectiles. Al-Mayadeen also reported that the 72 brigade of the Syrian Air Defense Forces targeted the Israeli warplanes with an unspecified ground to air missile. However, no hits were reported. The 72 brigade of the Syrian Air Defense Forces is mainly armed with the Soviet-made S-75 air defense system, that’s considered ineffective and outdated. Local sources confirmed that an air defense missile was fired and exploded east of al-Qusayr city near the Syrian-Lebanese border. The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper also confirmed that Israel warplanes conducted airstrikes against an unspecified target inside Syria. However, the newspaper didn’t provide any further details about the airstrikes. However, the attack is yet to be confirmed by an...