A motorway for drones; Unmanned aviation.

"New freedom to fly between cities

SINCE THEY began to whirr and hover over a decade ago, small autonomous drones have turned from the plaything of hobbyists into the stuff of venture capitalists' dreams. Drones now carry out many commercial tasks: inspecting infrastructure, surveying crops, filming videos, transporting medical supplies and, in some places, dropping off shopping and delivering pizzas. But such flights are strictly limited by aviation regulators in order to prevent accidents, especially collisions with manned aircraft. The British government has decided that it is time to give drones the freedom of the sky with the world's biggest "superhighway".

The scheme was announced by Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, at the opening of the Farnborough air show on July 18th, as part of a series of measures to boost aerospace innovations. Known as Project Skyway, the 265km (165-mile) drone superhighway will connect airspace above Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry and Rugby over the course of the next two years. This corridor could later be expanded down to Southampton and east to Ipswich.

As useful as they are, commercial drones are currently not supposed to be flown beyond an operator's visual line-of-sight, or BVLOS as it is known. For long flights this pushes up costs, since ground pilots and observers are required along the route. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has authorised some BVLOS flights without such restrictions, but the procedures can be tortuous and may involve the closing of nearby airspace. In recent trials the Royal Mail has carried letters to the Isles of Scilly and the Orkney Islands, and the NHS has flown chemotherapy drugs from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight.

As in other countries, the CAA takes the line that if firms want to operate regular BVLOS flights, their drones must be able to detect and avoid both planes and each other, just as crewed aircraft do. Specialist gear is being developed to equip drones to do this, but it will add cost and weight to what are often small machines. The idea of a designated superhighway is that instead of putting such kit in the drones, it can be installed on the ground; this equipment would monitor and communicate with the machines, and automate flights so that they are completed safely.

Project Skyway is backed by a consortium of firms, including Altitude Angel, a specialist in automated air-traffic management, which has been testing the idea with an 8km drone corridor in the Thames Valley. Another partner is BT, which aims to use its telecoms network to link the superhighway to drone operators, who often use apps on mobile devices to fly their machines. BT will also fit the ground sensors to some of its mobile-phone masts.

Drone operators would need to be registered to use the superhighway. It would be set at low altitude, below Britain's busy flight corridors where airliners zoom. But it would be designed to detect general aviation, so that light aircraft and helicopters could pass through the superhighway safely. If a potential conflict is detected, the drone would be instructed to change its flight path or even land. Operators would be notified and would be able to take manual control of their drone if required. On some estimates, nearly 900,000 commercial drones could be buzzing around Britain by 2030; if so, the superhighway could be as busy as the M25 on a Friday afternoon. Without the queues.” [1]

·  ·  · 1. "A motorway for drones; Unmanned aviation." The Economist, 23 July 2022, p. 55(US).

 

How Ukrainian propaganda videos are made - Amnesty International: Ukrainian forces endanger civilians

Civilians are filmed in the area, and such films are distributed for propaganda purposes, including in Lithuania. It is not for nothing that the President of Ukraine, Zelensky, is an actor - a comedian.

    "Ukrainian forces are violating international law and endangering civilians by setting up bases in residential areas, including school and hospital buildings," Amnesty International said Thursday.

    The organization cited incidents where Ukrainian forces endangered civilians in 19 towns and villages in Kharkiv, Donbass and Mykolaiv regions.

    "We have documented a pattern by Ukrainian forces of endangering civilians and violating the laws of war by operating in populated areas," said Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard.

    "Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian army from respecting international humanitarian law," she emphasized.

    The residential areas where the Ukrainian soldiers were located were kilometers away from the front lines and in these cases there were "viable alternatives" that did not pose a risk to civilians, the report said.

 

    It says the soldiers did not tell civilians to evacuate those areas, even though they were shelling Russian forces and risking return fire.

 

    Amnesty International investigators saw how Ukrainian forces used hospitals as "de facto military bases" in five locations, and claim the same for 22 schools.

 

    Although the schools are closed during wartime, they are located in civilian areas.

    "We don't have a say in what the military does, but we pay for it," said one resident quoted in the report."

 

Kaip daromi Ukrainos propagandiniai filmukai - „Amnesty International“: Ukrainos pajėgos sukelia pavojų civiliams

Nukentėje civiliai filmuojami, tokie filmai platinami propagandos tikslais, tame tarpe ir Lietuvoje. Neveltui Ukrainos prezidentas Zelenskis yra aktorius - komikas.

"Ukrainos pajėgos pažeidžia tarptautinę teisę ir sukelia pavojų civiliams, steigdamos bazes gyvenamuosiuose rajonuose, įskaitant mokyklų ir ligoninių pastatus, ketvirtadienį paskelbė žmogaus teisių organizacija „Amnesty International“.

Organizacija paminėjo incidentus, kai ukrainiečių pajėgos sukėlė pavojų civiliams 19 miestelių ir kaimų Charkivo, Donbaso ir Mykolajivo regionuose.

„Dokumentais patvirtinome Ukrainos pajėgų modelį sukelti pavojų civiliams ir pažeisti karo įstatymus, veikiant apgyvendintuose rajonuose“, – sakė „Amnesty International“ generalinė sekretorė Agnes Callamard.

„Buvimas gynimosi pozicijoje neatleidžia Ukrainos kariuomenės nuo tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės gerbimo“, – pabrėžė ji.

Gyvenamieji rajonai, kuriuose įsikūrė ukrainiečių kariai, buvo už kilometrų nuo fronto linijų ir šiais atvejais buvo „perspektyvių alternatyvų“, nekeliančių pavojaus civiliams, sakoma ataskaitoje.

Joje nurodoma, kad kariai nepasakė civiliams evakuotis iš tų rajonų, nors apšaudydavo Rusijos pajėgas ir dėl to kildavo atsakomosios ugnies grėsmė.

„Amnesty International“ tyrėjai matė, kaip Ukrainos pajėgos penkiose vietose naudojosi ligoninėmis, kaip „de facto karinėmis bazėmis“, be to, tą patį tvirtina dėl 22 mokyklų.

Nors mokyklos karo metu yra uždarytos, jos yra civiliniuose rajonuose.

„Neturime žodžio teisės dėl to, ką daro kariuomenė, bet už tai užmokame“, – sakė vienas ataskaitoje cituojamas gyventojas.”

Mažiau dujų Vokietijoje: nėra garantijos, kad Vokietijos pramonė įveiks krizę

"Sankcijos Rusijai, kad ir kaip šaltai tai skambėtų, suteikia amerikiečiams ir kinams konkurencinių pranašumų, galbūt ilgam. Kyla realus pavojus, kad Vokietijoje viskas ne visada yra „puiku“.

Būtinybė yra išradingumo motina. Žinoma, įmonės sureagavo į artėjančią dujų problemą. Žinoma, jos persvarstė savo procesus, pakeitė gamyklų šildymo būdą ir sutvarkė gamyklas, kad taupytų dujas. BASF pirmąjį pusmetį energetikai turėjo išleisti 2 milijardais eurų daugiau. Žinoma, tai yra pakankama priežastis daryti viską, kas įmanoma.

Tačiau per anksti iš to daryti išvadą, kad dujų embargas iš Vokietijos pusės būtų buvęs pakeliamas, nes pramonė ir taip visada randa sprendimą. Ne daug reikliau, nei Kelno posakis „Būtų buvę puiku“.

Pati pramonė iš dalies kalta dėl to, kad daugelis žmonių nebetiki jos įspėjimais. Nerimą kelianti retorika pribloškė žmones. Kiekvienas, kuris mokestinių paskatų stoką moksliniams tyrimams stilizuoja kaip Vakarų žlugimą, neturėtų stebėtis, jei niekas nebeklausys.

Juk negalima laikyti savaime suprantamu dalyku, kad pramonė įveiks šią krizę. 

 

Sankcijos Rusijai, kad ir kaip šaltai tai skambėtų, suteikia amerikiečiams ir kinams konkurencinių pranašumų, galbūt ilgam. 

 

Kyla tikras pavojus, kad Vokietijoje viskas ne visada yra „puiku“.

Less gas in Germany: It is not certain that the German industry will master the crisis

"The sanctions on Russia, as cold as that sounds, are giving the Americans and the Chinese competitive advantages, possibly for a long time. There is a real danger that things will not always go "nice" in Germany.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Of course, companies have reacted to the impending gas emergency. Of course, they have reconsidered their processes, changed the way the plants are heated, and combed factories to save gas. BASF had to spend 2 billion euros more on energy in the first half of the year. Of course, that's reason enough to do everything possible.

However, it is cheap to draw the conclusion from this that a gas embargo from the German side would have been possible because the industry always finds a solution in the end anyway. Not much more demanding than the Cologne saying "It would have been nice."

The industry itself is partly to blame for the fact that many people no longer believe its warnings. The alarmist rhetoric has deadened people. Anyone who stylizes the lack of tax incentives for research as the downfall of the West shouldn't be surprised if nobody listens anymore.

It cannot be taken for granted that the industry will master this crisis though. 

 

The sanctions on Russia, as cold as that sounds, are giving the Americans and the Chinese competitive advantages, possibly for a long time. 

 

There is a real danger that things will not always go “nice” in Germany.”