APOCALYPSE NOW: FUTURE OF WARFARE IN THE PRESENT
The New Indian Express|December 05, 2024
Imagine a future war, not too far in the future. Say, 10 years from today. Now, take a step back and imagine the ongoing wars. You might find that the future is now.
KAJAL BASU
APOCALYPSE NOW: FUTURE OF WARFARE IN THE PRESENT

The worst that our nightmares have been able to cook up for decades involves nuclear-burst clouds, radiation burns impossible to recover from, vaporization en masse, buildings standing stripped of the living.

But what we already have are missiles that can inflict nuclear-level catastrophe—without being nuclear. Russia slung one at Ukraine in the fourth week of November, causing significant devastation and flabbergasting NATO. The Oreshnik—meaning ‘hazel tree’ in Russian, a reference to its many branches sharpened to killing points with six warheads, each with six payloads—is a ‘conventional’ intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that travels at over 14,000 kmph; it’s unstoppable by any extant antimissile technology. Its 36 warheads can be individually directed to strike different targets.

The Oreshnik stunned military strategists across the world because, at Mach 11, it beat the Mach 9.6 scramjet NASA X-43, the fastest jet-powered aircraft on record. The Russian IRBM has the range to hit all the European capitals in less than 15 minutes (but not the US, although reports suggest an intercontinental version is on the cards by 2025).

If this is the stuff of nightmares, there are petits cauchemars or little nightmares in the making, too: dragon drones. A deadly new weapon in the Russo-Ukrainian war, they spray a molten metal heated to 2,427°C—a rain of fire. Dragon drones carry thermite, a mixture of metal powder often made of aluminum and powdered everyday rust.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 05, 2024-Ausgabe von The New Indian Express.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 05, 2024-Ausgabe von The New Indian Express.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESSAlle anzeigen
THE HERO WHO ENCHANTS A NATION
The New Indian Express

THE HERO WHO ENCHANTS A NATION

When the trailer of Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule was launched in Patna, thousands thronged the event, eager to catch a glimpse of the star who embodies the almost-mythical protagonist of the franchise.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Temple burnt in Dhaka: ISKCON
The New Indian Express

Temple burnt in Dhaka: ISKCON

Kolkata official says idols gutted, expresses concern over arrested Krishna Das's safety

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
Warm Nov made sugarcane less sweet, prone to pests
The New Indian Express

Warm Nov made sugarcane less sweet, prone to pests

WARMER winter has reduced the sweetness of jaggery and created a conducive weather for pest attacks on sugarcane plants in western Uttar Pradesh, one of the largest sugarcane producer belts in the country.

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
The New Indian Express

India issues Syria travel advisory, asks citizens to return at the earliest

INDIA on Saturday issued an advisory for its citizens in Syria to return at the earliest and also urged others to drop any travel plans to the insurgency-hit country.

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
Working on resolution of Ukraine conflict, says EAM
The New Indian Express

Working on resolution of Ukraine conflict, says EAM

Jaishankar says needle moving towards negotiations than a longer war

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
India's TB burden on the fall since '15, says health minister
The New Indian Express

India's TB burden on the fall since '15, says health minister

UNION Health Minister JP Nadda on Saturday said the rate of decline of tuberculosis incidence in India has doubled since 2015 and is ahead of the global average.

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
The New Indian Express

Canadian Parliament rejects motion to declare 1984 Sikh riots as 'genocide'

THE Canadian Parliament has rejected the motion to declare the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide following stiff resistance from lawmakers like Chandra Arya, who claimed that he was threatened inside the parliament building for opposing the motion, which he described as being influenced by a \"politically powerful Khalistani lobby.\"

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
The New Indian Express

Indian youth brutalised in Myanmar cyber fraud cell hospitalised, say relatives

TWENTY-two-year-old Ajay, one of the Indian youths trapped in a cyber scam centre in Myanmar, has been hospitalised after being brutally beaten up, his relative revealed.

time-read
1 min  |
December 08, 2024
EVOLVING BEYOND THE MODI FACTOR
The New Indian Express

EVOLVING BEYOND THE MODI FACTOR

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections has been both celebrated and scrutinized, with the slogan \"Batenge to katenge\" often highlighted as the pivotal factor behind this success.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S ON THE PLATE
The New Indian Express

WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S ON THE PLATE

A recent report on Lindt dark chocolates stated that they contain lead and cadmium above the acceptable levels, which has not been denied by the company.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 08, 2024