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.

この記事は The New Indian Express の December 05, 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は The New Indian Express の December 05, 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESSのその他の記事すべて表示
The New Indian Express

Woman pushes her two kids into well, kills self

A 24-year-old woman allegedly pushed her two children into a well before committing suicide by jumping into a well at Maaligaimedu village near Veppur on Sunday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
The New Indian Express

IMBL violation: Sri Lankan Navy arrests 8 Ramnad fishermen, seizes two boats

THE Sri Lankan Navy seized two Indian boats and arrested eight fishermen hailing from Mandapam for alleged violation of IMBL near Neduntheevu in the wee hours of Sunday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
The New Indian Express

College, principal booked for forging docus of law student

THE Greater Chennai Police (GCP) has arraigned an Andhra Pradesh college, its then principal and correspondent as an accused in the case pertaining to forged documents submitted by a retired railway guard turned advocate for enrolment in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in 2019, according to the chargesheet filed before a Chennai court.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
KL Cong chief refuses to step down from post
The New Indian Express

KL Cong chief refuses to step down from post

K Sudhakaran rejects AICC's demand despite the high command conveying that section of leaders wants him to quit

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
Special camp conducted to provide benefits to former workers of Manjolai tea estate
The New Indian Express

Special camp conducted to provide benefits to former workers of Manjolai tea estate

A special camp was organised in Manjolai Hills on Saturday to extend rehabilitation benefits to former tea estate workers in the wake of an order of the Madras High Court.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
The New Indian Express

Don't make PG teachers oversee Ennum Ezhuthum

PG teachers in government schools have opposed their appointment as field investigators for the assessment of 'Ennum Ezhuthum' scheme saying that they are already burdened with non-academic work.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
CM Stalin to inaugurate renovated Vaikom Periyar memorial on Dec 12
The New Indian Express

CM Stalin to inaugurate renovated Vaikom Periyar memorial on Dec 12

CHIEF Minister MK Stalin will be inaugurating the renovated memorial-cum-library for social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy in Vaikom, Kerala, to mark the centenary of the Vaikom struggle, in the presence of his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan on December 12.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
The New Indian Express

VCK panel discusses action to be taken against Arjuna

WITH VCK deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna's remarks kicking up a political storm, party president Thol Thirumavalavan said the party's high-level committee had discussed the issue and its decision would be revealed soon.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
Expert committee inspects T'malai to assess safety for Maha Deepam trek
The New Indian Express

Expert committee inspects T'malai to assess safety for Maha Deepam trek

IN the wake of the landslide triggered by Cyclone Fengal which killed seven persons last week, collector D Baskara Pandian, along with an eight-member expert committee constituted by the state government, inspected the hills on Sunday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024
The New Indian Express

Tell officials to follow rules while ordering eviction: Court

IRKED by the non-adherence to rules by revenue officials while passing eviction orders under the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905, which leads to the filing of unnecessary litigations, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the revenue secretary to give suitable instructions to officers to prevent recurrence of the issue so as to conserve the court's time.

time-read
1 min  |
December 09, 2024