ESA's new Invictus space plane could be operational in 2031.

ESA's new space plane “Invictus” is one of the next-generation tools for civil and military space missions. The Invictus looks like the Skylon space plane that BAE recently cancelled. The Invictus could be based on technology that was created for Skylon, but the aircraft will have a more capable team working with it. The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to get Invictus airborne and operational at least in 2031. When we think about the Invictus’s role in space missions, we must first look at the cases where the Cold War-era F-4 Phantoms are planned to be used as satellite cargo missions. Those quite fast fighters will climb as high as they can and then launch miniature satellites into orbit. 

The Invictus can also raise similar satellite carriers to the edge of the atmosphere. And then they can launch those satellites far higher than the F-4 or F-15 Eagle. There have been plans to connect auxiliary rocket packs to the F-4 or F-15 that allow them to jump higher before they release the satellite. 

 The Invictus can have rocket-ramjet or more conventional rocket turbojet hybrid systems. The idea in rocket ramjets is that the ramjet engine raises the space plane to the edge of the atmosphere. Then the iris closes the engine face. And then the engine starts to use an internal oxygen source. In rocket turbojets, the system uses normal turbojet engines in atmospheric flight. 

"A US Vought ASM-135 ASAT missile launch on 13 September 1985, which destroyed P78-1" (Wikipedia, Anti-satellite weapon)

Then the system closes the face of the afterburner, and then that system turns the afterburner into a normal rocket. In the simplest engine solution, the aircraft uses turbojets in the atmosphere. When the flight altitude turns high enough, the system turns to use separated rocket engines. The iris at the front of the turbojet is required because the airflow can damage turbine wings. But if developers can install those orbital rocket engines with some other engine type that decreases the weight of the system. 

The staged system, where the aircraft can operate first with turbojets and then turn to ramjet and finally to scramjet, allows it to fly in the atmosphere at a higher speed using atmospheric oxygen. When that space plane jumps out from the atmosphere, it turns to use rocket mode in ramjet engines. 

There is also an idea about high-altitude airships (HAA), or High Altitude platform stations (HAPS), as the satellite launchers. Those airships can rise to altitudes of about 30 kilometers. They can launch bigger satellite carriers than jet fighters. Those platforms can be airships, balloons, or solar-powered aircraft. HAPS can also use things like internal fuel cells. The HAPS can carry a satellite launcher to high altitude and launch it there. 

The idea of aircraft-based satellite launchers is taken from the U.S. military ASAT, Anti-satellite weapon. The F-15 raises that weapon to the highest point of ballistic trajectory and then that system launches the satellite-killer missile. 

The thing in the satellite launchers is that the same systems can also transport anti-satellite (ASAT) systems to orbiters. Satellites are playing a bigger and bigger role in the modern military. Satellites offer reconnaissance information about enemy movements. And there are also killer satellites in space. ASAT systems can take those killer satellites out. So in that case, they play a counterweapon role. But of course, targeting satellites and military communication satellites are good targets for ASAT weapons. 

So, that means anti-satellite weapons will become more important than ever before. The ASAT weapons can also become more vital than ever before because of suspected fractional orbital bombardment systems (FOBS) or EMP weapons that the enemy launches at orbital trajectory. The ASAT system can eliminate those threats. 

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/theyre-back-from-the-dead-cold-war-f-4-phantoms-revived-to-launch-satellites-and-experts-warn-this-is-military-space-2-0/

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/europe-working-to-launch-invictus-hypersonic-space-plane-by-2031-video

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-altitude_platform_station

Hacking threats to military and civil systems.

Hacking is the new threat in the military and civil world. We can say that the new threat is cyber warfare. And if we are not prepared, that thing can cause many problems. Cyber warfare itself is not a new phenomenon. The idea in that kind of warfare is that the enemy’s computers are infected with computer viruses. Or things. Like homepages that the opposite side uses for sharing information can be loaded with disinformation. 

Cyber intelligence can search for information from enemy equipment, tactics, or key personnel's positions, so that they can be targeted for special forces attacks. Hackers can also search for the positions of important installations. 

Things like energy supply systems are targets for cyber attacks. The modern military uses more and more electricity. The effective combat control systems, like radars and communication platforms, require electricity. But things like new tools, such as laser weapons and drones, also require electricity. The entire system must be protected against cyberattacks. There is a possibility that a hacker who has access to the wrong databases can simply remove those people's access to some systems. Or they can remove the data of the entire military crew. Or in some scenarios, hackers can simply report the key people, like nuclear weapon operators, as dead in an accident, into the system. 

What if the system will not allow them access to the command center?

One example of a destructive cyber attack is an attack that activates power plants' emergency shutdowns. That system can close the energy production in those systems immediately. Basically, hackers can break down things like electric networks by shutting down the main energy production units, like nuclear power plants. That thing activates auxiliary power immediately. When auxiliary power is on, the main energy production units will be activated again. 

Suppose the electric network is not protected against such a situation that causes an overload. So, that is the reason why the electricity must never be loaded onto the electric network from the generator. The other thing is that the electric networks must be based on many small platforms rather than one big central platform. If one of those systems is shut down, the effect on the entire network is smaller. Basically, in the case of a nuclear reactor, only anonymous phone calls to the control room can cause an emergency shutdown. The hacker can say that there is a logic bomb, which means a computer virus that destroys the control program immediately. So, would the reactor crew start to test if those computer viruses are really in the system? 

We have firewalls and antivirus programs. The fact is, if we want to put the computer viruses into the systems, what is needed is a reprogrammed RFID chip or some access card whose microchip is reprogrammed. That thing can transmit a small code that can open the gate to the system. In that case, the small virus will not break the system. It just opens the path to a targeted system. And in some scenarios, the hacker could use the faked VPN connection for that operation if a hacker can somehow fake the computer’s identity to match the computer that has access to the target computer and use a trusted VPN that can allow it to inject malicious code into the system. 

In hacking and computer crimes, productive thinking is the key element. If the hacker can hijack some screens, they can send fake malfunction reports. If the error level of a computer rises and the system reports a damaged hard disk, the system requires service. The attacker can simply try to put an infected hard disk in the computer center. That is one of the threats in computing. If hackers can make their own computer that has access to a targeted system, it can open the road to all data that travels through it. 

 The AI-based firewalls can protect military systems against traditional computer viruses and hackers. But the new threat is nanotechnology. The nanotechnical systems can slip into the computer rooms. They can search the microchips, and then those nanorobots can transmit data that travels through the processors to the controllers. Nanorobots can transmit data to the computers through those microcircuits. Or they can cut microchips off the microcircuits. And then start to transmit their own code to the system. The new tools require new resistance. The nanorobot, or maybe a matchbox-size drone, can travel to the cable connection and detonate itself. That thing can damage the power supply to the computer, or it can cut data communication outside the computer. The drone acts like an anti-radiation missile that can search the WLAN stations and detonate them.