Every object in orbit could be an ASAT weapon.

  Every object in orbit could be an ASAT weapon. 

Researchers are worried. That China’s space-debris catcher can turn into an ASAT, an Anti-Satellite weapon. A debris catcher can also hijack other satellites. And that is the risk for national security. Satellites are vulnerable targets in modern warfare. They also play a key role in detecting enemies and providing communication datalinks and location services for both military and civilian services. The radar satellites can also detect their own troops if they carry a transponder that shows their location to radar satellites. The problem with radar satellites is that those satellites are easy to knock out. The ASAT missile can have similar systems what regular anti-radiation missile uses when it attacks regular targets. 

The drone swarms are things that require satellite-based communication and that advance and accelerate the development of anti-satellite weapons. In some models, high-power radars send EMP pulses against satellites. High-power radar impulses can destroy the satellite's electronics. Or the system can form an electric arc around the satellite. There are systems that push satellites into the atmosphere. In the Cold War era, the Soviets made so-called “Almaz” tests. where their satellites and Almaz-space stations, like Salyut 5, tested things like machine guns against satellites. There is a possibility that some miniature shuttles have ASAT roles in the military world. 

Things like Fractional Orbital Bombardment Systems, FOBS, causes the need for rapid reaction ASAT systems that can take these kinds of things out from orbit. The Chinese space shuttle made a flight with groups of mysterious objects, and that could be the test. There, the shuttle releases  and collects FOBS weapons, “space mines,” from the orbiter. The space mine means the structure whose purpose is to close the orbiter. Sometimes, miniature satellites that the kevlar wires connect together are planned for that mission. The problem is that the space mine must be removed when own operations begin. The nukes that are positioned into the orbiter can also be used to destroy other satellites and create EMP pulses that purpose it take the defense systems out. 

Things like laser systems are used to blind satellites. But there have been systems created that can destroy a targeted satellite. Those lasers and other electromagnetic systems can have megawatt-scale power. The orbital laser-satellite, with similar lasers. Used in the metal industry can cut and damage other satellites' solar panels. 

This is one thing that we must realize. And the second thing is that every object in the orbiter is an ASAT weapon. The simplest ASAT system is the satellite that collides with another satellite. This makes micro-satellites a perfect weapon. They are tools that can observe other satellites, but they can also act as ammunition, when they collide with another satellite in the case of war. Another thing is that the simple but effective version of the kinetic energy weapons is the space shotgun. In some other versions, the system uses a giant net to capture and push the satellite out of its trajectory. 

The system uses a rocket engine. The system pumps metal balls to the nozzle. And then the exhaust gas will send those balls against the targeted satellites. Or the system can use Claymore mines. To shoot metal balls at targeted satellites. Or those satellites can rocket salvos against satellites. In some visions, the system can drive a large magnet that pulls ions from the Van Allen belt to the targeted satellites. In some versions, the regular rocket transports a large number of metal balls to the orbital trajectory, making it useless. 

The problem with the ASAT weapons is this. The orbital trajectory is full of debris. Things like debris-cleaners whose purpose is to remove space junk are also excellent ASAT systems. The satellite can be put in the plastic bag, made of mylar. And then the small satellite simply pulls it into the atmosphere. The flying garbage can that takes a satellite in the tank and returns it to the atmosphere is the thing that can hijack satellites. And that system can take them to the ground for investigations. The satellite hijackers can be used to steal data from the captured satellites. 

Things like manipulator arms are things. The system can be used to push other satellites into the atmosphere. And in some visions. The satellites that carry hypersonic parachutes for return and recycle their components can also capture other satellites into those parachutes and take their targets with them. The parachutes can make it possible to research the microchips' sustainability against cosmic radiation. The problem is that the directed energy plasmoid weapons can cause similar damage to the solar plasma flow. The plasmoid weapon can knock out other satellites. And those kinds of things can be misidentified, caused by  solar wind. 

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/08/watched-net-drift-toward-a-target-in-silence-chinas-space-debris-catcher-sparks-fears-of-covert-anti-satellite-weapon-use/

https://www.twz.com/chinas-spaceplane-has-released-multiple-mystery-objects-in-orbit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaz

Chinese highly automated dark factories.

    Chinese highly automated dark factories. 

Chinese dark factories are so highly automated that they don’t even need light. This is the future of manufacturing. Robots working in complete darkness. Those systems are controlled by the AI. And that makes the assembly process very effective. Human-shaped robots can make almost everything that humans can. 

An advanced machine learning toolkit allows operators. To teach machines new things. very effectively. The system needs only one robot. That can make something, and then that system can scale that new skill over the entire network. That makes robots very effective workers. And maybe those ghost factories are starting to operate in Western cities. Robot factories are interesting. Especially if human-shaped robots work in that factory. 

That is the thing. That makes the AI dangerous. The ability to teach one robot and then scale that thing to all robots makes it possible to teach robot armies very effectively. The same human-shaped robot that can make cars. It can act as a robot soldier. That is one thing that we must realize. The second thing is that kinds of highly automated systems can also make other products than cars. The new stealth systems require ultimate secrecy. And the robot workers are a solution to that problem. 

The robot worker doesn’t call the newspaper. If it makes something that is not public. Another thing is that the robot worker can change its role by pressing a button. Flexible CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacturing) platforms that turn the CAD drawings straight to the product. Mean that the system can change the product in minutes. The factory involves 3D printers and machine workers. Those systems can make everything. They have instructions and raw materials. Those factories can make cars, aircraft, and other robots. 

That kind of thing can make many things more effectively than humans. That means those systems are the ultimate competitors for Western factories. They can make products without brakes. And that makes them ultimate operators in the military and civil sectors. The Chinese government, like all other actors, might be interested about the robot factory as a military robot producer. There is a possibility that robot factories are installed on ships. and they can build customized robots or other robot factories if they have enough raw materials. Or the ability to search for raw materials from nature. 

New drone carriers are the most dangerous things in the world.

"Illustration of the Jiu Tian drone carrier, the world's largest, poised to revolutionize military operations with drone swarms." (Rude Baguette, “This Isn’t a Ship, It’s a Swarm Factory”: China’s Giant Drone Carrier Alarms Military Analysts Worldwide) The super- and probably hypersonic applications of that system can be more effective than this drone mothership. 

The Chinese drone carrier can be only the beginning of a new type of independent drone swarm carriers. Basically, every type of system can carry drones. Satellites or ballistic missiles can also carry drone capsules. Or things like cluster bomb units can also carry drones. And that makes those systems versatile for many purposes. Regular cargo planes can drop drone swarms from high altitude. 

And things like airships and balloons can also carry capsules that can release drone swarms. A Ukrainian company introduced a small drone boat that carries another drone on its deck. Larger drones can carry more drones than those miniature systems. It’s possible to put quadcopters on the nose of underwater drones and launch those systems underwater. Artificial intelligence gives even small-sized drones the ability to make evasion movements when they detect counterfire. 

Drones can also slip into buildings and observe things like computer screens. Basically, the drone can also insert a USB stick into the targeted system and download computer viruses into that system. A logical bomb is a virus that responds to a certain signal. And that can leave the entire area without defense. A drone can also carry things like a Mesh station. That can link all data that travels on the net to the outsider eavesdropper. 

"Ukrainian unmanned riverine surface drone Ursula, developed by NoviTechNet, carrying a UAV onboard. 2025. Source: YouTube/Association of Ukrainian Engineers." (https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/20/drone-boat-ursula/)

NASA plans to drop six helicopters to Mars. But the same technology can be used in drone swarm operations. Images: Rude Baguette

Droneswarms can cause lots of damage in the target areas. The optical fiber makes drones immune to the standard ECM systems. But the high-power EMP can destroy those drones’ electronics. The only weakness of the fiber-optical control system is the wire. If some other drone finds that fiber, it can cut it. Or the laser system can also cut the optical fiber that is behind those drones. But the next step is the AI-controlled drone. The AI allows drones to operate independently without outside control. The laser systems, like optical wireless data transportation, also make it possible to create guidance systems that are hard to jam. 

But those systems require direct contact with the transmitter. This is why things like pseudosatellites or high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) can be the right tools for delivering drone swarms. The HAPS can itself be a robot airplane, balloon, or airship that drops those drone swarms to areas. The drone itself is a multipurpose tool that can search for missing people and give warnings about things like volcanic eruptions. But those systems can also deliver destruction and fear. The high-speed stealth interceptors that can be manned or unmanned systems can deliver drone swarms into the area. Those kamikaze-drones can search and destroy the anti-aircraft systems and keep their crews busy, when the other systems attack harder targets. 

Laser- and microwave-based systems can destroy drone swarms. But those systems must detect drones before they can act. There is always the possibility that drones can travel on the ground or underwater, and then another drone that hits a laser or microwave weapon from behind can destroy those weapons. The power that those systems use should be so high that they destroy the physical components of drone swarms. 

https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/07/20/drone-boat-ursula/

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/america-built-it-but-spain-took-it-as-us-space-balloon-pioneer-gets-snapped-up-and-sparks-furious-clash-over-tech-ownership-and-national-pride/

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/nasa-calls-it-the-skyfall-maneuver-as-plan-to-drop-6-mars-helicopters-mid-air-divides-experts-and-fuels-outrage-over-billion-dollar-space-risks/

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/this-isnt-a-ship-its-a-swarm-factory-chinas-giant-drone-carrier-alarms-military-analysts-worldwide/

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

The new drone can operate on land, in the air, and underwater.

"Illustration of a 3D-printed drone transitioning between air and water environments, generated by artificial intelligence." (Rude Baguette)

The new drone can operate on land, in the air, and underwater.

In the 1930s, the Soviet engineers tried to create the aircraft-submarine combination. That system could slip near the target underwater and launch attack systems. Then that system can fly away from that area. The problem was that technology was not advanced enough. But AI-controlled quadcopters can make it possible to create that kind of system. Theoretically, the nuclear-powered systems can make even full-size “flying submarines” possible. The system can use quadcopter technology. The new drone can dive and fly. But there is a possibility to make those drones more versatile than systems that can fly and dive. The new drone can have multiple sensors, such as sonars and radar altimeters, at the propeller frames. 

The quadcopters are less sensitive than helicopters to cases where they hit some walls if their propellers are protected by using frames. The rotating frame allows the system to travel through very narrow points. And if the system can adjust the propeller's position by pulling them together when the robot or quadcopter system swims through a narrow hole, it makes those systems more flexible than a regular helicopter can be. 

 But the smaller systems can make it possible to create systems that can fly, dive, and drive on roads. 

The new drone can operate in the air and underwater. An interesting thing in hydro- and aerodynamics is that using the same dimensions, it is possible to make many sizes of crafts from pocket-size applications to truck-size systems. The next step can be a drone that can drive on roads, fly, and travel underwater, which can slip in places where regular drones cannot operate. Those drones can travel in aircraft safety hangars. And the AI-controlled drones can stay on the ground and wait for the right moment. 

That kind of technology is the new tool for many things, from research to leisure, and military applications. The drone that can turn its propellers to push along the frame can make it possible for those systems to operate underwater. Then the propellers or propeller pairs can turn into positions that make the system a “regular” quadcopter. And finally, when the drone operator wants to drive on the road, the propeller frames act as wheels. Those drones can act as research systems, or they can even transport groups of people. 

The high-tech system operates almost independently. And that makes the system easy to handle. Those systems can be manned or unmanned. And they can be dropped from airships, aircraft, or from submarines. The ability to travel on ground, airborne, or underwater makes it possible for drones to operate in complicated situations. They can observe drain systems. They can travel in caves that can be very narrow. The ability to travel in three elements gives those drones abilities that can be used in some accident, or as a military target. 

Theoretically, that kind of drone can carry even small nuclear explosives.  Those drones can be delivered from some airships or bigger drones. And the thing is that those modern drones can be carried using manned aircraft, or some larger-sized drones, or even satellites. There are many roles that drones can play. They can travel over an area and send wake-up signals to the eavesdropping and surveillance tools that somebody has hidden in offices and other rooms.  

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/this-thing-shouldnt-even-work-viral-student-drone-stuns-engineers-as-it-flies-dives-and-swims-like-a-high-tech-beast/                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

What would you do with a pocket-sized spectrometer?

"A tiny, fast, and powerful light analyzer could soon bring lab-grade spectroscopy to your pocket. Credit: Shutterstock" (ScitechDaily, This Tiny Device Could Turn Your Phone Into a Lab-Grade Spectrometer)

"A team of engineers has unveiled a revolutionary mini-spectrometer that can fit on a fingertip and operate with low voltage, scanning light from UV to near-infrared in under a millisecond. "(ScitechDaily, This Tiny Device Could Turn Your Phone Into a Lab-Grade Spectrometer)

"This game-changing device replaces bulky traditional spectrometers and could soon be embedded in smartphones, unlocking powerful tools for material analysis, biomedical diagnostics, and more—right in your pocket. Its tiny photodetector shifts light sensitivity with simple voltage changes, offering speed and precision in a package smaller than a pixel." (ScitechDaily, This Tiny Device Could Turn Your Phone Into a Lab-Grade Spectrometer)

The new device transforms a normal cell phone into a lab-grade spectrometer. That kind of tool can be useful in many situations. Spectrometers can search for air pollution, pollution from water, poisonous substances, etc. People like crime-scene investigators, house inspectors, military personnel, and all interested people can use those systems for searching for chemical compounds. 

A spectrometer is a multi-use tool. It can search all types of chemical compounds. People who work in a crisis environment can search for things like nerve gases in the air using spectrometers. A pocket-sized spectrometer can give a warning about a chemical weapon. And that gives time to begin the counteractions. 

"Researchers have successfully demonstrated a spectrometer that is orders of magnitude smaller than current technologies and can accurately measure wavelengths of light from ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The technology makes it possible to create hand-held spectroscopy devices and holds promise for the development of devices that incorporate an array of the new sensors to serve as next-generation imaging spectrometers. This photo shows a series of prototype organic photodetector-based spectrometer cells. Each metal bar is a detector capable of measuring light spectra. Credit: Brendan O’Connor, NC State University" (ScitechDaily, This Tiny Device Could Turn Your Phone Into a Lab-Grade Spectrometer)

The spectrometer that cooperates with AI assistants can tell about things like harmful chemicals. And that tool can be useful in everyday life, scientific, leisure, and military worlds. The system that can search for poisonous chemicals can make our holidays successful. That kind of system can tell if we can drink some water or if some kind of food is contaminated. The thing that makes us sick is often chemicals that bacteria create in their metabolism.

The system can search for things like botulinum in meat or other toxic chemicals. If we connect a spectrometer to a telescope, that thing can tell us about the chemical environment of some other planet or distant houses. The system can also connect with microscopes that give the possibility to see chemical reactions in very small objects like cells. 

Pocket-sized spectrometers that can tell about chemical mixtures can revolutionize laboratory work and chemistry learning. Those things are useful in all cases where people want to see what some chemical compounds involve. Those things can tell how well an engine burns fuel. Or how clean water is. That kind of information can save lives. 

https://scitechdaily.com/this-tiny-device-could-turn-your-phone-into-a-lab-grade-spectrometer/

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

The new rotational detonation engine allows the aircraft to fly 19955,87 km/h.

"“It’s Not a Missile—It’s an Engine”: China Reveals 12,400 MPH Propulsion Tech That Can Orbit the Planet in Under 2 Hours" (Rude Baguette, 

The new Chinese engine innovation allows it to fly at a speed of Mach 16. That kind of dual-mode ramjet allows the aircraft to fly at enormous speeds. This kind of technology also advances in both civil and military aviation. The engine model itself is not Chinese. But Chinese made it effective. 

The hypersonic aircraft can revolutionize cargo and passenger flight. The aircraft can travel around the world in about 2 hours. This thing makes hypersonic aircraft very capable for reconnaissance missions. These kinds of systems are effective and powerful tools for those missions. 

And that means every city and point on Earth is under a maximum 2h flight time. This is one of the biggest things about the complicated hypersonic aircraft. The hypersonic missiles are less complicated than hypersonic aircraft that must withstand temperature changes and the stress of the pressure. The hypersonic aircraft can raise rockets to orbital trajectory. 

They can climb to the ballistic jump outside the atmosphere. And then those things can release the satellite carrier rocket. The problem is that those systems are suitable for anti-satellite missions. And that makes hypersonic aircraft more revolutionary than anybody thought. The hypersonic aircraft can also carry hypersonic missiles and hypersonic gliders that they can use for attacking targets all around the world. The hypersonic aircraft can destroy other aircraft by using its sonic cone. The same way hypersonic aircraft’s sonic cones can be used to knock down conventional subsonic cruise missiles. 

“In 2023, General Electric demonstrated a ramjet with rotating detonation combustion. It is a turbine-based combined-cycle engine that incorporates a gas turbine, rotating detonation engine, ramjet, and scramjet.” (Wikipedia, Ramjet)

The key element in the Chinese new innovation is the dual-mode detonation. Or in other words, rotation detonation engine, RDE. That kind of engine system can make it possible to increase the speed and capacity of the Ramjet engine. Normal ramjets have their speed limit about Mach 7. The RDE can raise the speed of the aircraft higher than ever. The hypersonic aircraft must fly at a very high altitude, because that decreases friction. 

The hypersonic aircraft that can operate both air-breathing and internal oxygen can be the new tool for space systems. The ability to fly at high altitude. Change to the rocket engine, and jump out from atmosphere, allows the creation of a space plane that can travel even to the moon. The space plane can be the holy grail to space engineering and space stations. And other things, like nuclear rockets. Those space planes can be even more revolutionary than hypersonic aircraft. The hypersonic plane can act as the model for those more capable systems. 

https://www.rudebaguette.com/en/2025/07/its-not-a-missile-its-an-engine-china-reveals-12400-mph-propulsion-tech-that-can-orbit-the-planet-in-under-2-hours/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramjet#Aircraft_using_ramjets