📌 TOPINDIATOURS Update ai: German firms plan warship-based laser weapon that can k

German defense firms Rheinmetall and MBDA Germany plan to establish a joint venture in early 2026 to develop and produce naval laser weapon systems, aiming to provide the German Navy (Deutsche Marine) with a new capability to counter drones and other agile threats at short range.

The companies said the planned venture builds on cooperation dating back to 2019 and follows the successful testing of a naval laser demonstrator integrated onto a German naval vessel and operated under real-world conditions for a year. 

The new company is expected to focus initially on supplying operational laser weapon systems to the Navy, complementing existing guns and guided missiles.

A laser that can kill a coin miles away

According to the companies, the laser system is designed to defeat small, fast-moving aerial targets at short and very short distances, a growing concern as militaries face increasing use of unmanned aerial systems. 

Laser weapons enable high-precision targeting with minimal collateral damage, reducing reliance on conventional ammunition.

Rheinmetall and MBDA said the demonstrator proved its effectiveness during extensive sea trials, including more than 100 firing and tracking tests against a range of targets. 

These tests included so-called “blue sky” engagements, in which the laser tracks and engages targets without relying on background terrain to stabilize the beam.

The firms said the system demonstrated the ability to track extremely small targets at long distances, citing tests in which it maintained stable tracking on an object roughly the size of a one-euro coin. 

The laser could precisely focus energy on the target, reducing the risk of overshooting and improving operational safety, even under challenging environmental conditions such as ship motion and atmospheric interference.

After the yearlong sea trial, the laser demonstrator was transferred to the Laser Competence Center of the German armed forces’ Military Technical Service for Weapons and Ammunition (WTD 91) in Meppen. 

There, it has been returned to operation for further testing, including land-based trials focused on drone defense.

German Navy’s program

Roman Köhne, head of Rheinmetall’s Weapons and Munitions division, said the planned joint venture reflects the benefits of close industrial and technological cooperation within Germany. 

He said both companies focused on their respective strengths from the outset, allowing them to deliver a mature product to the Bundeswehr in a relatively short time.

Köhne added that a key objective of the partnership is to “nationalize” the technology, ensuring that development, production, and long-term support remain in Germany. 

He said the effort is intended to safeguard jobs, expand domestic industrial capacity, and strengthen national sovereignty and security of supply during crises.

Thomas Gottschild, chief executive of MBDA Germany, said the planned company would set new standards for the development and production of military laser weapon systems designed and built in Germany. 

He said the joint venture highlights the value of years of collaboration and is aimed at bringing the proven maritime laser system to market quickly.

By combining their complementary expertise, Gottschild said, Rheinmetall and MBDA aim to offer the German Navy a laser weapon system that is technologically advanced, fully qualified, and ready for operational use. 

The companies said the system would provide an additional layer of drone defense as navies adapt to evolving threats in the maritime domain.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 TOPINDIATOURS Eksklusif ai: There’s Compelling Evidence That Someone Connected t

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have long garnered a reputation for facilitating cheating and insider trading — allowing an athlete, for instance, to place a bet on a game they could then lose on purpose.

Now there’s compelling evidence that someone with inside information about the Trump administration’s regime change plans in Venezuela used that foreknowledge to profit massively from the conflict.

As spotted by researcher Tyson Brody, an unidentified user bet tens of thousands of dollars on various predictions that Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro would be imminently “out” or that the US forces would show up “in Venezuela by” a specified date during the runup to the incursion.

The account “existed for only one week and quickly became the biggest ‘yes’ holder in the Maduro out market,” Brody tweeted.

The evidence of insider trading is compelling, to say the least, given the highly suspicious timing. The account invested over $30,000 less than two days before the United States launched its invasion to kidnap Maduro and his wife and “profited $400,000 in less than 24 hours,” as sports entrepreneur Joe Pompliano calculated in a post on Bluesky.

“Seems pretty suspicious!” he added. “[Secretary of defense] Pete Hegseth making some beer money on the side?” Brody joked.

“Insider trading is not only allowed on prediction markets; it’s encouraged,” Pompliano argued.

Who was behind the Polymarket account remains a mystery. Accounts on markets like Polymarket are anonymous, and payouts are in cryptocurrency, making them hard to track.

As Semafor reported over the weekend, news organizations also had early intel of the US raid on Venezuela, but held off publishing the information so as not to put US troops in danger.

In other words, could it have been an insider at a New York or Washington newsroom who was trying to make a buck — or was it an operative inside the Trump administration?

Prediction markets have long raised concerns over exactly these types of situations. Case in point, one Polymarket user made $1 million in 24 hours in early December after betting on Google’s 2025 Year in Search rankings. Per Forbes, the account had a “near-perfect record of 22 correct predictions out of 23 attempts.”

As The American Prospect points out, critics of the Trump administration have long accused officials of dabbling in similar behavior. The administration has also allowed the prediction market to flourish by dropping enforcement cases in the crypto world and failing to introduce meaningful regulations.

Even Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which owns the president’s social network, Truth Social, entered the prediction markets business last year, showing a pointed appetite for the space.

“Of course insiders shouldn’t be able to get rich off of policy decisions — but even more concerning is the possibility that people are skewing policy outcomes in order to make their bets pay off,” Demand Progress executive director Sean Vitka told The American Prospect.

One thing’s for sure: while insiders profit, those without that privileged information lose out — and when the bets are on a deadly conflict, innocent people stand to suffer as well.

“And questions related to whether or not, and when, military action might be undertaken are especially vulnerable to such manipulation because the president frequently moves with discretion over the timing and (legally or not) without notice to the public or Congress,” Vitka added.

More on Polymarket: New App Lets Users Bet on Deadly Conflicts in Real Time

The post There’s Compelling Evidence That Someone Connected to the Trump Administration Profited Off the Invasion of Venezuela by Placing Large Bets on Polymarket appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com