The 2017 U.S. Department of Defense project Maven was launched to apply AI-based computer vision to analyze drone surveillance footage in the Middle East, with fielding by year’s end. In 2019, China released its National Defense White Paper announcing the goal of “intelligentized warfare” and a plan to become the world AI leader by 2030.…
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In 2024 the global Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISL) market was about US$402 million and is projected to reach US$2.0 billion by 2030, a fivefold increase with roughly 30% CAGR. Major LEO mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and the planned OneWeb Phase 2 are integrating optical inter-satellite links from the outset to boost…
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Latvia has about 1.9 million people, with roughly 92.9% online as of early 2024. Over 50% of Latvian households use fiber connections, placing Latvia among seven European countries with high fiber penetration. Latvia has the second-highest rural fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) coverage in Europe, behind Denmark. As of 2022, 76% of fixed broadband subscriptions were over fiber,…
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As of Q4 2024, Jordan had about 812,000 fixed broadband subscriptions, with fiber representing roughly 73% (about 591,000) of fixed lines and total fixed broadband at 33.4% household penetration. Mobile broadband reached 8.0 million subscriptions in Q4 2024, with 4G LTE coverage exceeding 90% of the population and 5G launched commercially in 2023, tallying 112,900…
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CANTV, the state-owned fixed broadband incumbent, dominated traditional internet with about 56% market share as of late 2022, while its aging ADSL copper network remained slow and repair backlogs persisted. From August 2020 to August 2023, Venezuela jumped 50 places in Speedtest’s global broadband index, rising from an average 6.15 Mbps to 29.5 Mbps. By…
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The FAA divides drones into Recreational and Part 107 Commercial categories, with the latter requiring a Remote Pilot Certificate (minimum 16 years old, English proficiency, passing the Unmanned Aircraft General – Small exam, TSA background check) and a certificate valid for 2 years plus 24‑month recurrent training. Recreational flyers must pass the TRUST safety test,…
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By late 2024, the F-35 Lightning II had surpassed 1,000 deliveries worldwide, fueling Lockheed Martin’s market dominance and its ubiquity across more than a dozen nations. Lockheed Martin continues F-16 production into a 50th year with new Block 70/72 variants exported to Slovakia and Bahrain. Boeing is delivering the F-15EX Eagle II to the U.S.…
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Most countries require registration for drones over 250 g, with examples including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the EU, China, and Japan, and fees typically around $5 for 1–3 years. In the United States, recreational flyers must pass the TRUST test and follow community safety rules, while commercial operators must hold an FAA…
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Direct war damage reached $176 billion by end-2024, with 72% of losses concentrated in frontline regions Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kyiv oblasts. An updated needs assessment estimates Ukraine will require about $524 billion (€506 billion) over the next decade to repair and rebuild, roughly 2.8 times the country’s 2024 GDP. Housing is the…
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As of late 2023, more than 97% of Hungarian households have access to wired fixed broadband networks, including FTTH and upgraded cable. Thanks to the Superfast Internet Programme (SZIP), by 2020 at least 30 Mbps service reached over 95% of households in underserved areas. By 2022, gigabit-speed networks pass about two-thirds of households, and Very…
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