April 2001: Dennis Tito became the world’s first space tourist by paying about $20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz and spending seven days aboard the ISS. In 2004, Mojave Aerospace Ventures won the Ansari X Prize by launching SpaceShipOne, the first privately built crewed spacecraft, on back-to-back suborbital flights. The Commercial Space…
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From 2006 to 2023, violent non-state actors carried out 1,122 drone attacks, with a peak of 265 in 2023. The 2018 Gatwick airport incident highlighted the public-safety risks posed by off-the-shelf quadcopters. The Ukraine war has been described as the first “drone war,” with both sides deploying swarms of small drones for surveillance and strikes,…
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In 1965 Lloyd’s of London issued the first space insurance policy for an early Intelsat satellite. In 2019 insured losses reached about $788 million against roughly $500 million in premiums, following major failures such as a Vega launch with a ~$414 million loss. The global space insurance market was valued at about $3.6 billion in…
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The F-35 is a family of three variants: F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL), and F-35C carrier-capable version. The aircraft first flew in 2006, with IOC achieved by the F-35B in July 2015, the F-35A in August 2016, and the F-35C in early 2019. As of mid-2025, more than 1,170…
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F-35 Lightning II, a 5th-gen stealth fighter, first flew in 2006, entered service in the mid-2010s, and by 2025 had over 1,000 delivered to 17 nations. F-22 Raptor, a 5th-gen air-superiority fighter, first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005, with a top speed around Mach 2.25 and only 195 built. Chengdu J-20 Mighty…
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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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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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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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Countries and Companies Supplying Drones to Ukraine Types and Models of Drones Used by Ukraine (by Function) Ukraine employs a vast array of drones, both military-grade and civilian, serving different functions on and off the battlefield. Below are the major categories of drone types and notable models in each category: Ukrainian Drone Manufacturers and Domestic…
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