Escalation is usually understood as a simple increase in violence, but it is actually a more complex phenomenon: a crisis escalates when it intensifies, expands to other geographical areas or domains (land, naval, aerospace, or cyber), or affects increasingly sensitive targets, thus becoming more difficult to control. Today, this risk is greater because war increasingly depends on a set of technologies that change its logic: the use of precision and long-range weapons, the proliferation of drones –and, above all, the possibility of using them in swarms–, artificial intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare, satellites, and, in some cases, hypersonic weapons. But also because many of these capabilities are more accessible and spread beyond major powers. Not all have the same weight, but they share a common underlying effect: they accelerate events, increase ambiguity, and make it more likely that a limited action will be perceived as a more serious step than perhaps intended. The first problem is speed. Precision capabilities –the combination of guided weapons, sensors, command and control networks, and navigation tools that allow for the precise location, tracking, and engagement of targets– can produce profound effects in a very short time. The novelty is that the time between observation, decision, and action has been radically shortened, between the sensors that detect, the command centers that process information, and the vectors that execute the attack. Technology compresses decision cycles and favors premature reactions or those based on an incomplete reading of the situation. A well-coordinated attack can not only destroy physical targets: it can degrade command and control, disrupt communications, degrade radar coverage, or hinder target detection and tracking. To all this must be added AI, which accelerates data fusion, target prioritization, and the pace of decision-making, as well as hypersonic weapons, which, due to their speed, maneuverability, and shorter warning times, can further reduce the margin for interpreting signals and calibrating responses. The strategic problem is evident: as time shortens, the risk of reacting not so much to what is known as to what is feared increases.

Collecting a cooler full of blood samples from one hospital with a drone and transporting it to another saves time and improves connectivity. This was demonstrated on Tuesday at the Pallars Regional Hospital, testing what will be the first drone-based healthcare transport corridor in Spain. The project, led by the Departments of the Presidency and Health, will be launched this summer between this hospital in Tremp and the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida, where the samples were sent. The aim is to improve response times and territorial equity when sending blood bags, medications, and medical supplies. The use of drones on this first corridor between Tremp and Lleida will reduce the conventional road route from approximately 75 minutes to between 45 and 50 minutes. The choice of these two locations stems from the report Integration of drones into the health system: key areas for territorial deploymentA study prepared by the ICT Health and Social Foundation analyzes the feasibility of integrating this technology into the logistics operations of public hospitals. The report identifies ten strategic areas with 15 hospitals where routes could be deployed in the short and medium term, including the Lleida and Alt Pirineu i Aran health regions.

In the last two months, at least a dozen European airports—from Brussels to Copenhagen, from Munich to Palma—have had to suspend or delay operations due to sightings of unidentified drones. Between the end of September and the beginning of November alone, more than 35,000 passengers were affected and hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted. The accumulated economic losses are estimated at more than four million euros. With Christmas approaching, when nearly two million flights are scheduled across the European continent, carrying 200 million passengers, further disruptions are feared.

The war in Ukraine has brought drones into sharp focus due to their military applications. But behind the explosion of these devices lies an entire industry, a market, and an ecosystem of high economic value. The market is certainly relevant. Publicly traded drone manufacturers have seen their stock market value skyrocket since Russia invaded Ukraine. And even more so since it was proven that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) costing less than $1,000 can disable a tank worth over two million dollars. Since February 2022, the leading drone companies listed on Wall Street have seen their stock prices rise by an average of more than 650%. On average, drone companies have increased their market value more than sevenfold. We're talking about companies like Red Cat Holdings, AeroVironment, Kratos Defense, the drone anti-aircraft company DroneShield (also listed in Australia), and others with smaller market capitalizations like Duke Robotics (UAS Drone Corp.). Their combined market capitalization was less than €4 billion when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Today, that sum exceeds $32 billion.

Death knows no uniforms, and there is a scene that is repeated on both sides of the Ukrainian trench: Killer drones hunt down enemy soldiers to death

They can range in size from a hand's breadth to the 13.5 meters of the American Global Hawk (with a wingspan of 35 meters). They can weigh less than a kilogram or hundreds of tons. Some are suicide drones launched like kamikazes, others lurk in the sky to gather enemy intelligence. But they all share one characteristic: they are pilotless and remotely controlled. Almost every army has them, but the United States, Ukraine, Iran, Russia, Turkey, and China have developed some of the most widely used models. Here's a compilation of the main aerial drones that have changed the rules of warfare.

The room is filled with screens. They display footage from cameras along some of the country's major highways, but above all, there are four aerial maps: one of Catalonia, one of the metropolitan area, one of Barcelona, and one of the airport. Various symbols appear, such as blue dots, red zones, and red dots. These represent installed drone detectors, protected airspace zones, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) currently in flight. All of this is located in the central command room of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), at the Egara Central Complex, enabling them to detect everything passing overhead. Often invisible to the naked eye, imperceptible to the ear, drones represent a "new challenge for the security of Catalonia." The head of the Mossos, Josep Maria Estela, explains that until a few years ago, police work focused primarily on the ground. But the emergence of drones, among other devices, has forced them to look to the skies: "We have adapted to this new reality to face threats ranging from the protection of critical infrastructure to large crowds," says the commissioner. To this end, five years ago they launched Project Kuppel, a pioneering plan based on a NATO-approved system, which creates a kind of protective dome over Catalan airspace to detect drones flying over the country and even disable them if they pose a threat—although this is the final stage. "The goal is to have more antennas; they are our eyes on the ground," Estela affirms. Currently, there are several in Barcelona—such as at the Sagrada Família and Camp Nou—and at the airport. Every drone flying near these locations is detected, and its registration, altitude, and the location of the operator can be determined.

Wars continue to cause destruction and death, but battlefield strategy must change because new elements are completely transforming how we attack and defend. The clearest example is drones, which have revolutionized warfare in Ukraine and other conflicts. Therefore, this weekend we're focusing on drones in the military and defense sectors, explaining what they are, how they work, and how they have changed warfare.

Drone sightings at Munich Airport in Germany on Friday night led to the cancellation and diversion of dozens of flights on the eve of a national holiday, leaving nearly 3,000 passengers stranded. However, the airport reopened this morning and flights were able to resume. German authorities explained this Friday that they are investigating the incident, according to Reuters.

Prison workers are accustomed to two classic methods in which inmates try to get hold of prohibited objects such as cell phones and drugs: having someone bring them in during a visit or bringing them in themselves upon returning from leave. But there is a third, more recent method, which involves having someone from outside deliver them using a drone. And, just this week, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) arrested a man who had brought cell phones and drugs into Brians 1 prison using this method. This comes after workers at Brians 2, the adjacent prison, alerted them last week that they had detected a drone carrying drugs, cell phones, and other prohibited objects in prison.

Aalborg Airport in Denmark was closed again Thursday night due to the presence of drones in its airspace, local police reported early this morning. The closure lasted just over an hour, and the airport reopened at 12:35 a.m.

Brussels supports the Baltic countries' initiative to build a "drone wall" to protect the European Union's (EU) eastern border, following recent Russian incursions. in Polish airspace and Romania have set off alarm bells in European capitals over the growing threat from Moscow. "The eastern flank of Europe protects all of Europe. From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. That's why we have to invest to support its surveillance," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week. in his State of the Union addressVon der Leyen urged Strasbourg to "respond to the call of the Baltic friends and build this drone wall", after 19 Russians will rape on September 10, Polish airspace.

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Poland announced early this morning that it had shot down several Russian drones that entered its territory and thus violated Polish airspace. NATO member Warsaw considered the incursion "an act of aggression" that posed "a real threat to the security" of its citizens. Prime Minister Donald Tusk even warned that the prospect of a major open conflict with Russia is "closer than at any time since World War II."

Israeli army drones have been flying constantly over Gaza for years, monitoring the population's every movement and firing remotely, both inside and outside combat zones. But in the current genocidal operation in Gaza, it has been widely documented that they are also being used as an instrument of psychological terror, particularly in areas where civilians have been forced to seek refuge. The low-flying unmanned aircraft have been equipped with loudspeakers that play the sound of a baby crying, women's cries for help, dogs barking, ambulance sirens, or the roar of shelling.

In 2016, when I was working as a correspondent in China, several of us journalists were invited to visit the facilities of DJI, the world's largest drone company, expanding its business to create drones for delivery, agriculture, and film productions.

The sound of Russian drones interspersed the insistent bursts of gunfire from anti-aircraft defenses early Tuesday morning. A constant sound over Kiev, reminiscent of a ship's siren, mingled with the pounding of Ukrainian machine guns, overwhelmed by the scale of the attack, one of the most intense and lethal on the Ukrainian capital. 28 people died and 134 were injured, according to the latest official report. This is the fourth year of war, and Russia has adapted its strategy of night terror. In recent weeks, Vladimir Putin's army has launched several attacks with more than 400 drones in a single night. The goal is to saturate Ukraine's defense systems, which are also increasingly scarce due to the change in US policy, which is reducing the amount of military aid it sends to Kiev.

Russian anti-aircraft defences on Tuesday morning repelled the largest barrage of Ukrainian drones since the war began. The Russian Defence Ministry has put the number of aircraft downed at 337, 91 of them in the Moscow region and 74 of them in the city itself, according to the mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. The fall of the drone debris left five dead and 18 wounded, including three creatures, in several towns on the southern outskirts of the capital, according to the latest report published by the governor of the region, Alexander Khinshtein. It had been six months since there had been a fatality from a drone attack in the Moscow region.

Drone operator Oleksandr (not his real name for security reasons) shakes his head in resignation, closes his eyes wearily and leans against the cold wall of the bunker. “Sometimes I wonder whether it’s worth eating today or not… It depends on the weather. You think: today I’ll fast, tomorrow I’ll eat a couple of chocolate bars. And the day after tomorrow I’ll eat well, because I can go out to the toilet,” says the Ukrainian soldier, with a mixture of irony and resignation.

Technological advances in the field of surveillance of people, and the lack of control with which they are implemented, have long been of concern to experts. But it has been in the wake of the pandemic that an increase in the use of these technologies has been detected, both by states and private actors. This is the conclusion of a report published by the Observatory of Human Rights and Business in the Mediterranean, the European Network of Corporate Observatories, the Multinationals Observatory and the Shoal cooperative, which is part of a series of studies that analyse the situation in other countries, such as France and Great Britain.