The new space shuttle concept could increase European space independence.

The Vortex is a European response to U.S. superiority in space. This new concept is designed to fly to space and land like an airplane. The concept involves the ability for spaceborne refuelling. The shuttle can dock the rocket stage behind it. And when that rocket stage is empty. The system can remove it, and then dock another stage to that point. This kind of application can turn the Mars flight closer. The stage that the system docs can also involve a nuclear thermal rocket, NTR. Application. So the system can launch the manned module to the Moon orbiter. And there the system switches the nuclear rocket application to that module. 

This type of system is the tool to achieve domination in space. The space shuttle, or reusable space plane, is a tool that can serve both civil and military purposes. Space plays a greater role in modern warfare. Things like drone swarms use satellite communication. 

And satellite-based targeting and intelligence applications. Many military systems. Like GPS-guided bombs require satellites.  And also. Things like artillery and air support. Require the precise position of one's own and enemy troops. Without that information, the fire will fall into its own positions. Or, it's otherwise ineffective. 

By destroying satellites that transmit operational orders to drone swarms and location information, the system becomes useless. In the same way, if things like radar satellites are destroyed. That decreases. Those satellite-based systems' ability to get information. The system that destroys the radar satellite can be based on the same technology as the AGM-88 High-speed anti-radiation missile, HARM. The system would be the max-sized HARM missile that homes in on the radar satellite. By using its radio transmissions for targeting routines. 

The space shuttle can operate as a space fighter. Space junk is also a problematic thing. There is always a possibility that. If somebody collects the junk satellite back. To the ground. That actor can get things like. Satellite’s communication frequencies. Or,some other highly-classified information. That makes it possible to jam the communication signals. The space shuttle can return those satellites. From the orbital trajectory. 

Another thing. In space junk. It is more devastating. There is a possibility that the fractional orbital bombardment system, FOBS, satellites are lurking in the space junk. The FOBS satellite can play. Used rocket stages or malfunctioning satellites. The orbital bombardment platforms. They are one of the most terrifying weapons. That was ever created. The space shuttles can also host remote-controlled laboratories. Those laboratories can be used as space factories. The zero-gravity conditions allow. To grow perfect crystals and other things. 

The most interesting parts of those orbital space systems are that. The system can be a drone that operates as an atmospheric satellite. The orbital system can hold those drones in the capsule. That returns to the atmosphere after they get orders. Those drones can offer. The communication support for some areas. They can act in the same role as orbital satellites. And of course, those drones can also operate as strike systems. So they can act as kamikaze drones. Or shooting drones. 

https://interestingengineering.com/military/europe-vortex-spaceplane-dassault-ohb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-88_HARM

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

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

New stealth equipment is interesting.

The Chinese military airfield in the Gobi Desert. 

The success of the B-2 “Spirit” bombers caused. That other nations will plan to make copies of that aircraft. The last B-2 manufacturer. In the year 2000. So that aircraft is very old. The replacer for that plane is the flying-wing-shaped B-21 “Raider”. Two B-2, or B-21-style flying wings, are located. In a Chinese top-secret airbase in the Gobi Desert. 

Or, two of those flying wings seem like GJ-X drones. And the third one seems a hyper- or supersonic drone. The idea of the system can be that. The GJ-X could act as the airborne tanker for the super- or hypersonic drone. It’s possible that China wants to equip some of its large, high-speed drones with nuclear warheads. If that system is real, it would make it possible. To create new high-speed cruise missiles that can return to their bases. If they are not used. The shape of the third drone is suitable for a hypersonic vehicle. So could this be the new intercontinental land-launched cruise missile? 

This tells that. Also, China is making those kinds of airplanes. And that tells about new threats. The Gobi Desert is a place in China. And those images show that spy satellites must be targeted at countries other than Russia. 

Those flying wings are more modern than the B-2. There is a possibility. The Chinese specialists have hacked the material. That is used for the B-2 . And anyway, the range of those flying wings is better than that of traditional aircraft. The stealth bomber. Armed with. Hypersonic missiles are one of the biggest threats. For Western navies. And that thing makes those stealth bombers a new type of threat. 

The base. (TWZ)

The planes (again)

Possible super-or hypersonic drone.  Possible similar to the SR-72 “DarkStar.”

The GJ-X (GlobalSecurtiy)

“Chinese unmanned drone ‘fighter’ with a similar platform seen during the 2025 military parade. (Chinese State Media) (TWZ)

“Artist's impression of the SR-72”. (National Security Journal) 

“Artist's impression of the LRSO”. (IE)

The stealth cruise missiles are entering service. The new Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) missiles are the tools that can raise the B-21 bombers' strike capacity. At first. Those AI-boosted cruise missiles can turn the stealth bombers' capacity into the next generation. The AI-based computers can make missiles less vulnerable than AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) are. The 1st. Generation stealth cruise missile AGM-129 ACM withdraw. From service in 2012. 

After that, there are new stealth cruise missiles in service. Those missiles are far more effective than the AGM-129. And their AI capacity makes it possible for missiles. Can make escape and evasion movements. Those missiles can change their flight route without warning. They can follow multiple routes. And the fact is that. The new cruise missiles can have afterburners. That makes them change their flight speed. 

But then we can understand. The next-generation cruise missiles or drones can have. The ability to jump out. From the atmosphere at the nose of the ballistic missiles. The cruise missile jumps to the ballistic trajectory. Then it falls back to the atmosphere, and the heat shield protects the vehicle. The missile can activate scramjet, ramjet, or turbojet. Ramjets, or scramjets, are for hypersonic missiles. But also, a low-speed missile can jump through the orbiter or suborbiter. When. The speed of the missile. It is low enough. It can activate the regular turbojet engine. Then that missile will travel to the target. Or the missile can glide as long as possible, which increases its range. Those systems use similar technology. As automated space shuttles. 

https://www.afnwc.af.mil/Weapon-Systems/Long-Range-Standoff-Weapon/

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/gj-x.htm

https://interestingengineering.com/military/us-fast-tracks-stealth-nuclear-cruise-missile

https://nationalsecurityjournal.org/the-sr-72-darkstar-looks-like-a-big-mach-6-question-mark/

https://www.twz.com/air/massive-chinese-stealth-flying-wings-spotted-together-at-secretive-drone-test-base

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-129_ACM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-158_JASSM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-158C_LRASM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_B-2_Spirit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_Grumman_B-21_Raider

This new rover is far faster than previous Mars rovers.

"Legged robot performing analogue tests in Marslabor at the University of Basel. Credit: Dr. Tomaso Bontognali" (ScitechDaily, This Robot Could Explore Mars 3x Faster Than Today’s Rovers)

Mars rovers like Curiosity are impressive. But the fact is that. The Curiosity rover is launched. In 2011, and that means it’s over a decade old. And the new technology beats that rover anytime. The next-generation rovers are different than Curiosity. Modern rovers use feet. And that makes them more capable of operating. In bad terrain. Than rovers that use wheels. The new rovers mimic animals like dogs or cats. And that gives them a very impressive terrain capacity. Walking vehicles are tools that can make a new age for space research. The new systems use more advanced semi-automatic technology than Curiosity. They are more autonomous. In some visions, things like drone swarms. 

Or small-sized walking drones to research planets like Venus or their surfaces. The problem with long-term space missions is the time. Those systems must operate. When we send a probe to Saturn’s moon, Titan, or into the farther distance. Like Uranus and Neptune, the flight time would be incredible. The Cassini spacecraft traveled to Saturn for about 7 years. The launch time was October 15, 1997. And the probe entered. The Saturn orbiter on July 1, 2004. The flight time means that the probe. What is sent to that trip is old-fashioned when it arrives at the orbiter. The flight time to Neptune is far longer than the travel to Saturn. 

"On the left: the robot performing autonomous measurements of a rock with MICRO and Raman. On the right: examples of images from the microscopic imager (MICRO) returned by the robot, showing the texture of three different lunar analogue materials in RGB, UV, and IR. Credit: Dr. Gabriela Ligeza" (ScitechDaily, This Robot Could Explore Mars 3x Faster Than Today’s Rovers)

The flight time to that planet is approximately 12-14 years. That means the technology. That used for the spacecraft is old-fashioned when that system arrives at the orbiter. Another problem is that. Space is. A very big and mysterious place with big surprises. The GRB, or FRB (Gamma-Ray Bursts, or Fast Radio Bursts), can destroy spacecraft in seconds. The solar system is full of asteroids. Most of them are centimeter-class particles. And if one of them impacts the spacecraft, that causes destruction. This is the reason. Why drone swarms and small robot packs are suitable for deep space missions. When one of those participants is destroyed, that doesn’t affect other systems. A futuristic probe solution. It can be. Like balls that are connected with a net. That structure can help those probes to survive. From long-term space travel. 

The swarm or pack of robots can operate in larger areas. Existence of the atmosphere is the thing. That determines. The way. Those robots can move. The robot. That flies using propellers require an atmosphere. The robot pack. That moves on the ground requires systems. 

And structures. That allows them to move on an icy surface. The AI-controlled, biomicking robots that mimic creatures like snow leopards can operate on the surface of icy moons. The lack of atmosphere makes suction cups ineffective.  So those systems require the hooks or claws that it can use on those icy shells of distant moons. 

https://scitechdaily.com/this-robot-could-explore-mars-3x-faster-than-todays-rovers/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens