Rostec
Latest
Russia won't replace its aging Proton rocket before 2024
Russia has been using variants of Proton rockets in its space program since 1965, and the design is showing its age. For starters, every launch is an environmental mess -- Proton uses toxic chemicals where newer rockets have moved on to cleaner fuels. The country will have to put up with ancient technology for a while longer, however. Rostec Corporation council chairman Yuri Koptev has warned that Angara, Proton's long-delayed successor, isn't expected to replace the older rocket before 2024. Koptev didn't explain why it would take so long, but he was confident the high costs of Angara would come down through refinements.
Russia is building a secure Skype knock-off
Russia's state-owned technology business, Rostec, is building a secure voice and video communications platform. In a statement, the company revealed that the system will be a "Russian analogue of Skype," albeit with more security. The software is expected to set a "benchmark in terms of information security," capable of handling voice and video calls, text messaging and file sharing. The as-yet unnamed platform won't directly access the internet, so it won't be "deciphered by hackers or foreign intelligence agencies."
Russia's amphibious UAV is equal parts plane and hovercraft
Flying an unmanned aerial vehicle isn't usually the hard part, getting it on and off the ground is. But thanks to the addition of an all-terrain hovercraft skirt, the Russian Federation's newest hybrid UAV will be able land and launch virtually any surface --from snow and sand to lakes and waterways, even stone-riddled roadways strewn with pebbles up to about 8 inches tall -- all while riding a protective cushion of air.
