Ukrainian Drone Operator: See Mom, Those Videogames Were Useful after All

A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. (Reuters)
A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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Ukrainian Drone Operator: See Mom, Those Videogames Were Useful after All

A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. (Reuters)
A man checks the debris next to a damaged office building in the Moscow City following a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, August 1, 2023. (Reuters)

The four propellers hum like a bee, the black drone zips into the air. Mykhailo, a 25-year-old Ukrainian soldier, stands under a tree surveying the whizzing landscape through his goggles, steering with fingertips on the remote.

"Every time I put on my goggles and take the joystick, I think about my mother telling me those video games won't do me any good," he says with a smile.

"Well, if this isn't useful, then what is?"

Drones have played a central role in the Russia-Ukraine war, deployed by both sides. There are big drones that can fly hundreds of miles, some that hover over the battlefield taking pictures and others that carry weapons to drop on targets.

But there may be no more characteristic weapon of this war than the tiny, inexpensive "first-person view" (FPV) drones, designed to crash straight into a target on the battlefield, steered by a pilot wired into a virtual reality headset.

It is a constant game of cat and mouse against enemy troops, who try to interfere with remote signals using electronic warfare (EW) systems, said Mykhailo, who did not give a surname and uses the military call sign "Joker".

"You cannot work from the same position many times, because the enemy reacts to it, turns on the EW, jams our drones," he explained in between test flights of a new batch of drones received by his unit in southern Ukraine's frontline Zaporizhzhia region.

"We need to constantly look for new positions, where to fly from, and for new targets."

Unlike other drones that can be sent up and monitored, the FPV drones never simply hover; they are always flying fast and looking forward. Their cameras don't even point downwards.

"The pilot must always be in full control of the drone, of its flight," Mykhailo says. "It can attack at speed, from height, in various ways - each pilot flies the drone in his own style - but it always attacks at speed."



Meta Becomes the Latest Big Tech Company Turning to Nuclear Power for AI Needs

The Meta logo marks the entrance of their corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California on November 9, 2022. (AFP)
The Meta logo marks the entrance of their corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California on November 9, 2022. (AFP)
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Meta Becomes the Latest Big Tech Company Turning to Nuclear Power for AI Needs

The Meta logo marks the entrance of their corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California on November 9, 2022. (AFP)
The Meta logo marks the entrance of their corporate headquarters in Menlo Park, California on November 9, 2022. (AFP)

Meta has cut a 20-year deal to secure nuclear power to help meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook’s parent company.

The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant.

The agreement announced Tuesday is just the latest in a string of tech-nuclear partnerships as the use of AI expands. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center was actually slated to close in 2017 after years of financial losses but was saved by legislation in Illinois establishing a zero-emission credit program to support the plant into 2027. The agreement deal takes effect in June of 2027, when the state's taxpayer funded zero-emission credit program expires.

With the arrival of Meta, Clinton’s clean energy output will expand by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs and bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, according to the companies.

“Securing clean, reliable energy is necessary to continue advancing our AI ambitions,” said Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy.

Surging investments in small nuclear reactors comes at a time when large tech companies are facing two major demands: a need to increase their energy supply for AI and data centers, among other needs, while also trying to meet their long-term goals to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions. Those emissions are generated, in large part, from the burning of fossil fuels like gasoline, oil and coal. Nuclear energy, while producing waste, does not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

Constellation, the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, said in September that it planned to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft could secure power to supply its data centers. Three Mile Island, located on the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979.

Also last fall, Amazon said it was investing in small nuclear reactors, two days after a similar announcement by Google. Additionally, Google announced last month that it was investing in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.

US states have been positioning themselves to meet the tech industry’s power needs as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and gutting regulatory obstacles.

Last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and lawmakers this year have introduced over 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy, according to the trade association Nuclear Energy Institute.

Advanced reactor designs from competing firms are filling up the federal government’s regulatory pipeline as the industry touts them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet electricity demands from tech giants desperate to power their fast-growing artificial intelligence platforms.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft also have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Shares of Constellation Energy Corp., based in Baltimore, were flat Tuesday.