See How Drones Are Dominating Every Corner of the War in Ukraine
Around this city, some infantry from Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade have been stuck in their dugouts for three months. Rotating the troops must wait for fog and rain to block the view of Russian drones.
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Forbes
4 days ago
- Forbes
OTUS Drones Are The Next Big Thing In Storm Chasing, Just Ask The Tuckers
The OTUS Project group via drone approaching a multi-vortex tornado near Parmelee, South Dakota, ... More July 20, 2025. The tornado season in the southwestern U.S. typically runs from late March to mid-June. But as June morphs into July, tornado alley tends to meander up into the midwestern plains, particularly the northern part. Earlier this year, I spent time storm-chasing in Texas, encountering half-a-dozen twisters with Tim Bovasso, Jeff Anderson and Chris Coach. Along the way, I also met a unique chaser group called the OTUS - Observation Of Tornadoes By UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Systems - project. They seek out tornadoes, then actually fly special drones into the funnels to gather valuable information regarding near-ground wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity and the like. I was so intrigued by OTUS' science work that I profiled the group last month (link below) with the idea that I might tag along next year to watch them in action. Lo and behold, they decided to give chasing one more go this year, in the midwest, so I met them in Omaha, Nebraska, this past weekend to chase for a few days. OTUS team member Louis Tucker prepares his special drone to fly into a tornado, South Dakota, July ... More 22, 2025. The first day, Sunday, according to weather models had the lowest odds of producing a tornado - zero - while Monday and Tuesday looked substantially better. Sunday, however, was eventually upgraded to 2%, later to 5%. Armed with drones and a rental car, our group set out toward South Dakota in the morning to intercept one of two promising supercells projected to initiate later in the afternoon. Louis Tucker, the pilot, readied his drone in the car while younger brother Nelson, closely monitored the weather and directed father Louis Sr., a former Navy Seal, to maneuver various back roads to position ourselves for the best potential intercepts. It was a family affair, if you will. Two other OTUS members, due to previous commitments, couldn't be there - Erik Fox and Tanner Beard. Once a decision had been reached as to which supercell to chase, we hightailed it to the desired location, just outside of Parmelee, South Dakota, to be close enough to deploy the drone if a tornado were imminent, basically a 5-mile radius. As we watched the wall cloud at the base of the supercell form, tension within the group mounted. Everything has to be perfectly right for a tornado to drop, and you never know. Sometimes you're absolutely sure - and poof, nothing. Other times you are taken completely by surprise. Louis (left) and Nelson Tucker at work identifying the best locales to chase twisters, South Dakota, ... More July 2025. The more we watched, the better we thought our chances were. Suddenly a small bowl of dancing dust appeared on the ground, then began to rise and tighten up. We had ourselves a tornado, a multi-vorticed one at that! Louis immediately deployed the drone, sending it at over 100 mph toward the thing which was probably three miles away. En route, though, there was a slight glitch, and Louis had to return it to base before penetrating the core. That said, he captured some stunning images of the tornado as it was forming, and valuable meteorological data as well, to be analyzed later this summer. Louis Tucker of OTUS flies his drone toward a supercell in Minnesota, July 22, 2025. The next two days, which were supposed to have the highest tornado probabilities, were total busts. We traversed South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and even Minnesota scouring, putting in more than 1,500 miles in the process, to no avail. The only reassuring news was that no tornadoes were reported on those days, so it wasn't us at fault. In fact, the Sunday tornado we had found was the only one reported that day. These folks know their stuff. The extra time did give OTUS a chance to locate a precious drone worth a few thousand dollars that had been lost a month back. We also got to see and photograph some majestic supercells. So next spring it is. I'm hoping we can get close enough to some big twisters so Louis can fly us inside with his drones, allowing both scientists and the public alike to see things nobody has ever seen, or measured. Spectacular mothership structure in South Dakota, July 20, 2025. Make no mistake: What these OTUS guys are doing is pure exploration, not simply walking in the footsteps of others as is the case with the insane and dangerous overcrowding on Mt. Everest. Pay attention. You will hear more about OTUS again, I can assure you, and not just from me.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Wall Street Journal
See How Drones Are Dominating Every Corner of the War in Ukraine
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine—On the sun-drenched eastern front of this grueling war, Ukrainian drones are doing more and more jobs, from killing Russian troops to evacuating casualties to bringing dinner to foxholes. Around this city, some infantry from Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade have been stuck in their dugouts for three months. Rotating the troops must wait for fog and rain to block the view of Russian drones.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
Too hot to cook? Try a cold bowl of soup: Jasmine Mangalaseril
Hot summer days and nights are perfect for crisp salads and mezze-like platters where we pick at fresh fruits and vegetables, dips, and cold, cooked meats. It's also the perfect weather for cold soups. When the temperatures rise, staying hydrated is key. And one way to replenish fluids and nutrients is to have fruits and vegetables with high water content, like tomatoes, berries, melons and cucumbers. Luckily, cold soups can keep us hydrated and nourished in many tasty ways. Some are low cook. Others are no cook. But all of these can stay in your fridge for a couple of days. Just pour and sip for a bit of instant rejuvenation when the weather makes you wilt. While a steaming hot bowl of borsht is familiar when the snow falls, its cold cousin, holodnik, is perfect under the beating sun. "Holodnik is more popular in the western and northern part of Ukraine," said Nataliia Khimka, owner of Kitchener's Eastern European Cuisine Zupa. Khimka mixes cooked, cooled beets and fresh cucumber with water mixed with kefir and sour cream. There's a good amount of chopped dill and it can include lemon juice or mustard. The fuchsia pink, tangy, slightly earthy soup is garnished with hard boiled eggs and sliced green onions. It's traditionally served with slices of dark rye bread. Khimka said okrashka is another popular summertime soup in her homeland. It's made with chopped cooked potatoes, hard boiled eggs, radish, cucumber and fresh herbs, as well as cold cooked meats like chicken or ham, or cured sausage. "You can leave it in the fridge," Khimka explained. "And then when you want to eat, you can have it two ways: add kefir or ayran [a salty yoghurt drink], or add kvass [a low-alcohol, fermented grain beverage]…for me, it's better with ayran. It's more tasty." At the height of summer, many Koreans reach for naengmyeon, a cold noodle dish with a light broth. "Naengmyeon was originally a winter food, because ice was traditionally available in the winter, but now, as time has passed it has become a food that can be eaten cold in hot weather," explained Na Yeon Koo, who with her husband Taewon Kim own KW Korean BBQ Restaurant in downtown Kitchener. Naengmyeon (raengmyŏn in North Korea) is sometimes seen on Korean restaurant menus as "cold noodles." At KW Korean BBQ, thinly sliced cucumbers, Asian pear, a halved hard boiled egg and slices of boiled beef top a mound of cooked and cooled thin noodles. In its metal bowl, it's surrounded by a refreshing, tangy, sweet icy broth. For those liking a bit of chili heat, a sweet and pungent sauce can be mixed into the dish. "That soup [is made with] beef shank, apple, pears, and then cabbage, green onion, and radishes and carrots," said Koo. "[After straining] we freeze and thaw it. Then we put some sugar, salt, vinegar, to give it the naengmyeon taste." Vanessa Stankiewicz, who co-owns Kitchener's La Lola Tapas Bar, said gazpacho is nourishing in extreme heat. It's also economical because it's one of the foods that make up comidas de aprovechamiento. "Aprovechamiento means 'to use up'," said Stankiewicz. "Pear tomatoes would probably start to almost go off, very soft, tender. And hard bread and things that you had laying in the pantry at that time of the year." It's a cold purée of pear tomatoes, cucumber, long green pepper, onions, bread, olive oil and sherry vinegar, perhaps loosened with some water. It's a soup here, but in Spain, gazpacho is often drunk as an apératif to open up the appetite. A similar but different cold dish called salmorejo is also enjoyed in parts of Spain. It's a thick emulsified puree of pear tomatoes, garlic, bread and oil. Rather than being sipped from a glass it's eaten as a tapa. "You will see people eating it with a spoon. You'll see people dipping bread into it and eating it," said Stankiewicz. "It's absolutely divine and it's one of my favourite summer dishes to eat."
