Good morning. The cost of Western air defense systems? Millions of dollars. The cost of Russian drones? As little as a hundred. Today, my colleague Lara Jakes tells us about the math problem facing NATO — and one possible solution. Also:
Plus, farewell to Hong Kong’s dim sum cart aunties.
NATO needs an answer to Russian drones
Russian drones have been swarming Ukraine in increasing numbers as Moscow ramps up production. Then, last week, more than a dozen crossed the border into Poland. NATO scrambled fighter jets to shoot them down, but many drones got through — including some that were made of plywood and foam. The fact that such inexpensive weapons evaded multimillion-dollar air defenses highlights NATO’s challenge in the new era of warfare. This has NATO rushing to rethink and upgrade its air defenses. But the math is challenging: A drone costs hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, and the missiles that defend against them often cost millions. Ukraine has experimented with nets, cages and machine guns mounted on trucks, helicopters and fighter jets to counter the threat — along with anti-drone drones. Soon, NATO’s militaries may have a new solution: lasers. A growing number of Western countries are developing and deploying laser-based weapons that could be cheaper and more efficient at taking down drones than missiles or rockets. Some have already been used in war, by Israel and Ukraine. In the video above, I explain how they work. An Australian company, Electro Optic Systems, has a laser it says can shoot down 20 drones a minute, which has been purchased by a European NATO member. It will cost about $83 million for each system, including training and spare parts, and will be delivered by 2028. After installation, it is expected to take down drones at a cost of less than 10 cents per shot. Nicknamed “Apollo” for the Greek god of light, the 100-kilowatt laser has about the same level of power as the Iron Beam system that Israel is building. More lasers are in various stages of testing and use by the U.S. military, which spends about $1 billion per year on laser weapons and is working to develop a one-megawatt weapon next year. At that level of power, lasers could potentially shoot down ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons. A 100-kilowatt laser is limited to targeting drones, artillery and mortars. Air defenses have been in high demand for years, particularly to protect targets in the Middle East, East Asia and the U.S. The advanced drone swarms in Ukraine — and Ukraine’s audacious drone assault deep within Russia — are showing other countries that they are also vulnerable. Their countermoves, including lasers and other weapons, will shape the outcome of today’s wars — and tomorrow’s.
Jimmy Kimmel and Trump’s media crackdownWith the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, the Trump administration is now conducting the most punishing media crackdown in modern times, my colleague Jim Rutenberg writes. President Trump — who vowed to stop all government censorship in his inauguration speech in January — is using every tool at his disposal to eradicate reporting and commentary with which he disagrees. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said the government should revoke the broadcast licenses of networks who are overly negatively about him. Conservatives cheered, and liberals raged, over ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show off the air after he made comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. The split-screen reaction provided even more proof about America’s deepening partisan divide. “We all see where this is going, correct? It’s managed media,” David Letterman said. Interested in providing feedback on this newsletter? Take our short survey here.
U.K.: On the final day of Trump’s state visit, he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised each other while disagreeing over Palestinian statehood. The two leaders also signed a technology partnership agreement. Fed: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to remove Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve governor. Syria: President Ahmed al-Shara said that a U.S.-brokered border deal with Israel could come within days. Russia: Dmitri Kozak, a long-serving aide to President Vladimir Putin who opposed the invasion of Ukraine, was granted a rare resignation. France: Demonstrators took to the streets to protest a government austerity plan. One phrase was on everybody’s lips: Tax the rich. Tech: Nvidia said it would invest $5 billion in its struggling rival, Intel. Immigration: Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil asked a federal judge to intercede after an immigration court judge ordered his removal to Syria or Algeria. Pope: Compared with his predecessors, Leo XIV has offered few clues about where he stands on church issues. GO DEEPER Trump family: Tiffany Trump took a cruise on an oil mogul’s yacht as her father-in-law, a State Department adviser, negotiated oil deals, a Times investigation revealed. Energy: Laos is one place where China’s green-tech revolution is providing more than cheap energy. What will Beijing’s climate ambitions cost the world?
Metropol, among Hong Kong’s largest dim sum parlors, is one of the last few restaurants in the city that still use carts. The eatery will close for good this month. And when Metropol goes, so will a beloved fixture of Hong Kong dining: the dim sum cart aunties. The women are often middle-aged, charming and gruff, winding through the restaurants advertising the dishes in their carts — “Pork ribs! Beef meatballs! Quail egg siu mai!”
Fashion: With her new brand, Gwyneth Paltrow wants to be the next Ralph Lauren. Hey, millennials: This book celebrates an anxious, unhappy, successful, pop-culture-obsessed, middle-aged, cringey cohort. Kicked out: China is losing its title as the world’s sneaker factory to Vietnam. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
How a hit video game tore apart its creatorsNobody was expecting Disco Elysium to be such a success, least of all its creators, a group of young socialists and artists from Estonia. But its prose and politics resonated with an audience hungry for mature storytelling. The magazine PC Gamer ranked Disco Elysium, which was released in 2019, as the second-best computer game of all time. But despite the acclaim, a sequel was canceled and lawsuits were filed. Now, five rival studios are working on games that could be viewed as Disco Elysium’s successor, and fans are left wondering how it all fell apart. Read more.
Cook: This classic French gratin is sophisticated, yet comforting. Understand: The new AirPods Pro 3 use A.I. to translate languages in your ears. Experiment: Savory gelatins are popul |
