Workday Announces Fiscal 2025 Third Quarter Financial Results
Ukraine has developed a laser weapon capable of shooting down targets from more than a mile away, the country’s drone force commander has claimed Speaking at a defense summit in Kyiv this week, Vadym Sukharevskyi, Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems said, “Today, we can already shoot down aircraft with this laser at an altitude of over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).” “It truly works, it truly exists,” he said, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, adding that efforts were being made to enhance the weapon’s scale and capabilities. The laser is named the Tryzub, or Ukrainian for “trident,” a nod to Ukraine’s national symbol representing independence, strength, and unity. Sukharevskyi did not offer any further details about the Tryzub laser and CNN cannot verify his claims. However, experts told CNN the existence of the Tryzub was “feasible.” Patrick Senft of the Armament Research Services, a technical intelligence consultancy specializing in arms in munitions research, told CNN that while little is known about the Tryzub system, “it is entirely feasible for Ukraine to develop a functional directed-energy weapon (DEW) capable of destroying some aerial targets.” “This is particularly achievable by using commercial, off-the-shelf welding lasers combined with other available technologies,” Senft said, pointing to the US Navy’s Laser Weapons System (LaWS) that has operated at comparable ranges since 2014. Senft explained that laser directed-energy weapons (DEW) were particularly effective against slow, low-flying drones deployed by Russia, as those drones consist of comparatively fragile components that are vulnerable to heat. Low-flying UAVs, like the Shahed-136/Geran-2 one-way-attack drones’ low altitude and steady flight pattern “make them particularly susceptible to sustained laser exposure,” Senft said, “as the weapon can concentrate energy on a specific point to destroy critical components.” Senft added that such weapons had two key limitations, related to how fast their target is traveling and how the lasers lose energy the farther they travel. Faster-moving or heat-resistant targets (e.g., artillery shells, ballistic missiles) are much harder to neutralize and demand a more advanced system, he said. Fabien Hoffmann of the Oslo Nuclear Project (ONP) said there were several technical challenges to deploying an effective laser system to counter drones or missiles. “These challenges include overcoming issues related to laser beam strength and the cooling of the system, atmospheric absorption and reflection of the laser beam (e.g., due to clouds or rain), and a phenomenon known as ‘thermal blooming.’ Thermal blooming occurs when the laser beam heats the surrounding air, causing it to spread out, which reduces its power and effectiveness at damaging the target,” he said. “To assess how effective it is in a missile defense role, we’ll need to see how it performs in practice,” Hoffmann added. Only a few countries are understood to be in possession of laser weapons, including the US, China and Israel. The UK is also currently developing its own laser weapons system, called the DragonFire , which is set to be operational in 2027. In April, former Defense Minister Grant Shapps said that the DragonFire could potentially be used in Ukraine to counter Russian drones, Reuters reported.
TravelSky Technology Limited (OTCMKTS:TSYHY) Short Interest Down 42.1% in DecemberA British Airways flight attendant has come under fire after allegedly sharing an insensitive revelation regarding Liam Payne's remains. The crew member, employed by the UK's national airline, is alleged to have been on duty during the flight that transported Liam's body back from Buenos Aires. The 31 year old former One Direction star met a tragic end, falling from his hotel room balcony on the third floor in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 16. However, it has emerged that the crew member may have contravened British Airways' strict privacy policies by disclosing details about those on board the flight departing the Argentinian capital on November 6. It is claimed that the flight attendant disclosed to her social media followers that Liam's coffin was on the aircraft after being released by authorities in Argentina. "Just been told we're carrying a coffin with us today," they are reported to have shared online. Read more Cheryl shares how grief has changed her life after devastating double tragedy Furthermore, they allegedly remarked: "To then find out it's Liam Payne's body and his family are on our flight too, heart-breaking." According to a source who spoke to The Sun, the flight attendant has been suspended from their role at the airline following the incident, reports the Mirror . They alleged: "This stewardess cares more for her online social media following than her job. She has been brought to the attention of bosses due to previous posts. It is a serious data breach, not to mention a callous and heartless move to tell the world of Liam's final journey for the good of her online following." A spokesperson for the airline responded to the Mirror, stating: "We are investigating this matter so it would be inappropriate to comment further." Wolverhampton-born Liam was laid to rest earlier this week, close to his former home in Buckinghamshire. At the funeral, his grieving parents Karen and Geoff were accompanied by his sisters Ruth and Nicola, and Cheryl Tweedy, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his young son. Liam's family pulled out all the stops to make sure his send-off was a fitting homage to the much-loved singer. The service featured thoughtful nods to Liam, including unique floral arrangements and candles. A standout tribute at the Buckinghamshire church greeted attendees with a floral representation of bowling pins being struck by a ball, crafted from fresh blooms. This heartfelt gesture harked back to Liam's well-known passion for bowling, an activity he enjoyed on his 31st birthday on 29th August this year with his nearest and dearest. Vehicles ferrying guests sported Batman stickers on their windshields, depicting the iconic black bat emblem on a white backdrop. Liam's fondness for Batman was no secret, with some admirers even suggesting he was "obsessed" with the enigmatic caped crusader.
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CNN's Jennings: 'Democrats Are the Party of Uncommon Nonsense'As we approach the end of yet another year – a particularly turbulent year for the world – it is an obvious time to reflect on what 2024 has meant from an M&A and investment perspective for the biometrics and identity industries and take a peek in what 2025 has in store. It’s been a very busy year for us at and we have spent a significant amount of this time involved assisting companies in M&A activities. Much of this work remains under the covers and tightly bound by NDAs but what it does do is to provide us with insight into the health of the industry. I am sharing this insight with you. 2024 has been more about consolidation then investment with a significant increase in M&A activity. A lot of this activity has been about leveraging biometric and digital identity technology to support real business needs and to reflect digital transformation strategies. In particular, supporting composable platforms with flexible workflow solutions that align with business requirements and process – meeting the need for agile digital solutions to support modern digital life. For instance, our work in the travel industry has identified the need for end-to-end passenger services that support couch-to-gate solutions that the industry demands. The ability to book and manage travel tickets from home, present, and authenticate, your travel documents before you travel, and then seamlessly navigate the airport, train station, or port using enrolled biometrics where the security risk allows it. Travel digital identity has shown other industries that portable, standard-based, high security biometric-powered digital identity can be delivered at scale. In the Goode Intelligence market analyst report, “ ” we forecast that the market will grow to with a CAGR of 22 percent. It is no surprise that suppliers of biometric and digital identity technology are aware of this opportunity and are growing their business and product portfolio through acquisition. To meet this opportunity, we have seen some notable M&A activity. Notably, ’s acquisition of , a leading supplier of biometric solutions for airports, airlines, and border control customers in . ’s acquisition of , leading IDV supplier ’s of , and then Entrust in 2024, has turned the North American security company into a real contender for delivering biometric digital identity to the travel industry, albeit at a significant cost to the privately controlled group. It has been no secret that Advent International has been looking to break up and sell ’s business units and in September 2024 Idemia announced that French-based identity specialist had begun to acquire the Smart Identity business unit to enable them to expand their capabilities, on both a product and a regional-reach basis. Like Entrust, IN Groupe has been busy with M&A and also announced 2024 the acquisition of Denmark’s digital identity service, MitID. Not only is this a recurring business line for In Groupe but also a great opportunity for knowledge transfer, to exchange capabilities from MitID to other business lines within the IN Groupe. This could be a very timely acquisition in the context of a ramp up of activity in digital identity within the EU with its digital identity initiatives including the EU Digital Identity Wallet and eIDAS 2. Through acquisition, IN Groupe is quickly becoming a major player in the European identity sector and potentially beyond. There is no doubt that we are well down the path to migrating government-issued physical identity documents to digital identity solutions. This journey will include both physical identity documents and digital identity solutions coexisting. Identity suppliers, especially in the government sector, need to be able to operate in both the physical and digital worlds, including the support of hybrid models where physical identity document and digital identity issuance and management coexist. This strategy is being adopted by the major suppliers of government identity and is exemplified by many of the M&A examples that I have discussed in this article including ’s acquisition of ’s Citizen Identity division 2024. HID’s Citizen Identity division was itself acquired from UK-based in 2019. I worked for De La Rue at the turn of this century, as head of digital identity, with a brief of bringing the 200-year-old company into the 21st century with digital identity solutions to complement their document identity solutions. It was probably an exercise that was a little bit , pre-dating the availability of the modern mobile phone. It did provide me with much of the real-world experience that is so invaluable to my role as an analyst and futurist today. Companies are scaling their portfolio with acquisition to reflect the hybrid nature of government issued identity, supporting both traditional document-based identity with digital identity. Expect more of the same in 2025. Identity Verification (IDV) has been an amazing success story for supporting digital onboarding with double-digit year-on-year growth for suppliers in the market. Its success, and the desire to own IP, has meant that security and fraud management platform owners are looking to own this critical piece of technology. In addition to Onfido’s acquisition by Entrust we also have (LNRS) acquiring another leading IDV provider, , a provider of AI-powered automated document authentication and fraud detection solutions. The acquisition was announced recently 2024 and comes off the back of the company acquiring behavioral biometrics specialist, BehavioSec in 2022. For 2025, I predict further consolidation and also an uptick in investment – something that has seen relatively low activity in the last two years as a result of the credit crunch. Businesses are definitely seeing the benefit of embedding biometric technology to support the customer / citizen journey and this will reflect in more M&A activity in 2025 to support biometric-powered digital platforms across all major sectors. I also expect greater interest and activity in coupling biometrics with digital wallets. All eyes are on the EU and its digital identity wallet. What happens in 2025 in the EU will have significant impact in digital wallets around the world. Biometrics is seen as a critical enabler of Verifiable Credentials (VCs) and if the industry can resolve some of its chicken and egg conundrums, then expect plenty of investment and M&A activity here. I am excited to see what 2025 brings us and expect a busy year for Goode Intelligence and . Alan Goode is CEO and Chief Analyst at . Reach out via to discuss this article. | | | | | | | | | | |