Since World War II, maybe. But still.
German company successfully launches rocket to space – Bavaria-based Isar Aerospace managed to launch its Spectrum rocket into orbit, 18 months after its first attempt. This is the first such launch from European soil.
A Spectrum space rocket built by German company Isar Aerospace was launched into space from the Norwegian spaceport at Andoya.
That Germany would allow driverless rides before the year 2060.
Waymo to launch driverless rides in Germany in 2027, entering third market outside U.S. – Alphabet’s Waymo on Tuesday said it plans to roll out robotaxi rides in Germany in 2027, marking its third international market and first in the EU.
Waymo will start “phased” testing in Munich over the next few weeks, with plans to launch to the public at the end of next year, the company said in a blog post. The testing aims to build high-definition street maps, train autonomous specialists and adapt software to the city’s “distinct driving conditions.”
Germany doesn’t have to come back.
It never left in the first place. Not when it comes to war technology.
AI drones made in Germany see duty on Ukraine’s front line – The German defense company Helsing is supplying combat drones to Ukraine and will soon provide them to the Bundeswehr.
In a forested strip, two Ukrainian soldiers — a technician and an electrician — attach wings to a large black box. The kit is an HX-2 combat drone from the German manufacturer Helsing, equipped with artificial intelligence.
The billion-dollar startup from Bavaria is supplying thousands of these to the Ukrainian military, funded by the German government. Germany’s armed forces have also recently awarded Helsing a multimillion-euro contract.
But you wouldn’t want to live there.
It’s no better than living in the past.
Germany and Japan test hydrogen future with BMW, Toyota cars – During a recent visit to Japan, Germany’s transport minister Patrick Schnieder toured hydrogen projects aimed at bringing the fuel into the mainstream…
Hydrogen remains niche fuel for now – Meanwhile, German and Japanese authorities are exploring ways to finance the hydrogen production boost that will help reduce price spikes. After all, at first green hydrogen will be significantly more expensive than fossil fuels. Siemens Energy and Toray want to improve electrolysis technology for green hydrogen, while Thyssenkrupp Nucera is eager to tap into the Japanese electrolysis market.
Two-thirds of them don’t welcome killer robots.
They’re stuck in the past, man.
One in three Germans welcome killer robots, new poll says – AI-enabled technologies like drones are transforming warfare but face criticism from rights groups.
Call it “bots on the ground.”
One in three Germans think their country should allow artificial intelligence to make life-or-death decisions on the battle field, according to The POLITICO Poll.
A third of respondents in Germany said they favor AI systems to be used in weapons in place of human decision makers, even if these systems are less transparent, the poll showed.
And become less dependent on the United States.
Germany’s Merz: Europe must become less dependent on United States – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday rejected a blistering attack on European democracies by the Trump administration, which issued a strategy paper last week declaring that the continent faced “civilizational erasure.”
The U.S. National Security Strategy, made public last week, caused shock across Europe, with a broadside that accused European governments of “subversion of democratic processes” and said U.S. policy should include “cultivating resistance” within the European Union.
This is why we are going to create a new ‘super–high-tech ministry’ for research, technology, and aerospace.
Germany to create ‘super–high-tech ministry’ for research, technology, and aerospace – New governing coalition also plans to woo scientists from abroad and make it easier for universities to collaborate with the military on defense research.
The announcement is one of several nods to science in the 144-page agreement, unveiled on 9 April following weeks of negotiations between the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and its sister party, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)—who together won the most seats in February’s federal elections—and the center-left Social Democrats. The agreement is expected to be formally approved by the three parties by early May, paving the way for CDU leader Friedrich Merz to be elected chancellor.
Other than that though, alles ist in Ordnung (everything’s OK).
Germany’s lost decade: How the Fortune 500 Europe giant is flirting with long-term irrelevance – There is an elephant in the room of the 2024 edition of the Fortune 500 Europe. It’s not a crisis-riddled company or scandal-hit CEO. Rather, it’s the whole German economy.
For most of the 21st century, economists and neighboring countries have looked to Germany with admiration and envy as it managed to weather economic storms with relative ease, capitalizing on trade with growing economies and expanding the power of its industrial giants in the process.
However, a shifting world order has pulled the carpet out from underneath Germany. The industrial quirks that once helped it outgrow its European peers are fast becoming a burden, and crisis after crisis has exposed a lack of planning at the top of government.
If you start counting at the end of the line.
Why Chinese technology set off alarm bells in Germany – Even as the German government moves to bar components made by China’s Huawei and ZTE from core parts of the country’s 5G networks, some German companies are looking to work with Chinese firms in other critical areas…
The ban comes as Chinese technology firms are increasingly viewed with suspicions for their allegedly too close ties to the government in Beijing. Especially Beijing’s drive to make companies like Huawei and ZTE world leaders in high-tech sectors makes Western governments wary of giving them too much influence on their national infrastructures.
Even “more than shocking,” if such a thing is possible. Other than for her, I mean.
And somebody somewhere needs to do something about all this more than shocking stuff real pronto, I bet she’s thinking.
Germany’s foreign minister: Parts of China trip ‘more than shocking’ – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday described parts of her recent trip to China as “more than shocking” and said Beijing was increasingly becoming a systemic rival more than a trade partner and competitor.
The blunt remarks followed Baerbock’s visit to Beijing last week where she warned that any attempt by China to control Taiwan would be unacceptable.
Observing Hermann 