Sourcebook on the Altay Optical Laser Research Center
A Russian satellite tracking facility in Siberia called the Altay Optical Laser Research Center is profiled in a newly updated document collection (pdf).
A proposed expansion of the facility calls for a high-resolution satellite imaging telescope with an aperture of 3.12 meters and angular resolution of 0.044 arc seconds.
“This is diffraction-limited performance, indicating serious adaptive optics,” observed Allan Thomson, the former CIA analyst who prepared the new sourcebook, which is in Russian and English.
The program invites teams of researchers and local government collaborators to propose innovative projects addressing real-world transportation, safety, equity, and resilience challenges using mobility data.
The Pentagon’s new report provides additional context and useful perspectives on events in China that took place over the past year.
Successful NC3 modernization must do more than update hardware and software: it must integrate emerging technologies in ways that enhance resilience, ensure meaningful human control, and preserve strategic stability.
The FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) paints a picture of a Congress that is working to both protect and accelerate nuclear modernization programs while simultaneously lacking trust in the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to execute them.