December 23, 2025

Dystopic Newsletter

The Machine Age Part 3 – The Human Factor ...

What is Going to Happen to Us?

Cyberdyne Japan, HAL (Hybrid Assisted Limb) ‘Wearable Cyborg” Lift Assist (Cyberdyne)

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes in the Coming New Year!

This is the third in a three-part series of Dystopic newsletters about “The Machine Age”, exploring the technology and advancements behind a revolution in humanoid robotics.

The first Dystopic in the series, Machine Age Part 1 – Introduction to Physical AI, explored the motivation to build humanoid robots and the advances in AI that are making what was once science fiction a reality. To summarize briefly:

• Why Humanoid Robots? The world’s infrastructure has been designed for humans who walk on two legs, have two arms, and have two 10-digit, highly dexterous hands. The focus on general-purpose humanoid robots enables a single mass-produced product to perform any work a human can. In short, economies of scale, one product with a world’s worth of applications
• Why Now? We have reached a technology and economic inflection point that puts both the computing and mechanical components of a robot to a point of economic viability. AI computing and memory follow “Moore’s Law,” which states that computing capabilities double and costs halve every 2 years. Nvidia (Groot) and Tesla (A-series ) have just released chipsets and computer hardware capable of driving humanoid robots today. Tesla predicts its $130K Optimus robot will fall to $20k a unit in the early 2030s – Robots for everyone!
• Physical AI Evolution. Unlike Large Language Model AI, which acts on written/spoken language and in symbolic knowledge, Physical AI must create a world model of its surroundings, have a physical-world understanding of physical limits (weight, pressure, location, motion, etc.), operate in real-time, and be capable of reasoning and planning. Physical AI uses a VLA (Vision-Language-Action) model to enable robots to navigate and operate in the world.

​https://paul-struhsaker.kit.com/posts/the-machine-age-part-2​

The second dystopian in the series, Machine Age Part 2 – What Makes the New Machine, explored the components and subsystems that make humanoid robotics possible, and the rapid cost reduction from volume shipments that will allow humanoid robots to replace human labor cost-effectively. To summarize:

• Humanoid Robot components are Analogous to the Human Body: Joints and muscles = robotic actuators, Human metabolism = battery and power subsystem. nervous system = wiring and force sensors, eyes = cameras, Radar, & LiDAR, finally the skeleton = aluminum, plastic, and carbon fiber robotic frame
• Humanoid Robot Cost is Dominated by Actuators: An advanced humanoid robot like Tesla’s Optimus Gen 3 is made of a combination of linear and rotational actuators, which make up over 60+% of a robot's cost. Tesla’s Optimus Gen 3 robot uses 28 structural actuators for the torso, shoulders, hips, wrists, elbows, ankles, and knees. An additional 12 actuators, 6 per hand, control the Optimus Gen 3 dexterous hand, which has 22 of the 27 degrees of freedom possessed by a human hand.
• Volume Production will drastically reduce humanoid robot costs. Using $100k generation 2 robots, the cost fell 40% to $60K in a 2-year period. Tesla estimates that by 2040, sales volumes will hit 1 million units a year, and the average sales price will hit $20k to $25K.

By all measures, we are heading for a reckoning in the 2040 time frame: the point at which humanoid robots can economically replace humans for the vast majority of tasks.

What happens to us, the human race, when humanoid robots arrive? That is the topic of this third and final newsletter on this subject: The Machine Age Part 3 - the Human Factor

Humanoid Robots – The Ultimate Automation

In 2016, Elon Musk began calling for Universal Basic Income (UBI). Nine years ago, he grasped that if his self-driving cars were successful, the jobs of 400,000 taxi drivers and, later, 3.5 million truck drivers would be redundant. A few years later, as he began contemplating a humanoid robot, Tesla Optimus, he quickly understood that practically every form of manual work would be redundant, too …

Since then, Mr. Musk has been joined by a chorus of Silicon Valley luminaries, including Sam Altman - OpenAI, Pierre Omidyar - eBay founder, Andrew Ng -chief scientist of Baidu, and Chris Hughes – Facebook co-founder.

They have a point. we are just starting the largest transition in how humans work since the Industrial Revolution. Beginning in England in the 1760s, the Industrial Revolution spread across the globe, creating a massive shift from agrarian life to urban areas, where factories powered by steam and later electricity drew people from rural areas to mechanized jobs.

The replacement of humans by robots on the factory floor began in 1961, when the first Unimation Inc. robot was installed at a General Motors plant in New Jersey to handle hot die-cast metal parts. These were task-specific robots. The factory floor had to be designed to integrate them into the production flow, while being highly productive; they were also completely inflexible. Yet the trend had started; human jobs were being displaced.

Fast forward to today, as we discussed in Parts 1 and 2 of The Machine Age, by 2040, Humanoid robots will reach an average selling price of $20k to $ 25k

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average US Hourly wage for production/factory work is $27.07 for union workers and $22.05 for nonunion. This translates to annual salaries of roughly $54K for union workers and $44K for nonunion workers. Assuming a 3% annual salary increase from today until 2040, a cumulative 56% increase, annual salaries rise to roughly $ 84k and $69k for union and nonunion workers, respectively.

Fast forward to 2040. Let’s compare the cost of employing a human vs the cost of a humanoid robot.

For our Robot in 2040 we make the following assumptions

• Cost of the Robot: $25,000
• Maintenance cost of 25% per year: $6,250
• Number of 8 hr shifts per day: 2 ( note: 3 shifts and 24 x7 could be possible)
• Robot Life Span: 3 years, 12,000 work hours
• Total Robot Costs over 3 years: $43,750
• Robots' hourly wage cost: $3.65/hr

Now, let’s compare the robots' costs vs. human factory-floor labor over a 3-year period, with two workers covering two shifts a day.

• Union workers' total wages: $504, 0000, subtracting $43,750 costs of robot & maintenance: $460,250 net profit
• Nonunion workers' total wages: $414,000, subtracting $43,750 costs of robot & maintenance: $370,250 net profit

Think about it for a second, $3.65 /hour and a net profit of $460K over 3 years. I haven’t made $3.65/hour since I worked at a McDonald's in high school in 1979. It is clear that by 2040, most, if not all, factory workers could be replaced. In fact, business will begin replacing workers much sooner. Human replacement will make financial sense when humanoid robots can reliably perform a human job, even at a robot sales price of $50K or $75K (which we are close to today).

Elder Care – the rise of the Home Robot

As a second example, let’s consider elder care. We have a rapidly aging population (which we explore in greater depth later in this newsletter) and a caregiver labor shortage.

Today, a caregiver makes $20 to $30 an hour, and skilled nursing care costs $50 to $80 an hour. Factoring in wage inflation by 2040 and assuming an 8-hour caregiver workday, our 2040 humanoid robot's hourly cost doubles to $7.30/hr if it works only a single 8-hour shift. A humanoid social caregiver robot costs less than 1/4 of a human caregiver.

That is a false analysis, as our humanoid caregiver is even more advantageous. Our robot will be on call 24 hours a day. It can work for much longer than an 8-hour shift, up to 16 hours and possibly more. Using telehealth-style connections, a nurse or doctor can provide on-demand service that is billed only as needed and for the time used. Every chore, including outdoor gardening and simple maintenance tasks, can also be performed by a Machine Age human-robot caregiver.

Eldercare robots, equipped with an advanced AI social interface, will also serve as companions. According to the National Institute of Health, social isolation and loneliness are linked to a ~29% higher risk of death from all causes, and potentially shorten life by up to 15 years.

People in their 60s today will experience a revolution in eldercare in their mid-70s. We will not face the loneliness and isolation many elderly people experience today.

We need more and better elderly care; there is not enough labor today to take “proper care” of the elderly, let alone 5 years from now, in 2030, where the United Nations forecasts:

• In the US, there will be 25 people aged over 70 for every 100 people aged 24- 69 that are of working age to support them. A 25% dependency ratio.
• In Japan, there will be 39 people over 70 per 100 working-age (24 to 69) individuals to care for them. A 39% dependency ratio.

The US and Japan are not unique. Every “advanced economy” nation is facing growing elderly populations and dependency ratios. Humanoid Robotics is the only viable solution to care for the growing elderly population.

A View of the Global Economic Impact of Humanoid Robotics

Humanoid robotic automation will be a global phenomenon. In the decades ahead, what will the world look like? What is the financial impact? To answer that, we will turn to an infographic by ARK Innovation, the famed investment firm specializing in technology companies.

Ark believes that robotic automation will be split roughly equally between household and manufacturing, with a total global revenue opportunity of $24 trillion. That figure exceeds China's GDP of $19.8 trillion and is just below the U.S. GDP of $30.6 trillion. Robotics will be the biggest business opportunity ever created.

For the $12 trillion global manufacturing opportunity, Ark looked at two factors: Take Rate and Productivity Uplift.

For the $12 trillion global manufacturing opportunity, Ark looked at two factors: Take Rate and Productivity Uplift.

• Take Rate is the percentage of total manufacturing production that has been converted to robotics. Ark was conservative, estimating take rates ranging from 20% to 50%. Take rates greater than 50% were not considered because many small-business manufacturers (mom-and-pop shops) will be late adopters or may never adapt.
• Productivity Uplift represents the extra work a robot can perform over a human. A human can only work one shift. A robot could work two shifts, resulting in a 100% uplift. It could even work three shifts for a 200% uplift. Ark considered the average uplift sinarios between 50% and 200%.

Averaging the outcomes of 20% to 50% take rate and 50% to 200% productivity uplift using an estimated $28.5 trillion global manufacturing. The net result is $12+ trillion revenue opportunity by 2030.

For household robotics, ARK did not factor in eldercare; instead, they focused on the fact that for each of 2.8 billion workers making a global average pay of $10.50, there are 2.3 hours of unpaid household work per day that a household robot could perform. Running the math with a small fudge factor creates a 12.5 trillion opportunity.

The entire point of the Ark exercise is to see in 5 years just how big the robotics market could be. Net result: the global revenue opportunity is massive, $24+ trillion massive!

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The bottom line is that by 2040 – 15 years from now - most unskilled and semi-skilled labor will be replaced by humanoid robots, driven solely by financial considerations. Financial benefit is not the only driver in the move to robotic labor. There is a second very compelling reason humanoid robots will be needed: Demographics.

Over the next 2 decades, populations will decrease, and in some cases significantly, while the percentage of retirees will increase. There will be a massive labor shortage that humanoid robots will need to fill.

To get a handle on the labor market problem, let’s take a deep dive into the demographic numbers …

Demographics: An Older, Less Populated World Needs Robots

With the exception of the United States and many African nations, the rest of the world is experiencing population decline. Even India will peak in the 2060 to 2070 time frame. Japan and China, in particular, are experiencing a rapid decline. A side effect of population decline is an increase in the ratio of the retired/non-working population to the working population.

China, is a particularly severe case. Starting in 2030, China will see a reduction of over 120 million workers in the working-age population every 10 years. In the span of 50 years, from 2030 to 2080, China will lose 566 million workers. That is 60% of China’s 2015 peak working population of 1 billion workers.

There is nothing that can stop this rapid decline. China implemented its “one-child law” in 1979; despite halting it in 2015, birth rates have not increased significantly. For nearly 40 years, China had a forced fertility rate of 1.0. Even today, with the one-child law lifted, China’s fertility rate remains below 1.09. Keep in mind that the fertility rate for a stable population is 2.1 births per woman.

Japan’s situation is similar to China's, but with a slightly slower rate due to a high fertility rate of 1.2, compared to China. Like China, Japan will lose nearly half its population by 2100.

What does this all mean in the context of Humanoid Robotics? For elder care in the latter part of this century, we will need more than 1 billion humanoid robots. Here are some select dependency ratios ( retired vs working age) and the number of retired individuals in 2100 tim frame.

• World: dependency ratio 24%, total number of dependents 2.4 billion
• China: dependency ratio 49%, total number of dependents 294 million
• Japan: dependency ratio 38.7%, total number of dependents 27 million
• Europe: dependency ratio 30.2%, total number of dependents 178 million
• USA: dependency ratio 29.1 %, total number of dependents 131 million

Let’s put this in perspective: in China, the world's largest automobile market, 31.4 million cars were sold in 2024. In 2100, automobile purchases will fall to 18.84 million. Meanwhile, assuming a humanoid robot caregivers with a 3-year lifecycle, China will need to produce 97 million robots a year. Robot production will dwarf automobiles by a factor of 5x.

For a financial perspective alone, Robotics will replace manual production labor and household labor, including caregivers.

Demographics is fascinating. I have only provided the basics here in this newsletter. If you are interested, here are a few background sources on demographics and aging:

Pew Research Center, “World’s population is projected to nearly stop growing by the end of the century.”​

National Institutes of Health, “Ageing and shrinking population: The looming demographic challenges of super-aged and super-low fertility society starting from Asia.”​

Data sources for nearly all demographic studies come from the UN World Wide Population Database titled, “World Population Prospects 2024.”​

Man and Machine – Robotics, AI, and Man

Man is a tool builder. Robotics and AI are the ultimate tools of human invention. I believe humans will not be replaced; rather, they will be augmented. The Machine Age will bring incredible advantages and improvements to our lives. Consider two examples:

• Robotic Exoskeleton: mobility for the injured and the elderly
• BMI – Brain Machine Interface: translating information to and from the brain

Let’s take a closer look.

Robotic Exoskeleton

The humanoid robotic revolution has a very useful derivative application, robotic exoskeletons. Initially developed for people who have serious physical impairments from accidents or combat-related injuries, these solutions are finding wide use in providing mobility for the aging.

Two companies, Esko Bionics in the US, and Cyberdyne in Japan, are offering commercial exoskeletons.

Cyberdyne offers HAL [Hybrid Assistive Limb], a set of robotic legs that improve, support, enhance, and regenerate the wearer's physical functions according to the wearer's intentions: feedback from the wearer’s leg and pelvis actions. Because of these feedback features, Cyberdyne bills HAL as a "Wearable Cyborg.”

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Esko Bionics has developed the Indego Personal, which enables patients with mobility impairments to walk independently. At just 29 pounds, Ekso Indego is the only exoskeleton to offer a modular quick-connect design, which allows you to put on and take off the device without assistance.

The Indego has proven so effective that, in April 2024, the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs established a reimbursement schedule for individuals with spinal cord injuries at levels T3 to L5.

Both Cyberdyne and Esko Bionics offer more expensive units designed for paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. For these patients, developments in BMI – Brain Machine Interfaces is critical to actually make active motion.

Today, robotic exoskeletons are expensive (~$90K) and have very short run times. For the most part, these systems are actuator-based legs and hip/back support mechanisms that can fully reuse the lower-leg and pelvis system from Humanoid robotics. From our previous breakdown of costs for our humanoid robots, the leg and pelvis portion of the system accounts for ~1/3 of the cost.

Given a $25K ASP for a humanoid robot in 2040, a robotic exoskeleton will cost approximately $8K, representing an 11-fold reduction relative to today’s exoskeletons. Technological advances will make these exoskeletons lighter and smaller, more powerful and efficient, and provide substantially longer battery life. A device within the reach of almost every citizen.

When we are in our 80s and 90s, we will be walking, taking the stairs, and hiking outdoors, not stuck in an old folks home with a 4-wheeled walker - that is progress!

Let’s turn to BMI-Brain Machine Interface, in the short run, a technology critical to people with severe spinal cord disabilities that, when combined with exoskeletons, will allow them to regain mobility. In the long run our future interface to everything.

BMI – Brain Machine Interface

The history of BMI, Brain Machine Interface, also known as BCI, Brain Computer Interface, begins in 1924 with the invention of the EEG, electroencephalography, and has evolved as follows:

• 1924: Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist and neurologist, discovered the brain's electrical activity of what were called alpha waves (8–13 Hz) with the first EEG
• 1960s-1970s: Early experiments involved training animals (monkeys and cats) to control their brain rhythms.
• 1973: computer scientist Jacques Vidal introduced the term BCI, "brain-computer interface," into scientific literature
• 1988: Researchers used EEG signals to control a robotic arm.
• 1989: Richard A. Normann at the University of Utah invents the Utah Electrode Array (UEA)
• 1998: Neurologist Philip R. Kennedy successfully implanted the first invasive BCI into a human patient, leading to high-quality brain signal recordings.
• 2004: A patient named Matt Nagle receives the first BCI implant (BrainGate system), allowing him to control a computer cursor and interact with devices like a TV.
• 2020s: significant VC investment in invasive BCI technologies, notably Synchron (using a minimally invasive vascular approach) and Neuralink (using robotic surgery). AI significantly improves signal processing measures and converts barin signals into actions. With AI, researchers are mapping the brain's electrical language, finding ways to interact with it, and unraveling how these signals create our inner world, including moments of reflection or "second thoughts".

How does BCI work?

It all starts with how we capture the brain's electrical signals. This can be accomplished in three ways:

• ​EEG, Electrocephalogram: A non-invasive brain wave capture using scalp electrodes to record electrical activity.
• ​ECoG, Electrocorticogram: An invasive brain monitoring technique using electrodes placed directly on the brain's surface (cortex) after craniotomy (skull opening) to record electrical activity. ECoG offers higher resolution than scalp EEG for locating seizure sources, mapping brain functions (like motor/language), and powering brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)
• ​Intracortical Recording: an invasive neuroscience technique using implanted microelectrode arrays to capture electrical signals (like action potentials or local field potentials) directly from ensembles of neurons within the brain's cerebral cortex, offering high-resolution insights into brain function.

Once an EEG, ECoG, or Intercortical sensor captures brain activity, the signals are processed to map the captured activity. The evolution of AI has enhanced and in some cases, replaced traditional signal processing techniques in identifying and mapping brain waves to desired motor function and even a person's inner thoughts, also known as “Second Thoughts.”

Essentially, AI/signal processing produce commands for interfaces or motor control that the “human in the loop” responds to. All of his processing occurs in a real-time cycle of thought-to-action, followed by monitoring the action as shown in the following diagram from the National Institutes of Health:

A substantial amount of investment capital is flowing into BMI/BCI. Here is a brief rundown on the startups and established medical technology companies using invasive techniques:

• ​Neuralink: Founded by Elon Musk, Neuralink is a prominent company working on implantable BCI devices. Its first product, the N1 implant, has undergone its first set of human trials. As you might expect, Mr Musk is deeply invested in every aspect AI, Robotics, and now BMI/BCI
• ​Blackrock Neurotech: known for their MoveAgain BCI system, designed to restore communication and motor function for patients with paralysis. Blackrock Neurotech has the most implanted devices in human patients to date
• ​Synchron: Uses endovascular approach (via blood vessels) without the need for open brain surgery. This company has developed a unique, minimally invasive BCI that is delivered through an endovascular approach (via blood vessels) without the need for open brain surgery. The Sychron “Stentrode” is an electrode array that senses motor signal within the blood vessels
• ​Paradromics: Paradromics specializes in high-data-rate BCI technology. The Connexus® Brain-Computer Interface focuses on people who are unable to speak, due to ALS, spinal cord injuries, and stroke, allowing them to communicate independently through digital devices.

This is a small sample of the many firms that provide EEG, ECoG, and Intracortical solutions. Other notable major companies include Medtronic and Emotive, which focus on EEG solutions

To date, our BMI/BCI solutions have been unidirectional, from Human-to-Machine. Initial research has begun on BMI/BCI in the reverse direction: Machine-to-Human. Examples of applications for reverse BMI/BCI are:

• Restoring vision by stimulating the visual cortex to create simple shapes/colors
• Providing sensory feedback (touch, proprioception) from a prosthetic limb directly to the brain.

What neuroscientists have not yet achieved is a connection that enables seamless transfer of computer memory & knowledge to the human brain. If this can be solved, then we are the AI and the AI is us. Humans would inatley have the capabilities of AI as if they were their own.

There are likely some ethical issues with AI-Human integration, not the least of which would be privacy. In the wrong hands, the “state” could monitor our every thought. Let's not forget about “Monsters from the ID” from the classic 1950s sci-fi movie Forbidden Planet. An alien development of a mind-reading device could not discriminate between conscious and unconscious thoughts, with disastrous results

Yet, like the AI and robotic revolution underway, complete Human-AI integration will be too compelling to stop. It is all a matter of time.

Concluding Thoughts … What’s to Become of Us?

It's not the end of the world; however, over the next few decades, the rise of the Machine Age and the mass displacement of human workers will feel like it to many. We will have to adapt rapidly over a single generation (~15 to 20 years) to a very different world. Adaptation takes discipline, determination, and grit to fail and to try again.

For those without these qualities, there will be a universal basic income safety net. Sadly, it does mean there will be a two-class system. A creative class of innovative decision makers and a “leisure class” that is free to do anything with their time.

Will that mean we will have a world of “Have’s and Have Nots?” Yes, the creative class has always lived materially better than the labor class. Considering that a world with completely automated production will provide goods and services at costs that are multiple times lower than today. Every person’s standard of living will improve by the same multiples as our standard of living today.

Under UBI (Universal Basic Income), everyone will live well, equipped with an apartment, shared self-driving transportation, food, clothing, and health care, all built and maintained by an army of humanoid robots. Given the demographics, couples who form families and have at least 2 children will undoubtedly be incentivized with larger apartments or small homes situated near school complexes and parks.

This will not be the public housing ghettos our welfare system produced starting in the mid-1960s. The deterioration, rot, litter, and dinginess of those places will not be allowed to exist. The Robots of our Machine Age, ever present, will see to that. Apartments will be cleaned, maintained, and kept in good condition. Green spaces and parks will be pristine. Each robot will serve as the police's eyes and ears and could be deployed to intervene in crimes and make arrests on the spot.

Humans will continue to create art, literature, and architecture; compose music; make scientific discoveries; invent; and explore new worlds (the Moon, Mars, and beyond). Humans will continue to excel in competitive sports and games. For the creative, AI will make us more productive. Robots will perform all manual and dangerous work.

Humans will still make all the important decisions and many of the minor ones. Undoubtedly, we will integrate our mental capabilities directly with AI to greatly expand our knowledge and analytics capabilities. Our thoughts, not our words, will become our interface to the world’s knowledge.

While all this sounds ideal, in the wrong hands, this could also turn into a dystopian police state of the highest order. A fate I fear for my Chinese friends who already live in a techno- police state under the watchful eyes of the Chinese Communist Party faithful, wil only get worse.

What are the implications for today for the coming Machine Age?

• Get comfortable with using AI: – it is not going away. I would use it for an hour a day to conduct research and analysis. It's tax season – feed your AI some of your tax data and get a few opinions from it. I’d still use my accountant, as I’m sure the IRS will not accept the excuse “the AI told me I could do this” when they find a mistake in my tax return.
• Demographics: the US (and our Western Allies) need immigration of skilled workers, but considering where robotics will be in 15 years, we should immediately shut the door on unskilled immigrant laborers. Temporary work visas (like those use in Australia) can fill the gap until robots take up the slack. The unskilled will quickly become a significant burden as robots displace manual-labor positions.
• Learning and Adapting: never quit learning new skills for jobs- studies show that people will have 3 to 7 different careers and 12 to 16 jobs in their lifetimes. That was before AI. Our children can expect these numbers to grow.
• Stay Positive and Stay Calm: This is universally true regardless of the progress of AI and robotics. Take it one day at a time.

I’m sure that a new generation of Luddites (a group that destroyed machines in the early Industrial Revolution) will rear their heads. However, it's like trying to stop the tide from coming in. Legislation to create protected classes of workers, for example, limiting your representation in court only to human lawyers, or the United Auto Workers demanding limits to human robots of the factory floor, may slow down AI and robotics adoption. But like any artificial boundary, it will fold in short order. Look at Marijuana. When did the law stop people from smoking pot? Some enterprising person will figure out a way around any legal or contractual boundary and make a fortune in the process. Maybe that person is you!

So, what is to become of us?

Not surprisingly, we will be fine. We will adapt. Look at the changes in the world since 1890. Horses replaced by cars. Airplanes, Rockets, and the conquest of outer space, radio, television, computers, the internet, WIFI, cellular – all invented and never existed … all of that change and two world wars, yet the human race endures.

AI and robotics are just the next thing … once we adapt, I suspect they may be the greatest thing mankind has invented and will be a force of positive, not negative, change.

Beyond robotics and AI, humankind faces daunting challenges yet to be conquered. Nuclear fusion for unlimited clean energy and the colonization of the Earth's solar system and, later, the stars, to name a few. I suspect it will take both AI and human ingenuity to solve these challenges.

I hope you found this 3-part series on the Machine Age informative. This will be the final Dystopic for 2025

Happy Holidays and Best wishes in the coming New Year

In Other News …

With the news filled with random acts of violence around the world over the last few weeks, you likely missed the story of the daring submarine drone attack by Ukraine on a Russian Kilo-class nuclear submarine ….

According to Naval News, on December 15th, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that it had struck an Improved Kilo-class submarine at the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk. The attack was reportedly a joint operation between the SBU's 13th Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence and the Ukrainian Naval Forces. It used a “Sub Sea Baby” drone, A derivative of the “Sea Baby” surface ship drones that Ukraine has used to damage or sink between 24 and 30 Russian navy vessels in the Black Sea since the start of the war in 2022.

This is the second Russian nuclear submarine Ukraine has successfully attacked. On September 13, 2023, Ukraine launched Storm Shadow missiles that functionally destroyed the Kilo Class Submarine, Rostov on Dom, while it sat in drydock in the Russian Sevastopol naval base.

Naval News estimates that the damage in the December 15, 2025, attack had similar results to the 2023 attack detailed below:

While I’m sure this attack is not helping with the US-led peace initiative, you have to commend Ukraine on its ingenuity in carrying out such an audacious attack.

That’s a wrap for this week …

Dystopic- The Technology Behind Today's News

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