• A Ukrainian unit is using century-old US guns to target Russian drones and planes.
• Ukraine is running low on missiles, which are far more expensive than drones and ammo.
• One unit is using cheaper M2 Brownings, which were developed in 1918, the last year of World War I.

Ukrainians are putting machine guns first designed in the US at the end of World War I on the back of pickup trucks to try to shoot down Russian drones and spy planes.

Soldiers in Ukraine's 117th Territorial Defense Brigade are using guns, including the M2 Browning, to try to take down Russia's Shahed drones, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The M2 was used by American forces in World War II, and is still used by some today, but it was initially developed in 1918, the last year of World War I.

The Kyiv Independent, which visited one Ukrainian unit, reported that they are often the first to confront drones that Russia fires north, toward the cities of Sumy and Kyiv.

Its members monitor the sky, watch their tracking equipment, and drive where needed, eager to shoot down whatever they can.

Russia has been firing drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure since it launched its full-scale invasion, often targeting places far from the front lines.

These attacks have killed civilians, destroyed residential buildings, and damaged Ukraine's energy network.

Ukraine faces a dilemma when it comes to shooting them down.

Shahed drones are estimated to cost around $20,000 each, but some of the air-defense missiles that Ukraine has in its arsenal have a price tag in the millions.

Ukraine's supply of air-defense missiles has also been running low after Republicans stalled billions in further aid for six months.

Soldiers often had to make difficult choices about when to use their precious stockpile.

That's where weapons like the M2 Browning come in.

Its predecessor, the M1917, was designed by American John Browning and first used in 1917, with the M2 coming the following year.

Both Russia and Ukraine have used decades-old equipment and weaponry in the war, sometimes because it is proven to be reliable and sometimes due to shortages of more modern supplies.

The unit's leader, call sign Dias, described the Browning to the Kyiv Independent as "reliable, user-friendly" and with a higher fire rate.

But he and other soldiers still said they desired more modern weapons: "We're eager to take down Shaheds. We could cut them with such weapons," he said.

Dias' unit is made up of 16 soldiers, who were all civilians before Russia's invasion, the outlet reported.

Dias, who had combat experience, said he "taught them to shoot and survive" and that they have downed six Shaheds and 12 reconnaissance aircraft.

He described the unit as protecting the city of Sumy, which is close to the border with Russia, and said that his unit works within range of Russian artillery, guided bombs, and first-person-view drones.

Another soldier described the wider region to the Kyiv Independent as "Ukraine's northern shield."

He called their group "the last defensive line" for the area.

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• Stocks are in a "late secular bull market," BofA's Michael Hartnett said in a Friday research note.
• That'll end in either a bubble or a recession, he warned.
• Equities have sputtered recently, with investors fretting about stubborn inflation and slow growth.

The bull market that's pushed stock prices higher for the past year and a half will probably end in tears, Bank of America's Michael Hartnett warned.

Equities are in a "late secular bull market" that likely "ends with [a] bubble and/or recession," the bank's chief investment strategist wrote in a Friday research note seen by Business Insider.

Hartnett's been warning for months that stocks are nearing bubble territory. Since October 2022, the S&P 500 has soared by more than 40%, powered higher by the AI investing craze and a better-than-expected economy.

That rally has stalled in recent months, though, with investors starting to fret about stubborn inflation and slowing growth.

The Federal Reserve has also signaled that it's likely to delay cutting interest rates until the second half of 2024, which has further weighed on valuations.

Hartnett also said the economy could be headed for a period of stagflation, pointing to Friday's April jobs report as a key data point.

Spring's GDP and consumer price index figures looked "stagflationary," he wrote, adding that the market would likely see a lower-than-expected monthly non-farm payrolls number as "a risk-off print." The 175,000 jobs added was considerably lower than the 238,000 forecast by economists.

JPMorgan also flagged stagflation — a combination of high inflation and sluggish growth — as a potential threat to the economy this week.

"While the worry for risk markets is overheating that jeopardizes rate cutting, in contrast to the overheating story, the recent GDP print heads in a stagflationary direction relative to market expectations," a team led by equity strategist Marko Kolanovic said in a research note.

Hartnett's bearish stance clashes with the view held by BofA's head of US equity and quantitative strategy, Savita Subramanian, who has predicted that stocks' bull market will last.

While chatter about the threat posed by stagflation is intensifying, the economy looks resilient enough to carry on powering equities higher, she said in a Thursday research note.

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• China has developed a large network of military satellites. 
• A Pentagon official warned they could be used to target US troops. 
• China is expanding its military presence in space. 

China has developed a network of hundreds of military satellites that could be used to target US troops, a Pentagon official warned.

Maj. Gen. Greg Gagnon, deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, told a conference on Thursday that China had developed a sophisticated military satellite program.

He said it could be used to track and target US troops moving to defend Taiwan, Defense One reported.

"It's to provide indications and warnings of sailors, marines, airmen, trying to move west, if directed, to defend freedom," Gagnon said.

"They will now—in a way that we're not comfortable talking about in America—they will be inside a rapidly expanding weapons engagement zone."

He went on to explain that means they can track their targets from a long-distance, even if those targets are mobile.

"Few countries have that advantage," he said.

The US has long deployed a network of satellites to monitor potential threats, but Gagnon said that China had ended the US monopoly on using satellite data to strike targets at very long distances.

He described it as an "architecture that's designed to go to war and sustain in war. And the purpose of reconnaissance and surveillance, from the ultimate high ground, is, of course, to inform decisions about fire control for militaries."

China has, in recent years, intensified its bid to establish itself as a major military force in space.

Military experts believe that if a war were to break out between major powers, the opening shots would likely be fired in space in a bid to disable the satellite systems militaries rely on for communications.

China has developed weapons capable of taking out US satellites, systems for monitoring US troops, and hypersonic weapons capable of evading air defense systems — and some are warning could be preparing to use the moon as a platform for attacks.

The number of Chinese crafts in orbit has risen by around 500% since its space military division was formed in 2015, said Gagnon, and of the 400 launched in the last two years around half are used to monitor Earth.

US military leaders are warning that the US must step up if it wants to avoid being beaten in the race for space dominance.

"We are at a pivotal moment in history," Troy Meink, principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and operates the US fleet of spy satellites, said at a recent event in Colorado, as quoted by Space.com.

"For the first time in decades, US leadership in space and space technology is being challenged," Meink added. "Our competitors are actively seeking ways to threaten our capabilities, and we see this every day."

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• David Kirsch, 64, worries he won't have enough money to retire comfortably in a few years.
• He's one of 30 million Americans known as "peak boomers," a group born between 1959 and 1964.
• Many of these boomers are worried about having enough to stop working and cover their expenses. 

David Kirsch is hoping he can retire at 70.

He's 64 years old, and his dream is to buy a gently used sailboat, sell most of his belongings, and spend his golden years traveling around the Caribbean and South America.

But Kirsch — a resident of Hill, New Hampshire — feels like his sailboat is drifting further and further away. He has an IT job and earns $64,805 a year, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. He said he maintains IRA accounts and puts money into his 401(k), but he still isn't confident he's saved enough to retire.

Kirsch is hoping to start collecting Social Security checks in a couple of years, just before his 67th birthday. That additional money would allow him to put more of his professional income into his retirement accounts during the last years of his career, he said.

"My biggest fear is finding myself at 75 standing at the door at Walmart greeting people as they come in," he told BI.

Kirsch isn't alone. He's one of 30 million Americans known as "peak boomers," a group of baby boomers born between 1959 and 1964 who will start turning 65 this year and are heading toward retirement. However, many of these boomers are worried about having enough money to fully stop working and cover their living expenses.

The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey found that more than half of Americans over 65 have an annual income of $30,000 or less. And, per an April report from the retirement research firm Alliance Lifetime Income's Retirement Income Institute, 52.5% of boomers have $250,000 or less in assets.

For many, Social Security won't be enough to fill the gaps. As of March 2024, the Social Security Administration said that its average monthly check sent to recipients is $1,774.83. And, if lawmakers don't intervene, the US Social Security fund is set to dry out by the late 2030s.

This group of boomers is feeling the consequences of the US' switch from an employer-funded pension to the employee-funded 401(k) system in the 1980s.

Even with aggressive saving, he's not sure about the future

Kirsch's anxiety about retirement has fluctuated throughout his career. He has experienced a few periods of unemployment that made saving money difficult, and his past employers didn't always offer retirement benefits. He has been in his current job for the past 12 years and is now using "highly aggressive" retirement contributions to reach his goals, he said.

He said his top expenses right now are his car payment, gas money, and the cost of housing and utilities. Kirsch is in good health, but worries about affording medical care if that changes.

He also said he isn't sure he would be able to return to work after retirement because of hiring discrimination for older adults.

"If I'm by myself, out-competed, in need for money, in my seventies, and having health problems — life's going suck, that's my fear," Kirsch said.

Kirsch wishes more people understood that some older adults aren't able to adequately prepare for retirement because of life circumstances. He also wishes government safety net programs for affordable housing and healthcare didn't wait for people to reach "critical status" and be "destitute" before they provide assistance.

Although he hasn't given up on his sailboat dream, Kirsch said he's anxious about having enough to live comfortably a decade from now. He often tells his young adult son to think about retirement early.

"Start saving and do it as aggressively as you can," he said. "And, when you can't be aggressive, still save something."

Are you worried about being financially ready for retirement? How are you preparing? Share your story with this reporter at allisonkelly@insider.com.

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