In 1999, Serbian radar crews were preparing for another wave of NATO strikes. But there were no explosions.
In the middle of the night, substations across Belgrade began to fail in sequence. Power stations lost control. Air defense grids went offline. By morning, 70 percent of the country’s electricity was gone, leaving millions in the dark.
For 25 years, most militaries around the world dismissed it as a niche weapon, too limited and absolutely not worth the investment.
Until summer 2025, when Chinese state media aired footage of something that looked disturbingly familiar. Now, the blackout bomb appears to be returning.