This is about photography, but the title reminded me of S02 E09 of For All Mankind, in which the Soviets capture the American moon base "Jamestown". Thrilling.

Somewhat recently, a couple of Chinese companies have been making some very cheap telephoto lenses. Brand marks like JINTU are offering 800mm and 1600mm lenses for around US$75-100. They are usually around F8.3, though, and lack any electronics for auto focus or stabilization (hence why so cheap). The mounting rings are also somewhat fiddly. So, you're definitely getting what you pay for. But good telephoto lenses are 10-20x more expensive, so it could be a good way to get started on the cheap.