Defencematters.eu Correspondents
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Defencematters.eu Correspondents
Reports of “mysterious weapon” follow US raid that seized Venezuela’s Maduro
The United States’ 3 January operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has prompted a second, more opaque debate: whether US forces used a directed-energy or acoustic system to disable Venezuelan defenders during the…
A missile message to Europe: what Russia’s Oreshnik strike was meant to signal
For a second time in a little over a year, Russia has used its Oreshnik missile against Ukraine, and for a second time the political message has been louder than the physical results. The latest launch was recorded overnight on…
China, Russia and Iran join South Africa for BRICS naval drills off Cape Town
CAPE TOWN — Warships from China, Russia and Iran have begun a week of naval drills with South Africa in waters off Cape Town, in an exercise organised under the BRICS grouping as Washington escalates action against Venezuelan oil shipments.…
Reports link Russia–Iran cargo flights to unrest and claims of asset transfers
Reports of repeated Russian heavy-lift flights into Tehran over the year-end holiday have fed speculation that Iran’s leadership is moving valuables abroad and preparing contingency escape plans as protests spread and the currency slides. Air Cargo Week, an airfreight industry…
Oreshnik launch from Kapustin Yar reported in overnight strike near Stryi in Ukraine’s Lviv region
Russia fired a nuclear-capable “Oreshnik” ballistic missile at a target in western Ukraine overnight, the second acknowledged use of the weapon, as both sides reported a fresh wave of long-range strikes on 9 January. Russia’s defence ministry said the launch…
Small Missile, Serious Message: How Babcock Plans to Beat the Drone Swarm
In an era when the drone has become both sword and scourge on modern battlefields, a new pact between British defence stalwart Babcock and a nimble Estonian start-up could mark a decisive shift in Europe’s maritime air-defence posture. The memorandum…
Channel passage highlights limits of sanctions policing as Russian oil tankers keep moving
Two oil tankers sanctioned by the United States sailed through the English Channel on Thursday 8 January, as western governments stepped up scrutiny of vessels suspected of helping Russia move oil in defiance of restrictions. The first ship, identified as…
US boards and seizes Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuela and Iran sanctions
US authorities have seized an oil tanker previously flagged to Guyana and linked by Washington to sanctions evasion involving Venezuelan and Iranian crude, after the vessel switched into the Russian registry during a weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic. The vessel,…
US aircraft movements add to uncertainty as Iran protests intensify and regional diplomacy shifts
Open-source flight tracking and recent reporting have pointed to an increased tempo of US military air movements linked to the Middle East, coinciding with a sharp escalation in Iran’s internal unrest and a widening set of regional flashpoints. The Iranian…
Russian submarine escorts Marinera as US pursuit of ex-Bella 1 continues
Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval assets to accompany an oil tanker pursued across the Atlantic by the United States Coast Guard, escalating a sanctions-enforcement operation into a direct encounter with Russian military forces in international waters. The…