Defencematters.eu Correspondents
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Defencematters.eu Correspondents
March launch for EU SAFE defence lending, with early tranche planned
The European Union is preparing to make the first payments under its Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence loans in March 2026, in what officials describe as an attempt to accelerate joint procurement and address shortages in key military capabilities.…
Nightfall: Britain promises Ukraine a ballistic missile – but the hard part comes after the press release
Britain says it will help Ukraine by developing a new ground-launched ballistic missile able to carry a 200kg warhead beyond 500 kilometres. The project, codenamed Nightfall, is billed as a rapid boost to Kyiv’s long-range strike power. It is also,…
Ukraine claims strikes on Lukoil platforms in Caspian Sea
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday, 11 January, that Ukrainian forces struck three offshore drilling platforms operated by Russia’s Lukoil in the Caspian Sea, describing the operation as part of measures to reduce Russia’s “military and economic potential”. The platforms…
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…