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Spain’s Pedro Sánchez Blocks U.S. Jets – But Still Depends on U.S. Power
Spain’s decision to slam shut its airspace to American military aircraft en route to the Iran theatre is being dressed up in Madrid as a principled stand for international law. In reality, it looks far more like a familiar European…
New US bunker-buster strike marks another escalation in Iran conflict
The United States has confirmed the use of multiple 5,000-pound deep-penetration munitions against hardened Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be a significant escalation in the current war and a notable development in the…
Iran may have damaged US F-35 in first reported hit on American warplane
A US F-35 fighter aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at an American base in the Middle East after a combat mission over Iran, in an incident that may mark the first time Iranian forces have successfully struck…
Macron and Merz to discuss FCAS as pressure grows on Europe’s flagship fighter project
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are expected to discuss the troubled Future Combat Air System on the margins of the EU summit, as industrial conflict between Dassault and Airbus raises fresh doubts over one of Europe’s…
From Guernica to Kyiv: How Strategic Bombing Doctrine Evolved from Hitler to Putin
From the shattered Basque town of Guernica to the pulverised apartment blocks of modern Ukraine, aerial bombardment has evolved from experimental terror tactic to grimly familiar feature of industrialised war. Yet the philosophy behind it has changed markedly since the…
Steel in the Rotor Wash: Two Decades of the Modern Battlefield Helicopter
For much of the twentieth century the battlefield helicopter symbolised mobility and immediacy. From the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, the image of rotor blades beating the air above advancing troops became inseparable from modern warfare. Yet…
Drone used in attack on RAF Akrotiri contained Russian-made parts, report says
A drone that struck the British air base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on 1 March contained a Russian-made Kometa-B navigation system, according to reporting by The Times, a finding likely to sharpen scrutiny of military links between Moscow and…
Strategic Refuelling and Strategic Choices: Poland’s Defence Dilemma
Poland finds itself at a critical juncture in its defence procurement policy, grappling with a choice that illuminates broader questions about alliances, industrial autonomy and geopolitical strategy. At stake is not merely the acquisition of new tanker aircraft for the…
Israel’s coherence, Washington’s ambiguity: the missing political strategy in Iran
As Israeli operations follow a clear military logic, questions grow over whether Washington has any coherent political plan for what comes next in Iran. Events in the Middle East have been moving at speed since the latest phase of the…
Shielding the Spear Tip: How Britain Could Defend Its Forward Bases from the Drone Age
The drone that struck RAF Akrotiri was small, comparatively cheap and — in the grim arithmetic of modern warfare — expendable. Yet it exposed something far more valuable: the vulnerability of Britain’s forward operating model in an era when unmanned…