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Ukraine’s Drone Wall: Testing AI-Driven Interceptor Swarms in Combat
Ukraine’s battlefields are now the primary proving ground for a new generation of counter-drone technology. The latest step is the planned deployment of an AI-enabled “drone wall” – a defensive system built around swarms of interceptor drones designed to defeat…
NATO says allies have overtaken Russia on ammunition output, as Rutte urges long-term industrial surge
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told the NATO-Industry Forum in Bucharest on 6 November that allied defence industries have increased capacity to the point that the Alliance is no longer behind Russia in ammunition production. “Until recently, Russia was producing more…
Europe’s Achilles’ Heel: How China’s Grip on Rare Earths Undercuts the Continent’s Defence Ambition
Europe’s defence ambition in the 2020s has often been framed as a matter of military hardware, joint procurement and interoperability. But a far subtler—and far more existential—vulnerability now lies in the raw materials that underpin modern weapons: rare earths. The…
Rheinmetall to build propellant plant in Romania as EU expands defence production
Rheinmetall will build a new ammunition and propellant plant in central Romania under a joint venture with the state-owned Pirochim Victoria, as EU member states move to expand industrial capacity for artillery supplies amid the war in Ukraine. The agreement…
€305 Million Compensation? Europe’s Defence Procurement Mess Just Got Costlier
When Norway and NHIndustries (NHI) announced a settlement over the cancelled NH90 submarine-hunting helicopter contract, one might have expected a quiet footnote in defence-industry circles. Instead what we see is a symptomatic collapse of Europe’s ability to execute multi-national defence…
Rome Bets on Tanks and Hungary — But Can Europe Trust Its Eastern Partner?
Rome’s plan to use EU “SAFE” loans for German-built tanks, in collaboration with Hungary, highlights both Italy’s ambition and the fragility of European defence, however Orbán’s Kremlin ties fuel scepticism. Italy’s striking proposal to channel European Union “SAFE” defence loans…
Bulgaria Bets on Rheinmetall to Reignite Europe’s Ammunition Industry
Bulgaria’s decision to tie itself to Rheinmetall in a €1 billion ammunition venture marks more than an industrial deal: it is a geopolitical bet that Budapest’s and Sofia’s recent flurries of defence contracts will now be matched by rapid, hard-nosed capacity-building…
Shield AI’s X-BAT: A Leap in Autonomous Air Combat or a Step Too Far?
In a significant development for unmanned aerial technology, Shield AI has unveiled the X-BAT, a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) autonomous fighter jet designed for expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments. The company touts the X-BAT as a revolutionary…
‘Russian Secrets’: Western technology used to build Russia’s Arctic seabed surveillance
An international consortium of news organisations has published detailed findings on a covert Russian programme, codenamed “Harmony”, that has installed an undersea surveillance system across the Barents Sea and adjacent Arctic waters to protect Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet. The reporting…
Sweden Stakes Its Air Power on Saab’s Next-Generation Fighter
Sweden has made a clear statement about its strategic priorities, awarding Saab a SEK 2.6 billion (£193 million) contract to advance research into a next-generation fighter aircraft. The deal, announced on 14th October by the Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), runs…