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Poland Seeks Unused EU Defence Loans for Transport and Tanker Aircraft
Warsaw wants to absorb SAFE borrowing capacity left unused by other member states and is considering strategic airlift and aerial refuelling among the beneficiaries, but no additional allocation or aircraft purchase has yet been approved.
Taiwan Plans 16% Defence-Budget Rise as Spending Passes NT$1tn
The proposed 2027 increase would set a new headline level, but its deterrent value will depend on whether Taiwan can turn allocations into delivered missiles, drones, air defence, stocks and resilient infrastructure.
Houthi Claim Gives Saudi–Türkiye–Pakistan Defence Pact Its First Immediate Test
Riyadh has confirmed a fire at the Jazan refinery but not its cause, leaving the new allies to decide how an Article-5-like commitment applies when attribution remains contested.
Russia Retains Syrian Foothold as Tartous and Hmeimim Become Joint Training Centres
Damascus will recover civilian infrastructure while Moscow keeps a restructured military presence, replacing the broad basing model established under Bashar al-Assad with a narrower joint arrangement.
Ukraine Reshuffles Intelligence, Security Council and Washington Representation
Kyiv’s latest personnel moves reorganise foreign intelligence, security co-ordination and representation in Washington at a moment when Ukraine’s military position and diplomatic track are increasingly intertwined. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reorganised three sensitive parts of Ukraine’s wartime state: foreign intelligence,…
Austria’s Nine-Month Conscription Deal Turns Neutrality Into a Readiness Test
Austria’s coalition wants longer military service and compulsory reserve training, but the proposal will test whether parliamentary agreement can be converted into a larger usable force.
Pentagon Opens Europe Force Review as Burden Shift Reaches the Bases
The Pentagon’s review moves NATO burden-sharing from speeches and spending targets to the harder question of which American forces, bases and specialist capabilities will remain in Europe.
China Answers US–Japan–Philippines Drills with South China Sea Patrol
A five-day allied exercise has been followed by a Chinese naval and air patrol, linking coastguard confrontations to military signalling and increasing the need for both credible deterrence and reliable crisis control.
Defence Primes Put Record Capital into Start-ups — and Buy an Option on Disruption
Large defence contractors have joined a record $4.1bn of military start-up funding rounds in 2026. The money offers access to faster innovation, but could also reproduce the procurement culture the newcomers were meant to challenge.
Temasek’s Defence Shift Brings Sovereign Capital into European Rearmament
Singapore’s state investor is identifying European defence as an investment opportunity, illustrating how rising military budgets are changing the boundaries of institutional capital. Temasek has placed defence among the sectors in which it sees selective opportunities in Europe, marking a…