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Europeans sense danger — yet still hesitate to act
Europeans have begun to feel something unfamiliar: vulnerability. For three generations the continent lived inside a strategic paradox. It possessed advanced economies, stable democracies and generous welfare systems, yet relied on a power across an ocean for its ultimate security.…
Munich: Rubio Reminds the West That Confidence, Not Apology, Keeps the Peace
The Munich Security Conference has long been a gathering devoted to reassurance. Diplomats reassure allies, allies reassure one another, and collectively the West reassures itself that stability can be preserved largely by good intentions and the careful management of tensions.…
The Sound of War: British Troops Gain Instant Fire Detection Capability
War, for all its technological flourish, still hinges on a primitive human limitation: you cannot react to what you cannot find. For centuries soldiers have fought enemies they could hear but not see — the crack of a rifle, the…
Rubio tells Europe a new geopolitical era is under way ahead of Munich address
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned European allies that they are entering a “new era in geopolitics” as he arrived in Europe ahead of a headline address at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, 14 February 2026. Speaking…
The infantry rifle is changing — and so is war: what modern assault-weapon design tells us about the battlefields of the 21st century
For most of the Cold War the infantry rifle was, in strategic terms, almost a settled question. You could walk into a Warsaw Pact armoury and find a Kalashnikov; into a NATO one and find some variant of the AR-15…
Telegram on the front line: Russia’s troops confront a communications squeeze
Russia’s battlefield communications are facing renewed uncertainty after Moscow moved to restrict Telegram, an app widely used by Russian forces and pro-war commentators to pass orders, share situational reports and coordinate logistics in Ukraine. On 10 February 2026, Russia’s communications…
“Sunray” prototype: Ukraine’s laser option for cheaper drone interception
Ukraine has tested a low-cost laser air-defence system designed to destroy small drones at close range, according to a report published by The Atlantic on 10 February 2026. In the article, staff writer Simon Shuster describes a field demonstration of…
How Sudan’s War Is Drawing in Its Neighbours
The war in Sudan has always threatened to become something larger than a mere domestic tragedy. Now, according to a striking investigation, it may already have done so. Fresh reporting suggests that neighbouring Ethiopia has been hosting a clandestine military…
US to hand two NATO command posts to European officers in Naples and Norfolk
The United States is set to hand over leadership of two major NATO operational headquarters to European officers, in a move that would alter a long-standing pattern of American command at senior levels of the Alliance. According to a military…
Mark Rutte’s Long View Is Giving NATO Strategic Confidence
Mark Rutte’s leadership shows NATO is as much political as it is military. There are two ways to understand NATO’s present moment. One is to see only the anxiety: a grinding war in Ukraine, a volatile Middle East, an increasingly…