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NATO Ukraine Funding Plan Exposes Uneven Burden-Sharing Among Allies
Mark Rutte’s proposal for NATO members to allocate 0.25 per cent of GDP to military support for Ukraine has failed to secure unanimous backing, exposing divisions over how the Alliance should finance Kyiv’s defence ahead of the Ankara summit. NATO’s…
Ukraine Looks to Europe After Stalled US Talks on Anti-Ballistic Missile Production
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv has seen no recent progress with Washington on expanding anti-ballistic missile production, sharpening the question of whether Europe can develop the capacity Ukraine says it urgently needs. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine has seen…
Taiwan Scrambles Jets as Chinese Forces Circle Island Again
China intensified military pressure on Taiwan for the second time in less than a week on Monday, dispatching fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels around the island in what Taipei described as a coordinated “combat readiness patrol”, underlining the increasingly…
Russia’s Oreshnik Strike Raises Questions Over Escalation and Military Effect
Russia’s latest large-scale attack on Ukraine combined drones, cruise missiles and advanced ballistic systems, including Oreshnik, Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. The strike caused civilian casualties and damage, while also exposing questions over Moscow’s escalation strategy and the practical effect of…
UK Supply Chain Warning Shows Civil Resilience Is Becoming a Defence Issue
A new warning on Britain’s exposure to food, medicine and industrial supply disruption shows that national preparedness is no longer only a civil contingency issue. Britain’s supply chains are not prepared for a major shock such as war, pandemic disruption…
Britain and Australia forge AI security alliance amid cyber fears
Britain and Australia have moved to tighten co-operation on artificial intelligence security, as Western governments become increasingly concerned that the race to deploy powerful AI systems is outpacing efforts to contain the risks they create. Under a new agreement announced…
Le Pen’s NATO Command Pledge Reopens France’s Strategic Autonomy Divide
Marine Le Pen’s call for France to leave NATO’s integrated military command has turned a long-running French debate over sovereignty into a live question for European defence planning, at a time when allies are already assessing the reliability of US…
Explosia: Prague Weighs Sale of Strategic Explosives Group as Europe’s Defence Boom Accelerates
The Czech government is considering the partial sale of state-owned explosives manufacturer Explosia, in what could become one of central Europe’s most politically sensitive defence transactions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reshaped the continent’s military priorities. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš…
Britain’s Paratroopers Prepare for the Drone Wars
The shrill buzz of a drone is becoming the defining soundtrack of modern warfare. Once viewed as little more than battlefield curiosities, unmanned aerial systems are now among the deadliest and most disruptive weapons in any conflict zone, from Ukraine’s…
Royal British Legion Brussels: “Come and join our ranks”
An appeal has been launched by the Royal British Legion to recruit new members for its Brussels branch. Globally, the RBL, the UK’s largest armed forces charity, has a 180,000-strong membership and Brussels has just over 100 members. It is…