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New Era Munitions: Rostec Debuts Smart 30 mm Shrapnel Round at World Defence Show
Russia’s state technology corporation Rostec has unveiled what it describes as a potent new response: a remotely detonated 30 mm shrapnel round designed to maximise the hit probability against small drones and loitering threats. The ammunition is slated to make…
German war game shows Russia could seize Nato ground — and hold it unchallenged
A war game run in Germany has modelled a limited Russian incursion into Nato territory and found that Moscow could hold ground for several days without triggering an immediate military response from the alliance. The exercise was organised by Die…
Moscow declares freedom to expand nuclear arsenal after New START ends
Russia has said it no longer considers itself bound by restrictions on its strategic nuclear arsenal as the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington reaches its end. In a statement issued on 4 February, the…
From Treaties to Tensions: How the Nuclear Order Is Unravelling
When Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov says Moscow is ready for a world without nuclear limits, he is not threatening apocalypse. He is doing something more unsettling: calmly acknowledging that the era of negotiated restraint between great powers is…
Unidentified drone falls inside Polish electronic warfare base near Suwałki Gap
An unidentified drone fell onto the grounds of a Poland military installation in the town of Przasnysz on 28 January, prompting a Polish Military Police investigation and fresh scrutiny of security at sites tasked with monitoring NATO’s north-eastern flank. The…
New EU funding and procurement architecture for Ukraine shifts towards arms contracts
The European Commission has put forward a new two-year financial package designed to cover a large share of Ukraine’s forecast needs in 2026 and 2027, while tying a substantial portion of EU-level support more directly to defence procurement. The proposals,…
Does Keir Starmer Not Understand Who Britain’s Enemies Are?
I watched Keir Starmer’s visit to China with a mixture of disbelief and weary recognition. Disbelief, because it is astonishing that a British Prime Minister in 2026 can still wander into Beijing wearing the benign expression of a man who…
If Russia Wins: A Scenario and the Logic of the West’s Managed Defeat
When Carlo Masala set out his hypothetical “Russian victory” in Ukraine, he defined it narrowly: not a march to Kyiv, but Moscow retaining the territories it already occupies. That premise matters because it aligns with the kind of “freeze” or…
South China Sea Tensions Surge as China Steps Up Patrols around Scarborough Shoal
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theatre Command has announced a fresh round of naval and air patrols around Scarborough Shoal, the coral outcrop that has become the unlikeliest flashpoint of the Indo-Pacific’s simmering strategic contest. The declaration, terse but…
Merz signals early talks on European “nuclear umbrella” as transatlantic strain deepens
BERLIN — Germany has begun exploring, with European partners, whether a shared nuclear deterrence arrangement could complement the United States’ longstanding role as the ultimate guarantor of European security, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday. Speaking in Berlin after a foreign…