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Reports of “mysterious weapon” follow US raid that seized Venezuela’s Maduro
The United States’ 3 January operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has prompted a second, more opaque debate: whether US forces used a directed-energy or acoustic system to disable Venezuelan defenders during the…
After the Paris Declaration: Can Europe Deploy Troops in Ukraine?
Europe’s discussion of a multinational military presence in Ukraine has intensified after a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris on 6 January produced a “Paris Declaration” on security guarantees for Ukraine. Issued by France, the declaration sketches…
A missile message to Europe: what Russia’s Oreshnik strike was meant to signal
For a second time in a little over a year, Russia has used its Oreshnik missile against Ukraine, and for a second time the political message has been louder than the physical results. The latest launch was recorded overnight on…
China, Russia and Iran join South Africa for BRICS naval drills off Cape Town
CAPE TOWN — Warships from China, Russia and Iran have begun a week of naval drills with South Africa in waters off Cape Town, in an exercise organised under the BRICS grouping as Washington escalates action against Venezuelan oil shipments.…
Oreshnik launch from Kapustin Yar reported in overnight strike near Stryi in Ukraine’s Lviv region
Russia fired a nuclear-capable “Oreshnik” ballistic missile at a target in western Ukraine overnight, the second acknowledged use of the weapon, as both sides reported a fresh wave of long-range strikes on 9 January. Russia’s defence ministry said the launch…
Small Missile, Serious Message: How Babcock Plans to Beat the Drone Swarm
In an era when the drone has become both sword and scourge on modern battlefields, a new pact between British defence stalwart Babcock and a nimble Estonian start-up could mark a decisive shift in Europe’s maritime air-defence posture. The memorandum…
US boards and seizes Russian-flagged tanker linked to Venezuela and Iran sanctions
US authorities have seized an oil tanker previously flagged to Guyana and linked by Washington to sanctions evasion involving Venezuelan and Iranian crude, after the vessel switched into the Russian registry during a weeks-long pursuit across the Atlantic. The vessel,…
Atlantic Tensions and Presidential Audacity: Trump’s Greenland Gambit
In the pantheon of modern Western leaders, few have been as polarising — or as theatrically audacious — as President Donald J. Trump. His latest salvo, the suggestion that the United States might assert control over Greenland, has sent ripples…
Russian submarine escorts Marinera as US pursuit of ex-Bella 1 continues
Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval assets to accompany an oil tanker pursued across the Atlantic by the United States Coast Guard, escalating a sanctions-enforcement operation into a direct encounter with Russian military forces in international waters. The…
How France’s SCORPION Vehicles Are Being Transformed to Fight the Drone Menace
In the evolving theatre of modern war, one threat has proven both ubiquitous and vexing: the small, agile drone. From the deserts of the Middle East to the plains of Eastern Europe, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have become indispensable to…