The Baltic Sea has quietly become a submarine battleground. Sweden’s recent entry into NATO and Poland’s Orka programme are shaking up undersea balances. In November 2025, Warsaw chose Sweden’s Saab to supply three A26 Blekinge-class submarines, a deal worth about 10 billion zloty, 2.4 billion euros. Poland’s sole existing diesel-electric sub is an ageing Soviet-built
Baltic Sea: A Submarine Chessboard Read More »
China has dramatically tightened its grip on global technology supply chains by extending export controls on rare earths, adding five more elements to its list and imposing new licence requirements on semiconductor users, just weeks before Presidents Trump and Xi meet. Beijing dominates the sector, accounting for about 70 % of global mining and roughly 90 %
Drones have gone from gimmick to game-changer. In Ukraine, swarms of cheap UAVs now stalk everything from tanks to individual soldiers. Saab’s answer is a stripped-down drone killer designed for the battlefield’s new reality. The race is on: as RUSI observes, Russia today boasts “the most formidable counter-UAS capabilities on earth”. These cheap uncrewed systems—often
Drone Wars Rewrite the Rules of Armour and Air Defence Read More »
Norway is undertaking a once-in-a-generation military modernisation. It is also strongly supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. The hybrid warfare is increasingly probing the Nordic region – from drone disturbances at airports and undersea cable sabotage to relentless GPS jamming – forcing Norway and its neighbours to reassess their defences. Against Russian pressure, Oslo
Norway’s Defence Surge: High North Tensions Read More »
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has secured an exemption for military expenditure from Germany’s strict debt-brake rules, enabling a dramatic boost in the defence budget – and reverberating through Europe’s defence industry. Germany is embarking on its largest military buildup in decades, with plans to spend around €83 billion on defence in 2026 – a jump of €20 billion
Germany’s Historic Military Expansion €83 Billion Defence Budget for 2026 Read More »
Britain is under sustained attack from Iran—not with armies, but through assassins, cyberweapons, and street-level criminal proxies. In a damning new report, the UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) warns that Tehran has become one of the most active and unpredictable hostile actors targeting the United Kingdom today. Iran’s hybrid offensive is a campaign
Europe’s New Battleground: Iran’s Criminal Proxy War Comes to the Streets of the West Read More »
BAE Systems delivered robust financial results in 2024, reflecting strong defence sector momentum. Annual sales reached £28.3 billion, a ~14% year-on-year increase in constant currency terms. Underlying EBIT climbed to £3.0 billion, up 14% in constant currency, and operating profit was £2.69 billion, up 4% on a reported basis. Order intake in 2024 was £33.7 billion – slightly lower
The UK has long underinvested in defence, hiding behind percentage-of-GDP metrics while delivering woefully outdated capabilities. The 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) commits to raising defence spending from ~2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with ambition to reach 3% “if fiscal conditions allow”. Starmer’s government has adopted all 62 recommendations of Lord Robertson’s review,
Britain’s Armed Forces at a Crossroads: Re‑Arming for a New Era of Threats Read More »
For years, Ukrainian experts have warned that the Moscow Patriarchate’s church network often serves not just religious purposes but strategic ones. This suspicion – long evident in Ukraine – is now gaining traction across Europe, from Sweden and Norway to the Netherlands. In the wake of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many European governments
Russian Orthodox Churches in Europe: Espionage Outposts Under the Guise of Faith Read More »
For over four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been under siege—not just through sanctions and speeches, but via a relentless, largely undeclared campaign of sabotage, cyberwarfare, assassinations, and airstrikes. Orchestrated primarily by Israel and the United States, this “secret war” has targeted Iran’s nuclear ambitions, military infrastructure, and top scientists with precision and
The Secret War on Iran: Decades of Sabotage, Sanctions, and Strikes Read More »
