Defence & Security
Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: The Role of AI-Driven Simulations in Modern Defence
Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today: The Role of AI-Driven Simulations in Modern Defence Europe is at a turning point in defence innovation. Modern...
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NATO 2025: SECRETARY GENERAL’S ANNUAL REPORT
AGILE Programme
EDF 2026: What the Calls Are Really Asking For
EDF 2026 is open.[1] One billion euros across 31 topics. The technology pipeline is...
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AI in the War Room: How Simulation Can Make Military Decisions Smarter and Safer
Human in the Loop In today’s fast-evolving security environment, military commanders often face overwhelming complexity. Hybrid threats, multi-domain operations, cognitive warfare, and great-power competition demand rapid, accurate decisions under high uncertainty....
Forward Deterrence
Europe Rearms — But Not as One
Key Takeaways Spending is no longer hypothetical. Fiscal rules have shifted and EU lending tools are active; the rearmament cycle is underway. SAFE finances acceleration, not integration. It moves money and incentivises joint procurement but leaves sovereignty, force...
India’s Multi‑Vector Strategy: Autonomy Through Networked Power
Key Takeaways Autonomy is being pursued through embeddedness, not distance. India’s strategy is to deepen selective interdependence across security, technology, trade, and materials in order to multiply options rather than avoid alignment. Defence cooperation is...
EIB Security & Defense
The 2026 PLA Leadership Purge
SAFE and the Quiet Normalisation of EU War Finance
Key Takeaways SAFE is a structural shift, not a crisis tool: The programme normalises defence spending within EU macroeconomic governance, marking a decisive break from treating military expenditure as exceptional or temporary. Financial integration is outpacing...
EU Approves First SAFE Defence Funding for 8 Member States
The Future of NATO and Greenland’s Sovereignty
Key Takeaways Greenland’s value to NATO is strategic, not discretionary. Its location, infrastructure, and resources are integral to Arctic and transatlantic security—but strategic importance does not confer ownership rights. The greatest threat revealed is internal,...
PLA in Transition: U.S. Reports on China’s Military (2020–2025)
Key Takeaways From modernization to readiness: Across the 2020–2025 reports, DoD assessments shift from tracking China’s long-term military modernization to emphasizing near-term warfighting readiness, with particular focus on capabilities usable before 2027. 2027 as...
2025 DoD Report to Congress
Pentagon Report: China Accelerates Military Modernization PALETTE: "Cyber-Strategic" Background: #0f172a (Deep Slate) Primary Text: #f8fafc (White) Accent Cyan: #06b6d4 (Tech/Intel) Accent Red: #f43f5e (Threat/Nuclear) Accent Violet: #8b5cf6 (Future/Space) -->...
WAR AT EUROPE’S DOORSTEP: NATO SOUNDS THE ALARM
Europe’s Role in the 2025 U.S. Security Strategy
The 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) marks a sharp shift in American policy towards Europe and the transatlantic alliance. It recasts NATO and European security in transactional terms, prioritizes U.S. sovereignty and economic interests, and treats Europe as...
U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy in the 2025 National Security Strategy
Key Takeaways The Indo-Pacific is elevated as the decisive theater of 21st-century U.S. strategy, framed in explicitly realist, geo-economic terms rather than ideological ones. Economic security is treated as national security, with the NSS prioritizing de-risking...
2025 National Security Strategy
SAFE Mechanism: Reshaping EU Defence Integration
Key Takeaways SAFE has become the nucleus of Europe’s defence-industrial integration. What began as a financing tool is now the organizing framework around which procurement, production, standards, and long-term capability planning are being aligned. Canada’s...
European Defence in Numbers
Japan and South Korea on the Path to an AUKUS-Style Nuclear-Submarine Framework
Key Takeaways AUKUS is evolving beyond its original three members. What began as a narrow U.S.–UK–Australia submarine pact is now functioning as the nucleus of a wider, networked alliance framework oriented around undersea deterrence and advanced military technology....
The Strategic Squeeze: Rare Earths in the 21st Century
The rare earths supply chain has become the hidden backbone of the modern world, powering everything from smartphones to the green energy transition. While often invisible to the consumer, these 17 elements are at the center of a global economic and geopolitical...
APEC 2025 Summit: Power and Alliances in the Asia-Pacific
Introduction As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit convenes in Gyeongju, South Korea, the grand narrative is not simply about trade volumes or supply-chain maps—it is increasingly about the reconfiguration of regional alliances. At a moment when the...
NATO Summit The Hague 2025: Strategic Outcomes and Key Issues
Key Takeaways Defense Spending Surge: NATO leaders agreed on a historic increase in defense spending, pledging to reach a combined 5% of GDP by 2035, reflecting heightened threats, particularly from Russia, and U.S. pressure for equitable burden-sharing. Reaffirmation...
European Defence Readiness 2030: A New Blueprint for Strategic Autonomy
ReArm Europe – Scaling Investment for Credible Deterrence The EU aims to massively boost defense spending and cooperation to build a credible deterrent by 2030. Recommendations: Launch €150B SAFE loan program for joint EU arms procurement. Ease...
NATO at a Crossroads in Trump’s Second Term
Introduction President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025 has brought a series of abrupt policy shifts that are reverberating across the NATO alliance. In a matter of weeks, longstanding U.S. approaches to European...
The Geopolitics of Dependence: NATO, China, and Critical Raw Materials
Introduction Critical raw materials (CRMs) underpin contemporary defense, energy, and technological capabilities. They lie at the heart of advanced military systems, support the expansion of clean energy infrastructures, and enable cutting-edge...
Japan’s Defense Buildup and NATO Involvement
Background In 2007, India, Japan, Australia, and the United States formed the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the Quad for short, to counter Chinese influence. Since March 2021, the frequency of meetings has increased showing a revived effort to bring security to...
Increased Militarisation of Space – A New Realm of Security
Abstract The military use of space is not new, yet it has developed and become more advanced today. Major powers, such as the US, China, and Russia, now have their own military units specialized in space operations, indicating that space has become a new war-fighting...
Western weapon supplies to Ukraine in 2023 and potential Russian responses
1. New forms of Western weapon supplies to Ukraine in 2023 In my previous article, I discussed that Ukraine mainly needs three weapon systems to continue the fight against Russia in 2023. These systems are modern fighter jets, long-range artillery, and tanks (Hooker,...
Why is giving an old frigate to Ukraine such a bad idea?
Ukraine’s deputy Foreign Minister Andrij Melnyk called on Germany in a series of tweets to provide a class 212A submarine and a 32 years old decommissioned frigate Lübeck to Ukraine. Even though it was an important call, the issue was not covered as extensively as...
China is Working on Missiles
Introduction The year 2020 marks a significant year for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) which is striving to achieve important modernization milestones ahead of the Communist Party of China (CCP) objective of transforming China into a "moderately prosperous...
DF-21D (East Wind) – The World’s First ASBM
Introduction With its recent anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) tests, reportedly against moving targets, Beijing seeks to demonstrate a maturing capability and enhance deterrence. The DF-21D (Dong Feng** 21D), a road-mobile, medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM), is...
DF-26 – Dual-Capable IRBM
Introduction The DF-26 Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) made its first public appearance at a military parade in September 2015 in Beijing. During this parade, China exhibited 16 missiles on road-mobile transporter-erector launchers (TELs). At the event,...
The U.S is Pursuing Hypersonic Missiles
Introduction Hypersonic weapons are dramatically affecting the nature of modern warfare and island security that the US has had for centuries. In this regard, two facts should be held in perspective at all times. First, the hypersonic missiles are primarily offensive...
H-6 – China’s Core Platform Bomber Loading
Introduction The H-6K made its first public appearance at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2018. The Zhuhai Airshow takes place in Zhuhai/China every two years and is largely a showcase of what China can provide in the area of military aviation equipment for export. But this...
J-20 – The “Backbone” of the Chinese Air Force
Background On 1 October 2019, J-20 was among high-profile flyovers conducted by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) with J-16 and J-10C advanced fourth-generation fighters armed with the latest air-to-air missiles (AAMs), during a major military parade led...
Poseidon-A Doomsday Scenario Stands Out
Background In September 2015, the Poseidon program became public for the first time, when the Russian state television "accidentally" showed a picture of Poseidon, nuclear-powered submarine drone, also known as unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) or autonomous...
Tsirkon Hypersonic Missile is Suffering From ‘Childhood Diseases’
Recent Developments Russia is developing six “NextGen” missile systems; however, some of them are currently suffering from "childhood illnesses". One of those is Tsirkon (3M22 Zirkon) according to the Chief Admiral of Russian Navy. Admiral Nikolai Evmenov,...
An Agent Based Approach for Understanding Complex Terrorism Behaviors
Understanding the behavior of a terrorist group is a complex phenomenon because of the uncertainty in strategies and tactics used by terrorists. Current literature suggests that terrorism has an evolutionary nature and terrorist groups change behavior according to a...
DF-41: East Wind Coming
Introduction As other countries are also working on next-generation missiles, China is pursuing a long-term strategy in order to build strategic technologies and bridging the capacity gap with the West, following Russia’s approach. Currently, the most powerful...
DF-17: Hypersonic Glide Vehicle on the Way
Introduction Technological developments are critical for the robust national defense industry, which is deemed an essential element of national security. The Chinese military has unveiled a new hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile that could violate all existing...
China’s new Land Helicopter Dock, the Type 075, a steppingstone rather than a game-changer
On September 25, China launched its first type-075-class Land Helicopter Dock. Following this event, a notable amount of coverage has been generated over the last weeks. Many experts and columnists may have over-emphasized the role of China’s new vessel regarding a...
Two next-generation fighters in Europe? That’s already too much for the EU Defence Industry
In recent years Europeans have made important steps forward – PESCO, CARD, European Defence Fund – in developing a more unified and coherent European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). In an era characterized by strategic uncertainty, the EU is willing...
Kinzhal* – The Tip of the Iceberg in Modern Warfare
Background On August 10th, the Aviadarts 2019 international competition as part of the International Army Games 2019 took place at the Dubrovichi testing range in the Ryazan Region, Russia. In particular, Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile debuted at the...
KN-23- Fast & Furious
Introduction On 16 August, North Korea fired two missiles into the waters off its east coast. According to US and South Korean officials the two were short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM). They flew approximately 142 miles at a maximum altitude of 18.6 miles and top...
Avangard-New Paradigm in Modern Warfare
Background The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced on 02 Jul 2019 that the production of Avangard hypersonic gliding vehicle (HGV) was proceeding as scheduled. Moscow refuted US media reports which suggested Russia could not produce...
Uncertainty Surrounds Turkey’s Long-Range Air Defence System Project
Turkey is a key regional player at the gateway between Europe and the Middle East, bordering Iraq and Syria. Particularly during the Syrian conflict, Turkey experienced rockets and shells landing on its side of the border injuring and killing civilians. Moreover, in...
How will Artificial Intelligence Change the Character of War?
In recent years, humanity has been being faced with a technological development that may result in radical changes in post-industrial revolution economic, social, cultural, political and military fields. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be able to shape the future...
Russian A2AD Strategy and Its Implications for NATO
Abstract Humans have witnessed many wars throughout the history. The weapons, equipment, tactics, doctrines and strategies used in these wars have been in a constant evolution. This evolution of warfare has depended on technological level, changes in the societies,...
Reinforcing EU-NATO Cooperation: Walking the Talk?
Abstract While the new security environment has driven the EU to take a bigger role in security and defence, it has also forced the EU-NATO relations to evolve from a desirable strategic partnership to a more ‘essential’ one, since both their security is...
NATO in Focus: October 2018 NATO Defence Ministerial
Last week NATO Defence Ministers met in Brussels in order to discuss; NATO – Georgia relations, NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, Defence spending and burden-sharing, Adapting NATO command structure, and NATO-EU cooperation. At the Bucherest Summit in...
F-35 Training Starts as U.S. considers removing Turkey from the Program
The deepening rift between Turkey and the U.S. has spiraled into a full-blown crisis over the trial of pastor Andrew Brunson, who was held under pre-trial detention for 21 months in a Turkish prison until he was transferred to house arrest on 25 July 2018. Brunson was...
NATO in Focus: Brussels Summit
In the midst of Cold War 2.0, Brussels will host NATO Heads of State and/or Government who will convene this week on 11-12 July 2018 for the 28th NATO Summit normally held biennially. Leaders from Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Georgia and RSM partner nations will also be...
Burden Sharing at NATO and the Battle of 2 Percent
ABSTRACT Burden sharing has been one of the most hotly contested issues in NATO especially since the end of Cold War. Trump’s bitter statements about utility of the Alliance in the wake of his election and following urge by U.S. policy-makers to make Europe pay...
NATO in Focus: Defense Ministerial June 2018
As the last high profile gathering before the Summit, NATO Defence Ministerial (DEFMIN) took place between 7-8 June 2018 at Brussels, Belgium. Although overshadowed by the G7 summit, decisions taken at DEFMIN were quite important, and the atmosphere in Brussels was...
179th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session – May 2018
The 179th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) Session (MC/CS) convened on 16 May 2018 for the first time at the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels. General Petr Pavel, who has been serving as the Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC) since 2015...
ANDSF Roadmap: AAF & ASSF Reform and NATO Support
Following the conclusion of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation, Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) assumed full security responsibility of their country. Despite enormous efforts including spending more than $ 70 bn...
Who Will Rescue American Babies From ISIS?
A recent PBS series highlighted the case of an American mother, Samantha Elhassani, who took her two American children into the so-called Islamic State and had two more babies there with her Moroccan husband, who became a member of ISIS. Her two eldest children, now...
NATO in Focus: NATO Foreign Ministerial (FORMIN) April 2018
NATO’s foreign ministers met on 27 April 2018 for the last time at the old NATO Headquaters as part of the preparations for the biennial NATO Summit to be held in July this year in Brussels. Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Western Balkans were...
Despite Trump’s theatrics, the Iran deal can be saved
In the theatrical style of a capricious reality-TV host, US President Donald Trump has been building up suspense over an American withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. He has consistently called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- which was negotiated...
The challenges for the EU as the Brexit deadline looms on the horizon
United Kingdom (UK) voters have chosen to leave the European Union (EU) with the historic referendum on June 2016. As the countdown continues for the set date of 29 March 2019, there has been no deal in the negotiations yet, and it seems like a win-win deal is far...
Will UNSC Resolution 2401(2018) Be Really Effective?
On 24 February 2018, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) released a resolution to cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days, ensuring a “durable humanitarian pause” to enable humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the...
An Assessment of International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq
Amidst great political turbulence in the run-up to the legislative elections, International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq was held in Kuwait between 12-14 February 2018. The venue is ironic because Kuwait had become subject to Iraqi aggression in 1990 and had...
Hezbollah’s Just War Doctrine: Israel, Syria, and Legitimacy
Hezbollah has long championed the armed confrontation against Israel in the Middle East. (ICG Report 2017, 2). Its image in the Arab street made a peak after the July war in 2006, and the group depicted this as its second victory after ending the Israeli...
The Signs of a Regional War in Middle East and Path to WWIII
The Middle East (ME) has never been a peaceful place and throughout history, instability in the ME has always been a concern for the rest of the world. While these anxieties continue, in the past decade the ME has witnessed several extraordinary developments. If these...
Russian Political Warfare and NATO–EU Responses After Ukraine
1.Introduction Since eruption of the Ukraine crisis, the world has witnessed a well-developed Russian political warfare strategy and the hybrid model, utilised by Kremlin, which have had destabilising consequences and as well as wide-ranging implications for...
Swarm UAV Attack: Time to Revisit Threat Assessments
On 6 Jan 2018 Russian Hmeimim air base in northwestern Latakia province, the headquarters of Russia’s military operations in Syria, and naval base at Tartus was allegedly targeted by swarm of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The Russian Defense Ministry announced that...
Turkey’s Air and Missile Defense Adventures
Increased tension over the past couple of years between West and Turkey has reached to another level after Turkey and Russia signed an accord for supplying S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries. The S-400 deal, reportedly worth some $2.5 billion and according...
Integration of EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) with NATO
The interaction between EU CSDP and relevant NATO policies integration of NATO and EU on defense policy is the main subject of this article. This is why the aim is to deal with and analyze whether the European integration with NATO should/can be. To do so, the...
A distractor or a catalyst for a chain reaction for more violence in Levant? Kurdish Referendum under Scrutiny
Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has declared to hold a non-binding referendum on September 25. As the date comes closer, more elements add to the great puzzle unfolding in the Levant. Great powers like US and UK that set the scene for the fragmentation of the...
Taxonomy of Hybrid Warfare: A Perceptional Analysis
Hybrid warfare has become a term for modern warfare or for the next war. However, hybrid warfare as a term itself is a poor descriptor. Thus, the purpose of this article is to contribute to the understanding the hybrid warfare by developing a perceptional map,...
More Than a Defense Acquisition-Turkey’s S-400 Quest
Turkey has been a key ally for the western world for decades. Once a role model democracy in the middle-east and formidable NATO ally with a stand out armed forces in the region, Turkey safeguarded the southeastern flank of the alliance with confidence....
North Korea’s Missile Tests and Korean Peninsula Tensions
During the year North Korea’s 16 missile tests and their impact on relations with South Korea and the United States have dominated news reports on Korean affairs, in spite of the May 9 election of Moon Jae-in as new South Korean president following the Constitutional...
Post-Cold War Russian ICBM Modernization and Strategic Deterrence
After the cold war Russia managed to hold on to its ICBMs power with nuclear capabilities despite the economic difficulties and political instability. Even just after cold war during 1990s, it managed to develop SS-27 high tech ICBM without any participation of the...
Foreign Military Involvement in Iraq And Syria
In line with the universal ban on use of force, relations in military field are subject to more limitations than relations in other fields. One of few exceptions of military involvement in another country is the consent of that state. In this analysis having state...
Regions and Powers
Buzan, Barry., & Waever, Ole. (2003). Regions and Powers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Barry Buzan and Ole Weawer’s work “Regions and Powers” can be cited as an important book attempting to lay the foundations of regional security dynamics in a given...
Turkey is Playing its S-400 Cards Again!
Turkey is willing to buy S-400 missile defence system from Russia and there are some serious recent developments regarding this deal. Recent Developments On July 14, 2017, Bloomberg published a detailed article about that deal. The main points of the deal...
NATO, Trump and Turkey:The Alliance Needs More Coherence*
On 25 May 2017, NATO leaders met in Brussels to celebrate the opening the new headquarters in Boulevard Léopold III. The location of the new headquarters is historically very significant: during construction four unexploded bombs from both the First and Second World...
Counterinsurgency, Modern Armies and Role of Paramilitary Forces
Countering the insurgency problem is increasingly becoming an arduous task for modern armies, and the success rate of those armies in counterinsurgency wars is declining. While states could defeat insurgents during 19th century, they become less capable to eliminate...
Kosovo Security Architecture and Politics of KSF Transformation
The Balkan Peninsula, being located on the border line between East and West, Islam and Christianity, communism and capitalism (during the Cold War), has proven its strategic importance by playing great roles in both World Wars. Moreover, in many times, Balkans itself...
Macron and France’s Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa
After centuries of being the passive side in the mutual relations, African leaders realized by the end of 20th century that the power balance was shifting in their favor. They were not that old colonial countries and the rules of politics in the world were changing...
Technology and War Strategy
By Murat ÇALIŞKAN[*]and Michel LIÉGEOIS[†] Technology plays a crucial role in the outcomes of war. The rifle, the railroad and the telegraph in 19th Century Wars, the machine gun, the airplane and the tank in 20th Century Wars, and information technologies in recent...
The Rise of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
“We have won a war with a lot of heroes flying around in planes. The next war may be fought with airplanes with no man in them at all,”said General Henry Arnold, the only Air Force General to hold a 5-star rank in two different US military services, (1945).[1] The...
Turkey’s S-400 Dilemma: Air and Missile Defence at a Crossroads
Turkey is one of the few countries conducting air defence almost solely with aircraft, despite sizable armed forces with a wide array of capabilities. As odd as it sounds, it has been a disturbing reality for military officials for a long time as the Armed Forces...
How Deterrent is NATO’S Cyber Posture?
In Ukraine, on December 2015, an energy facility was hit by Russian-affiliated cyber group, and 225.000 people between 1-6 hours were affected from this outage. (1) Outage assuming as first well documented successful cyber-attack on a power grid. This recent incident...
Future Urban Warfare: Tactical and Equipment Needs
“Master Euphrates tells bold and nice Sincere weeping in his eyes.” The counterterrorism struggle, which had been carried out in the mountains or the forests until recently, has now transformed into urban warfare. Some of the prominent reasons which caused this to...
Fixed Structures vs. Modular Design in Hybrid Warfare
The aim of this study is to propose a model by comparing “fixed force composition and classical HQ structures” with “a New modular design” that could increase and enhance capabilities and capacity of armed forces, in particular flexibility, adaptability, agility, and...