Only a Fully Backed IRIS² Can Deliver Europe’s Sovereign Alternative to Starlink
Satellite connectivity has moved, in the span of three years, from a niche industrial concern to a core aspect of European security. Yet the continent’s response has been to build a shared constellation while quietly hedging with national ones. IRIS² cannot deliver sovereignty if Member States do not unreservedly back it.
Without Stabilisers, Europe’s Ammunition Stockpiles Are Just Years Away From Failure
At a moment where EU defence policies aim to produce two million 155mm rounds a year, the need to secure a supply of stabilisers cannot be understated.
How Ukraine Could Deal the Kremlin a Losing Hand in Crimea
For the past few weeks, Ukraine has relentlessly pounded Crimea’s critical infrastructure with drone and artillery strikes, creating mounting headaches for both the Russian military and the peninsula’s civilian population. Ukraine may be dealing Russia a losing hand by turning Crimea into “an island” via a two-fold strategy: raising the costs of occupation and cultivating fear about losing Crimea through the Russian ranks and political class apparatus.
To Close Its Military Tech Gap, Europe Needs a Binding Defence Technology Union
In an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical context, Europe can still develop the defence tech it needs for the 21st century and ensure that European defence decisions remain in European hands.
Only a Region-Wide Strategy Can Solve the EU’s Pipeline Chokepoint In the Caucasus
In actively diversifying its energy and infrastructure since 2022, the EU has, in effect, pooled its operational risk into three partners in the South Caucasus, even as their political paths head in starkly different directions. What is at stake is not only regional connectivity but the structural coherence of the EU’s post-2022 energy security agenda.
Is HYDEF, the EU’s Hypersonic Interception Programme, Still Making Progress?
Russia perpetrated yet another heavy attack targeting Kyiv on May 24th, firing some 600 drones and 90 missiles including hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. As EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said, “Russia hit a dead end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centres.” A tactic made easier by Ukraine’s lack of air defence systems that can reliably intercept hypersonic missiles – Europe has the same problem. Could the EU’s Hypersonic Defence Interceptor Programme (HYDEF) help to solve this challenge?
After the Iran War: NATO’s Paper Power May Not Survive a Long War
The Iran war is not NATO’s war. Yet, ahead of the 2026 Ankara Summit, it has exposed a deeper anxiety: NATO’s military capabilities may be easy to visualize, but it is evident that the alliance is not ready, both in a political and industrial sense, from the rising Russian threat.
Rearming Europe: Following the Netherlands’ Example?
The Dutch are looking to serve as the forefront in Europe’s new era of military independence.
Poland’s Rise as Europe’s New Technological, Economic, Military Power
Poland’s post-communist rise to one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies represents a profound structural transformation.
Bulgaria’s Russian Web: How Moscow’s Networks Influence Politics, Media and Society
Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro on January 1, 2026, marks a major geopolitical shift. In spite of this, echoes of its historic ties to Russia continue to play a role across its political, economic and informational landscape.
War in the Middle East, Visualised
A timeline of escalation and its global impact.
With Ayatollah Khamenei’s Death, What Does the Future of Iran Behold?
On Wednesday, US President Donald J. Trump assured that the United States will stay in the fight to “finish the job”.
