Archive: News & Articles

Military Engineers have always had a tight bond with technology. This fact is easily explained as many national engineers have a civil engineering background, and if not, they receive a military engineering education, which has lots of similarities. Technical thinking is in our veins and, when searching for solutions, we have to force ourselves to […]

Since the 2003 Rose Revolution, Georgia has become a staunch and dependable non-NATO ally of the United States in the South Caucasus. Georgian-American bilateral military relations have become stronger and have climaxed in November 2017. With 870 soldiers per capita, Georgia is the leading donor of troops in Afghanistan. This is highly appreciated by the […]

The Austrian Head of the Defence Staff, General Robert Brieger, talks to ESD about what he has encountered and what he has been doing for the drained army of the wealthy neutral country since taking office a year ago. ESD: General, first of all, I would like to ask you an international question: during the […]

Without doubt, the despicable and foolish video showing two drunken and corrupt politicians from the Viennese coalition partner FPOE, recently published by leading German media, is unprecedented in Austrian post-war politics. As a successful outside “sting operation” which “killed” a national government and led to early elections, a consequence of the scandal has been that […]

Putin and his staff have introduced explicitly ruthless threats, including nuclear threats, into Russian reasoning about acute international crises. They hypothesise about the high political value that would accrue as a result of nuclear use on a limited scale. The INF treaty regime collapsed due to Russian cheating. Although China’s massive buildup of intermediate-range ballistic […]

Throughout the last 40 years, relations between Syria and Iran have developed on the basis of a shared sense of threat and of an effective approach to both convergence and divergence of interests in the region. Relations between Syria and Iran, defined by analysts either as a “marriage of convenience” or an “axis of resistance”, […]

The elections to the European Parliament in May were beset with more paradoxes than they have ever been. The strongest party which will take its seats in the plenary chambers in Brussels (and, as an expensive anachronism, also in Strasbourg), albeit only for a brief period, is the Brexit Party, with 29 seats, whose programme […]

From accidental leaks and improper handling of hazardous materials, to an intentional chemical attack, exposure to unknown or toxic chemicals can happen anywhere. Due to the rising threat of terrorism and the myriad ways people can be exposed to toxic materials in the environment, the ability to detect and identify chemical threats is more crucial […]

The logistical need for water in modern conflicts is enormous. Various military operations in dry climate zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan require extensive water supplies. Napoleon famously, if apocryphally, wrote that an army travels on its stomach. However, an army might even fight for a day or three without any food. But an army […]

President Trump has been in office for two years now. In the previous Brussels Backdrop, we covered President Trump as a person and his statements on NATO before becoming president. In this Brussels Backdrop, we will assess US foreign policy under Trump and his course of action towards NATO and the European allies. Is NATO […]

We are living in fascinating times we could not even imagine just a few years ago. And we enjoy freedom: We can buy products in our cities that were made on the other side of the world. We can travel almost anytime and anywhere, we can communicate almost free of charge with anyone on the […]

If the UK’s contortions over Brexit were portrayed in art form, something by Hieronymus Bosch might provide a useful model. At the time of writing, British MPs have voted twice (possibly more by the time you read this) to reject the deal that Theresa May’s Government agreed with the EU last November; they have also […]

Military expediency dictated that Britain retained an interest in having a foothold in Ireland for many centuries. But on 9 November 1990, Peter Brooke, the then Northern Ireland (NI) Secretary of State, declared that Britain had “no longer any selfish, strategic or economic interest” in NI and would accept unification.” The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) […]

There are any number of ways to gauge the mood of the ordinary man and woman in the street, and, frequently, the most accurate is the most unsophisticated – listening to them where you meet them, on trains, taxis, and in public places. The talk in Ireland today is about many things, and just one […]

At the time of writing this viewpoint only two weeks remain before the United Kingdom is officially due to leave the European Union. There is still no clarity as to how, when or even if departure will take place. The resulting political crisis speaks volumes about the inadequacy of Britain’s political class to deal with […]

Interview with General José Conde de Arjona, Spokesperson of FEINDEF and Chief of Institutional Support of the Spanish Ministry of Defence. ESD: FEINDEF is taking place for the first time this year. What were the main reasons behind organising this exhibition? Can you explain the concept? General Conde: Europe is at a difficult crossroads and […]

Interview with Christian Freiherr von Oldershausen,Vice President Naval Business DNV GL Maritime. ESD: Your company has the objective to make global seafaring safer and to improve the ships’ performance, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Civilian operators are certainly interested in best possible economic performance, thus taking advantage of DNV GL’s capabilities. However, what particularities are […]

Although we are not yet living in the futuristic world many 20th-century science-fiction writers predicted, many recent technological advances were inspired by the stuff of fantasies. Inventions such as GPS, Bluetooth headsets, tablet computers, automatic doors, big screen displays, real-time universal translators and teleconferencing among others all owe their genesis to Star Trek. Among the […]

Interview with Martin Sonderegger, Head of Switzerland’s Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse. Switzerland’s military procurement is unique, in that all defence projects are subject to a parliamentary decision, and in individual cases also to a referendum. ESD spoke with Martin Sonderegger, the Swiss Armament Director and Head of the Federal Office for Defence Procurement […]

Currently, ST Engineering Land Systems is finalising the development of the BRONCO 3 vehicle. For the end of a test campaign lasting several weeks, ST Engineering invited interested parties from Europe, America and Asia, as well as international specialised journalists, to Ivalo/Finland – 300 km north of the Arctic Circle – to present and demonstrate […]

The integration of communications and information is driving a worldwide transition that is being termed the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Armed forces and security organisations around the globe are embracing this transformation, by fielding digital communications networks and interconnected systems of systems, empowered by information services. The capabilities they deliver empower military forces, enabling smaller forces […]