Archive: News & Articles

NATO Foreign Ministers wrapped up two days of meetings in Brussels on 4 December 2024 by vowing to address the increasing incident of sabotage and other hostile actions being inflicted on NATO countries. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that “both Russia and China have tried to destabilise our countries and divide our societies with […]

UK Defence Secretary John Healey launched the UK Labour government’s Defence Industrial Strategy on 2 December 2024, inviting investors, innovators, industry and trade unions to give their views on how to grow a better, more integrated, more innovative and more resilient UK defence sector. Speaking at a London Defence Conference event with investors in the […]

The UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a partnership of 10 northern European nations, has successfully concluded Exercise ‘Joint Protector 24’ across multiple locations in Latvia, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 23 November 2024. The exercise was designed to test how quickly the JEF could deploy together across Europe to defend Latvia from any […]

As the 1,000th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine passed on 19 November 2024, the conflict was reverberating with a series of dangerous escalations. Arguably the first of these became evident on 24 October 2024, when the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) reported that around 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived […]

On 19 and 20 November 2024 the Portuguese National Defence Course Auditors Association (AACDN), a public institution founded in 1981, hosted the Congress ‘Security and Defence in Europe: Challenges’ at the Military Academy in Amadora, Portugal. The event brought together an extensive line-up of key figures in Portuguese security and defence. The congress opened with […]

Donald Trump’s stunning comeback to be elected the 47th president of the United States – only the second candidate to win non-consecutive presidential terms and the only ever criminal defendant to win a presidential election – could have far-reaching geopolitical consequences. Showing some urgency in adjusting to the new reality, the leaders who are presumed […]

UK Defence Secretary John Healey has launched what is being billed as the “biggest reform of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in over 50 years to fix what the Public Accounts Committee calls the ‘broken’ defence procurement system and to strengthen UK Defence”, the MoD announced on 25 October 2024. The move comes amid increasing […]

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has issued a statement condemning the deployment of North Korean troops into Russia. Speaking in Brussels on 28 October 2024, Rutte stated, “This morning, a delegation from the Republic of Korea, a close NATO partner, briefed the North Atlantic Council and our other Indo-Pacific partners – Australia, Japan and New […]

The United Kingdom and Germany have signed a landmark defence agreement – the first of its kind between the two countries – that will see the joint development of deep strike weapons, German maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) operating from Scotland and the production of large-calibre gun barrels returning to the UK. Known as the Trinity […]

ESD is happy to announce the magazine received 13 nominations and secured two awards at the 2024 Defence Media Awards (DMAs), held in Washington, DC, on 13 October, along with a further win at the 2024 European Military Press Association (EMPA) awards in Vienna. ESD Editor-in-Chief Mark Cazalet won the DMA for ‘Best Defence Electronics Submission’ with his article ‘Silent Struggle: […]

In the days preceding the one-year anniversary marking the 7 October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, conceded that the country is now in conflict on multiple fronts and closer than ever to a direct confrontation with arch nemesis Iran. “Today, Israel is defending itself on seven fronts against […]

NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) has recently put in place a next-generation data processing and simulation system built in close collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Pathway, the company announced on 1 October 2024. The Reinforcement Enablement Simulation Tool (REST) was developed by Pathway as a functional demonstrator to combine advanced data fusion, […]

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has taken steps to further enhance the defence posture of US forces throughout the Middle East region to deter aggression and mitigate the risk of a broader regional conflict, the Pentagon announced at the end of September 2024. The moves followed Israel’s targeted assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of […]

Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took office as the new NATO secretary general on 1 October 2024, succeeding outgoing secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, whose term has ended after 10 years. Stoltenberg formally handed over to Secretary General Rutte at a special session of the North Atlantic Council at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. “It […]

French Navy Admiral Pierre Vandier has succeeded General Philippe Lavigne as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The change of command took place on 23 September 2024 in Norfolk, Virginia, at a ceremony presided over by Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee. Adm Vandier is the ninth Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. After joining the […]

A “historic breakthrough in defence trade” between AUKUS defence pact partners the United Kingdom, United States and Australia was announced by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 15 August 2024 following landmark export control changes between the three countries. The reforms “will enable all three nations to work more closely together to develop next-generation […]

Israel has moved closer to being on the brink of multi-theatre conflict following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the early hours of 31 July 2024. That Haniyeh was targeted was not unexpected; in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel 7 October 2023 Israel vowed it would hunt down […]

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 28 July 2024 that, through a phased approach, it plans to convert US Forces Japan into a joint force headquarters that will report to the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command. The news emerged from a two-plus-two ministerial meeting in Tokyo between US Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austin, […]

Maritime security, for a long time a specialised field solely the responsibility of naval forces, is now omnipresent. While the Ever Given or Freemantle Highway accidents were accidents, the warlike events in the Black and Red Seas threaten the entire maritime industry. Maritime security is now an issue all over the world, and not just […]

The United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has commissioned a ‘root and branch’ Strategic Defence Review “to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad for decades to come”, according to a 16 July 2024 press release from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Starmer became UK prime minister on 5 July after a […]

As NATO wrapped up its landmark 75th Anniversary Summit, held in Washington, DC, from 9 to 11 July 2024, key takeaway included closer engagement with partner nations in the Indo-Pacific and EU as well as a steadfast resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its struggle to repel the Russian invasion of the country. On 11 […]