It’s obviously early in the year, but 2026 is already on track to be the year with the highest number of drone sightings reported by German air traffic control.

Once again we talk about how crucially important Ramstein airbase - a huge US military installation in Germany - is for US operations in the middle east and beyond. As someone who has been working on US drone ops for ages, I have posted quite a bit about Ramstein. Like this thread 👇

As we now hear about the US LUCAS drone/loitering ammunition, which has been based on the Iranian Shahed, I will bring a thread over from Twitter I did on the German DAR - which is linked to the Israeli Harop - which is again linked to the Shahed.

One neutral EU country wondering how it can (and whether it should) help another neutral EU country. I have said for years that neutrality in Europe will come increasingly under pressure. www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...

Reactionaries convinced us for decades that something like gender studies has no practical use in society, and I know many reasonable people also believe(d?) this. It was the butt of the joke for as log as I can remember. But OMG does this video drive home the point they were wrong.

One neutral EU country wondering how it can (and whether it should) help another neutral EU country. I have said for years that neutrality in Europe will come increasingly under pressure. www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...

Of course my train goes through the longest tunnel in human existence the moment my conference call gets interesting 😑

As we now hear about the US LUCAS drone/loitering ammunition, which has been based on the Iranian Shahed, I will bring a thread over from Twitter I did on the German DAR - which is linked to the Israeli Harop - which is again linked to the Shahed.

This is a real video from the official White House account on a war that is currently killing people. I don’t know how the US is going to come back from this. The post was “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸 🔥”

Once again we talk about how crucially important Ramstein airbase - a huge US military installation in Germany - is for US operations in the middle east and beyond. As someone who has been working on US drone ops for ages, I have posted quite a bit about Ramstein. Like this thread 👇

As quite a few people are asking about the US “LUCAS drone” (aka loitering ammunition), The War Zone had a good write up on it in December 👇 www.twz.com/air/u-s-depl...

“Fun” fact on UK-German coop on security and defence noted by @nvondarza.bsky.social : In the dialogue on security & foreign policy that began in 2021, there have been no meeting of the same two ministers in any one year as there have been so many changes in both countries.

For those who want to read the full speech: official translation of Macron’s nuclear speech www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-...

Trump high on US military power From Politico phone call www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

Anthropic is the first American firm to be labelled a supply-chain risk. Dario Amodei said he would challenge the Pentagon’s designation in court in order to avoid a “chilling” impact on his business. Watch his full Insider interview Friday at 6pm London time

The EU and Switzerland have signed an agreement on increased cooperation on foreign and security policy. The agreement introduces regular political dialogue at ministerial level and simplifies Switzerland's potential contributions to EU civilian and military missions.

"The U.S. is being run by gung-ho nutters like Trump and Hegseth."……. Former NATO commander and British General Sir Richard Shirreff delivers a stark warning for Britain to avoid being dragged into America's illegal war on Iran. -Analyst News

A move pretty certainly linked to the French-led efforts of an increased European nuclear deterrence www.politico.eu/article/finl...

“I have usernames older than you.”. Holy shit

Macron has arguably gone as far as any French president can on a matter that is at the symbolic heart of France’s cherished strategic autonomy, WPR columnist @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

My latest column on Macron’s nuclear speech

“Academics studying the field say AI is collapsing the planning time required for complex strikes – a phenomenon known as “decision compression”, which some fear could result in human military and legal experts merely rubber-stamping automated strike plans.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

No surprise there. I really hope that Ukraine can get something out of this for its own defence. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Pentagon eyes Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iran

No surprise there. I really hope that Ukraine can get something out of this for its own defence. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Pentagon eyes Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iran

“Academics studying the field say AI is collapsing the planning time required for complex strikes – a phenomenon known as “decision compression”, which some fear could result in human military and legal experts merely rubber-stamping automated strike plans.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

God this is dystopian. Ad in Paris Metro for an AI “friend”.

Macron’s announcement of a new French nuclear posture—including the possible deployment of French nuclear-capable aircraft to allied territories—represents a momentous shift for European deterrence, WPR columnist @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

God this is dystopian. Ad in Paris Metro for an AI “friend”.

Spot on

My latest column for @wpr.bsky.social in which I argue that Macron’s nuclear speech really was groundbreaking and should get more attention (and please: I did not chose the title! All mistakes in the text are mine, but the title is not.)

This article would not have been possible only a few years ago – and I don’t mean from a tech viewpoint, but from an ethical one. 5 years ago, this article would have numerous references to ethical debates, discussions at the CCW in Geneva and more. warontherocks.com/2025/12/chas...

The changes to France’s nuclear posture that Macron announced this week could reshape deterrence on the continent for years to come, @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

trying out a new feature, lmk if it works

Gotta love how academic books don't earn you money, but LLMs can make money off of stealing them in the aggregate and if you write enough, they can also profit from stealing your personality after you are dead.

“In 95 per cent of the simulated games, at least one tactical nuclear weapon was deployed by the AI models. “The nuclear taboo doesn’t seem to be as powerful for machines [as] for humans,” says Payne.” www.newscientist.com/article/2516...

Rutte 👇

Things are moving on Swiss defence, but it’s not straight forward giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Swiss defence ambitions run into ‘political blockade’

French nukes: It's hard to overstate how much of a sea change it is that countries such as the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Germany are open to talking with France about nuclear deterrence. We have been getting used to it — but it's a major, major shift.

Things are moving on Swiss defence, but it’s not straight forward giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Swiss defence ambitions run into ‘political blockade’

Raytheon Executive: I know you’re skeptical about buying American again. But hear me out. The MIM-104 Patriot is the only surface to air missile system with a proven track record of success against the US Air Force. Danish Defense Minister: Continue.

You can watch Macron’s nuclear speech here: www.lemonde.fr/internationa...

I can *so* relate to a lot of this! (despite not being Irish).

Cool new reading. By @laurederoucy.bsky.social

Does Trump want an America focused on guarding the Western Hemisphere, or an America focused on saving the rest of the world? His State of the Union address, columnist @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes, suggested Trump himself may not even know.

one fascinating thing about modern culture is that international militias now do promo trailers to announce their aims

"If we look at Ukraine, one or two drones equates to about 20 rounds of artillery in lethality and accuracy." Alistair Carns MP on how the lessons from drone warfare in Ukraine are being applied to UK defence strategy and procurement⤵️

It’s not a real military operation if I didn’t see people half a world away post about how tired they are from living through historical events

And we are all along for the ride.

So this is what focusing on the Western Hemisphere looks like.