Why the appeal of shiny new things so often suckers the commentariat - and what we might do to use drones to their best advantage open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

The £15bn defence spending boost announced today by the government adds just £1.5bn (over 4 years) to the sum John Healey resigned over, saying it would require defence cuts. That's a problem in terms of what Nato allies expect and military chiefs wanted markurban.substack.com/p/game-over?...

'Shoot the archer' - the mantra of those arguing Ukraine should focus more effort on Russian missile and drone factories or units. Easier said than done! But some changes are afoot open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Putin’s running out of road financially, and Ukrainian strikes on his heartlands are exposing the failures of his war. So does he escalate or find a way to end it? That’s our topic on today’s @channel4news.bsky.social Indicators pod, give it a listen t.co/sQuLF9tYJG

We've heard many times before that Ukraine might be winning its war. But there's some important changes going on right now that have really turned the heat up for Putin open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Hmm sounds just like defence

So much to discuss in this week’s @channel4news.bsky.social Indicators as Matt Frei Helia Ebrahimi nd I pull apart the US/Iran Memorandum of Understanding and try to work out what the deal amounts to and whether it can stick youtu.be/oXwaWgl9XSY

I'm not sure many people have processed the importance of Britain's defence spending crisis. What should have been a waypoint on a journey of revival has instead become another one in the arc of decline open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Are we finally getting this Defence Investment Plan or what?! how the long struggle for money makes a mockery of the idea that we are now on a war footing open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Exceptionally powerful analysis here

How America emerges as a military power from this Iran war markurban.substack.com/p/the-giant-...

Missiles flying in the Gulf, Israeli strikes in Lebanon, and yet we’re closer to a lasting ceasefire?! @krishgm.bsky.social and I host this week’s @channel4news.bsky.social pod with guest Lina Khatib looking at indicators that a deal may indeed be imminent youtu.be/yyuqpYTyZqc

Who won the Iran war? It's not even over yet but that's the question so many are asking. Here's Part 1 of my own analysis open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

WATCH - Trump expects Europe to rearm but the US is now sending it to the back of the queue for weapons deliveries. My latest video for the Times www.thetimes.com/video/origin...

International law is dead 18.10 Force has become a priority in the region 19.13 Nagar Mortazavi @krishgm.bsky.social @markurban.bsky.social #iran youtu.be/gvL8_JIX9sk?...

Your weekly @channel4news.bsky.social Indicators pod has dropped co-hosted by @krishgm.bsky.social and I, taking in falling oil reserves, Britain buying Russian jet fuel, and Negar Mortazavi joins us to analyse whether is a workable Iran peace deal coming in to view at last youtu.be/gvL8_JIX9sk

"As you cut your editorial workforce, your ability to find things out diminishes... as foreign bureaux close, and specialist staffs at home reduce, your editors and therefore consumers become less well informed." Late to this vg piece by @markurban.bsky.social. markurban.substack.com/p/new-dg-new...

This is an authoritative analysis by an outstanding journalist the BBC was careless enough to lose.

As the new DG arrives, BBC staff brace themselves for another round of cuts. How have decades of living under the axe affected its journalism? open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

@markurban.bsky.social brilliant analysis. youtube.com/shorts/f_ash...

Washington is getting very leaky these days - with a report suggesting the US was losing out to China appearing on the eve of Trump’s visit - one of many things Cindy Yu chewed over with co-host Matt Frei and I on this week’s @channel4news.bsky.social pod youtu.be/4geGZSM6kZ4?...

“It is true that while I can be critical of the way politics is reported in this country and it often occupies too big a place in the news agenda, what’s going on now is certainly a big story”

Mark’s book is really excellent - well worth a read Up there with Ogorkowieciz’s books on the subject

Why Britain's leadership battle is a snooze fest - my latest blog open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

A most excellent book

Really enjoyed it. Great read. If you like tanks, obv.

Britain's decision to send HMS Dragon into Middle East waters comes laden with caveats as well as echoes of the Anglo-French 'reassurance force' that was meant to have gone to Ukraine... open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

The ten greatest tanks in military history? My book just came out in paperback, and here I explain what made the ones I picked outstanding. Pt 1 innovation www.amazon.co.uk/Tank-Machine...

Robert Harris, author: Happy 100th birthday to Sir David Attenborough. Doing some research on the Suez Crisis I discover he produced Anthony Eden’s live broadcast to the nation for the BBC nearly 70 years ago. What a career!

Finally catching up with new season of BBCFreeThinking. Here’s an episode that means so much to me. @drmatthewsweet.bsky.social is joined in discussion of guns & weaponisation by @catherinefletcher.info @markurban.bsky.social, Tobias Ellwood, Hew Locke, Hailey Austin www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

An absolutely jam packed episode of the C4N pod today covering the unraveling of Trump’s’Restore Freedom’ Op, how China hopes to leverage the crisis and whether we’re missing something big in Russia. Guest Fiona Hill joins Matt Frei and I hosting youtu.be/hhsvo3tumbE?...

And awful lot happening in the Strait of Hormuz today - have already had to update my blog open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Quite a big day in the Strait of Hormuz - but what did it mean? open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Went on the BBC Global Story podcast to talk about how Ukraine became a drone superpower podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

We're back with another episode of Indicators Podcast @channel4news.bsky.social this week Matt Frei and I explore how new alliances are being made across the Middle East as the region rewires itself - and instead of a Trump TACO, people are now taking about NACHO www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIOz...

The British Army's new Ajax fighting vehicle has been spared the chop today - here's why open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

The government has just announced that it is pressing ahead with the troubled Ajax fighting vehicle - here's my background video on the project www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qFI...

WATCH: from drones to missile stocks and the use of space, military forces are already drawing lessons from the Iran war. Here's my latest video www.youtube.com/watch?v=Trvx...

On the Fourcast Indicators tonight @krishgm.bsky.social and I chew over whether the US blockade of Iran is porous and how China is navigating the crisis + @annpettifor.bsky.social joins us to spell out the looming economic challenges youtu.be/BEDD-HY6B4g?...

The US Navy will soon have three aircraft carriers within range of Iran for the first time. That's an impressive array of power isn't it? Well, I don't think so - for reasons explained in my blog open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

A stormy week for British defence, after Lord Robertson rounded on the government. I've written about the need to match words with deeds and of course cash open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

Return to war or peace moves gathering pace? Lindsey Hilsum, Matt Frei decode the latest Middle East developments - or try to! - in today’s Fourcast pod youtu.be/R4jez7-gEo4?...

Important day in the Middle East, with the US blockade on Iran having come into force a couple of hours ago (Monday) - here's my thoughts about what it might or might not mean for the wider conflict markurban.substack.com/p/reflecting...

So much happening on the Iran front today so I'm doing a substack live with @nickcohen.bsky.social at 17.00 UK time this evening trying to make sense of it all. do join us open.substack.com/live-stream/...

As talks get underway in Pakistan, potential adversaries will be weighing the military weaknesses exposed in America's war against Iran. My latest for the Sunday Times (£) www.thetimes.com/world/middle...

I’ve done another Channel 4 pod with @krishgm.bsky.social and Helia Ebrahimi and we look at today’s key indicators for the Iran war - political, military and economic youtu.be/y76k9aZH7ws?...

Trump threatened terrible destruction but Iran has so far managed escalation to its advantage - holding the region and world energy prices to ransom open.substack.com/pub/markurba...

How on earth to read the runes of the Iran war end game? Telltale signs of a search for closure markurban.substack.com/p/four-chara...

This is excellent. People who know what they are talking about

Given the scale of the Iran story I’ve been mobilised as a co-host for the @channel4news.bsky.social podcast and recorded this episode today with Matt Frei t.co/UqxCYmquGO