#CSG25 is a key moment in delivering a high readiness UK carrier strike group with 5th gen air power to NATO. Control of the Atlantic and the ability to strike from the sea all around the European peninsula are critical UK roles in collective defence. Great to see Norway supporting too.

My last time chairing the NATO Defence Policy and Planning Committee. A great bunch who have done so much the behind the scenes to strengthen Alliance deterrence and defence over last few years. 💪

Two days with the amazing folks at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. Their ability to harness multidisciplinary expertise, data and computing power is a huge asset to US and allied security. Deterrence, space and resilience all on the agenda. Worth the trip out there.

Indeed. In June NATO defence Ministers will agree an ambitious and detailed new set of capability targets for all Allies that reflect the demands of our collective defence plans. It is a generational shift in requirements reflecting the transformed security environment in Europe.

📆February 11, 10am-4pm ET Join us for PONI's 2025 Virtual Winter Conference! The theme of this conference is "Strengthening U.S. Alliances and Partnerships" with a keynote from @acwlapsley.bsky.social at NATO. Register here:

“Had European nations procured some 100,000 quadcopter drones in 2023—an approach that seemed sensible at the time—it is likely that these systems would now be largely useless. Instead, the European defence industry must be positioned to scale up production & modify systems as needed”

Great point. We don't need to buy a million drones. That would be a huge mistake. We need the capacity to produce them, the supply chains to do so reliable, the institutional agility to be able to modify them in days & weeks in response to emerging battlefield conditions.

Winter has come to NATO. But with a month to go to a key meeting of Defence Ministers that will review both support for Ukraine and strengthening our deterrence and defence, we are speeding up.

This is great news. No better advocate for the changes that need to be made if Europeans are to take on more responsibility for our defence within NATO.

Let's talk allies! Nextgen scholars, you can apply to present @poni.csis.org winter conference 👇The conference will include a keynote presentation w @acwlapsley.bsky.social from NATO www.csis.org/events/poni-...

“For too long, we did not act. Georgia in 2008. Crimea in 2014. And many did not want to believe he would launch all-out war on Ukraine in February 2022. How many more wake-up calls do we need?” Every European citizen should read this speech by NATO SecGen Rutte. www.nato.int/cps/en/natoh...

I thought this was an interesting conversation between @paulmason.bsky.social , Viktorija Starych-Samuoliené of @congeostrategy.bsky.social and Deputy Secretary-General of NATO @acwlapsley.bsky.social I particularly enjoyed the bit when they discussed Deutsche Bahn :-)

Space is critical to how NATO defends and ensures resilience, and US Space Command in Colorado Springs is at the heart of the effort. So great to visit this week to discuss growing challenges ahead and meet embedded staff from Allies and Partners. 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇮🇹 🇩🇰 🇦🇺 🇯🇵 🇩🇪 🇨🇦

Season 2 Episode 1 of #DefenceTalks is out now! 🎙️ @acwlapsley.bsky.social, #NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, speaks to Viktorija Starych-Samuolienė and @paulmason.bsky.social about 'NATO and the future of European security'. 👉 www.geostrategy.org.uk/podcasts/nat...

What a contraption.

When your dog hears a bag of treats being opened…

I do a lot of diplotartling then.

🎙️This week we heard from @acwlapsley.bsky.social, #NATO Assistant Secretary General about 'NATO and the future of European security' #DefenceTalks season 2 premieres on the 3rd of December Subscribe here 👇 geostrategy.org.uk/defencetalks/ @baesystems.bsky.social, @paulmason.bsky.social

On my way to Wilton Park and a quick glimpse of London now that storm Burt has loosened its grip.

Please don't get caught up on the range of the missile system launched. Whether it was an ICBM or an IRBM, the range isn't the important factor. For signalling purposes it's much more significant that it was a MIRVed payload, which is exclusively associated with nuclear-capable missiles.

Thank you Major General Tim Hodgetts for your brilliant leadership of NATO’s medical community over the last 3 years. Medical is now recognised as a core NATO capability priority, critical to how we deter and defend.

NATO’s plans for collective defence rely on movement and sustainment of forces. So great to meet two key actors; LtGen Kai Rorschneider, who heads our enablement command, JSEC, and Dr Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DeutscheBahn Cargo. Both critical to moving the stuff with which we defend the Alliance.

Details of the just announced package of military assistance to #Ukraine from the United States. www.defense.gov/News/Release...

Hello, Bluesky! Are we welcome here? We’re the UK Defence Journal, stepping in to bring you the latest in defence news and insights. We’ve come over from Twitter and are ready to get started. Is there space for us? If you’re interested, let us know, share this post, and follow along for updates!

My memoir of my daughter, no paywall to read www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Simple yet effrective argument here: as the status quo power, the West reflexively dismisses escalation as something negative and prefers to offer off-ramps in the hope of defusing a crisis. The question is: what are we willing to risk escalation for? nipp.org/information_...

Insightful piece by Gartzke and Lindsay on the specific demands for deterrence, especially in a multi-domain environment. As they argue, 'forces that excel at “winning” are not always ideal for “warning”'; each requires its bespoke strategy and theory of victory. warontherocks.com/2024/07/the-...

In the other Autumn series, a great morning for Brussels Celtics touch, thanks to Gent Touch.

Hardly ever watch TV, but found myself watching the Life and Times of Colonel Blimp this afternoon. Now not a dry eye in the house. 🥲

A belated birthday to the US Marine Corps. Providing security and good cake to the Alliance.

Hello everyone. I am now on this platform for social media. Do please repost this message so that more people can find me!

Neffeli, Calypso and Lewis would like to announce that they are ready to face the day. Well, the girls are anyway.

At the ever lovely Wilton Park for two days of talks about strategic issues. Fantastic group of experts.

24 lovely, and productive, hours at the Bled Strategic Forum. The Alps in late summer are special, especially when an afternoon storm has blown through.

New term. Time to get back to it.

Say hello and follow Ziya, defence expert and @rusi.bsky.social colleague

Great piece by Andrew Chakhoyan. I have repeatedly said & written over recent years that Putin is provoked by our weakness, not our strength. The West has to see Ukraine’s success as more vital to us than its failure is to Putin, & help UA accordingly.

I don’t really feel I can wish Ukrainians ‘Happy Independence Day’, in current circumstances, but I hope my Ukrainian friends stay safe, and mark the day with pride in their country & its survival. And I hope that next year, they can celebrate its success in driving out the Russian invasion.

Neffeli is now better at selfies than I am

I wrote this week's Banyan column on a recent @cnas.bsky.social tabletop exercise which looked at how a US-China nuclear war might begin & why theatre (low-yield) nuclear weapons might be more likely to be employed in a long war in Asia than a conflict in Europe. www.economist.com/asia/2024/08...

For anyone looking for names for pets, I give you the Kings of Kent.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... This is an excellent analysis.

www.defense.gov/News/Speeche... An important speech by Vipin Narang about current thinking on nuclear issues. He and his team have been instrumental in NATO’s work over the last 2 years to ensure that our capabilities, planning and posture are right for the current threat environment.

Evening run. It has been a gorgeous August in East Kent so far.

As the Democratic Party convention opens in Chicago reposting this story about my adventures at the 1972 convention in Miami. samf.substack.com/p/richard-ni...

On the basis that the point of coming here is to escape what the other place has become, I'm starting with Lewis, Neffeli and Calypso. NATO stuff will come in good time