artillery

There are 10,000 soldiers and unusual artillery pointing at the same place in the Caribbean

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It all started under the pretext of “drug trafficking”but the amount of accumulated signals, troops and artillery that the United States has been adding around the southern Caribbean, indicate that the operation has slipped towards a coercion mechanism strategic to force accelerated eviction without a formal invasion. A combination of visible deterrence, explicit threats and preparation of windows of surgical action. In the background: Venezuela. Evolution of the objective. It we count last week. The US deployment began wrapped in the classic language of the fight against drug trafficking, attacking boats fast and reactivating bases with a technical pretext. It happens that the accumulation of gestures (B-52 with transponders assets bordering on the Venezuelan FIR, “ghost ships”, SOF helicopters training off the coast, and the trump admission that “he doesn’t want to play”) seem to have another purpose: the message It no longer seems to deny drug routes, but rather something more akin to overthrowing the Venezuelan regime. The public articulation (“Maduro is a fugitive”, “he must go”) and privately aligns military deployment with a logic of collapse rather than containment. Artillery as pressure. The volume of resources and troops from Washington that CNN reported in the last few hours and the New York Times through satellite data (thousands of soldiers next to the ARG Iwo Jimathree destroyers DDG guided missilesa cruisea SSN submarineairplanes AC-130J armed with hellfire, F-35 in Puerto Ricoairplanes P-8, MQ-9, ISR flights massive and reactivation of the Roosevelt Roads base) is disproportionate to simply hunt down drug boats, although insufficient to occupy Caracas. Is, according to analystsexactly the size that allows hitting nodes (command, radars, escorts, inner rings) without “going fully into” a war, and maintaining a credible “low-profile” escalation vector. American voices match in the Financial Times: “it is too much for drug trafficking, but not enough for an invasion”, and what is left in the middle is a luck calibrated pressure. One of the satellite images captured on October 17 showing F-35 fighter jets at the José Aponte de la Torre Airport in Puerto Rico The mystery of Venezuela. For its part, the Venezuelan Armed Force is eroded by maintenance and spare parts, but much less naked: there is S-300anti-aircraft artillery, MANPADS, F-16 and a million militiamen that cast serious doubt on the reputational costs if Washington crosses the kinetic threshold. At the same time, the national commanders they suspect leaks and purge loyalties, the Times said that they sleep rotating locations and change escorts. A pattern that reveals internal vulnerability and expectation of a selective coup, in any case, there does not seem to be confidence in defeating the United States. Colombia and something more. The dialectical escalation with Colombia (Trump has called Petro a “drug leader,” threats of cut funds and tariffsand rhetorical retaliation after a naval attack that killed a fisherman) reconfigures an alliance that until now was key for Washington: the same one that provided the 80% of intelligence in the area. In other words, the clash erodes the regional pillar precisely when the United States approaches the use of force threshold in Venezuela, expanding the diplomatic front and reducing its margins for sustained maneuver. The political window. While, Donald Trump’s administration acts against the clock: this posture sustained under a climate of war does not seem to be able to be maintained indefinitely and any accident can precipitate an unplanned escalation. Plus: Trump does not seem to focus the operation on normative criteria (elections or institutional guarantees) but rather to a result that he can declare as “victory,” which makes the margins of American rhetoric more flexible, but hardens the incentive for a spectacular blow. Military analysts warn that “over braking” could behead without transition and opening a vacuum, while the opposition replies that Venezuelan social cohesion reduces that risk. Thus, the gap between both hypotheses is precisely where the greatest American pressure operates today. Strategic test. In summary, the combination of visible military troopscredible threat of precision hits and a diplomacy that does not stop tightening the rope, define that kind of ultimatum phase but without a formal ultimatum. From that perspective, the outcome aims to depend less on the balance of fire than on the breaking point within the Chavista leadership and whether Washington decides to stop after a possible departure of Maduro, or explicitly pursues the “end of” as a regime. And while that ambiguity persists, the pressure aims to continue… while the Caribbean wonders for how long. Image | USN/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS THEOPLIS STEWART II, ​​Planet Labs PBC In Xataka | A disturbing idea is gaining strength: that what the US wants is not drugs, and that is why it is targeting Venezuela In Xataka | That the US Air Force flies its three B-52 bombers is normal. That he does it against Venezuela not so much

China showed the world an indecent amount of unpublished artillery. But the most advanced weapons remained hidden

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Yesterday We enumerate And we draw the Route of China in the field of military arsenal during the parade that commemorated the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II. As We countthe message was quite clear and forceful, showing a part of the power achieved by the popular liberation army in its accelerated modernization. However, more than one AS was left in the sleeve. The hidden power. Some of those developments that have not already showed them here, others not so muchbut everyone has something in common: they are the most advanced weapons of the nation, hence their concealment in public light. Many of them remain in secret because they are still in the development phase, for their strategic sensitivity or because they cannot be exhibited in an event of these characteristics. What was seen in the Tiananmén Square was just a fraction of the real capacity of the Chinese Armed Forces, which in parallel develop disruptive technologies with deep implications for the future war. Aviation and “the” electromagnetic. We have treated it. China is testing site generation fighters, provisionally known as J-36 and J-50that after their inaugural flights they have continued in the trial phase, and whose level of sophistication remains under strict secrecy. Similarly, prototypes of Riel and coil cannonscapable of intercepting hypersonic and ballistic missiles at low cost, they are too limited in size and are restricted to large ships, making it impossible for their deployment in a terrestrial parade. The reusable space vehicle is also hidden, in Tests since 2020an analogous platform to the American X-37b which can remain months in orbit and meet classified military missions. Furtive hunt J36 What we did not see of naval power. Naval modernization has been central since the last parade of 2019, with the launch of the Fujian aircraft carriersthe construction of Future Type 004and the amphibious assault ships Type 075 and Type 076. To these is added the development of Strategic Submarine Type 096which will reinforce maritime nuclear deterrence in the next decade. None of these platforms can roll through Tiananmén, although some of its weapons and aircraft systems could be shown. Tests with an electromagnetic rail cannon Cyberdefense and Digital War. The PL considers cyberdefense one of the pillars of its national security. Since the creation in 2015 of the Strategic Support Force and, in 2024, of the new Cyberspace ForceChina has centralized intelligence, cyber attack operations and critical infrastructure defense. Although the parade It included winks To these “new forms of combat”, the authentic arsenal of cyber -cyberms and offensive capabilities, what is doubtful, will remain hidden, leaving in the shadow the true magnitude of Chinese digital operations. New furtive combat apparatus in the test phase in China AI and autonomous systems. Artificial intelligence integration is a strategic priority. The Pla Work in algorithms To process real -time combat data, optimize logistics and maintenance, and generate training scenarios. Attack and recognition drones as the GJ-11the Wing Loong and The Rainbow They already incorporate autonomous navigation, recognition of objectives and coordination with other platforms. Although some of these devices will be shown, their algorithmic “brain” will remain invisible to the public. Drone Rainbow prototype Nuclear deterrence. China deployed Intercontinental Balistic missiles and strategic bombers as a gesture of strength, but the true pillars of their nuclear deterrence did not come to light. The command, control and communications systems, designed to resist a first blow, the reinforced silos of the northwest, the vast network of underground tunnels known as known as The “Great Underground Wall” and nuclear submarines armed with ballistic missiles, both the TYPE-094A assets and The future Type-096. South China Sea, where elements of the Great Submarine Wall System are installed Early alert and antimisile defense. China currently has a strategic network that combines infrared alert satellites capable of detecting ballistic releases anywhere in the world and huge fixed matrix radars, capable of tracking missiles and furtive aircraft in full flight. These systems are vital for strategic defense And they have already overcome multiple interception tests since 2010, but their static and highly classified nature keeps them out of the parade. Fujian, the biggest war boat with China’s leading technology The “great underground wall.” As we said before, in parallel, China builds a underwater surveillance system With hydrophones, sensor nodes and autonomous vehicles to monitor enemy submarines in the Eastern and South China Sea. This framework, known as the “Great Underwater Wall”, is essential to guarantee the safety of its nuclear submarine fleet and reinforce its anti -submarine capacity. Its existence is intuited, but its location and operation remain in the strictest secret. And space. With more than 500 satellites military and double useChina is trying to achieve independence in navigation with Beidou, recognition capabilities with the Yaogan series and safe communications for command and control. It also develops antisatellite weapons, from direct ascent missiles tested in 2007 even orbital proximity maneuvers and possible directed energy weapons. None of these systems appeared in the parade, but represent a key vector of their “computerized” war strategy. The industrial force. It We comment yesterday. China’s greatest hidden trick is not only technological but industrial. The ability to produce in its own territory from rifles to aircraft carriers, through reaction engines and hypersonic missiles, ensures independenceresilience and speed of production. The Military-Civil Fusion Strategy allows civil advances in defense, as occurs in aeronautical engines, where the experience of the CJ-1000A Commercial feeds the development of The WS-10 and WS-15 that drive the J-20 furtive fighters. In short, the parade showed the world a Power showcasebut the most lethal and transformer of the Chinese armed forces was hidden. Under the surface, in tunnels, in satellites, in monitored seas and in high -tech factories, there is a framework of capacities that seeks to redefine global military balance in the next decades. Image | Planet Labs Inc, @WZZJWZ, Office of Naval Research (Flickr), X, Infinty 0 , Ministry of National Defense The People’s Republic … Read more

It is not that Russia is lack of artillery, it is that from the space its armor park is being empty

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Last July 28 is He published a study of the Institute of the School of Economy of kyiv where the situation of the vast Soviet arsenals that Russia had been using since the beginning of his invasion in Ukraine was analyzed. The analysis left no doubt: they were exhausting shipments from the main Russian military stores. Now, this study has added graphic evidence. The decline of reserves. Yes, in Another study recent intelligence of Ukraine, based on satellite images and published by the Jompy researcherit is confirmed that Russian tank reserves are entering a critical phase of exhaustion. The detailed monitoring of military deposits shows that the constant extraction From armored, together with the industrial disability to restore them to the necessary rhythm, it is racing in a accelerated way of Moscow to sustain the war in Ukraine with modern combat cars. Exhaustion and obsolete tanks. The nerve center of this deterioration, according to satellite imagesis the 1311 deposit, where they are withdrawing around 20 T-72b tanks a month. If that rhythm is maintained, the warehouse will be empty before the end of the year, an unexpected fact even for analysts who follow the evolution of Russian material. This emptying adds to the exhaustion of stocks close to the Uralvagonzavod plantmain tank factory in the country. Even more revealing is that 1311 no longer counts With T-80BVwhich suggests that Russia would have completely consumed that line of reserves. The presence of T-80ud In base 22 it does not alter the panorama, as these vehicles are not suitable for reconditioned. Given this shortage, they have begun to be extracted T-55 and T-62tanks of the fifties and sixties whose reappearance in Omsktransash indicates a forced setback towards obsolete models. The problems of the industry. The lack of recent updates in the images of Base 6018 points to the fact that Omsktransash, one of the pillars in armored repair, faces It would be difficulty to maintain an adequate restoration rhythm. The need to resort to infantry combat vehicles (BMP), which originally were not part of the lots stored in 1311, reflects the improvisation with which Russia is trying Cover empty in its mechanized arsenal. The general picture reveals an industrial pressure that fails to sustain the war demand, partly because vehicles extracted are in deplorable conditions after storage decades. A Russian T-80BV No strategic reservations. Once 1311 is emptied, Moscow will be forced to resort to Deposits 349 and 2544where the T-72awith 586 and 215 units respectively. However, most are in poor condition, which limits the real effectiveness of this resource. The projection is bleak: when these reserves are exhausted, Russia will depend almost exclusively on T-55 and T-62, which represent barely 16% of the inventory of armored prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Quality degradation is evident: of third generation models, relatively modern, to platforms that decades ago they are considered overcome in any scenario of contemporary war. And without artillery. It We count A few weeks ago. The decline is not limited to tanks. Previous reports had already indicated that Russia has consumed almost Half of your reservations of artillery towed in the Shchuchye deposit, which housed about 50% of all this material in the country. In addition, the pace of reactivation of pieces It has collapsedbeing currently more than four times lower than that registered in 2022, confirming the progressive inability to reconstitute the power of terrestrial fire. A step back. The news has a clear background: the wear war in Ukraine has led the Russian army to a point where its formations are experiencing a “DESMECCANIZATION”that is, a setback from the classic model of armored regiments to infantry -centered units that advance in motorcycles, light vehicles without protection or even on foot. This phenomenon does not imply that Russia is losing war, since its numerical superiority in personnel allows you It limits severely Moscow’s ability to transform those tactical advances into deep and strategic ruptures of the enemy front. Strategic implications. This panorama suggests that Russian war machinery faces a Structural limit difficult to overcome. The apparent initial abundance of Soviet reserves is being replaced for the urgency of resorting to material practically museum. Each T-62 or T-55 deployed on the front not only lacks the necessary benefits against drones, anti-tank missiles and guided artillery, but also exposes crews to crews A higher risk In modern fighting. The loss of contemporary armored armies will reduce the Russian offensive capacity, will make it slower and will force their controls to rethink mechanized assault strategies, which have already shown vulnerability in Ukraine. Image | Google Maps, Jompy/X, Alan Wilson In Xataka | The war in Ukraine, far from approaching its end, has added a disturbing ingredient: an unexpected “friend” for Russia In Xataka | It is not that the war has entered its Mad Max phase, is that Ukraine is using the trucks we saw in the movie

hide your tanks and artillery underground

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In the war that is fought in Ukraine after the invasion of Russia we have seen a large number of unpublished tactics in the front. For example, drones that are precisely looking for They catch themeither unmanned boats capable of knocking fighters. We have also seen using “tricks” from the First World War, such as The optical illusion or the use of shotguns of double cannon. However, what had not been seen so far was literally burying a combat tank. The buzz of a drone. The story comes, in reality, months ago. In the dense forests that surround toletsk, a flame city east of Ukraine, the sound of the war had changed the bell in October: it was no longer only the rumble of the artillery that defined the battlefield, but the constant buzzing of the drones that furrowed the heavens in search of objectives. In Donetsk, the soldiers of the 28th Mechanized Brigade separate awaited instructions with their Modernized T-64although they are no longer the imposing protagonists that used to be. The era of the dominant tank has given way to a new stage: the of the cautious tankforced to adapt to a war dominated by electronic eyes and miniature air attacks. The loss of invulnerability. That scene has been repeated in many other stages of the war in Ukraine. The T-64 is the best example, since it was at the time a symbol of invincible power: that which was said that when the engine felt under his feet, the illusion that nothing could touch him. However, that feeling It has vanished. What was previously a strategic advantage today has become exposure to danger. Tanks, whether Soviet or modern models M1A1 Abrams Americans are being removed from the front, not due to lack of power, but for their vulnerability in front of FPV drones low cost, which for just 500 dollars can destroy machines valued in millions. War has become a technological asymmetries equation where small colossal. Invisible air war. Today is already a war reality: in the extensive line of the Ukrainian front, of more than 1,100 kilometers, the modern war is no longer freed on the ground, but also also in the airwhere those swarms of small explosive drones fly without rest on a lethal flight of Surveillance and destruction. Every month, both the Ukrainian forces and the Russians throw around Two million FPV dronestiny distance guided machines capable of transporting enough explosive loads to destroy vehicles or end a life. Their size, speed and maneuvering capacity make them relentless hunters of mobile or static objectives, especially artillery pieces, tanks and fortified positions. These aerial threats, no doubt, have completely transformed the strategy on the front, displacing the combat from the surface Towards the subsoil in what is already emerging as an era of those cautious armored armored ones that we commented. A Ukrainian tank emerging from Earth The underground artillery is born. Given this scenario, more and more Ukrainian artillery units have begun to excavate deep burrows In the field, hiding not only its crews but also its bulky artillery pieces. There are examples of Widespread videos that show a Ukrainian battery operating a 2S1 GVOZDIKAa self -propelled howbow, hosted underground in An excavated shelter With heavy machinery. The entrance is covered by trunks and a thick network that aims to intercept enemy drones. The depth of the position is such that even the vehicle has a hard time emerging to shoot. There are also Official photographs of the 36th Ukrainian Marine Infantry Regiment that reveal that these underground positions are not isolated cases, but a trend that extends along the front, especially in exposed areas such as the border with the Russian region of Kursk. Trinchera 2.0. The evolution of the conflict has returned to the modern soldier to a form of buried lifebut this time with 21st century technology. The constant threat from heaven has forced a complete redesign of deployment and concealment tactics. From that prism, visual camouflage is no longer enough: layers of land, reinforced structures and one Logistics capacity that allows to bury heavy machinery safely. They counted in Forbes That when they do not shoot, vehicles must remain hidden underground, ready to emerge only the necessary time to execute a fire mission before disappearing again under soil protection. This logic of movement translates into a stealthy, methodical and essentially defensive form, away from the traditional dynamism that characterized the armored ones. Drones and tactical response. While FPV drones They are mortalThey are not invulnerable. Radio controlled can be neutralized by Electronic interferencewhile guided by fiber optic cable They can betray the operator’s position if the cable is tracked. Even so, its proliferation has reached such magnitude that the land no longer offers sufficient protection without intensive mechanical intervention. Networks, armor, traps, improvised structures … in the war in Ukraine nothing seems sufficient in the face of the constant surveillance of those thousands of eyes Flying Hence the earth, thick and silent, offer a truly effective defense. This also explains why so many Ukrainian units have started Collection campaigns To acquire excavators, understanding that their survival no longer depends solely on weapons, but on access to civil machinery capable of opening a refuge under the surface. Adaptation to urgency. Thus, what began as a improvised reaction Given the increase in unmanned air attacks, it has established itself as a New tactical pattern. In a technologically saturated war, where visibility means vulnerability and mobility implies risk, hiding has become a strategy. Artillery, once a symbol of power and visibility on the battlefield, is now buried as a swag endangered. A strange turn, but perhaps inevitable, in a conflict where artificial intelligencethe Technological miniaturization and Asymmetric war They have relegated the human being and their machinery to seek in the subsoil a way of persisting. Image | Ukrainian Defense Ministry, 36th Marine Brigade In Xataka | The last tactic of Ukraine is a drone that seeks to catch him. When Russia opens … Read more

West believed that mines and conventional artillery were the past. Ukraine has shown that they were wrong

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They have been Several occasions in which the conflict after the Russian invasion in Ukraine seemed Go back to the pastat an era where technology did not dominate the battlefield, but the human through it. The effect of what has happened to east of Europe begins to have its echoes on several nations of the old continent. Conventional artillery and mines, for decades considered obsolete, have seen A resurgence That nobody seemed to glimpse, and now everyone wants to rearm. A return to the past. As we said, the conflict in Ukraine has radically reconfigured Western understanding about The modern warrevealing the validity of weapons that for a long time were forgotten as vestiges of the past. Antipersonnel minesheavy artillery and non -guided ammunition have reappeared as key elements In a type of war that NATO and European armies had stopped planning: the large -scale land war. For years, Western powers imagined the conflicts of the 21st century as technological, rapid and surgical clashes, starring reduced units and high precision weapons systems. It happens that the Ukrainian realitywith their stagnant fronts and prolonged fighting For territorial control, those assumptions have denied sharply. The Treaty of Ottawa and Las Mines. In fact, one of the most visible effects of this doctrinal turn has been the decision of several European countries to abandon the Ottawa treaty of 1997, the same that prohibited the use, production and sale of antipersonnel mines. Who is it? Finland was the last In reverting his adhesion, adding to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, who had already announced their departure. These nations, all neighbors of Russia or in their area of ​​geopolitical influence, are actively preparing for undermine its bordersin an attempt to contain a possible Moscow military offensive. The reasons are clearly clear: the Use of mines in Ukraine It has demonstrated its effectiveness not only to stop advances, but to channel enemy troops to areas where they can be faced with greater guarantees of success. It is a territorial defense tactic that resurfaces in a conventional war context, precisely when it was believed to be overcome. Artillery and unburgated ammunition, the resurgence. While the guided missile systems provided by NATO face problems in the face of the Russian capacities of Electronic interferencetraditional artillery, with simple and cheap projectiles, has charged New prominence. These ammunition, not depending on electronic signals, are immune to blockages or technological sabotages. In addition, combined with modern surveillance tools (such as drones that identify real -time objectives), they have become extraordinarily lethal. Ukraine, in fact, has taken advantage of this synergy, adapting old technologies to the new battlefield. The result has been a war that advances very little in terms of territory, but that consumes huge amounts of projectiles and requires a sustained production that Europe was not prepared to assume. Europe and industrial career. On the other sidewalk, the paradigm shift has exposed the fragility of war production capacities in Europe, although that is not quite news when the old continent has already talked about rearming. A report by the Royal United Services Institute criticized European governments for Trust blindly in which the private sector would solve the manufacturing needs of ammunition without having offered them incentives or favorable regulations. This omission has had serious consequences: according to General Christopher CavoliSupreme Comandante Allied with NATO in Europe, Russia is on the way to accumulate projectile reserves three times higher to those of the United States and Europe together. He imbalance is alarmingespecially considering that the Ukrainian conflict does not show short -term resolution signs and that the current levels of ammunition consumption are unsustainable without an industrial restructuring. Russia’s mirror. In this regard and According to CavoliRussia currently produces 250,000 artillery projectiles per month, which leads it to build that arsenal three times greater than the United States and Europe. Not just that. Cavoli’s testimony underlines a crucial point: while Russia is perceived in the West bogged down In a wear war, its defense machinery He has managed to adaptgrow and, in some aspects, strengthen in full conflict. Moscow has been recovering its arsenals on all fronts (from ammunition to armored vehicles and troops), which strongly contrasts with the logistics and production difficulties faced by their adversaries. The estimate of Cavoli points to an annual manufacture of 1,500 tanks by Russia, in front of the 135 produced by the United States. In the last year, Russian troops would have lost Approximately 3,000 tanks9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems and more than 400 air defense systems, but would be completely replaced, keeping their land projection capacity intact. Planning errors. Experts like Paul van Hooft, from the Think Tank Rand Europe, They explained to Insider that this lag is a direct consequence of three decades of strategic planning focused on asymmetric wars. Since the September 11 attacks, NATO designed its military operations thinking of insurgencies, terrorism and irregular forces, where neither heavy artillery nor mines seemed to have practical utility. That vision led, according to the analyst, to the dismantling of traditional arsenals and the abandonment of terrestrial war doctrines, especially in Western Europe. However, the current conflict demands precisely opposite: territorial defense, sustained occupation of broad areas and classical deterrence capacity. The balance between the future and the past. Mark Cancan, from Center for Strategic and International Studies, stressed that prolonged wars, once stabilized the front lines, make weapons such as artillery and mines not only useful, but dominant. While drones, artificial intelligence and other innovations continue to perform An important roledo not replace the volume of fire or logistics resistance that allow sustaining an offensive or defending a position for months. In this regard, Cancan warns against excess confidence in futuristic war visions, many of them promoted by startups technological ones that compete to attract funds from the new defense budgets. Faced with this, the evidence seems to show that, at least for now, the war remains a matter of volume, physical resources and conventional abilities well managed. Ironically, if … Read more

The problem of Ukraine is not just the lack of weapons. USA has a “button” to deactivate the artillery already sent

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In just one week we have heard Up to two plans Very different from Europe to defend Ukraine. In between, the old continent has even reached Talk about rearma After years of “peace.” All this gives an idea of ​​to what extent there is a dependency of the American Arsenal and Intelligence. It is not just that Washington Medites pause the help. It could paralyze the already sent. The dependence problem. The abrupt retirement of military support from Ukraine has turned on the alarms Among its European allies, who begin to question their strong dependence on American weapons, software and maintenance. Even how far it goes. I counted in a extensive reporting the Financial Times That the situation remembers the fall of Afghanistan in 2021, when the American withdrawal left the Black Hawk helicopters of the Afghan army unusable, precipitating the fall of Kabul in a matter of months. Now, with Trump redefining foreign policy towards a more conciliatory position with Russia, European countries that have based their defense in US military technology face a structural vulnerability that could compromise their long -term safety. But there is more. The “off button.” For a long time, but now more than ever, there has been talk of those alleged “switches” capable of Turn off military technology that reigns in current conflicts. In fact and in European key, one of the greatest concerns is the possibility that the United States can deactivate remotely Advanced military systems through software, many of them already sent to Ukraine. An example: a team that needs remote update could become useless not to get the data. Although there are no conclusive evidence, told Financial Times Richard Abouulafia, an expert Analist at Aerodynamic Advisory, that “if something can be done with code, then there is.” However, the European agency goes beyond a possible “Kill Switch”, since, without spare parts, software updates and logistics support, that “button” is already in many weapons that would be inoperative in a matter of weeks. The level of dependence. The story takes us to the output grill. The European military agency in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years. Between 2019 and 2023, 55% of imports European defense came from Washington, in front of 35% In the previous five -year period, According to the International Stockholm Institute For Peace Research (Sipri). In fact, this respect, the former Secretary of Defense of the United Kingdom, Sir Ben Wallace, warned that, if he were still in office, his priority would be Evaluate military units from Europe and determine if a strategic change is necessary to reduce vulnerability to Washington decisions. The example of F-35. He F-35 hunting It happens to be the most advanced combat plane in the world, but also a clear symbol of European vulnerability. The reason? The plane depends completely on United States Logistics Supportincluding software updates, missions planning and threat databases through the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), which is being replaced by the Odin Network (Operational Data Integrated Network). That “button” we were talking about is there, and although Europe physically possesses the combat plane, it can become obsolete. Nations in problems. Countries like Denmark, which have considered deploying F-35s in Greenland, could find a critical problem: if the United States decides to withdraw their access to support infrastructure, These airplanes would be inoperative. Even before the Trump administration, the United Kingdom, one of the main buyers of the F-35, demanded “operational sovereignty” on their fighters, achieving Certain concessions in 2006. However, no ally has access to the system source code, which keeps Washington with Absolute control. For its part, Switzerland has tried to reassure its population by stating that its F-35 fleet can operate “autonomously”, but He also admitted that no western hunting can work completely without safe communication systems and satellite navigation of the United States. The British nuclear weapon: another example. We told yesterday. The United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent system is also closely linked to the United States. As? Your strategic submarines use Trident Balistic Missileswhich are leased to Washington and require periodic maintenance at the King’s Bay Naval Base, Georgia. Although analysts consider unlikely that the United States cuts the maintenance of the TRIDS, Nick Cunningham, an analyst at Agency Partners, argues that The system remains “A critical point of vulnerability to the United Kingdom.” Some experts suggest that London should evaluate alternatives, such as French M51 missilessince France and the United Kingdom are the only nuclear powers in Europe. Intelligence and surveillance, also “mortgaged.” If we raise the framework the scope of American power is amplified. Much of the intelligence, surveillance and recognition capabilities (ISR) in Europe They depend on collaboration with the United States. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway and Germany use American spy airplanes and drones that require Washington authorization to be armed or deployed in offensive missions. For example, Italy and France faced a long approval process to equip Your reaper drones With missiles, demonstrating how the United States maintains control over the weapons of its allies. Plus: true fear in Europe is not only the possible loss of individual systems, but the possibility that the United States withdraw logistics support and intelligence Shared in the middle of a conflict, which would affect the operation of fighters, Chinook helicopters and Apacheas well as air defense systems such as The patriot. The beginning of a break in the western alliance. It is the last of the legs to be treated. The growing distrust in the reliability of the United States as a strategic partner could have devastating consequences for the American defense industry. For decades, Washington has used the promise of military protection and cooperation to ensure the sale of its weapons, but the recent decision of withdraw support to Ukraine He has sown doubts about the sustainability of this promise. There are data that already corroborates it. The actions of the main US defense companies They have fallenwhile European manufacturers have experienced A boom after Trump’s re -election. … Read more

Renfe and Ouigo prepare their artillery against the Railway Liberalization of Cercanías

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The first battle has already occurred but there is a lot (a lot) for the war to end. Because after the liberalization of the high Spanish speed, the opening of the market arrives in vicinity and medium distance. A space that is still Monopoly of Renfe but which should be able to arrive new actors in the coming years. Among those actors is, of course, ouigo. Liberalization. In 2021, the Spanish roads lived a historical moment: Ouigo began to operate in our country. For the first time, Renfe had competition and came from the hand of a French origin company. Later it would arrive Iro From Italy. They are currently the three companies that offer high -speed services in the Spanish roads. Liberalization was forced with the guidelines of the Fourth Rail Package of the European Union with the idea that competition will help offer more efficient and cheap services for the user. High speed liberalized, Spain has to take the next step: near and medium distance. A delicate theme. High speed liberalization has already meant a clash between the government, Renfe and Ouigo. But opening the doors to near and medium distance is an even more thorny issue because we talk about rail services that have public service obligations. They explain in Five days that in 2023 these services transferred 492 million passengers and that most of them have revenues below the average. Entering this market is a real risk for companies since they must deal with accessible prices and, at the same time, costs that allow them to earn money. A first advance. Following the railway services provided with public service obligations, government and ouigo have already collided for this reason. From the Executive They lamented in April 2024 that the new operators had the advantage of deciding where they wanted to be, while Renfe did look at the obligation to reach many more cities. According to Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, this prevents Renfe from competing in the same conditions as its rivals that can afford some flexibility when playing with prices. A flexibility that from the government consider excessive in the case of Ouigo to those who have directly accused throw prices below cost sustained by the French state. Yes, but. What we expect with the liberalization of near and medium distance is a new battle between Renfe and operators that are about to be revealed. We already know that one of them is an ouigo but the rest (at least three) remains in anonymity. They explain in 20 minutes that now the battle to define what aspects are key to getting the future tender has begun. In Ouigo they already press to make it clear that they will only be presented to the contest if they can have access to the rolling material and the staff, which would be subrogated. In this way, the risk to run would be much less. From Renfe they have another proposal: commission the work to the operator “that is in a better disposition to provide the service”, in words collected by the Digital newspaper. The company fears that competitors choose to offer too low prices and then cannot fulfill their obligations Yes, but (part 2). In addition to the above conditions, Ouigo would have put another condition: compensation of one million euros if, finally, the tender would not be taken after being presented to the contest. They defend that the cost of preparing for this tender already involves a cost of three million euros, so they require being able to recover part of the investment if it goes wrong. In The Spanish They pick up that the company also wants the first tenders to open the door to simple and little complex services. That is, start with lots that do not present cross -border circulations, for example. When? At the moment, what we have left is to wait because the liberalization of near and medium distance can still take several years. At the moment, The Renfe contract is active until 2027 and contemplates an extension of another five years. However, the services that barely suppose 3% of the contract, can be liberalized as of January 2026. Therefore, we would be talking that the bulk of the amounts and medium distance services operated by a player other than Renfe would not reach up to 2028 or, even, 2033 if the contract that he has right now is reached. The CNMC, yes, has already opened a Public Consultation Phase so that interested operators register their claims. Photo | Renfe In Xataka | While Europe launches into the arms of the competition, the United Kingdom nationalizes its trains. The reason: they were a disaster

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