build bunkers before it’s too late

During the Cold War, some air bases in Europe were protected by shelters capable of withstanding nearby nuclear explosions, with hangars buried under meters of concrete and steel. Decades later, many of these infrastructures have disappeared or become obsolete just as more modern threats once again target the same weak point. The awakening underground. Now that the United States has once again put end date of the war, everything indicates that uranium, oil or Tehran’s nuclear bombs have taken a backseat, because Iran has forced the United States to rediscover something much more basic: survival starts underground. After weeks of attacks with missiles and drones who have killed soldiers, destroyed aircraft and forced to disperse troops even to hotels and offices, the Pentagon has assumed that its immediate priority is not offensive, but defensive. The image of an army fighting “remotely” while their bases are hit summarizes the strategic turn: before projecting power, now it is time to resist. Exposed bases. The conflict has revealed a weakness that had been brewing for years: the lack of infrastructure hardened in US bases. Key aircraft parked outdoors, fixed radars and large clearly identifiable facilities have been easy targets for increasingly precise Iranian attacks. The system destruction such as an AWACS and the damage to multiple aircraft have shown that concepts such as dispersion or mobility are not enough when the enemy can hit repeatedly with cheap drones and ballistic missiles. The late turn. They remembered the TWZ analysts which is now when the Pentagon is rushing to do what it has not done for years: build bunkers. From prefabricated shelters that should arrive in a matter of days to underground command and operations complexes that won’t be ready for a decade, the priority is clear. Not only that. Commands on the ground they insist in which the reinforcement of positions and the expansion of refuges is already an urgent need, not a complement. However, this effort comes late for the current conflict and raises an uncomfortable question from the side of whoever started the war: why wasn’t it done sooner, when the threat was known? Warnings ignored. I explained this morning in a piece the wall street journal What is most revealing is that the problem is not new. For years, American commanders they alerted of the vulnerability of the bases in the Gulf and proposed alternatives such as deploying forces further from Iran or create new networks of airfields in safer areas. Those recommendations never materialized. Strategic priorities such as the turn towards the Pacific, diplomatic tensions and the lack of political urgency left a threat in the background that has now materialized in all its intensity. From supremacy to survival. If you will, the conflict has also changed the logic of war for the United States in the region. It is no longer just about dominating the air with fighters, bombers or anti-missile systems, but about ensuring that these assets survive on the ground (or under it). The combination of satellite intelligence, low-cost drones and precision strikes has dramatically reduced the margin of error. Every fixed base becomes a target, every repeated pattern a vulnerability, and every unprotected aircraft a potential loss. A lesson. Beyond the Middle East theater, the lesson for the United States is even more profound. If Iran has been able to impose this pressure levelthe scenario in a major conflict (especially in the Pacific) would be exponentially more complex. The United States is not only late in reinforcing its bases in the Gulf, but also faces a global structural problem: the need to redesign your infrastructure military for an era where hiding, hardening and dispersing can be more decisive than attacking. In other words, the war in Iran has not changed what weapons the United States uses, but it has revealed what its real priority is: build shelters before it’s too late. Image | USAF In Xataka | If the question is why the US has sent dozens of A-10s to Iran, the answer already has a video: to pull the trigger for 9 seconds In Xataka | The US did not make ends meet in Iran by launching thousands of missiles a month. So let’s move on to plan B: humans.

How to put millions of people in bunkers

The German nation, with a current population of around 84 million people, currently has about 5,780 bunkers. Makes sense: these vestiges of war of the past were mostly built During World War II And, to a lesser extent, during the Cold War. These spaces, most underground, had a very simple function: host and protect thousands of people from the case. Germany believes that the time has come to prepare them again. Prepared for war. It The Guardian told The weekend. After decades of generalized belief that a direct military conflict on European soil was unthinkable, Germany has initiated a deep transformation in its civil protection policy against the growing fear of a possible Russian attack in the next four years. Ralph Timesler, director of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and assistance to catastrophes (BBK), has warned that the country It is not prepared for a large -scale war of aggression and has called an urgent national mobilization for adapt infrastructure existing (from tunnels, subway stations to basements and parking lots) as shelters capable of protecting a million people. The message is clear: Germany needs to move from pacifist rhetoric to the Preventive action If you want to face the strategic challenges posed by an increasingly unpredictable Russia. The outdated bunker. Of course, there is a problem: these shelters need a wide reform. The current civil protection panorama in Germany leaves no doubts: of the 2,000 bunkers inherited from the cold war, just 580 They are operational and could only house 0.5% of the population. In contrast, Finland It has 50,000 spaces protection that cover 85% of its citizens. Plus: BBK’s proposal is not limited to building new shelters (an expensive and slow task), but prioritizes the immediate adaptation of existing urban structures. In parallel, it is planned to modernize alert systems, improve the cybersecurity of emergency applications and develop clear signals indicating Where to protect yourself In case of attack. The initiative arises in a context in which mass bombings on Ukrainian cities Like Járkovwhere Russia launched one attacks of the most intense since the beginning of the invasion, reaffirm the need to prepare for war scenarios in Europe. Strategy and other urgencies. CNN counted That the financing of the ambitious plan is not yet guaranteed, although it is expected to come from Temporary survey of the debt brake approved by Parliament in March, which allows exceptional expenses in defense, infrastructure and security. So much, the funds They must be distributed Also between intelligence services, military modernization, cyber -defense and improvement of key infrastructure such as bridges and roads suitable for the transit of military vehicles. Tiesler estimates that at least they will be needed 10,000 million euros Until 2028 to meet the basic civil protection needs and 30,000 million in the next ten years. In this budget distribution, civil protection competes with equally vital strategic sectors, which makes the debate a first -order political issue for the nation. Citizen Resilience. Beyond the structural works, Tunta has directly appealed to the Individual responsibility of the population. The man proposes the establishment of a civil protection service, mandatory or voluntaryand recommend that each home store sufficient supplies for at least ten days without water or electricity, in the same line as That ad that launched Europe to the entire continent. Politics, if you also want “preventive resilience”, adopted in Other European countries as We have been countingseeks to prepare German society not only for natural catastrophes or cyber attacks, but for that scenario once distant, now less unlikely, of an armed conflict in continental territory. Thus, Germany seems to start shaking the lethargy of his postwar period and redefine his priorities before a geopolitical environment that no longer allows indifference. If France seems be “reorganizing” To Renault, Germany seeks to do the same with its bunkers. Image | Miguel Alcântara In Xataka | Before the climbing in Ukraine, Germany has dusted something: a war manual and its underground shelters In Xataka | Billionaires prepare their mansions for apocalypse: luxury bunkers have become a trend

More than 600 bunkers to defend

In May, a European area was alerted. The satellite data that had been achieved exclusively The Wall Street Journal They showed that Russia was expanding its bases military along its border with Finland. The documents also explained What did the United States In the area for weeks. Before the Russian threat, three other countries that are border have just revealed their plan: an extensive Baltic wall. The encounter with a hunt. That something is happening in the surroundings of the Baltic is explained by a unprecedented event this week. For years, the call “Ghost Flot” Russian (That opaque network of ship without clear flag or transparent record) has transported oil from Moscow through international waters, mocking the sanctions imposed by the West since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. As we have counted beforethese ships, old and aged, operated on the margins of legality and without visible links with the Kremlin. But everything changed on May 13, when a Russian hunting Su-35 flyed out at low altitude The jaguaran oil company recently sanctioned by the United Kingdom, while Military Estonias authorities tried to inspect it in the Baltic. The incidentoccurred within the Estonian Air Space, has been interpreted in NATO as a clear climb: for the first time, Moscow used direct military media to protect a ship from its economic network informal. A direct answer. I told it in exclusive the confidential through its sources with the Estonia government. The Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are preparing for the worst scenario. Despite being under the UTAN umbrella, the governments of these countries, aware of their geographical vulnerability and their limited military capacity against Russia, have opted for a Preventive strategy that combines physical deterrence, operational speed and political symbolism. Estonia has announced the construction of More than 600 bunkers along its border with Russia, while Latvia and Lithuania plan Extend this line Common defensive towards Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kalinningrad. The initiative, already baptized as “the Baltic Wall”, represents one of the most significant maneuvers of territorial defense in Europe from the NATO Foundation in 1949. Bunkers as a guarantee. According to Susan Lilleväli explainedUndersecretary of preparation for the defense of Estonia, the priority is “to defend every centimeter of the NATO territory”, not only as a deterrent gesture, but as a tangible response to the war reality observed in Ukraine. The bunkers, capable of hosting balls of up to ten soldiers In small spaces, they will be strategically available at key border points, combined With natural obstaclesantimovility systems and explosive artifact stores (although these will not be deployed in peacetime). The goal It is double: Standing or slowing down a possible Russian offensive enough to allow the arrival of allied reinforcements, and make any enemy preparation visible that involves crossing the fortified line, which would allow a faster and faster reaction. Although they acknowledge that there is no impenetrable defense, the man are committed to significantly elevating the political, logistics and human cost of any aggression. The Polish precedent. Plus: The defensive impulse does not arise from a vacuum. Poland, who also shares border with Belarus, already It has reconfigured part of your military device displacing troops From the west to the east in response to joint exercises between Belarusian military and mercenaries of the Wagner Group a few kilometers from its territory. And Finland is preparing with the United States. This redistribution occurred in a matter of hoursand evidences the new permanent alert state that runs through Eastern Europe. The governments of the region assume that the threshold of the unthinkable has fallen. If you want also, the notion that an invasion of a NATO member would be a suicidal act for Russia is now perceived as a Non -discharge risk. As I pointed Commander Kundla Tarmo, the mere fact of forcing the adversary to prepare to cross such a visible defense allows us to better anticipate their intentions. Physical armor. Not just that. The “Baltic Wall” aims to be much more than a military infrastructure: a political project with deep Psychological draft. Carries the memory of Decades of Soviet occupationespecially in Estonia, where the red flag waves for half a century. They counted in the confidential That for many citizens, this measure represents a physical guarantee that this will not be repeated. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has insisted that the Ukraine War has demonstrated That territorial preparation (in addition to weapons, ammunition and soldiers) is essential from the first border meter. “We want the population to feel safe,” He affirmedwhile stressing that everything will be “as soon as possible.” Urgency and a principle. Thus, and although the technical execution of the project can face obstacles (such as the purchase of private land or the need for compensation) development It has already begun. In fact, there are already fences, electronic surveillance and patrols in much of the Estonia border, and the measures will remain active while the new line of defense is built. In addition, the barrier also responds to acquired commitments by NATO at the Madrid Summit of 2022, where a new position based on an advanced defense and an advanced defense was adopted Disuase “through denial”. In other words, change is not only technical but doctrinal: it is no longer about responding to the attack, but to prevent it from the beginning. To do this, the lessons learned in Ukraine are combined with a long -term strategic vision. A decision where a phrase that already seems regional slogan resonates: “Better to prevent, to cure.” Image | Armija Latvijas In Xataka | Now we know what the US Army did in Finland. Russia is expanding its troops on its border with Europe In Xataka | Finland is the happiest country in the world. And is also preparing thoroughly for the most unhappy end: war

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