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Security policy, counter-terrorism, intelligence and defence in Europe and Turkey, from the individual’s sense of security to the strategies of states.
A farmer’s son born in the Altai Mountains became a weapons designer after the helplessness he experienced in war. With its ease of use and durability, Kalashnikov’s AK-47 became one of the deadliest weapons in the world.
Lacking the strength to counter-attack, Ukraine is resorting to tactics as old as antiquity, from caltrops dropped by drones to soldiers hit while in the toilet. The war has turned into a war of attrition once again.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended decades of neutrality: Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO. Prolonged by objections from Turkey and Hungary, the process was completed in 2024.
Democratic or totalitarian, states sometimes step outside the rules they have set themselves. Assassinations and terrorist attacks are among the darkest tools of covert operations, and the truth often comes out far too late.
A call involving the Chief of the German Air Force was intercepted by the Russians and published by RT’s editor-in-chief. “The bear is back”: kompromat, disinformation and the West’s reflexes.
How did the Russians intercept a WebEx call in which four German officers discussed Taurus missiles? A hotel in Singapore, fake Wi-Fi networks and long-range antennas: three possibilities.
The West gives Ukraine enough support not to lose, but not enough to win. Even so, whenever “game changers” such as HIMARS, Storm Shadow and sea drones arrived, the course of the war shifted.
Tesla can give its cars new headlight features with a software update. The German armed forces are moving to “software-defined defence” on the same logic, and Platform42 is the accelerator of this transformation.
From the telegraph to radar, from GPS to AI: weapon systems are now defined more by software than by hardware. The lines of code in fighter jets multiply with every generation.
Some elements of terrorism never change, but technology, the climate crisis and proxy wars keep it evolving. The last article in the “Anatomy of Terrorism” series offers predictions for the future.
Terrorism does not always come from independent organisations. States too have backed terrorist groups for strategic gain or carried out terrorist acts themselves. State-sponsored terrorism from Afghanistan to Lockerbie.
From nationalist independence movements to ideological organisations, from religious extremism to environmental radicals: how have the aims, methods and sources of finance of terrorism changed over a century?
Geography, ideology and method may change, but some elements of terrorism never do: violence, the targeting of civilians and the aim of achieving political results through fear.
Armies plan new tanks and aircraft in decade-long cycles, while technology changes within months. The digital dilemma faced by the German car industry is now at the door of the defence industry.
After Hamas’s attack in October 2023 and Israel’s response in Gaza, each side declared the other terrorist. What is terror, and who is a terrorist? There is still no common international definition.
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