Good look at the defense philosophy in Finland by Teri Schultz in DW. And what a contrast to many other countries in the Baltic region that have perfected the art of being dependent on USA. President Sauli Niinisto says Finland – with a population of 5.2 million, a border with Russia that runs 1,340 kilometers […]
Army
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Sweden to buy new air-defense system
The Baltic Post: Swedish policymakers have made clear that they wish to update the air-defense system by 2020, and this tight deadline has narrowed down the options to two systems, which are already developed and widely in use. The first is the Patriot, developed by U.S. defense giant Raytheon, and the second is French-Italian Eurosam’s […]
Russia’s biggest army is directed at its own people
I’ve been wanting to link to this for a while. Igor Torbakov has a really interesting analysis in Utrikesmagasinet about the possible meaning of the restructuring of the domestic forces into the Federal National Guard Service, Rosgvardiya. According to Torbakov the motivation can be found in this: “Western politicians do not understand the essence of […]
Russia continues move to more professional military
Russia has called in 134,000 new conscripts to begin 12 months of military training in the fourth quarter of 2017. The schedule is such that new recruits begin in the second and fourth quarters, and together with the spring draft the total number for 2017 is up to 276,000 conscripts. Although that is a very […]
Winter warfare is loosing its peculiar charm
Charlsy Panzino for Army Times Researchers are working on a way for soldiers to generate heat in cold environments instead of piling on multiple bulky layers to their uniforms. By applying a silver nanowire coating to the uniforms, troops could theoretically dial up the heat to keep themselves comfortable, according to researchers at U.S. Army […]
Will Russia have 6,000 more tanks in its army?
Dave Majumdar in a piece for War is Boring under the title “Russia Will Have 6,000 More Tanks in Its Army”: Russia is sharply curtailing the number of Soviet-era tanks that is planning to scrap. In previous years, Moscow had planned to send some 10,000 of its older model tanks to the junk yard for […]
Compensation of reservists causes trouble for Estonia
Having a good reserve is complicated. The material and logistical requirements are obvious as a reserve is not worth much if you are not able to provide simple things like uniforms and weapons when the reservists show up for service. Denmark is a good example of a country with a large reserve of former conscripts […]
US should return to forward-stationed troops in Europe
John R. Deni in War On The Rocks recommends a return to a more permanently forward-stationed army. [With] specific regard to Europe, the Pentagon should aim to station these units in Poland, either in whole or in part through split-basing. Stationing in Poland would provide greater assurance to Eastern Europe and more effectively deter aggression. […]
Hope Estonia learned from the Kurkse Tragedy
I never heard about the Kurkse Tragedy until I saw this film on Delfi.ee marking the 20th anniversary. 14 Estonian soldiers died while swimming across a narrow strait in unfavorable weather conditions. When looking at this tragedy it is hard not to get surprised by the reckless behavior of the soldiers and their commanding officers. […]
Why would the Russians have four tank programs?
If you lost sight of current Russian tank programs, Petri Mäkelä at Vantage Point North has you covered: When these four parallel tank programs are looked at from a strategic perspective few alarming possibilities emerge. If the reason for the new modernization programs are either the delays in the T-14 Armata program on insufficient funds […]