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03 Feb 25. Slovakia: Ukrainian national’s death will possibly drive further protests, government stability risk. On 3 February, Slovak media outlet TA3 reported that the death of a homeless Ukrainian national in the capital Bratislava on 31 January was possibly the result of an assault by private security personnel and police officers. According to the report, the individual was detained for shoplifting after which the alleged assault took place. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on X (formerly Twitter) that ‘ethnic hatred’ could not be ruled out as a motivation for the alleged crime. The incident will possibly add fuel to ongoing anti-government protests that are partly a backlash against the Slovakian government’s pro-Russian rhetoric. Any confirmation of police involvement in the incident will increase the scale of the backlash which will drive government instability risk given divisions within the ruling coalition. We assess that the risk of protests will likely remain elevated in Bratislava and other major cities; the primary impact on businesses will be localised mobility disruption. (Source: Sibylline)
03 Feb 25. Austria could turn its back on European missile shield pact. The election of a far-right government in Austria puts into question the country’s continued membership in the European Sky Shield Initiative, a joint procurement scheme for missile defense equipment. In a radio interview, Acting Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner of the conservative party indicated that Vienna’s participation in the German-led scheme could fall by the wayside in the formation of a new government. Her party hopes to form a coalition with the far-right “Freedom Party” (FPÖ) which came first in elections in October. The far-right has long criticized the project, calling it a back door into NATO and claiming it isn’t compatible with Austria’s constitutionally enshrined neutrality. Legal experts dispute this claim. Austria declared its intention to join Sky Shield together with its western neighbor Switzerland – itself famously neutral – in July of 2023. Tanner had previously called the project the “spearhead of neutrality” and was the minister of defense under whom the deal was concluded in the first place. In the past, she had called it “indispensable” and emphasized: “We are doing this for our security and for the security of our children and grandchildren.” Along with her party’s 180-degree turn when it comes to being in a coalition with the Euro-skeptic and Russia-friendly far-right – a prospect categorically ruled out until a few weeks ago – this tune has now changed, too. If Austria does decide to leave, it would be free to do so: There is no legally binding agreement for membership in ESSI, only a political memorandum of understanding. However, Austria would be the first country to leave ESSI, while the number of members has otherwise grown from a founding 15 to now 21, stretching like a belt across Europe from Norway to Turkey. That’s not to say it would be without consequences. One of the key selling points of Sky Shield is the aspect of joint procurement, allowing governments to coordinate their orders for equipment and so receive lower per-item price tags. Even after leaving the initiative, Austria would likely still need to procure much of the same gear, with Austrian media estimating it might cost the taxpayer an extra €100 m ($103 m). Additionally, ESSI lays the groundwork for shared maintenance and training, further reducing costs. Outgoing German chancellor Olaf Scholz launched the European Sky Shield Initiative in August of 2022 as a consequence of lessons learned from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began a few months earlier in February. It seeks to coordinate procurement but also foster interoperability between European countries’ air defense systems to be able to protect against ballistic missiles, drones, cruise missiles and other airborne threats such as the ones used against Ukraine. The scheme has enjoyed considerable regional buy-in, including from the Nordic Countries, the Baltics, much of Central Europe, the UK and the eastern Balkans, although noteworthy holdouts include France and Italy, who criticize the project for relying too heavily on foreign-made systems. (Source: Defense News)
04 Feb 25. EU leaders agree to step up defence efforts.
- Summary
- Summit focuses on filling capability gaps
- Funding questions left largely unresolved
- Trump tariff threat overshadowed summit start
Union leaders agreed on Monday to do more to bolster their defences against Russia and other threats by hiking spending and filling gaps in their military capabilities.
“A lot has been done already but we need to do more. We need to do it better, stronger, faster – and we need to do it together,” Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council of EU leaders, said after a summit on defence in Brussels.
However, the leaders left largely unanswered the question of how their planned surge in defence spending would be paid for. European countries have already ramped up defence spending in recent years, in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a growing view that they cannot rely so much on the United States to protect the continent in years to come. Their efforts have been fuelled by questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to the NATO security alliance and by his demands for European nations to spend more on the continent’s defences. (Source: Google/Reuters)
28 Jan 25. Denmark strengthens Arctic defense with $2bn package for naval vessels, drones. The renewed effort to beef up Arctic capabilities follows a flurry of comments from US President Donald Trump threatening to buy Greenland and increase tariffs on Danish goods.
Under a new Arctic and North Atlantic security agreement, Denmark says it will spend 14.6bn kroner ($2.04bn) to bolster defense in the region, based on the acquisition of new naval vessels, long-range drones and improved space capabilities.
The pact was struck in “close collaboration” with Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Denmark’s autonomous territories, according to a Danish Ministry of Defence statement.
“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defence in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” said Denmark’s Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen in the statement. “For this reason, we must strengthen our presence in the region. That is the objective of this agreement, which paves the way for further initiatives already this year.”
Copenhagen said the spending pledge covers the purchase of three Arctic naval vessels capable of carrying helicopters and drones; two long-range drones with the “ability to conduct surveillance over large areas at great distances;” and increased situational awareness through additional satellite “capacity.”
A fleet of four Danish patrol vessels currently protect the waters of Greenland year round, operating under the country’s Joint Arctic Command based in Nuuk, according to NATO.
A second Arctic and North Atlantic security agreement is also set to be finalized in the “first half” of 2025. Copenhagen did not disclose any equipment details related to the forthcoming agreement, but said it will focus on “strengthening deterrence and defence in the region.”
The renewed effort to beef up Arctic capabilities follows a flurry of comments from US President Donald Trump threatening to buy Greenland and increase tariffs on Danish goods. Trump also said that he could not rule out taking the territory or the Panama Canal by force.
Earlier this month, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back on the military force takeover idea, telling local broadcaster TV 2 “I don’t have the imagination to imagine us getting there.”
Frederiksen met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte today, but amid the growing tension between the US and Denmark, the alliance took the unusual step of advising press ahead of the meeting that there will be “no media opportunity.”
Frederiksen also met today with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Previewing the “whirlwind day of international diplomacy”, Politico said it was an attempt, on Frederiksen’s part, to prevent Trump’s push for Greenland.
Such efforts follow on from Poulsen announcing in December a separate $1.5bn Greenland defense spending package covering two inspection ships, two long-range drones and two additional dogsled teams.
“The Kingdom allocated approximately $78bn to the military sector in the 2025 budget, which constitutes 21% of total government spending and 7.1% of Saudi Arabia’s gross product,” according to a statement from GAMI.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, declared self-rule after a referendum in 2009 but defense and foreign policy remain under the control of Denmark. Situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, the US holds a strategic interest in the island, and as rising temperatures cool Greenland’s glaciers, new shipping lanes are expected to open, likely leading to increased military competition. Existing Russian capabilities across the Arctic already threaten freedom of navigation for Washington and NATO allies. The US also operates the Pituffik Space Base from Greenland. According to a US Space Force factsheet, the base is the DoD’s “northernmost installation” and is responsible for missile warning, missile defense and space surveillance missions. It also notes those operations depend on “the solid-state phased-array radar operated by the 12th Space Warning Squadron (12 SWS) and Satellite Command and Control through the Pituffik Tracking Station operated by the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, Detachment 1.” (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
03 Feb 25. EU governments are exploring ways to include the UK and Norway in a “coalition of the willing” dedicated to expanding the continent’s defences, while circumventing militarily neutral and Russia-friendly capitals. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte will join EU leaders in Brussels on Monday to deliberate how to share the vast costs of rearmament and of increasing military capabilities. The discussion behind closed doors is taking place as the continent is under increasing pressure to take more responsibility for its own security. Russia’s war against Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s demands for European countries to raise defence spending drastically have prompted feverish and often divergent discussions on the future of the continent’s military capabilities and how to finance a funding gap estimated by the European Commission to be in excess of €500bn. The leaders will come under greater pressure to find common ground after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on EU goods, following sweeping trade measures against China, Mexico and Canada announced this weekend. Some leaders have proposed increasing already large purchases of US weapons to appease the White House on two fronts while also improving their defences. Others are worried that an economy-sapping trade war will only reduce their ability to spend more on arms. “Short-term, we must show unity on this issue of increasing our defence capacities,” said one senior EU diplomat involved in the pre-summit discussions. “But it’s clear that on the medium and long-term horizon, there will probably be another way forward that is led by a more dedicated group.” The debate has exposed divisions between the EU’s biggest defence players, Germany and France, neutral states such as Austria and Ireland, and the pro-Russian stance of Hungary and Slovakia. High defence spenders such as Poland and the Baltic states meanwhile are pitted against laggards such as Italy and Spain. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Chequers on Sunday. Financing is a key reason to diverge from a purely EU approach to a broader European “coalition of the willing” with Nato members such as the UK and Norway, officials said. Such a structure has already been proposed for a collective plan involving the European Investment Bank to raise bonds for defence purposes. “We can’t talk about security on the European continent without Nato, without the Brits,” said another EU diplomat, who added that discussions were still to be had on “which [defence] capabilities should be common and which capabilities are the individual responsibility of member states”. Starmer met German chancellor Olaf Scholz at his Chequers residence on Sunday ahead of the summit, where they agreed on “the importance of scaling up and co-ordinating defence production across Europe”, according to a readout of the meeting. A German government official said the Monday summit would include discussions on the financing of Europe’s defence industry, including by “strengthening and deepening partnerships” with non-EU countries. (Source: FT.com)
31 Jan 25. EU countries call for European Investment Bank to push into defence funding. Nineteen European Union countries, including France and Germany, are calling for the European Investment Bank to boost lending for the defence industry as the 27-nation EU seeks ways to improve its military against a possible future Russian attack. The call in a joint letter comes before EU leaders’ talks on Monday on the future of the EU defence sector, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and demands by U.S. President Donald Trump that NATO members raise defence spending. The EIB, owned by EU governments, is not allowed to finance the production of ammunition, weapons or military equipment. To remove the prohibition, a majority of governments have to agree and some countries have expressed misgivings. The bank can, and does, lend for dual-use products with both civilian and military applications, such as satellites, drones or radar systems. Finland, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden said in a letter to the European Council president and the head of the bank that the EIB should review its list of excluded activities and consider issuing defence bonds. (Source: Reuters)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need.
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