India warns Pakistan of ‘strong response’ after attack on paramilitaries in Kashmir
Dozens of Indian paramilitary personnel were killed on 14 February as a result of a suicide car bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir. Source: STR/AFP/Getty ImagesArgentina creates air bridge to its southernmost base in Antarctica
Argentine Air Force Twin Otter serial number T-85, pictured behind a Sno-Cat at Argentina’s Belgrano II Base in Antarctica, where it arrived on 10 February 2019: the first time the base has been reached by air since November 1965. Source: Argentine Air ForceDismissal of Thai PM bid increases likelihood of project review in agriculture, real estate; large-scale unrest unlikely
Srisuwan Janya, the secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, submits a petition to the Election Commission to investigate the Thai Raksa Chart Party for nominating Princess Ubolratana Mahidol as its candidate for the premiership in Bangkok on 11 February 2019. Source: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty ImagesUS Air Force sees increased future emphasis on small launch
The USAF will likely place more emphasis on small launch companies such as Vector Space Systems due to their responsiveness, or their ability to launch satellites on short notice. Source: Vector-
Putin threatens to respond to US withdrawal from INF Treaty
Repeating allegations that the United States violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened “asymmetric actions” against countries that accept the deployment of any new US medium-range missiles or “contain
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Kazakh president dismisses government, potentially seeking to limit social protests, with subsequent policy changes likely
Event On 21 February, President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a televised statement requesting the government, led by Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev, to resign. Nazarbayev cited its failure to “create real stimuli and instruments for qualitative growth of economy” and inability to
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US Navy issues RFI for proposed large-surface combatants
The US Navy (USN) has issued a request for information (RFI) on 19 February for its next-generation large-surface combatant (LSC) class of warships. The USN’s LSC programme will be a new acquisition programme that uses the guided-missile destroyer DDG 51 Flight III combat system as a
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Officials split over possibilities for sharing cyber intelligence among EU, NATO nations
Europe’s defence ministries must step up their multilateral exchanges of cyber defence information, while NATO and the European Union (EU) should set the framework for exchanging cyber intelligence, some national and EU officials have urged. However, others argue that, due to trust issues,
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Russian Airborne Troops to form helicopter brigade
Russia’s Airborne Troops (VDV) will form a helicopter brigade by 2020 or 2021, Izvestia reported on 19 February. The newspaper quoted Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources as saying the decision to give the VDV control of some aviation assets has been “essentially adopted”. The new
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EU and NATO confront hybrid threats in centre of excellence
Facing a growing threat from hybrid activities and attacks on election processes, EU and NATO states have established a joint centre in Finland to improve their response. Dr Rubén Arcos visits Helsinki to assess the initiative’s work to date and its likely future priorities -
Region reacts to US withdrawal from Syria
US President Donald Trump's sudden decision to withdraw US troops from Syria has created consternation among allies and raises the risk of intensifying clashes between Israel and Iran. Jonathan Spyer, Nicholas Blanford, and Kathryn Haahr analyse the implications of the move for regional stability -
Satellite ground station expansion shows Pakistan’s reliance on China
Pakistan has upgraded its main ground station to support two new satellites. Nick Hansen examines the expansion of infrastructure at the site in the context of Pakistan's limited space programme