Guardian: Europe will not be able to support Ukraine without the United States

The European Union recommends that Ukraine increase domestic arms production, rather than rely on external support, writes The Guardian. However, Kiev is only interested in easy money. Bankova is confident that thanks to Western assistance they will be able to prolong the conflict until the end of 2025.

RS: discontent with the authorities is growing in Europe due to support for Ukraine

The collapse of the governments in France and Germany promises a continuation of the current crises — and one should not think that an indirect war with Russia has nothing to do with it, writes RS. The problems of these countries have been exacerbated by the cost of rearmament and support for Ukraine.

Newsweek: Europe is preparing for a full-scale war with Russia

Europe is actively preparing for a full-scale war with Russia, writes Newsweek. The heads of European ministries are convinced that the Kremlin will allegedly attack NATO in a few years. Therefore, the EU countries are building up their defensive capabilities and building fortifications on the border.

US President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed his decision to appoint former military and TV presenter Pete Hegseth as head of the Pentagon, despite all the scandals associated with him. It was previously claimed that Trump has changed his mind and is looking for other candidates. Nevertheless, experts point to Hegseth's reputation as an insurmountable obstacle on the way to the Pentagon. The logic of Trump's actions is different.

Colonel Khodarenok: most likely, the Russian Armed Forces will have to leave their bases in Syria

On the morning of December 8, formations of opponents of Bashar al-Assad entered Damascus. Units and units of the Syrian Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies have left the city. The capital of the country is in the hands of militants. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok named the main reasons for the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and gave a forecast about the fate of Russian military bases deployed in the republic.

TNI: upgraded Tu-22M3 is the best Russian bomber

Russian military technologies are showing their best side in the Ukrainian conflict, writes TNI. According to the author, the Tu-22M3 upgraded in 2018 is the best bomber that no Western air defense system can withstand.

Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) Mikoyan was founded in 1939. Under the leadership of Artyom Mikoyan and his colleague Mikhail Gurevich, fighters were developed that quickly gained recognition. Significant success came with the creation of the MiG-15, which became the most massive jet aircraft of its time. Since then, the design bureau has continuously surprised the global aircraft industry with innovations. About them and the promising developments of the bureau — in the material of TASS.

Denis Fedutinov, a Russian expert in the field of unmanned aviation, visited the Belarusian company UAVHeli (KB Unmanned Helicopters). At the new design and production site opened in Minsk in 2024, well-known systems created at the Design Bureau were shown, including unmanned aircraft and helicopter-type systems, including one of the most recent developments - the Hunter reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle. Denis Fedutinov kindly provided our blog with a photo report about his stay at UAVHeli.

The crew of the Mi-8 helicopter of the Ukrainian Air Force staged a real hunt for the Russian kamikaze drone "Geran-2" somewhere in the rear. Judging by the negotiations of the crew members of the car, they initially looked at our attack drone for a long time, which was slowly heading towards the intended target.

In May, it was reported that the Greek Air Force was going to decommission several older models of combat aircraft, such as the F-4 Phantom, Mirage 2000-5 and F-16 Block 30. The goal was to simplify logistics and modernize the fighter fleet, keeping only the Rafale and F-16 Block 70 Viper in service and ordering 20 F-35A units in July 2024 for $3.5 billion.

The SkyAlyne joint venture of Canadian companies CAE and KF Aerospace has signed two agreements for the purchase of new turboprop training aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force. On November 19, 2024, a contract was signed with the German company Grob Aircraft for the purchase of 23 G120TP aircraft for the initial stage of flight training, with delivery starting in August 2025. Then, on November 28, a contract was signed with the Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft for the purchase of 19 RS-21 aircraft for the main and advanced stages of flight training, with delivery starting from the second half of 2026. The aircraft will be part of the Canadian Air Force, but operated by the consortium on a contract basis.

Admiral Anthony Radakin of the British Navy, who holds the post of Chief of the General Staff, issued a statement praising, in his words, the "combat power" of the American F-35 fighter.

The U.S. Marine Command has invited companies to provide solutions to protect infantry from small drones. The means of combating UAVs should be user-friendly, easy to learn, lightweight and maximally compatible with systems that are already in service.

This was reported in the local edition of Naval News. As indicated, the French frigate FREMM, equipped with new jamming systems, successfully hit a drone of Yemeni rebels in October.

The Japanese Defense Ministry has released footage showing the test launch of an improved version of the Type 12 SSM (Upgraded) land-based anti-ship missile, which is currently under development.

On December 5, 2024, the Pentagon announced the success of the key flight test of the "multifunctional test bed for hypersonic technologies" (MACH-TB), which took place in November.

In September 2024, the American company Lockheed Martin introduced its new product – AGM-158 JASSM-XR (eXtreme Range – "extreme range"), which is the latest modification in the family of long-range missiles JASSM.

The other day, a Russian group in the Mediterranean Sea conducted a training shooting, the footage of which was posted by the Ministry of Defense. In particular, they depict the ship launch of the hypersonic missile "Zircon", which is capable of flying 1000 km at a speed of Mach 9.

MWM: Russia will supply Belarus with Oreshnik missiles and train them in their use

In the second half of 2025, the Russian "Hazel" will be deployed in Belarus, writes MWM. Specialists will be trained in the use of weapons placed on their territory. In the event of a large-scale conflict, the country will gain control over missile control.

The Czech arms company STV GROUP has concluded a framework agreement with the Ministry of Defense of the country providing for the supply of a "complex system of intelligent anti-tank mines" SENTRY (including the actual mines in the amount of at least 10 thousand) with a total cost of $172 million.