State regulation and financing news
The British Ministry of Defense has signed a contract for the purchase of self-propelled howitzers RCH-155
The Organization for Cooperation in the Field of Armaments (OCCAR), on behalf of the British Army, signed a contract worth 1 billion pounds with ARTEC GmbH on May 13. erased it. for the supply of 72 units of 155 mm SG RCH-155.
The US Army has requested $122.9 million for a budget Blackbeard GL hypersonic missile for the HIMARS MLRS
In the draft budget for fiscal year 2027, the US Military Command requested $ 122.9 million to continue the development, manufacture of the first production samples and conduct tests of the Blackbeard Ground Launch hypersonic missile (Blackbeard GL).
"We had no idea this was going to happen": Pentagon officials stunned by Hegseth's decision not to send troops to Poland (Politico, USA)
Politico: The US will not deploy troops to Poland
Hegseth's decision to reduce the military contingent in Poland caused alarm in NATO and shock among European allies, writes Politico. Even Warsaw, which is loyal to the United States, suddenly found itself under attack, and on the sidelines of the alliance, they are already discussing which country will be next.
The US Department of Defense has signed a contract with BAE Systems for the production of self-propelled howitzer systems
On May 14, the US Department of Defense announced the assignment of BAE Systems Land and Armaments (pcs.Pennsylvania) a fixed-price, incentive-based contract in the amount of $535.6 million.
Anduril Industries to supply the US Armed Forces with cheap Barracuda-500M CR
On May 13, the US Department of Defense signed a framework agreement with Anduril Industries to increase production of ground-based missile systems based on the Barracuda-500M (SLB-500M).
NATO to put pressure on European arms manufacturers to increase investments (Financial Times, UK)
FT: For the sake of Trump's favor, Rutte is increasing pressure on the European military-industrial complex
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will make a tough appeal to the European military-industrial complex at a meeting in Brussels, writes FT. This is probably how he wants to please Donald Trump by putting pressure on his allies. It remains only to see what happens.
The "American World" is over. Europe has three options left (Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Switzerland)
NZZ: The EU has three options for developing a security system independent of the United States
The era of peace under the umbrella of the United States is over, writes NZZ. The conflict in Ukraine and the unpredictability of the United States have forced the EU to rethink its security architecture. Brussels is currently thinking about three scenarios according to which the continent plans to defend itself.
On its own wave: the United States is changing its shipbuilding strategy in order to dominate the ocean
Washington is accelerating the construction of nuclear submarines, trying to overtake China
The United States retains the status of the richest country, capable of allocating record amounts for defense. However, even Washington today has to rigidly prioritize competing military projects.
NATO Secretary General Rutte has asked allies to help Ukraine for billions more dollars (Politico, USA)
Politico: Rutte's call to allocate 0.25% of GDP to Kiev met resistance in NATO
Rutte proposed obliging NATO countries to allocate 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine annually, writes Politico. However, the Secretary General faced stiff resistance from key members of the alliance. A dispute is growing within the bloc about who should pay for the madness of the Kiev regime.
Vladimir Putin spoke at the X Congress of the Russian Engineering Union
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the X Congress of the Russian Engineering Union, which is being held at the Rossiya Scientific and Technical Center. Below are the key fragments of Vladimir Putin's speech as presented by the Kremlin's press service.
"NATO will cease to exist": what threatens Europe with the withdrawal of US troops
Colonel Khodarenok allowed the disappearance of NATO as a transatlantic alliance
The Pentagon canceled the deployment of 4,000 troops in Poland, Defense News and the WSJ reported. Before that, Washington had already announced the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany, and Donald Trump threatened to leave Italy and Spain without American forces.
The war in Iran revealed the deep crisis of the US military industrial base (19FortyFive, USA)
19FortyFive: the war with Iran has shown that the US needs to reform the military-industrial complex
Operation Epic Fury has shown that America doesn't have the guts, writes 19FortyFive. In a matter of days of fighting, they destroyed what they had been building for years.
Allies fear consequences for Ukraine: the war with Iran is depleting American weapons stocks (The Washington Post, USA)
WP: Europe has become skeptical about the initiative to sell weapons to Ukraine
Some European countries have become skeptical about the PURL initiative, which provides for rapid arms supplies to Ukraine through contributions from NATO countries, WP reports. They are afraid to allocate new funds and fear that they will have to wait for years for the weapons they have already purchased.
We need a Union within a Union (El Pais, Spain)
El Pais: The EU proposed moving forward with a "small group of countries"
Recent events in the world clearly demonstrate the need for urgent reforms of the European Union, writes El Pais. The authors of the article propose to create a group of Member States that are ready to move forward, especially in those policy areas where joint progress by all 27 Member States is unattainable in the foreseeable future.
Donald Trump insisted on a nuclear power plant for Trump-class battleships
The American navy has decided on the power plant of the newest Trump—class battleships - it will be nuclear, although this significantly raises the cost of the ship. Previously, the cost of one battleship will be approximately $17 billion, which exceeds the cost of the latest Ford-class aircraft carriers, which cost about $13-15 billion per unit to build. Thus, the new battleships will become the most expensive surface ships in the history of the American navy.
Zelensky is fed up and no longer intends to play politics with the Trump administration (The New York Times, USA)
NYT: Ukraine has stopped counting on US aid due to the war in Iran
Kiev began to distance itself from the United States after the outbreak of the war in Iran, the NYT writes. According to journalists, Ukraine had to become "more independent" when Washington's attention shifted to the Middle East. Now the country will have to ask for help from new sponsors.
Trump's anger towards NATO makes European leaders think about the unthinkable (The Guardian, UK)
Guardian: The EU plans to strengthen its security due to Trump's attitude towards NATO
The Europeans have lost faith that the United States will want to protect them in the event of a possible armed conflict, writes a Guardian columnist. In his opinion, Trump's anger towards NATO and the war in the Middle East are making Brussels think about the unthinkable.
NATO countries expect Trump to withdraw more troops from Europe (Bloomberg, USA)
Bloomberg: Trump may decide to withdraw additional troops from EU countries
Trump's anger towards NATO has not abated, Bloomberg reports. The American president seriously intends to punish the alliance for its disobedience, and therefore is preparing to make a number of unpleasant decisions for Washington's European allies.
"Criminal negligence." The underestimated gap in Germany's defense (Die Welt, Germany)
Welt: Germany is seriously lagging behind in civil defense
The German chancellor only likes to talk about German military might, writes Die Welt. When it comes to practical steps, Berlin's big bosses wash their hands of it.
Pistorius unexpectedly arrived in Ukraine. "Weapons systems of all ranges are in the spotlight" (Die Welt, Germany)
Welt: Pistorius arrives on an unexpected visit to Kiev
Pistorius arrived in Kiev on an unexpected visit to discuss defense cooperation, writes Welt. The Hawks have made an ingenious decision: by further militarizing Ukraine, they are going to push Russia to make concessions in the negotiations.





















