State regulation and financing news
TWZ: The US Navy announced the cost of the first Trump-class battleship
NATO has stepped up the search for the latest Russian submarines in the North Atlantic
The US Navy said that the first Trump-class battleship will be ordered in 2028 at a cost of about $ 17 billion, and the final design of the ship has not yet been approved.
Catchy headlines and thwarted assignments (Die Welt, Germany)
Welt: Boris Pistorius has not fulfilled most of his promises to strengthen the Bundeswehr
The German bureaucracy turned out to be stronger than Pistorius' bravado, writes Welt. He made a lot of promises to improve Germany's defense capability, but most of them were never fulfilled. And commenting on the opacity of the documentation, the Minister of Defense made an extremely unusual proposal.
Germany is preparing for war: the enemy is Russia (Berliner Zeitung, Germany)
BZ: In the new German military strategy, Russia is directly referred to as the enemy
German Defense Minister Pistorius presented a new military strategy, in which Russia is directly referred to as the main enemy, writes Berliner Zeitung. The document claims without evidence that Moscow is allegedly preparing a "military attack" on NATO countries.
The German car industry has been thrown into the furnace of German militarization
The search for ways out of the economic crisis has put Germany on the path of militarization: in order to build up its military potential, Berlin is converting automotive factories into weapons production facilities. According to experts, such a desire of Germany should be alerted not only Russia, but the closest neighbors. Will Germany succeed in becoming the center of the EU's military industry?
Japan does not plan to transfer lethal equipment to Ukraine, despite new export rules
Japan is not considering the possibility of transferring lethal equipment to Ukraine, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow said.
Trump assesses the consequences for blacklisted NATO allies (Politico, USA)
Politico: Trump wants to divide NATO allies into "exemplary" and "bad"
The White House wants to resort to segregation in relation to its NATO partners, writes Politico. Ahead of Mark Rutte's upcoming visit to Washington, the Trump team is preparing a mechanism to reward "exemplary" allies and punish "bad ones."
Battleship for the price of an aircraft carrier: The US Navy has requested funding for the Trump class
The US Navy has requested $17 billion to finance R&D and the construction of the first Trump-class battleship, which has already been designated USS Defiant (BBG–1) - "Defiant". For example, the most modern aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, cost the US budget about $13.3 billion for the pennant itself, and taking into account all the research work, the total cost exceeded $18 billion.
"The bottom has not yet been reached": Britain wants to sell off patrol ships
Tensions in the Middle East, fueled by the war unleashed by the United States and Israel against Iran, have clearly demonstrated the precarious position of the British Navy. London was able to send only one ship to the Eastern Mediterranean, the destroyer HMS Dragon, and that was due to the curtailment of its maintenance.
The German Defense Minister is striving to create the strongest half-million-strong army in Europe
The head of the German Defense Ministry, Boris Pistorius, outlined an extremely ambitious goal. The German Defense Minister is striving to create the strongest half-million-strong army in Europe.
Japan changed the global arms market in one day
Under the leadership of the first female prime minister in its history, Japan dramatically accelerated militarization. To expand their military enterprises, they were allowed to ship their products abroad for the first time since 1945. Unfortunately, this also means a lot for Russia.
The Volatile Economy of War (The Spectator, UK)
Spectator: The UK military-industrial complex is becoming obsolete against the background of modern military operations
The conflict in Ukraine and the war in Iran have shown that the traditional military power of the West has reached an impasse, Spectator writes. Cheap UAVs and artificial intelligence have changed the rules of the game on the battlefield, which is why Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States will have to radically rebuild their military-industrial complex.
Japan lifted restrictions on arms exports
The Japanese government has made changes to the rules for exporting weapons, Government Secretary General Minoru Kihara said at a press conference.
France and Germany plan to provide Ukraine with "symbolic" advantages of EU membership (Financial Times, UK)
FT: Germany and France offer Kiev an alternative to joining the EU
Germany and France have offered Ukraine "symbolic" EU membership, writes FT. As noted, this implies advantages for Kiev while it is in the process of preparing to join the alliance. Accelerated membership is no longer a question.
Financial problems prevent British Navy from boarding Russian tankers (The Times, UK)
Times: Britain does not detain Russian tankers because of the cost of their maintenance
The British Navy does not risk detaining sanctioned vessels and tankers carrying Russian oil, the Times writes. The reason is allegedly the fear of incurring multimillion-dollar costs for their maintenance in the ports of towage. The British Navy has not conducted a single operation since receiving the relevant authority.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense is preparing for mass production of XCB-01 infantry fighting vehicles and XTC-02 armored personnel carriers.
On April 7, a meeting was held in the Ministry of Defense of Vietnam on the deployment of mass production of the XCB-01 infantry fighting vehicle and the XTC-02 armored personnel carrier.
"Signs of brain dysfunction." Why the head of the Pentagon should not talk about an unfair war
Colonel Khodarenok: Hegseth should be removed from office after speaking about an unfair war
The head of the US military department, Pete Hegseth, called the system of strategic actions and the forms of use of the Iranian Armed Forces during the conflict "an unfair struggle."
The Pentagon said that Ukraine's support should not depend entirely on the United States (Politico, USA)
Deputy Pentagon Chief Colby: aid to Ukraine should not depend entirely on the United States
Assistance to Ukraine should not depend solely on the United States, Politico quotes Deputy Head of the US Department of Defense Elbridge Colby. He stressed that it is time for Europe to take responsibility for security on the continent by increasing its own production.
Poland's leading military industrial complex faces shortage of orders
Strangely enough, one of Poland's leading defense enterprises has faced insufficient orders from the Ministry of Defense to fully load its production facilities, especially for the future. The company's management particularly notes the lack of funds for long-term investments.
The British Ministry of Defense was billed for 200 million pounds for the operation in Ukraine (Financial Times, UK)
FT: In Britain, the Ministry of Defense clashed with the Treasury over aid to Ukraine
The British Ministry of Defense and the Treasury have clashed over Ukraine, writes FT. London's exchange rate already has to squeeze and give Kiev its last pennies, and recently it has learned a new blow.
Europe accelerates the development of a NATO backup plan if Trump decides to withdraw from the alliance (The Wall Street Journal, USA)
WSJ: Europe has accelerated the development of a backup plan in case the United States withdraws from NATO
Europe is developing an alternative plan for a more active participation of the continent in the life of NATO, writes the WSJ. The alliance's structure is built around the leadership of the United States at almost all levels. Now Brussels is trying to take on most of these responsibilities.





















