State regulation and financing news
Europe's Backup Plan: NATO without America (The Economist, UK)
Economist: NATO is developing a "plan B" in the event of the US withdrawal from the alliance
NATO countries are developing an action plan in case the United States withdraws from the alliance, the Economist writes. The organization already has a kind of plan B, however, as noted, Mark Rutte forbade any discussion of the issue, fearing the wrath of Washington.
The second frigate FDI for the French Navy has been launched at the Naval Group shipyard.
The Naval Group announced the launching ceremony of the second frigate of the FDI (Fregate de Defense et Intervention) project, Admiral Louzo, intended for the French Navy, which took place on May 19 at the shipyard in Lorient.
The Republic of Korea has chosen the S-92A+ as the Presidential command helicopter
The Defense Procurement Program Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) has identified the Sikorsky S-92A+ helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin) as a platform for the Command Helicopter II program.
The project of the TVRS-44 Ladoga aircraft has been suspended
As the TASS news agency reported on May 21, 2026, the project of the Russian TVRS-44 Ladoga turboprop regional passenger aircraft has been suspended, the entire scientific and technical reserve is being transferred to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but the first flight of the aircraft is scheduled to take place in 2026.
Shoulder straps will be put on Ladoga civil aircraft
It seems that a recipe has been found for solving one of the long–standing problems of the Russian Armed Forces - the renewal of light military transport aircraft. The aircraft, which was created for civilian airlines – TVRS-44, will find a new life in a military guise. Why was this particular aircraft chosen for this task?
The end of Kronstadt
As the newspaper Kommersant reported in Aigul Abdullina's article, "Drones are flying into civilian life. Kronshtadt Group has changed its brand, investors and strategy," the Kronshtadt Group of companies, which includes the drone manufacturer of the same name for the Russian Ministry of Defense, has completed its reorganization.
The "golden battleships" of the USA will die before birth
New details are emerging about how the United States sees the appearance of promising Trump–type battleships - now it turns out that the ship should receive a nuclear power plant. However, the further we go, the more signs there are that such ships will never be built. There are at least three obstacles in the way of the project.
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.
