Samuel Beal
@sambeal.bsky.social
International correspondent at the Economist
Ukraine has repeatedly made it clear that to take back its entire country it will need thousands of tanks, IFVs, APCs, engineering, bridging and various support vehicles. Drones are force multipliers that help make up the difference in certain areas for Ukraine.
The DoD is actually one giant practical joke being played on INDOPACOM.
Wesley Morgan@wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 7mo agoReuters reporting it was over a dozen Tomahawks
Germany is getting serious about military procurement: 1000 Leopard tanks and 2500 Boxers are on the shopping list. (The Bundeswehr has currently about 300 Leopards) augengeradeaus.net/2025/07/auf-...
Auf der Bestellliste: 1.000 Leopard, 2.500 Boxer, 25 Mrd Euro Volumen – Augen geradeaus!
augengeradeaus.net
INDOPACOM must be overjoyed knowing the AIM-7s are safe. Not like we burned through a bunch of TLAMs and JASSMs in the Middle East recently..
“The government has blown its stock of political capital on measures that are often sensible, frequently unpopular, but invariably too small, shallow and slow to make a difference.” This week’s cover leader on Labour’s unhappy first birthday economist.com/leaders/2025...
Sir Keir Starmer is rapidly losing his authority
As well as his hope of achieving much in office
economist.com
Would you like to spend six months writing for The Economist’s business desk in London? Apply for the 2025 Marjorie Deane internship by July 31st
The Economist’s business internship
We invite applications for the 2025 Marjorie Deane internship
econ.trib.al
Huge Reaper loses in Yemen: "at least 15 US MQ-9 Reaper drones have been shot down over Yemen since late 2023, a toll that spiked after the Trump administration’s renewed air campaign on 15 March 2025. Losses, according to the Houthis, could be as high as 22 airframes"
An F/A-18E fighter jet and tow tractor fell overboard the USS Harry Truman today and has sunk in the Red Sea...per the Navy:
For as long as I've been alive, America has been fighting the war on terror. Trump promised he'd end the "forever wars". Yet since taking office, he's ramped-up air strikes across the Middle East and Somalia. In this week's Economist I look into why www.economist.com/internationa...
Trump’s red-hot war on terror
The number of strikes against jihadists is rising. Is it 2001 all over again?
economist.com
INDOPACOM in shambles right now ttps://apnews.com/article/b2-bombers-us-yemen-houthis-iran-israel-hamas-war-487247ed0d6c8743b21d18740b649d1c
By the numbers: US deployment of B-2 bombers as tensions ramp up with Houthis and Iran
Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show the deployment of at least six nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit bombers to Camp Thunder Bay on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
apnews.com
GEORGE LUCAS IN 1999: it's going to start with military action to force open a blockade, and then end up with a complete collapse and rewriting of the entire galactic order ME IN 2025: okay I see it now
I'm still not clear who is going to take up this €150bn in EU SAFE money announced today. It seems like a lot of work for a scheme that I don't see getting a lot of take-up. I would NOT assume it will result in much higher defence spending in Europe. My sceptical thread - do point out if I'm wrong 🧵
I think this book could probably be reduced to one sentence.
Will rearmament create a legion of manufacturing jobs in left-behind towns? The economics is uncertain; the politics essential. How Labour learned to love rearmament economist.com/britain/2025...
How Labour learned to love rearmament
Come, friendly bombs
economist.com
Learned a good bit from this interesting note by my colleague Corbin Duncan on translation issues in diplomacy between America and China: www.economist.com/china/2025/0....
We wrote about this in the summer. There's a view among some in the US military that it currently suffers from a COIN "hangover" with restrictive ROEs. Could America fight its enemies without breaking the law? www.economist.com/internationa... From The Economist
Could America fight its enemies without breaking the law?
The speed and intensity of prospective conflicts could test the laws of war
economist.com
One of my Economist articles being roasted on r/neoliberal was truly my highlight of 2024
This is a pretty big development if true. For those interested, I wrote about the deepening military cooperation among autocracies a couple of months ago. A new “quartet of chaos” threatens America www.economist.com/internationa... From The Economist
A new “quartet of chaos” threatens America
The rulers of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia are growing worryingly close
economist.com
Anton La Guardia@antonlaguardia.bsky.social · 2y agoINDOPACOM commander, Adml Samuel Paparo, says he expects Russia will provide submarine technology to China that will help it to close the gap with the US. Also expects RU to provide missile and sub technology to North Korea. #HFX2024
