Welcome to another Weekend Briefing, where we round-up the week’s most important defense news and some of the stories that may have flown under the radar. This week at Overt… Continue reading "Weekend Briefing (19 – 23 July)"
On 17 May, Belgian corporal Jürgen Conings went missing from his army post in Leopoldsburg along with an FN P90 Personal Defense weapon, an FN Five-seven pistol, body armor and… Continue reading "Belgium Military Intelligence Chief Controversially Sacked in Fallout of Conings Manhunt"
It is more than 30 years since the Eastern Bloc collapsed. Many Eastern European states, namely the post-Soviet republics, largely decided to suspend national drafts and conscription. The aim was… Continue reading "Eastern Europe’s Conscription Problem Is Getting Worse – Here Is Why"
Just before the summer break, on June 23rd, the Reichstag approved the biggest budget in the history of the Bundeswehr. The German military is going to receive a sum exceeding… Continue reading "Record Budget for Bundeswehr Approved"
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Armin Laschet, the CDU/CSU’s (Germany’s centre-right Christian-democratic political alliance) chosen successor to Angela Merkel, called for Germany to meet the 2% GDP guideline… Continue reading "Merkel’s Successor Calls for 2% GDP Defense Spending"
Following the 2013 arrival of French troops in Mali, In August 2014, the French deployment to the Sahel region became Operation Barkhane. The deployment eventually grew to include over 5,000… Continue reading "France Ending Operation Barkhane in Sahel & Cuts Military Aid to CAR"
On 24 May, Malian Vice President Assimi Goïta, who had also headed the junta behind the 2020 Mali coup, led the Malian army to overthrow the current transitional government. The… Continue reading "France and African Union Respond to Mali Coup"
The recent purchase of Turkish TB-2 drones announced by the Polish Ministry of Defense came as a surprise to some observers of Poland’s domestic military affairs. It comes as the… Continue reading "Polish Defense Policy Shift Towards Turkey?"
This week was very busy at Overt Defense. We covered a range of topics, ranging from the conflict in Israel to new technology developments including the palletization of JASSMs and… Continue reading "Weekend Briefing (17-21 May)"
The 2021 Berlin Security Conference (19th Congress on European Security and Defence) hosted a panel chaired by the Inspector of the German Army, Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, to discuss issues… Continue reading "Berlin Security Conference: Commanding Generals Discuss Readiness of Joint Land Forces in Europe"