@rikefranke.bsky.social
Senior Fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations. #Drone politics PhD @ox.ac.uk. Previously at, and now teaching @SciencesPo.bsky.social. Writes about all things #Germany #Defence #miltech. Podcast host at @SicherheitsPod.de & LeCollimateur
One French soldier killed by a drone flown by a pro-Iranian group in Iraq
www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
Rather the US
The award for best press release goes to....
#canpoli #chillax
Oui. Moi aussi j’ai trouvé ca et je pourrait pas croire a quel point c’est ridicule.
British and Ukrainian flag flying side by side in central London.
Long but interesting day at @rusi.bsky.social
I have been travelling back and forth from London to the continent for over a decade. It has gotten much much much worse since Brexit.
Well…
Well../
Ah sorry, just realised you probably mean the waiting area! And yes, definitely, so odd they can’t figure this out!
Because it goes through a long tunnel under the water.
And it should never ever happen that you sit anywhere than in a seat on the London- mainland connection? Like, that’s not possible, again because of the security rules.
IISS is looking for a drone researcher!
(I started my career counting drones for IISS’s military balance)
www.iiss.org/careers/jobs...
“I am sure this will be a billion-Euro business for Rheinmetall," Rheinmetall CEO Papperger said at a press conference, speaking about plans to produce loitering amunition and drones.
Via @table.media Security table
Absolutely mind-boggling how complicated and annoying travelling from Paris to London by train has become compared to travelling to Switzerland, Brussels, Germany and anywhere else in Europe really.
Posted from a 30 min line at the Eurostar Terminal 😑
Whatever our political differences, depicting political opponents as pests or vermin has a long and troubling history in propaganda.
That the Conservative Party now thinks this is acceptable political discourse is deeply shameful. I hope Tory MPs roundly denounce it.
I knew that the Department of War shot a missile into a school & killed 175 civilians, mostly children.
This is learned today:
Secretary of War Hegseth had cut the teams assigned to prevent such tragedies by 90%.
www.npr.org/2026/03/11/n...
Of course.
“The latest Trump venture is hoping to win some of the $1.1 billion set aside by the Pentagon to build up a U.S. manufacturing base for armed #drones now that the Trump administration put a ban on importing them from China.“
Oh well in that case let me reiterate that Marie’s Substack remains the only one I very happily pay for and maybe so should you?
Une émission avec les meilleurs @hfayet.bsky.social @rikefranke.bsky.social @brunotertrais.bsky.social sur la dissuasion nucléaire française et européenne dans le contexte géopolitique totalement bouleversé.
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
German Hensoldt and Bulgarian Dronamics are teaming up to develop the transport drone Black Swan for military ISR. This is a big MALE type drone.
table.media/security/ana...
Good piece by @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.axesandatoms.com/p/10-days-of...
As someone who has been in the drone field for a long time, this made me chuckle. What is considered a “typical drone” really has changed a lot over recent years.
Not to long ago, this drone would have been considered the archetypical drone!
Germany is spending some €10 billion on „SatcomBW Stufe 4“, a military satellite constellation with 100 satellites.
www.handelsblatt.com/technik/fors...
This is a very good approach.
(And I say approach, rather than outcome, because the headline goes a bit far. But still: well done Ukraine!!)
#drone
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/w...
Good piece by @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social
www.axesandatoms.com/p/10-days-of...
For those interested in the evolution of Russia-Iran relations, my book comes out next month.
DM if you’re interested in an advanced copy and I can put you in touch with my publisher. www.hurstpublishers.com/book/russia-...
European defence cooperation for the win 🫠
(Translation in alt)
Germany is spending some €10 billion on „SatcomBW Stufe 4“, a military satellite constellation with 100 satellites.
www.handelsblatt.com/technik/fors...
No surprise: table media reports that while the number of German employees went up only 12.7% between 2016 and 2025, the number of employees in the defence sector went up by 64.9%
