Europe’s Future Capabilities in Space and in the Higher Atmosphere: HYDEF Hypersonic Interceptors, Satellite Resilience, and Space Commands

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern warfare, the significance of space in military operations has reached unprecedented heights. As nations gear up for multi-domain operations, the theatres of battle extend far beyond the traditional land, sea, and airfields. The critical role of space for the defence sector has forced EU member states to upgrade their capabilities in this area. In this paper, we briefly show how the armed forces of European states increased their interoperability in space and the upper atmosphere. To do this, we refer to the new European space commands, the investments of European countries, military exercises concerning the space domain and, finally, the most recent developments concerning European high-atmosphere hypersonic missile interceptors.

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The Changing Mediterranean: Geopolitical Tensions and Challenges

The Mediterranean Sea holds unparalleled strategic importance for several states in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Serving as the natural connection between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans through Gibraltar, Suez, and Bāb el-Mandeb, this maritime space is of inescapable centrality for the global trade system, with 90% of trade still concentrated at sea. Consequently, states highly dependent on the import of natural resources and the export of high-value goods, mainly European countries, consider the overall stability of this sea essential for their economic well-being and national security. Additionally, the Mediterranean’s relevance has increased due to recent discoveries of large offshore oil and gas fields in its Eastern quadrant, between the territorial waters of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and Egypt. As noted by ISPI (2021), the Mediterranean is also crucial when it comes to fishing activities, migration flow, the presence of pipelines and fibre optic cables, and security competition among various state actors in the region.

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Orbiting a Solution to Anti-Satellite Weapons

One of the many problems that the scientific community is facing today is space debris. Space debris is exceptionally dangerous as it can cause the Kessler Effect, a scenario where objects in space collide, creating an exponentially growing mount of rubble orbiting the planet. What is especially concerning is the use of anti-satellite weapons (ASATs), which leave hundreds of thousands of debris items in space, putting astronauts and other satellites at risk. If states continue to test their ASAT weapons or use them to attack other satellites, this could have a dramatic impact on all space actors as well as future generations. This study will explore why the international community has not banned the use of ASATs yet and it will investigate how to achieve this outcome through an in-depth analysis of space-related treaties.

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Space Lessons Learned from the War in Ukraine

With each passing conflict, the space industry is gaining more and more relevance in the operation command chain, especially during interstate wars. The war in Ukraine is the perfect example of this, revealing the most significant trajectories in the space domain, and highlighting flaws and rapid developments; in a nutshell, this war is shaping the future of space, especially in the military sector. The focus of this paper will be first on the Russian entanglement in the conflict, followed by an analysis of the Ukrainian rapid adaptation of the new rules in space guided by Western help, and finally, conclusions will be drawn from the very interesting evolvement of the space industry in this war.

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Navigating the Green Horizon: NATO’s Emission Reduction Initiatives and the Pursuit of Sustainability

Climate change is widely acknowledged as one of the most pressing issues today. As time passes, the environmental repercussions and global impact of greenhouse gas emissions grow increasingly apparent, leaving no alternative but to act. All industrial and commercial sectors must work together to drastically minimise their effect on our planet and avoid a global disaster. This encompasses the long-ignored global military industry, including its supply chain, which uses enormous amounts of fossil fuels and accounts for a significant portion of government spending.

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