Europe is experiencing an unprecedented energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started. This is highlighting the challenges that the continent is facing, especially concerning energy. This is one of the reasons why energy security plays a central role in the common security plans of the EU and NATO allies.
On 29-30 August 2022, Prague hosted an informal meeting of the defence ministers of the EU Member States. The main topic of discussion on the agenda was the intensification of the training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The relevance of the topic, after seven months of the armed conflict, is also related to the counteroffensive undertaken by Ukraine. European Union Training Missions (EUTM) are one of the instruments within the EU's integrated approach and, in general, they aim to strengthen the military capabilities of the EU's partners. To this end, EUTMs support the improvement of partner armed forces through training and advising on force reform to increase the effectiveness of defence sectors.
On June 21, the French officials confirmed their intent to purchase the US-made loitering munitions to strengthen the at-a-distance weapon system.
From 15 to 21 August 2022, Moscow will host the eighth edition of the Military and Technical Forum ARMY 2022, organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence. The exhibition features approximately 28,000 military and civilian items presented by over 1,500 Russian and foreign companies from the defence industry. During the inaugural ceremony, Russian Federation’s president Vladimir Putin declared that “…Russia stands for the broadest, all-around development of military-technical cooperation”, without missing the chance to address Western countries, as he commended the Kremlin’s allies and partners for “not bowing down to the so-called hegemon”. Putin remarked that these allies would be granted access to Russia’s most modern types of weapons, including artillery, warplanes and drones. Attendees to the exposition will look at the new generation of T-14 Armada tanks, Sprut-SDM1 light amphibious tank, K-17 Boomerang wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, Medved and Tiger wheeled armoured vehicles, and advanced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) such as the Orlan-10E.
Nowadays, the forces deployed in the field are not only composed of people but also of artificial intelligence (AI) systems that take the conflict to the next technological level. Robots and especially drones have played a central role in Ukraine’s defence against the ongoing Russian attack.
Quartier Reine Elisabeth
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