Your weekly dose of defence news, biased opinions and poorly curated content. You’re welcome.
TOP STORY THIS WEEK
Poland lunches first direct action by a NATO country
Source: Krzysztof Dymel
19 Russian “objects” (read: drones) entered Polish airspace on Tuesday evening. Poland immediately responded, neutralising the most threatening with a combination of Polish F-16s, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS and NATO refuelling aircraft.
Poland then went on to invoke Article 4, calling for NATO consultations on security threats. Crucially, this falls short of Article 5, which would trigger collective military action. Article 4 is a signal of serious concern, but not a further escalation.
IN OTHER NEWS
Russian wargaming on NATO’s eastern flank
Source: The Japan Times/Reuters
Russia and Belarus have launched Zapad 2025 (West 2025), their large bi-annual exercise which simulates strikes and (this year) nuclear scenarios. NATO sees more than routine war-gaming here - it’s also a probe of Western reactions. The West is watching closely for signs that there is more to these exercises than meets the eye.
UK’s biggest ever arms fair gets underway
Bigwigs from across the defence industry descended on London this week for the mammoth DSEI show at the Excel Centre. There was your usual smattering of protesters outside, but after (eventually) getting through security it was serious business within. BAE announced its autonomous sub Herne would be market-ready by 2026 and joined Lockheed on new drone systems, Saab launched its counter-drone missile Nimbrix, and South Korean producer Hanwha pushed their deep-strike capability. Across the floor, AI, edge computing and electronic warfare tools showed us how the battlefield is evolving at breakneck speed.
IN THE MEDIA
Podcast: Future Weapons - Rearming Europe
Episode from a few months ago: FT sits down with Europe’s Defence Tech darling - Helsing - and their CEO, Gundbert Scherf. Techy stuff but worth a listen because this is what war looks like in 2025.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Big events from the past, covered in brief and probably inaccurately.
3rd September 1943: Italy surrenders to Allies
General Walter Bedell Smith signing the armistice with General Giuseppe Castellano
On 3rd September 1943, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed, with Italy formally surrendered to the Allies and effectively switching sides in the Second World War.
The sudden move caught Germany off guard, leading to the occupation of northern Italy and a bitter campaign across the Apennines. Italian forces were split - some joined the Allies, others launched resistance pockets against the Germans in the north, while a (not insubstantial) number actually joined the German war effort.
In short, a total mess. In times of conflict old alliances can unravel…fast.
JOB SPOTLIGHT
Changing things up? This is where we briefly look at career options from across the civvy world - everything goes here so expect some absolute drivel. Sometimes Forces Assist can help place you, sometimes we can’t. Either way we can offer advice.
Presenting: is it really that tough?
Not a job this week - instead we’re talking about presentations. These are a big one in office jobs and ex-soldiers panic hard about them. Don’t. It’s not rocket science and you’ve already ‘presented’ in much higher stakes environments.
We talked about this in detail on our Insta:
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
We’re always looking for drivers
Over at Forces Assist we’re always looking for qualled up drivers nationally. If you have driving qualifications and are looking for work then head to forcesassist.com to start conversations.
Cheers,
Team Forces Assist
THE RUMOUR MILL
There is no guaranteeing the veracity of these stories, it’s just what we’re hearing.
REME Sergeant at risk of losing pension over light bulb change
WILTSHIRE - a senior REME sergeant reportedly faces the loss of his pension after changing a lightbulb without following MOD procedure. The bulb in question was the responsibility of an external contractor, who had been scheduled to replace it in six weeks.
Fed up with waiting, the sergeant climbed onto a chair and changed the bulb himself.
An MOD spokesman said: “The sergeant could have died. Rules are there for a reason.”
Despite the warning, colleagues and local military personnel are rallying around him, praising his initiative.
The MOD declined to comment.