'Immediately acting on this conviction, he offers NATO Dutch F-35s for deployment at the alliance’s eastern border in the event of an invasion. The jets still need a software update to enable them to identify the latest Russian radar systems, which the US has to approve and deliver. Eichelsheim: ‘You also have to be a believer that we’re actually going to be attacked.’ The commander of the Dutch air force eventually secures the Americans’ cooperation, mere days before the invasion'.
https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2026/russia-ukraine-intelligence-netherlands-investigation~v3114923/
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12 results for “ravirockks”
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From a searing interview-based investigation (n = 19 folk 'involved in gathering intelligence or making decisions based on it') into the intelligence failure by Dutch agencies vis a vis whether Putin would invade Ukraine:
Full piece: https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2026/russia-ukraine-intelligence-netherlands-investigation~v3114923/
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‘… the CIA’s operations are now “much more aggressive” than they were during the Biden administration.
‘As the ODNI has declined in size and relevance, the CIA, with Ratcliffe in charge, has reclaimed its traditional role at the center of the intelligence community.
'And his relationship with Trump and low-profile manner have probably helped keep the president from attacking the agency.
‘The director was using a line of communication informally known as “the channel,” which allows Russian and American spies to talk candidly, away from the scrutiny of the press or the grandstanding of politicians. Putin, an ex-KGB officer, would understand that Ratcliffe had come not as a diplomatic envoy but as a fellow spy, with a message he felt was important for Putin to hear.
‘Broadly speaking, current and former officers told me, morale is highest in the operations directorate, among the officers who conduct the espionage that Ratcliffe wants to emphasize. Personnel in the Special Activities Center, which conducts covert and paramilitary activities, are particularly satisfied, recently retired officers told me, perhaps because they’re so busy, and not only in Ukraine.
‘Analysts strive for objectivity. But intelligence as a practice is not truly apolitical, because it’s an instrument of presidential power. The most successful CIA directors know how to tell their bosses the truth while also serving their interests’.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/10/ukraine-russia-trump-john-ratcliffe/689090/ -
This visual investigation is another case study in strategic mapping, the relativity of space, and how geopolitics is defined by the interaction between physical, human, economic and technological terrain.
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From a detailed piece on how Europe can do a rip-n-replace for risky telecoms gear.
Full article: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/securing-europes-telecom-supply-chain/
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From a fascinating essay on C-UAS strategies in relation to mid-strike UCAVs: https://mwi.westpoint.edu/dispersion-will-not-save-you-survivability-in-the-age-of-middle-strike-drones/
What I find especially worthy of attention is the suggestion to plan for attritable logistics.
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From a fascinating article on why irregular warfare requires a different way of thinking relative to conventional warfare, especially due to uncertainty and polycentricity of the human terrain.
Full article: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/adaptive-judgment-in-irregular-warfare-a-decision-making-framework-for-sof-leaders/
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From a fascinating piece on the importance of targeting the temporal terrain, that is, how the relevant population sees the past, present and future at the same time.
This stuff surely is also used to train diplomats and other government negotiators? Also relevant for execs trying to convince Boards of their case?
Full piece: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/who-truly-wears-the-watches-and-has-the-time-in-irregular-warfare/
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‘U.S. adversaries are digging deeper and more extensively to protect themselves from U.S. precision weapons. These military facilities will be both more numerous and harder to reach than in the recent past. Thus, the United States needs bunker busters that can address two target sets. One is the large number of tunnels and other moderately difficult targets, which require volume. The other is a much smaller but more difficult target set of facilities inside mountains. Here, numbers matter less; the key capability is depth of penetration’.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/bunker-busters-deep-targets-shallow-stocks -
From a terrific piece by Stephanie Campbell on what good energy policy does/not look like, with a focus on the Australian case:
‘Bell Bay, which already runs almost entirely on renewable electricity, was excluded from the government’s Green Aluminium Production Credit because the program rewards additional emissions reductions. But producing aluminum with cleaner energy is one goal; keeping the smelter competitive enough to stay open is another. If electricity costs make production uneconomic, Australia could lose an important industry despite its abundant energy resources.
‘But it does not address whether that [energy] transition will leave enough industrial capability and resilience or whether replacement capacity will arrive on time.
‘[Australia] should compare all available technologies on cost, reliability and practical value. If nuclear cannot compete, the market can show that. Banning it in advance prevents that comparison.
‘Australia did not run out of energy. It ran down its options’.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/10/23/world/australias-energy-transition/
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'To make matters worse, several high transmission lines were also running below capacity due to maintenance, meaning huge amounts of mostly renewable energy and storage capacity could not be delivered to Sydney just when it needed it most.
'"And some people with home batteries who are seeing that price are saying, 'Oh, it's a great opportunity, I can discharge my battery for five minutes'.
'"In total, approximately 2,400 [megawatts] of coal-fired generation capacity was unavailable across NSW," the spokesman said.
'Spring has traditionally been when coal plants do scheduled maintenance after winter and before ramping up again for summer demand, but analyst Tristan Edis said that window appeared to be narrower because of global warming.
'Grid-scale battery capacity has more than doubled in the past year to more than nine gigawatts and in the third quarter of 2026, Westerman said, batteries set the wholesale electricity price almost 50 per cent of the time, up from 18 per cent in the same quarter last year.
'Dave Smith said the ability of household batteries to move the market was growing every day as installation numbers rose, but AEMO remained largely blind to their presence and intentions'.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-17/home-batteries-make-money-in-nsw-power-price-spike/107260880
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From a great interview by Perun with Michael Kofman of Carnegie, discussing Russian force evolution during the war on Ukraine.
Full interview: https://youtu.be/cvBFMOiBBsE