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Time of India
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Putin Rips 30-Yr Old Military Pact With NATO Nation; First Clear Hint Of NATO-Russia War?
Russia has officially withdrawn from a long-standing military cooperation agreement with Germany, originally signed in 1996 after the Cold War. The Kremlin cited Berlin's "hostile policies" and "militaristic ambitions" as key reasons for the move. The announcement comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Ukraine war. Watch#Russia #Germany #Putin #UkraineWar #NATO #MilitaryTensions #Geopolitics #BreakingNews #Kremlin #RussiaGermany #GlobalConflict #ColdWarEchoes #InternationalRelations #DefenseNews Read More
Newsweek
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Russian Lawmaker Issues Nuclear Warning to US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Russian lawmaker issued a warning to the United States about its nuclear doctrine following remarks from General Christopher Donahue about Kaliningrad. Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, as well as the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, for comment. Why It Matters The Russia-Ukraine war, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022, has fueled nuclear concerns across the globe. The invasion of Ukraine strained already-frayed relations between Russia and the U.S., as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance of the U.S., Canada and European allies. President Donald Trump has taken a different approach to Russia and Ukraine than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, such as more directly engaging with Moscow and has been more willing to criticize Ukrainian officials like President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has, however, recently ramped up criticism of Putin. What to Know The latest remarks from Donahue, reported first by Defense News, drew scrutiny from Russia. Donahue said that Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave surrounded by Poland and Lithuania, is surrounded by NATO and that the alliance could "take that down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we've ever been able to do," Defense News reported. Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky smiles in the hallway of the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg on April 26, 2024. Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky smiles in the hallway of the Tauride Palace in Saint Petersburg on April 26, 2024. Contributor/Getty Images Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, responded to those comments in remarks reported by Russian state media TASS. "An attack on the Kaliningrad Region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures, stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine. The US general should take this into account before making such statements," Slutsky said. He added that NATO "poses a threat to global security and stability." Slutsky is the second Russian official to make nuclear remarks toward the U.S. this week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said Russia's nuclear doctrine "remains in effect" after Trump announced the U.S. and NATO allies will supply advanced weapons to Ukraine. Donahue's remarks came as he discussed the "Eastern Flank Deterrence Line," a plan to improve ground-based capabilities across the alliance at the LandEuro in Wiesbaden, Germany, Defense News reported. What People Are Saying Donahue said, per Defense News: "We know what we have to develop and the use case that we're using is you have to [deter] from the ground. The land domain is not becoming less important, it's becoming more important. You can now take down [anti-access, aerial-denial] A2AD bubbles from the ground. You can now take over sea from the ground. All of those things we are watching happen in Ukraine." Dr. Stephen Hall of the University of Bath told The Kyiv Independent of Donahue's remarks: "It's merely trying to shore up the effect that America is going to be here for the long haul and that NATO is going to be a military organization for a lot longer." What's Happens Next? Tensions between the U.S. and Russia are likely to remain high, though there are no known plans for a Western attack on Kaliningrad.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Peter Thiel-Backed Startup That Sends Drones In Ukraine Eyes 10,000 Units Monthly: 'Absolutely Required' To Win Future Conflicts, CEO Warns
When Soren Monroe-Anderson launched Neros Technologies in 2023, small drones weren't a priority for the Pentagon. A year later, his startup is delivering 1,000 first-person view drones per month to Ukraine under a six-month contract announced in February. Neros has also outlined a long-term plan to scale production to 1 million annually. Determined to ground their product in real-world needs, CEO Monroe-Anderson and his team traveled to Ukraine early on to study how small, low-cost attack drones were being used in combat. What they observed on the front lines helped define the company's focus on battlefield relevance, production scalability, and rapid design iteration, Defense News reports. Don't Miss:$100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. According to Monroe-Anderson, the company started with a clean slate and built a scalable FPV drone system after being told that anything under 5,000 units a month would be irrelevant. "It took us a while to find the right customers and end users who were excited about the technology and wanted to move very quickly," Monroe-Anderson told Defense News. Neros is also in talks with the U.S. Department of Defense about deploying its systems across the military, Reuters reports. With backing from Sequoia Capital and Peter Thiel, Neros opened a 15,000-square-foot facility in Los Angeles and currently produces 1,500 drones monthly. Of those, 1,000 go to Ukraine and 500 to U.S. forces, Defense News says. The company has announced plans to expand production to 10,000 units per month by the end of 2025, which would total 120,000 drones annually. Monroe-Anderson told Defense News that the long-term goal is a facility that produces 1 million drones per year to meet anticipated demand from the DoD. Trending: Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — He described this level of production as "absolutely required" to support U.S. military preparedness in future conflicts. "Even if the government right now isn't handing out a contract for a million drones a year, we know that's what the country needs," Monroe-Anderson told Defense News. "That's what we believe as a company, that's what our investors believe." The Pentagon has publicly embraced the need for low-cost, disposable drones, but its internal systems haven't caught up, Defense News reports. Despite launching the Replicator initiative in 2023 to deploy thousands of autonomous systems by August, experts say the Pentagon's current goals fall short of the scale truly needed for future conflicts. To stay ahead of potential procurement, Neros redesigned its entire supply chain to eliminate Chinese components and meet DoD compliance rules. According to Defense News, this distinction made it one of just two U.S. FPV drone makers approved by the Defense Innovation retaliated in December by placing sanctions on Neros alongside 12 other American defense companies. Despite that pressure, the company has continued building relationships with U.S. military officials. Monroe-Anderson told Defense News that he's seen a "pretty aggressive" shift in interest over the past year. What began as a struggle to convince decision-makers has turned into steady cold outreach from defense officials asking about drone specs and soldier training options. In his words, the company has gone "from nothing to some of our customers doing live-fire demonstrations to senior leaders in 12 months." Although Neros doesn't yet hold a massive Pentagon contract, Monroe-Anderson said their goal is to stay ready. The company is building now to match the surge in interest when it inevitably becomes a procurement priority. Read Next: The average American couple has saved this much money for retirement —? Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Peter Thiel-Backed Startup That Sends Drones In Ukraine Eyes 10,000 Units Monthly: 'Absolutely Required' To Win Future Conflicts, CEO Warns originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump Ukraine Aid Plan Publicity Stunt? 'NATO Can't Fund Weapons For Kyiv,' Warns Ex-French General
/ Jul 15, 2025, 10:43AM IST Washington's latest plan to route military aid to Ukraine through NATO is being met with skepticism, particularly from retired French Brigadier General Francois Chauvancy. He warned that NATO lacks the legal, financial, and logistical capacity to arm a third country on this scale. The aid package, announced by President Donald Trump during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, involves European nations funding the weapons while the U.S. coordinates distribution. Trump claims the deal is significant, with reports of 17 Patriot systems potentially heading to Ukraine. Critics argue the plan is politically motivated and unlikely to shift the war's outcome. Moscow, meanwhile, continues to condemn the West's involvement, warning it only prolongs the bloodshed.#UkraineWar #NATO #Trump #MilitaryAid #PatriotMissiles #UkraineConflict #Moscow #Geopolitics #DefenseNews #GlobalTensions
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Made-in-America' drone maker Neros awaits its big Pentagon break
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — When Neros Technologies was founded in 2023, there wasn't much demand in the U.S. military for small, first-person-view drones. 'It took us a while to find the right customers and end users who were excited about the technology and wanted to move very quickly,' Soren Monroe-Anderson, Neros CEO and co-founder, told Defense News during a recent Defense Innovation Unit test event here. But the company believed strongly there was military utility for small, cheap, attack drones — a reality playing out daily on the battlefield in Ukraine. So, in the firm's early days, Monroe-Anderson and others traveled to the war-torn country to better understand how the systems were being used and what capabilities were needed. Those visits helped sharpen the company's focus in three areas: production, supply chain and rapid iteration, said Monroe-Anderson, a 22-year-old professional drone racer and hobbyist turned weapons-maker. Neros worked quickly to raise the private capital it needed to build a 15,000 square foot facility in Los Angeles from funders like Peter Thiel and Sequoia Capital. It scoured its supply chain for alternatives to Chinese components. And it continuously upgraded its systems based on lessons it was seeing in Ukraine, where it has since established an office. That early work is starting to yield results for the firm. In February, Neros won a contract from the International Drone Coalition to provide 6,000 drones to Ukraine over six months. The IDC was formed to help fuel the country's drone supply — factories in Ukraine produced more than 2.2 million drones in 2024 — and the contract is among the largest known awards to a U.S. supplier. Neros is now building about 1,500 of its Archer drones per month, an 8-inch quadcopter that has a range of over 12 miles and can carry a 4.5 lb. payload. Two-thirds of those systems go to Ukraine and the remaining 500 to the U.S. military, including the Marine Corps, Army and U.S. Special Operations Command, Monroe-Anderson said. The company is currently one of two FPV companies on DIU's list of firms whose drones meet DOD's supply chain requirements, which prohibit the use of Chinese suppliers for key components. Last December, Neros was placed on a list of 13 U.S. defense companies sanctioned by China. The firm called the move 'a badge of honor.' Monroe-Anderson said Neros wants to increase its production capacity to 10,000 drones monthly by the end of this year. Its longer-term vision is to build a factory that can produce one million drones per year with the U.S. Defense Department as its primary customer. It's a target that Monroe-Anderson says is 'absolutely required' for the U.S. to defend itself in future wars. 'Even if the government right now isn't handing out a contract for a million drones a year, we know that's what the country needs,' he said. 'That's what we believe as a company, that's what our investors believe.' The Pentagon in recent years has made a rhetorical push to increase its inventory of low-cost, throwaway drones, but has struggled to restructure its acquisition and funding processes and realign priorities within the military services to follow through on its claims. In 2023, the department launched a program called Replicator to address the challenge, pledging to field thousands of drones by August of this year and create a repeatable process for scaling innovation in the department. The results of that effort are due next month, and while DOD leaders say it is meeting its target, experts say the numbers it's aiming for are much lower than what the department actually needs. Trent Emeneker, who oversees several DIU autonomy efforts, said demand in DOD is growing for FPV drones similar to what Neros is building. The challenge is matching that demand, which is largely flowing from troops on the ground, with resources and programmatic support. 'There is enormous demand, but that demand is not backed up by funding and it's not backed up by the program offices,' he told Defense News. Monroe-Anderson said that as a company trying to sell to the department, he's seen a significant posture shift in the last year. In fact, he called today's demand 'pretty aggressive' compared to Neros' early days. 'We've gone from having conversations where we're sort of trying to do the convincing to now we're just constantly getting cold outreach asking us about our systems, asking if we can train soldiers on FPV drones,' Monroe-Anderson said. 'It's basically gone from nothing to some of our customers doing live-fire demonstrations to senior leaders in 12 months, which is a really, really fast timeline.' While the company may not have a contract in hand that requires a major production ramp up, Monroe-Anderson said its strategy is to be ready to fulfill higher orders when that time comes. That applies to the near-term expansion to 10,000 systems per month and the longer-term push for one million annually, which he noted will require a revamp of the company's entire manufacturing approach. 'Availability is one of the most critical things here,' he said. 'I think the companies who are going to win in this space are the ones who are able to ramp production capacity very quickly. Part of that looks like actually just proving it out to ourselves so we can go to our customers with something we believe in versus just overpromising and underdelivering.' 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