Foreign
“Millions Of Drones” Needed For European Defense, Says EU
EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius says Europeans will require millions of drones to create an “army” and they need to start preparing now.
The European Union’s defence commissioner has warned Europe must be capable of building a drone army in case Russia attacks.
Military intelligence has suggested Russian forces could be ready to strike a NATO country within the next five years.
In order to defend themselves, Andrius Kubilius says Europeans will require millions of drones and need to start preparing now.
“Russia can have around five million drones, so we need to have capacities bigger than those in order to prevail,” he told Sky News, warning that if President Putin ordered an attack, the target would face a “battle-tested” Russian army with the ability to use “millions of drones”.
The 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked a revolution in drone warfare.
Facing one of the world’s strongest militaries, the Ukrainians used the cheap, adaptable technology to their advantage.
It estimates its drone units are now responsible for 80% of Russian frontline losses.
Mr Kubilius has visited Ukraine to learn the lessons from the battlefield.
Along the 1,200km (745 mile) front line is an area nicknamed “Death Valley”.
“Nothing can move. Everything is controlled by drones. A traditional tank in that zone survives six minutes,” he explained.
This year, Ukraine’s expected to produce more than four million drones.
Contemplating how many units other countries would need, the commissioner used the example of his home country of Lithuania.
The former Soviet republic shares a border of around 900km (559 miles) with Russia and Belarus.
“If Ukrainians need four million for 1,200km, we need something like three million drones for one year if the war is starting, if ‘Day X’ is coming,” he said.
To try to stay ahead in the fight, both Russia and Ukraine are constantly updating their drone technology.
For this reason, the commissioner believes that rather than stockpiling drones now, which will go out of date, Europe should instead build up teams of pilots, engineers, and producers ready to scale up production should the time come.
“On the European continent, at the moment, there are only two armies battle-tested with the ability to use millions of drones: one is Russian, which is planning new aggressions; another one is Ukrainian,” said Mr Kubilius.
“We need to learn a lot from Ukraine… how to organise defences against millions of drones, and also how to make your defence industry innovative,” he added.
It’s a point many in the business agree with.
German start-up STARK has been testing loitering munitions or “attack drones” ready to supply to Kyiv.
“It’s all made for easy handling for soldiers, so you don’t have to use any tools on the front line, and you just plug in the rudders,” said STARK’s senior vice president, Josef Kranawetvogl, as he quickly clicked the unit’s tail together.
He spent 18 years in the German military before making the jump to weapons production.
He says staying ahead of the enemy requires tactics and technology to be frequently updated.
“Every day you have to adapt. You have such fast development cycles in Ukraine – two or three weeks, then there’s something new upcoming and you have to be prepared for this.”
Since the start of June, Russia has repeatedly used drone swarms to attack Ukraine.
It involves hundreds of drones hammering cities in one night.
I asked Josef whether he believes NATO’s European members are ready to defend against such an attack.
“I see quite a lot of European armies starting right now to develop or to purchase unmanned systems, and it’s a good development, but it’s all about time. How can we speed up?” he replied.
Close to the border with France, another German start-up, Alpine Eagle, is testing defence drone units for Ukraine.
“This is our interceptor drone,” explained the company’s CEO, Jan-Hendrik Boelens, holding up a prototype which looks a bit like a small black plane. The interceptor is carried underneath a large grey drone.
On-board radar means it can be fired at enemy drones up to 5km (3 miles) away.
Jan thinks that could be a game changer in an aerial battle as it means hostile units could be picked off before they get close.
And he believes NATO is unprepared if one of its countries was to be hit by a wave of drones like those in Ukraine.
“We are absolutely not ready in my view,” he said.
He explained that Ukraine produced around 1.3 million drones a year last year.
“I would be surprised if NATO even bought a thousand drones last year. I think Germany procured, I don’t know, 100, maybe 200. So now you do the math on what that means and how quickly you run out of drones.
“If Ukraine consumed 1.3 million drones per year, that’s 3,000 a day. So, if you have 100 in your inventory, that would not last an hour.”
A spokesperson from the German Defence Ministry said the numbers stated “do not closely reflect reality”.
“Drones are now part of everyday life for soldiers, they are omnipresent and are used extensively in service operations and training,” they added.
Drones are a key part of NATO’s defence plan.
The alliance’s leadership has repeatedly said producing, procuring, and protecting against drones is a priority.
At the NATO summit, members agreed to boost defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
In addition to increasing training and development, NATO Chief Mark Rutte has said he wants more investment in drone technology as well as boosting air defences fivefold.
“We see Russia’s deadly terror from the skies over Ukraine every day, and we must be able to defend ourselves from such attacks,” he told an audience at the summit.
Lessons from Ukraine have prompted members to embrace unmanned technology in various ways.
Britain is one of the countries pledging to put drones front and centre of its new defence plan.
Earlier this month, the UK government’s Strategic Defence Review outlined a new way forward for British Army warfighting based around a drone-centric 20-40-40 strategy in which uncrewed systems are deployed for first wave attacks, before tanks, attack helicopters and other manned platforms arrive on the battlefield.
In essence, the new weapons mix would be 20% traditional heavy platforms (like tanks), 40% single-use expendable drones and munitions, and the remaining 40% reusable, high-end drones.
It’s been confirmed that an extra £2bn will be spent on army drones this parliament.
Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain’s adversaries were working more in alliance and technology was changing how war was fought.
“Drones now kill more people than traditional artillery in the war in Ukraine and whoever gets new technology into the hands of their armed forces the quickest will win,” he said.
This week, the prime minister announced a deal with Ukraine to co-produce drones.
Germany and Denmark have made similar agreements with the German Ministry of Defence, telling Sky News that drones are a top priority.
In a drone showroom in central Berlin, we meet Sven Weizenegger, head of the German military’s cyber innovation hub.
He said they have noticed a boom in pitches from potential suppliers.
Every day, his department receives up to 20 enquiries from companies asking how their products could be used by the military.
He believes things need to move more quickly so soldiers get weapons faster.
“We are very advanced in the innovation process. That means we have a lot of ideas and many companies that are ready to deliver,” he explained. “Unfortunately, what we are not good at right now, due to our current processes, is getting these things into real operations, into frontline use. We need to fix that.”
Germany has promised to turbo-charge defence spending, with the Chancellor pledging to create the “strongest conventional army in Europe”.
Plans announced this week include boosting unmanned systems and air defences.
The German Ministry of Defence said it couldn’t reveal stock levels due to security, but a spokesperson confirmed the country is investing in a range of different units, including signing two contracts for attack drones.
“We are procuring not just a few but quite large quantities and testing them directly with the troops,” the spokesperson added.
However, they agreed with the EU defence commissioner that rather than stockpiling tech which would go out of date, it was better to have a system in place to allow for large quantities to be made quickly in the event of war.
In May, the EU approved a €150bn (£125bn) loan scheme to boost defence production across the bloc.
News.sky.com
A new investigation by The New York Times claims Sudan’s military ran an organized program in 2024 to develop and produce chlorine-based munitions, escalating long-standing allegations of chemical weapons use in the country’s war.
According to the report, the Times reviewed nearly 150 documents, plus photos, videos, audio recordings and thousands of messages. The materials describe months of work to design, test and manufacture about 300 bombs filled with chlorine.
Brigadier General Tariq Hussein is named as one of the principal supervisors. The documents detail a munition that combined explosives with large quantities of chlorine, and tests carried out before production.
One of the most serious claims involves the source of the chemical. The dossier alleges that some chlorine was taken from a water-treatment facility in Omdurman, at a time when Sudan is facing cholera outbreaks and a collapse of basic services.
The investigation also points to senior leadership. Voice and text messages reportedly implicate army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in knowledge of the program, and in orders to “remove all traces” after U.S. pressure and sanctions.
This is not the first time chemical weapons have been alleged in Sudan. Independent.ng reported that the Sudanese Alliance for Rights filed a case at the International Criminal Court against four senior Port Sudan Authority leaders, including al-Burhan, accusing them of using chemical weapons and committing serious violations against civilians. The lawsuit also names Yasser al-Atta, Shams al-Din al-Kabashi and Major General Taher Mohammed, and calls for an urgent ICC investigation.
The U.S. has already acted on earlier findings.
Independent.ng noted that Washington imposed additional penalties in May 2025 over the alleged use of chemical weapons, further linking Sudan’s war to international politics.
Chlorine is permitted for water purification, but using it as a weapon violates the Chemical Weapons Convention, which Sudan ratified. Experts say its civilian availability makes it easier to obtain and harder to monitor than military-grade agents.
With the conflict since April 2023 already causing mass displacement and famine, rights groups are now calling for an independent international investigation with access to sites, documents and the chain of command.
The retired Nigerian Army Major General, Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi, has alleged that two prominent members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretly sought confidential records on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from United States government agencies.
Ali-Keffi, a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, made the claim while speaking about the events that shaped Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate.
According to him, the alleged attempt was brought to his attention by former Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Hamman-Tukur.
The retired general said the incident happened during the period when powerful figures within the APC were struggling to determine who would secure the party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
Ali-Keffi said the information came to him while he was serving as Commander of Operation Service Wide, an operation he described as being focused on terrorism financing and the leadership structures of terrorist organisations.
He explained that Hamman-Tukur later told him about an alleged move by two influential APC figures who were opposed to Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
According to Ali-Keffi, the individuals allegedly gained access to the office of the NFIU director without authorisation and sent requests to American government agencies for information concerning Tinubu.
“Two prominent APC people who were against Tinubu entered illegally into the office of NFIU director and sent messages to the US government agencies requesting confidential records of Bola Ahmed Tinubu on those issues – terrorism financing,” Ali-Keffi said.
The retired military officer said the former NFIU director was uncomfortable with the development.
He claimed Hamman-Tukur later went to his office at about 2am after becoming aware of what was happening.
According to Ali-Keffi, the people allegedly involved realised that the NFIU director had arrived and subsequently left the office.
Ali-Keffi further claimed that a response was later received from the United States concerning the request.
He, however, said he was not aware of the exact information contained in the response.
“I don’t know what the record is or related to current issues regarding his forfeiture and other issues, if I am not mistaken,” he said.
The former army commander was careful to distinguish between the alleged request for information and any conclusion about Tinubu.
He said he had no personal knowledge of the contents of the records allegedly requested from the US authorities.
He also did not claim that the records established that Tinubu committed any offence.
Instead, he said his account was based on information he received from Hamman-Tukur at the time.
Ali-Keffi also alleged that NFIU officials connected to the incident were later dismissed. He said the matter eventually became the subject of legal proceedings.
The retired general further brought former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, into the account.
Ali-Keffi alleged that El-Rufai was aware of some of the information relating to the request for Tinubu’s records.
He said the former Kaduna governor was among the political figures who had knowledge of the matter but did not support the idea of using confidential information against Tinubu.
Tinubu eventually defeated other contenders at the APC presidential primary in June 2022.
He went on to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party in the February 2023 presidential election.
Ali-Keffi said his own decision to support Tinubu at the time was influenced partly by El-Rufai’s argument that power should move from the North to the South.
He recalled that the argument was based on the need to maintain a sense of balance and national unity after former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, had completed his second term.
The retired general said the political situation could have been different if the alleged information obtained from the United States had been made public before the APC primary.
“Had people like the former NFIU Director and people like El-Rufai who were in the know, who were aware of that documents that were sent in respect of candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had they allowed it to get to public domain at that time, I believe it would have perhaps hurt the candidaty of Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Certainly, he wouldn’t have gotten the ticket to fly the flag of APC at that time,” Ali-Keffi said.
Several prominent politicians had shown interest in the APC presidential ticket before Tinubu eventually emerged as the party’s candidate.
Ali-Keffi said those considerations played an important role in the eventual decision by some politicians to back Tinubu.
He also recounted a separate conversation involving former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chairman, Muhammad Nami, and an unnamed powerful minister who was said to have been close to Buhari.
According to Ali-Keffi, Nami approached the minister during the United Nations General Assembly in New York in an effort to persuade him to support Tinubu.
The retired general said the minister expressed reservations about Tinubu and warned that he could take action against some people if he eventually became president.
“Look, Ahmed Tinubu is going to come after them. He was going to do this and that. You people don’t know this,” Ali-Keffi recalled the minister as saying.
Nami, according to Ali-Keffi, continued to make the case for a Southern presidency and argued that handing the APC ticket to a Southern candidate would promote national balance.
However, years after the 2023 election, Ali-Keffi said he now regrets his decision to support Tinubu.
“I regret actually voting for him,” he said.
He also stated that he would not vote for the ruling party in the next election.
“I’m not going to vote APC next election,” Ali-Keffi said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the personal particulars of candidates nominated for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, with President Bola Tinubu’s nomination documents showing that the sections for his primary and secondary education were left blank.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the personal particulars of candidates nominated for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, with President Bola Tinubu’s nomination documents showing that the sections for his primary and secondary education were left blank.
In a related development, POLITICS NIGERIA reported in August that fresh controversy had emerged over Tinubu’s academic credentials.
This came after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) explained why his primary and secondary school certificates were not included among the documents displayed for the 2027 election.
The commission said it displayed the documents submitted by candidates and did not have the authority to demand additional credentials or alter the information contained in their submissions.
Source: Politics Nigeria
The Nigerian Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has disclosed that records from the United States, US, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, cleared suspicions that President Bola Tinubu is 90 years old.
Omokri disclosed that a letter from the FBI, sent via the US Embassy in Lagos and addressed to the Nigerian government, revealed that Tinubu was born on March 29, 1952.
Recall that the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had claimed that he had evidence that Tinubu is 90 years old.
Atiku disclosed that he would tender the evidence in court.
However, Omokri dismissed Atiku’s claim during an interview on the City Boy Movement’s media one-on-one podcast with Otega Ogra, a Senior Special Assistant to Tinubu on Digital and New Media, yesterday.
According to Omokri: “First of all, Atiku was never my principal; he’s my friend. I have a document here from the FBI via the American Embassy. At that time, it was in Lagos, and I can read it for you.
“It’s a letter to the Nigerian government and Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, at that time.
“In relation to your letter dated February 3, 2003, regarding Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a record check of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Crime Information Centre was conducted.
“The result of the check was negative for any criminal arrest records, wants or warrants for Bola Tinubu.
“Another thing is that this is just a complete vindication of Tinubu. But notice that the FBI records have the President’s date of birth, which is March 29, 1952. So, this document destroys anybody trying to say that the President is 90 years old.”
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