Otokar Hit with Romania Penalty, Eyes EU Production
Romania imposed a new penalty over Cobra II delays, while Otokar moves ahead with local production and positions investment as its European manufacturing hub.
SAFE News
Land
Investment
Land
Investment
Bilateral Relations
Otokar to acquire Automecanica in Romania majority stake
Otokar to acquire its industrial partner Automecanica shifting from a mandatory JV model to ownership to strengthen local production execution and oversight.
Defence Politics
Greece Narrows SAFE Bid as Tri-Partner Model Emerges
Athens cut its SAFE bids to 6 projects worth €815m, focusing on satellite ISR, counter-drone layers and secure communications through multi-partner cooperation.
Defence Politics
EU pushes Greece to rewrite SAFE plan after overreach
Brussels says Greece’s €2.9 billion SAFE proposal exceeds its €787 million ceiling and fails to meet EU cooperation rules, forcing Athens to revise its plan.
Defence Politics
EU assigns military adviser in Ankara for first time
In a first, the EU appointed a Polish defence attaché previously posted in Ankara as a military adviser, marking a new phase in EU–Türkiye defence ties.
Navy / Maritime
Air
Türkiye Denies Eurofighter Purchase Talks with Qatar
Ankara has played down reports that Türkiye will procure 10–12 Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 3A fighters following last week’s official visit to Qatar.
Defence Politics
EU Council backs position on €800B ReArm Europe plan
EU countries endorsed a joint Council position on the €800B ReArm Europe plan, opening talks with Parliament to boost defence investment and industry by 2030.
Defence Politics
NATO’s Rutte Backs Türkiye’s SAFE bid at EU envoy meeting
NATO chief Mark Rutte urges EU to admit Türkiye into the €150 billion SAFE defence programme, citing NATO benefits despite strict non-member funding limits.
Defence Politics
EU sets record €381B defence budget for 2025
In 2025, the EU will spend €381 billion ($443 billion) on defence. This is a 10% increase from last year and the most the bloc has ever spent on defence.
Navy / Maritime
Defence Politics
Greece Eyes SAFE Loan for Fourth FDI-class Frigate Purchase
Athens may use EU SAFE loans to buy a fourth French FDI frigate, raising debate over whether funds meant to counter Russia should finance Greek-Turkish rivalry.
Investment
Defence Politics
Analysis
Contradiction Between Objective and Method in SAFE Project
When looking at its aims, how it plans to use its resources, and how likely it is to work, the EU's SAFE seems to be influenced by political aspirations.
Global Defence Trend Brief
- 12:00 Italy gives conditional approval to Leonardo-Baykar drone venture - Reuters reported that Italy has conditionally approved the Leonardo–Baykar joint venture to produce...
- 12:00 USNI looks at Türkiye’s defence-industrial rise through EFES 2026 - USNI News used the EFES 2026 exercise to examine how Türkiye is linking operational military activit...
- 12:00 Reuters tracks Ankara’s goal of doubling defence exports - Reuters reported that Turkish officials want to double defence exports within two years after export...
- 12:00 Breaking Defense highlights Turkish one-way attack systems at SAHA 2026 - Breaking Defense reported that Turkish companies used SAHA 2026 to unveil multiple one-way attack sy...
- 12:00 Defense News spotlights ASELSAN’s autonomous warfare concept - Defense News reported that ASELSAN used SAHA 2026 to present a future warfare concept centred on aut...
- 12:00 Le Monde examines Türkiye’s expanding defence footprint in Mali - Le Monde reported that Türkiye has become an increasingly important security partner for Mali throug...
- 12:00 French strategic study identifies Türkiye as a rising European supplier - The Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique assessed Türkiye as one of the most notable new entrants...
- 12:00 Middle East Forum analyses Baykar’s expansion into Europe - A Middle East Forum analysis argued that Baykar’s growing presence in Europe shows how production ca...
- 12:00 Jerusalem Post highlights Baykar’s export-heavy revenue model - The Jerusalem Post reported that Baykar generated roughly $1.8 billion in drone exports in 2024 and...
- 12:00 Foreign defence reporting keeps focus on KAAN’s next prototype phase - International defence coverage continued to highlight Turkish Aerospace’s target for the first ‘true...
- 09:00 NATO pushes allies to fill US air and naval capability gaps - Washington is pressing European allies and Canada to provide more manned and unmanned aircraft plus...
- 09:00 AI-driven drone swarms rise as a new NATO planning priority - NATO officials are warning that AI-enabled drone swarms could reshape warfare within five years, pus...
- 09:00 Counter-drone demand expands beyond battlefields into critical infrastructure - Growing drone incursions around airports, ports, oil facilities and data centres are accelerating de...
- 09:00 Europe’s loyal wingman race becomes a core airpower trend - Collaborative combat aircraft took centre stage at Berlin Airshow 2026 as European companies and air...
- 09:00 Ukraine’s drone combat know-how is becoming an export asset in Asia - Ukrainian drone firms are marketing battlefield-proven systems and swarm concepts in Japan, Taiwan a...
- 09:00 NATO accelerates live testing of counter-drone technologies - Alliance members and industry partners are expanding field trials of drone detection and interceptio...
- 09:00 Hypersonic threats keep driving demand for persistent tracking networks - The spread of hypersonic weapons continues to push Western defence planners toward integrated radar...
- 09:00 Military space resilience shifts toward larger distributed constellations - Armed forces are increasingly favouring proliferated satellite constellations over a small number of...
- 09:00 Autonomous maritime systems gain importance in surveillance and strike planning - Navies are broadening interest in autonomous surface and underwater systems for persistent ISR, infr...
- 09:00 Industrial surge capacity is becoming a decisive defence metric - Across missiles, drones and air defence, governments are placing more weight on production scalabili...
