Sascha Simon
@saschasimon.bsky.social
Security & Defence Analyst | drones, emerging/disruptive tech & foresight | formerly 🇪🇺 EUISS & EDA, NATO Innovation Hub & 🇩🇪 MFA.
*Here privately*
*Here privately*
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Sascha Simon
@saschasimon.bsky.social
· Oct 21
Minding the drone gap: Drone warfare and the EU
Artillery dominates the war in Ukraine, but is the drone fast replacing it as the ‘King of Battle’? Ukraine’s military leadership suggested as much in May 2024, stating that ‘drones kill more soldiers...
www.iss.europa.eu
Feels a bit like graduation day all over again, making it across the finish line.
I am excited to see "Minding the Drone Gap - Drone Warefare and the EU” by Jan Joel Andersson and your's truly (finally) published by the 🇪🇺 EU Institute for Security Studies!
www.iss.europa.eu/content/mind...
I am excited to see "Minding the Drone Gap - Drone Warefare and the EU” by Jan Joel Andersson and your's truly (finally) published by the 🇪🇺 EU Institute for Security Studies!
www.iss.europa.eu/content/mind...
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Reposted by Sascha Simon
»Hätte man eine Zeitmaschine und sammelte jeweils einen Infanteristen aus den beiden Weltkriegen, dem Vietnam- und dem Irakkrieg 2003 ein, so wären die vier sich schnell einig, dass sie trotz der 90 Jahre Zeitdifferenz alle das gleiche Handwerk ausübten. Es ging – im Kern – um das Kämpfen auf Sicht«
Wie autonome Waffen das Schlachtfeld verändern | Der Pragmaticus
Autonome Waffen und künstliche Intelligenz verändern die Kriegsführung. Werden bald nur noch Maschinen über Leben und Tod entscheiden?
www.derpragmaticus.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:40 AM
»Hätte man eine Zeitmaschine und sammelte jeweils einen Infanteristen aus den beiden Weltkriegen, dem Vietnam- und dem Irakkrieg 2003 ein, so wären die vier sich schnell einig, dass sie trotz der 90 Jahre Zeitdifferenz alle das gleiche Handwerk ausübten. Es ging – im Kern – um das Kämpfen auf Sicht«
“The EU will set up a ‘drone alliance’ with Kyiv, backed by €6bn in financing to ‘transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage and into joint industrialisation’, von der Leyen said.”
We made that argument almost a year ago, and I'm glad to see it gaining traction at the highest level.
We made that argument almost a year ago, and I'm glad to see it gaining traction at the highest level.
September 17, 2025 at 8:50 AM
“The EU will set up a ‘drone alliance’ with Kyiv, backed by €6bn in financing to ‘transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage and into joint industrialisation’, von der Leyen said.”
We made that argument almost a year ago, and I'm glad to see it gaining traction at the highest level.
We made that argument almost a year ago, and I'm glad to see it gaining traction at the highest level.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Der Podcast zum Vortrag. Demnächst dann auch der Film zum Hörbuch. Alles Multiplattform, auf allen Socials, logo, klar, Hallo ihr Lieben. Like and Subscribe.
July 9, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Der Podcast zum Vortrag. Demnächst dann auch der Film zum Hörbuch. Alles Multiplattform, auf allen Socials, logo, klar, Hallo ihr Lieben. Like and Subscribe.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
If even a fraction of this is true, it’s a remarkable achievement & a mark of how far Ukr deep strike has come. ‘An operation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has hit ‘more than 40" Russian bombers at air bases “in the rear of the Russian Federation”…’ kyivindependent.com/enemy-bomber...
'Russian bombers are burning en masse' — Ukraine's SBU drones hit 'more than 40' aircraft in mass attack, source claims
"Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3," a source told the Kyiv Independent.
kyivindependent.com
June 1, 2025 at 11:34 AM
If even a fraction of this is true, it’s a remarkable achievement & a mark of how far Ukr deep strike has come. ‘An operation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has hit ‘more than 40" Russian bombers at air bases “in the rear of the Russian Federation”…’ kyivindependent.com/enemy-bomber...
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Ukrainian dep def minister says his country producing 10m drones per year. Drones do 80% of damage in battlefield he says. Ukrainian made FPV IS $500, he says, in contrast to $1,500 for foreign models. Low-cost interceptor drones at $5,000 “affordable alternative” to traditional SAMs.
May 31, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Ukrainian dep def minister says his country producing 10m drones per year. Drones do 80% of damage in battlefield he says. Ukrainian made FPV IS $500, he says, in contrast to $1,500 for foreign models. Low-cost interceptor drones at $5,000 “affordable alternative” to traditional SAMs.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Sehr guter Text, in dem @drfranksauer.bsky.social die "Realisten" zerlegt.
Wieder ein fantastisches Stück von @drfranksauer.bsky.social zur Debatte über den "Realismus" in Bezug auf Wladimir Putin. www.zeit.de/politik/ausl...
Krieg in der Ukraine: Aber das Eskalationsrisiko!
Sie erklären den Ukrainekrieg mit Russlands Sicherheitsinteressen und wollen von Putins Imperialismus nichts wissen: Sind die selbst ernannten Realisten einfach nur naiv?
www.zeit.de
May 12, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Sehr guter Text, in dem @drfranksauer.bsky.social die "Realisten" zerlegt.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Public Service Announcement.
How to disable a robot dog if it attacks you
YouTube video by Hoog
youtube.com
April 6, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Public Service Announcement.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is gaining expanded access to European intelligence and certain European ammunition stockpiles. He also mentioned an urgent meeting in a "close circle" regarding the troop contingent.
March 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is gaining expanded access to European intelligence and certain European ammunition stockpiles. He also mentioned an urgent meeting in a "close circle" regarding the troop contingent.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
March 28, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Very flattered to see The Economist discuss the findings of the research that, together with my co-authors, we have carried out on the effects of climate change for submarine warfare.
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
Climate change may make it harder to spot submarines
The sound of their engines will not travel as far
www.economist.com
March 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Very flattered to see The Economist discuss the findings of the research that, together with my co-authors, we have carried out on the effects of climate change for submarine warfare.
www.economist.com/science-and-...
www.economist.com/science-and-...
Reposted by Sascha Simon
🧵Intercepting and neutralizing Russian recon and strike UAVs:
🛸The scope of ZSU FPV drone interceptions has rapidly grown.
Artem's new article breaks down a detailed dataset of these interceptions, providing insights into trends and technological advances. #FPVDrones
1/7
🛸The scope of ZSU FPV drone interceptions has rapidly grown.
Artem's new article breaks down a detailed dataset of these interceptions, providing insights into trends and technological advances. #FPVDrones
1/7
March 25, 2025 at 5:43 PM
🧵Intercepting and neutralizing Russian recon and strike UAVs:
🛸The scope of ZSU FPV drone interceptions has rapidly grown.
Artem's new article breaks down a detailed dataset of these interceptions, providing insights into trends and technological advances. #FPVDrones
1/7
🛸The scope of ZSU FPV drone interceptions has rapidly grown.
Artem's new article breaks down a detailed dataset of these interceptions, providing insights into trends and technological advances. #FPVDrones
1/7
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Interesting on how climate change will affect anti-submarine warfare. "We find that acoustic detection will become more difficult in most areas but is going to become significantly more difficult in the North Atlantic than in the Western Pacific." www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.ph...
The hunt for Red October in warmer oceans - Climate change and anti-submarine warfare
NATO Defense College news
www.ndc.nato.int
March 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Interesting on how climate change will affect anti-submarine warfare. "We find that acoustic detection will become more difficult in most areas but is going to become significantly more difficult in the North Atlantic than in the Western Pacific." www.ndc.nato.int/news/news.ph...
Reposted by Sascha Simon
“In the best-case scenario, it will ultimately take almost twenty years before Germany has airborne signals intelligence again after the end of the Breguets in the summer of 2010. It is an unprecedented failure.”
ZEIT with a good long read on the Global Hawk/Triton/Pegasus… acquisition catastrophe
ZEIT with a good long read on the Global Hawk/Triton/Pegasus… acquisition catastrophe
Bundeswehr: Ihre Bestellung wird ... vorbereitet
15 Jahre lang schafft die Bundeswehr es nicht, ein Flugzeug zu besorgen, das sie dringend braucht. Das Geheimprojekt Pegasus offenbart ein lebensgefährliches Versagen.
www.zeit.de
March 20, 2025 at 6:24 AM
“In the best-case scenario, it will ultimately take almost twenty years before Germany has airborne signals intelligence again after the end of the Breguets in the summer of 2010. It is an unprecedented failure.”
ZEIT with a good long read on the Global Hawk/Triton/Pegasus… acquisition catastrophe
ZEIT with a good long read on the Global Hawk/Triton/Pegasus… acquisition catastrophe
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Russian accuses of Norway “militarising” Svalbard (www.reuters.com/world/europe...). A reminder of Russian activity in Svalbard from a few years ago, below (jamestown.org/program/russ...)
March 15, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Russian accuses of Norway “militarising” Svalbard (www.reuters.com/world/europe...). A reminder of Russian activity in Svalbard from a few years ago, below (jamestown.org/program/russ...)
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Keep calm and ReArm.
March 8, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Keep calm and ReArm.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
We should have no illusions: Just as it is now doing with Ukraine, the Trump administration will try to force the Europeans into line if they resist a deal on American (or rather Russian?) terms.
March 5, 2025 at 12:56 PM
We should have no illusions: Just as it is now doing with Ukraine, the Trump administration will try to force the Europeans into line if they resist a deal on American (or rather Russian?) terms.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
U.S. intelligence sharing with South Vietnamese forces continued until April 30, 1975—the day Saigon fell.
March 5, 2025 at 12:25 PM
U.S. intelligence sharing with South Vietnamese forces continued until April 30, 1975—the day Saigon fell.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Dear Europe: You are next on the hit list. Good arguments, preemptive concessions, appeals to friendship, and flattery will not protect you. Discard those fantasies and prepare to hit back hard.
March 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Dear Europe: You are next on the hit list. Good arguments, preemptive concessions, appeals to friendship, and flattery will not protect you. Discard those fantasies and prepare to hit back hard.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Lemme share something with you. A lot of semi-Trumpy types are saying Zelensky blew it. All he had to do was show up, shake hands, say Trump is great and sign the docs. He couldn't do that. But there are also people in DC who are not Trumpy who are saying the same thing. Now, big picture this ...
March 2, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Lemme share something with you. A lot of semi-Trumpy types are saying Zelensky blew it. All he had to do was show up, shake hands, say Trump is great and sign the docs. He couldn't do that. But there are also people in DC who are not Trumpy who are saying the same thing. Now, big picture this ...
Talk of close to a trillion Euro in a second German 🇩🇪 Sondervermögen, and talk of Norway 🇳🇴 to tap into its gigantic sovereign wealth fund for Ukraine.
But it’s still only talk. We have the resources and hopefully (finally) the political will. What we don’t have is time.
But it’s still only talk. We have the resources and hopefully (finally) the political will. What we don’t have is time.
March 2, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Talk of close to a trillion Euro in a second German 🇩🇪 Sondervermögen, and talk of Norway 🇳🇴 to tap into its gigantic sovereign wealth fund for Ukraine.
But it’s still only talk. We have the resources and hopefully (finally) the political will. What we don’t have is time.
But it’s still only talk. We have the resources and hopefully (finally) the political will. What we don’t have is time.
If you’re trying to get some distraction from the *gesture-at-everything* do not watch #Paradise (by Hulu). The 7th episode is a gut bunch like Game of Thrones’ red wedding.
March 1, 2025 at 10:10 AM
If you’re trying to get some distraction from the *gesture-at-everything* do not watch #Paradise (by Hulu). The 7th episode is a gut bunch like Game of Thrones’ red wedding.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
Remember: the televised punishment & humiliation meted out to Zelensky just now could be done to any NATO ally facing similar aggression. The sense of sneering hostility & contempt by Trump & Vance isn’t specific to Ukraine.
February 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Remember: the televised punishment & humiliation meted out to Zelensky just now could be done to any NATO ally facing similar aggression. The sense of sneering hostility & contempt by Trump & Vance isn’t specific to Ukraine.
Didn’t take that long.
"Developing nuclear weapons to counter North Korea is not 'off the table' for South Korea, foreign minister Cho Tae-yul stated on Wednesday"
In shift, South Korea’s top diplomat says nuclear armament ‘not off the table’ | NK News
Developing nuclear weapons to counter North Korea is not “off the table” for South Korea, foreign minister Cho Tae-yul stated on Wednesday, appearing to shift his rhetoric on the issue amid concerns…
www.nknews.org
February 27, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Didn’t take that long.
Reposted by Sascha Simon
If you think that Europe is doomed, you’re not paying attention.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.
Is Trump Making Europe Great Again?
In a world of zero-sum thinking, the EU's win-win logic can be a powerful tool.
open.substack.com
February 25, 2025 at 8:47 PM
If you think that Europe is doomed, you’re not paying attention.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.
Wrote a recap of the latest developments and call me a hopeless Europtimist but I think Europe+ (including Canada) isn’t doing too bad in terms of offering Ukraine an actual perspective for the future. With or without the US.