Author: thaobh.leo@gmail.com

Khabib Nurmagomedov had UFC fans talking after appearing with gloves on at UFC 330. Dana White was then asked the question many people had in mind: could the unbeaten former champion ever be convinced to fight again? Dana White does not expect Khabib Nurmagomedov to put the gloves back on. The UFC CEO was asked about the retired former lightweight champion after UFC 330, where footage showed Nurmagomedov wearing UFC gloves backstage. “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “Listen, when he was trying to retire, I was all over that f*ing…

A new White House Presidential Memorandum invites international shipbuilders to compete for a U.S. Navy convoy escort under the “Finland Model.” In a dramatic policy shift aimed at overriding domestic industrial bottlenecks and accelerating fleet expansion, the White House has issued a sweeping Presidential Memorandum opening the door for allied international shipbuilders to design and construct surface combatants for the U.S. Navy. The executive action, titled “Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base,” takes aim at severe backlogs, budget overruns, and capacity constraints across major American defense shipbuilding programs. To overcome these hurdles, the administration is establishing…

Introduction For the longest time, I’ve been wanting to write this article on one of my favorite topics and things to do in strategy games: Turtling. For those of you who might not be aware of what turtling is, it is the act of building up your base in a real-time strategy game, setting-up massive defensive complexes of intricate layers of walls, towers with overlapping fields of fire, all kinds of defensive units strategically placed to deal the most damage possible, several heavily defended and redudant 10 gates, in case the other 9 fail, and all other kinds of buildings…

This summer ESD headed to Liège in Belgium, courtesy of the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency, to participate in a press visit designed to provide an introduction to the defence ecosystem in Wallonia. The objective was to show the depth of the defence sector in this part of Belgium and to pave the way for international investment into the defence sector and/or providethe basis for partnerships between Walloon defence companies and other European or international companies   Wallonia has always been an important location for defence manufacturing; it started in the Middle Ages with the manufacture of artillery, but by…

The RAF Hawk T.2 problems have prompted the type’s early retirement from its advanced training role. (David Oliver)The UK Defence Ministry has issued a request for information (RFI) to industry for the Jet Training System (JTS), launching its RAF Hawk programme, for which the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) pledged £360m in the full recapitalisation. However, that is nowhere near enough to fund a one-to-one replacement of the Hawk T.2 fleet.  Part of the JTS is to replace the 50-year-old Hawk T.1s flown by the Red Arrows aerobatic team with Hawk T.2s currently used for RAF advanced jet training, a role for…

Islam Makhachev says a possible boxing match with Conor McGregor was discussed during a call arranged by Turki Alalshikh, with UFC CEO Dana White nearby. Makhachev said McGregor was receptive, but nothing has been agreed or announced. Fresh from retaining the UFC welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in Philadelphia, Makhachev, 34, shared a new detail about his conversations with Alalshikh and a potential move into Zuffa Boxing. Islam Makhachev Says Turki Alalshikh Called Conor McGregor About Boxing Match “Our fight is still possible,” Makhachev said. “I have a new story to tell regarding McGregor. I went…

India is proceeding with a procurement of approximately 60 medium transport aircraft to replace its ageing An-32 tactical transports. The C-130J is one contender. (IAF)On 12 August, India’s Ministry of Defence issued a request for proposals (RfP) to acquire approximately 60 of what it calls Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) for the country’s air force.The new transport aircraft are being procured to replace the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) ageing Antonov An-32 tactical transport fleet, one that has been in service for more than four decades.This prospective deal for approximately 60 transport aircraft is expected to cost INR1 trillion (approximately US$10.4 billion).The…

Din Thomas has cornered his final fight at UFC 330.On Saturday night, UFC analyst Din Thomas pulled double duty, not only working on the desk for UFC 330, but also serving as one of the corners for Gillian Robertson in her strawweight title shot against Mackenzie Dern. Unfortunately for both Robertson, “The Savage” did not have her best night in the office. Thomas seemed especially frustrated with Robertson’s inability to get her offense going, telling her to “wake up” at one point between rounds, and while she ultimately won the fifth round of the bout, Robertson lost a clear unanimous…

Editor’s Note: The following article draws on themes from the author’s forthcoming book titled US Counterterrorism Operations in Afghanistan: Jackpots, Dry Holes, and Collateral Damage.Over the next month, the United States will pass two major historical milestones: the five-year anniversary of its withdrawal from Afghanistan and the 25-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. While the latter is likely to receive at least a modicum of respectful remembrance from U.S. leaders and the American public, the former is likely to be ignored by the U.S. government and to escape broader notice.These are painful milestones. Ones that are…

For much of the past decade, the Vienna- based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has just about survived, though less through any strategic clarity than through protracted institutional deadlock. Its continued survival may no longer be guaranteed though. This year’s consensus-based agreement among all 57 OSCE participating states on a 2026 budget — after five years of debilitating inertia — may have stabilised the Organisation, but probably only in the short term, and at a cost of a notable contraction in ambition, staffing, and operational scope.  With a reduced annual budget of roughly €120 million (cheap in…