Martineleca

While that's true it must also be mentioned that we're talking about military grade microwave guns, so the shielding to block them would have to be substantially thicker than on a home oven I imagine.

Is this technology confirmed to be operating as intended, how much does it cost and can it be replicated on a wide scale, say one such vehicle for each mech company?

This is an exaggeration, if you're referring to the unidentified drones over New Jersey that's still being investigated as to how they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, while China has built up a lot of capacity so has the West and their initial advantage is likely to erode going forward. Something that bugs me is using the word "drone" to describe anything that flies without a pilot, for instance ordinary maneuverable cruise missiles designated as long-range drones is like political correctness in military speak...

I don't think it would be that simple, not only because this particular anti-drone technology is in early stages of a promising development, but because at some point the weight and cost of add-ons to counter these defenses for even simple drones could exceed their usefulness and availability, similar criticism is often aimed at modern MBTs weighing 70+ tons, though tanks have the excuse of being expensive anyway and operating over land.

British high-power microwave weapon successfully tested against drone swarms https://www.twz.com/news-features/british-high-power-microwave-weapon-successfully-tested-against-drone-swarms - This seems to be an even cheaper option at the price of bubble gum per shot, though with only one km range it's basically a close-in weapons system compared to the lasers being planned.

New Franco-German tank project takes shape with industry team confirmed https://www.twz.com/land/new-franco-german-tank-project-takes-shape-with-industry-team-confirmed So in the interim Germany will have four separate MBTs on offer, the Leopard 2A8, Leopard 2 A-RC, Leopard 3 and Panther, now that the joint MGCS program seems to have been pushed out two decades down the line I really don't see reason for delay in France putting the Leclerc Evolution into full production. How much longer can they keep chugging along with the same original 400 units when the last tank came off the line in 2007 and they've been slowly losing industrial experience to restart ever since, apparently the idea is to offer it in markets where the Leopard is not considered the appropriate solution, are they waiting on securing that huge Indian FRCV contract for an infusion of cash before committing to further domestic orders?

It's not a fair comparison, most countries in the former Eastern bloc became communist on the bayonet of the red army rather than organically save for very few exceptions, so there were lots of people who felt this system was imposed on them by a foreign occupier and dissented when possible. China on the other hand suffered a decades long bloody civil war that ultimately settled the matter in full at least on the mainland, this actually leads to great inefficiencies because absolutely any student, labourer or escort traveling abroad can be plausibly suspected of being an informant or outright spy which sometimes leads to limiting their access to otherwise great opportunities, Beijing has done nothing to alleviate any of these concerns aside from taking their spies back when they're discovered.

China is a very different place and culture than many people can comprehend, especially idiots like that corrupt Spanish commie who want Europe to hook up with them just to rub the American's noses in. Nothing happens without permission from the CCP, Chinese society is the closest thing to serfdom that can exist in the developed world, I've talked to a lot of people who run shops or restaurants in places very far from their country, some who haven't been back home in decades, yet all of them continue to pay an annual tax on that business to the Chinese government, almost like a tribute to the grand emperor ensuring you can never really escape your origins. This is what many Westerners looking through the historical lens of decades don't understand, the leaders of China are thinking in terms of centuries, from their point of view they've dominated the world for most of human history and only in the last two hundred years or so some weird palefaces started trespassing on their divine right to rule over everyone else and want that power back, if along the way they can use willing pawns like Russia or Iran to distract attention from their schemes all the better, then fewer Chinese will have to die to restore the old Imperial order.

According to Chinese law regular citizens are banned from working as private security or mercenaries and using firearms outside of China, except if they are engaging in anti-piracy actions at sea, anyone who believes the PLA is not active in the hot spots of Europe at the very least in a minimal capacity like this one is just refusing to face reality.

Ever heard of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative driving right up to Europe, it has as much to do with peaceful trade as the Mongol conquests had with cultural enrichment...

Pathway to spending 5% of output on defense ‘has to be real’ for NATO allies https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2025-04-03/rubio-nato-meeting-brussels-17352682.html - With a current combined GDP of $55 trillion that would translate to roughly $3 trillion annual NATO budget, while it may seem like overkill fact is that the level of military spending in Russia and especially China is highly underestimated through misleading categorization with a tendency to rise further, the kind of ultra preferential pricing offered by their domestic arms producers to the central government also doesn't exist to the same extent in the West.

This is very important to be squarely emphasized from the outset with a mechanism for funds to by withheld if not carried out, the scheme is for the purchase of weapons and perhaps spare parts, nothing else. The bloated bureaucracy that is always trying to redirect money towards its pet projects must be kept at a distance, recently read they are searching for extra money to fund the "educational" programs formerly paid for by USAID, homo/trans propaganda in Montenegro should not be a funding priority for the continent...

May as well, one of the surprising aspects of recent combat actions has been the apparently reduced survivability of tracked mobile howitzers compared to wheeled ones. The M109, AHS Krab and PzH equipped units specifically seem to have taken most of the beating as compared to Caesar or Archer ones which is wild considering the cost difference, could deployment to higher/lower intensity sectors sway the loss figures much?

I don't think it's going to be quite as pitiful an amount as initially expected, the Army of Belgium has 400 Griffon APCs and 60 Jaguar IFVs currently on order, covering the wheeled motorized component as you suggested. Their neighbours in the Netherlands plan to procure an initial 46 Leopard 2 tanks and later on add a second battalion of either Leos or MGCS depending on how quickly it enters production, I expect the Belgian force to develop along similar lines with an emphasis on the latter more advanced model.

London defends decision to order American F-35 instead of domestic Eurofighter https://en.defence-ua.com/analysis/london_defends_decision_to_order_american_f_35_instead_of_domestic_eurofighter-14024.html "The potential order could exceed 100 fighters, both to replace the 49 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters of the oldest Tranche 1 version, currently being retired, and to increase the Royal Air Force's numbers." The deal on offer must be truly amazing for such a quick turnaround from just a few months ago, if it goes through the UK will reach the 150 units it had originally planned to acquire, is the purchase of F-35As an admission that Tempest will be delayed?