Nordic Defence Review

John W. Brunius’s Fänrik Ståls sägner (1926) is one of the most ambitious historical films of the Nordic silent era. The film is about the last major Swedish war and the birth of Finnish nationhood – about defeat, memory, and identity.

In Severodvinsk on Russia’s Arctic coast, the Navy has just unveiled its latest nuclear submarine – the Khabarovsk, a vessel designed to carry the dreaded Poseidon nuclear torpedo drone. Dubbed a potential Doomsday Weapon, Poseidon is an autonomous, nuclear-propelled torpedo said to be capable of wiping out entire coastal cities with a massive thermonuclear blast.

For over four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been under siege—not just through sanctions and speeches, but via a relentless, largely undeclared campaign of sabotage, cyberwarfare, assassinations, and airstrikes. Orchestrated primarily by Israel and the United States, this “secret war” has targeted Iran’s nuclear ambitions, military infrastructure, and top scientists with precision and p...

A Blueprint for European Backbone? Charles de Gaulle’s War Memoirs are not easy reading. They are grandiose, deliberate, and unmistakably self-serving. Yet in the brittle geopolitical moment we now find ourselves in—2025, with the United States shifting inward and unpredictable—Europe’s leaders could do far worse than sit down and actually read – or listen to – them. Read the article: https://nord...

Ghost Fleet by P.W. Singer and August Cole is a speculative military thriller that envisions a near-future conflict where a technologically advanced China, allied with Russia, launches a surprise attack on the United States, leading to the occupation of Hawaii and a global war spanning land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Authors Singer and Cole, both experts in defence and technology, craft a n...

The Finnish government has announced a draft proposal to increase the maximum age for military reservists from 60 to 65 years. This initiative aims to expand Finland's wartime reserve forces by approximately 125,000 personnel, potentially bringing the total number of reservists to one million by 2031. Read the article: https://nordicdefencereview.com/facing-russian-threat-finland-plans-to-keep-res...

A Masterpiece of Class, War, and Futility. There’s a reason Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion still rattles nerves nearly 90 years on. It’s not just a classic. It’s a ruthless dissection of European warfare, class arrogance, and the idiocy of nationalism—delivered with the grace of high cinema and the punch of a bayonet to the ribs. War never looked so polite. Or so damning. Read the article: https...

In footage from the war in Ukraine, eagle-eyed observers keep spotting something strange: thick, stripped logs lashed to the rear of Russian tanks. No, they’re not firewood, and they’re not some crude form of extra armour either. They’re a Cold War-era survival tool – a so-called unditching beam and they’re still in use because, even in 2025, Russian tanks are getting stuck in the mud. Read the ar...

In modern warfare, the ability to gather critical intelligence while remaining hidden is crucial. New portable surveillance technologies are disruptive. Replacing static devices, they are deployable on the ground, in the air and on the water surface. This significantly enhances discreet, versatile, and rapid intelligence-gathering capabilities. Read the article: https://nordicdefencereview.com/ret...

What really drove the Kremlin during the Cold War—wild-eyed dreams of global communism, or cold-blooded fear for its own survival? The answer matters because the same instincts may still shape Moscow’s next moves. According to Melvyn P. Leffler, the binary view of ideology versus security is overly simplistic. Understanding the Kremlin’s motivations is crucial to countering and deterring Russia’s...

Easter is traditionally a time of peace, reflection, and renewal—but history tells a more conflicted story. Across centuries and continents, the holiday has repeatedly coincided with uprisings, massacres, and decisive battles. Easter has an unsettling legacy as both a symbol of hope and a backdrop for human conflict.

While Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Art of War may not enjoy the same renown as The Prince, its insights into the nexus of military organization and political stability have influenced subsequent military leaders and strategists over the centuries.

Strategic attacks targeting critical infrastructure such as power grids, data networks, and water supply systems have become a significant threat. The ability to monitor and protect these assets continuously and comprehensively is crucial for maintaining national security. The author, Jyri Kosola, is the CEO of Pathfinder Solutions and the former Research Director of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The USA’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs are a recurring pattern throughout history. These trade barriers have struck the defence industry hard, disrupting imports and exports. In 2024, American defence exports were valued at over $300 billion. Nations have long used trade barriers as instruments of power, and in some cases, these economic skirmishes have spiralled into full-scale military confrontation...

Originally published in 2008, Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World stands as a prescient analysis of the evolving global order. While the book does not predict the collapse of the United States as a global power, it does forecast the relative decline of American primacy due to “the rise of the rest.” Read the Article: https://nordicdefencereview.com/bunker-books-the-post-american-world-by-fare...

Sergei Bondarchuk’s 1970 film Waterloo, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, is a monumental depiction of the historic battle that marked the end of Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign. The film offers a rich tapestry of visual storytelling and historical representation. Filmed during the Cold War in Soviet Ukraine, the Western production used 15,000 soldiers from the Red Army to make the film, including an ent...

The United States has dominated the global arms trade for decades. In the past five years, its exports have surged, reinforcing its position at the top. But the ground is shifting. What are the trends, who are the key players, and where does this leave the industry? Tariff disputes and uneasy allies – including Portugal and Canada reconsidering major deals – could leave a lasting impact on global...

Patria has made a decisive move in the global defence industry by acquiring ILIAS Solutions, a Belgium-based leader in digital defence platforms. This acquisition catapults Patria to the forefront of military digitalisation, reinforcing its commitment to data-driven warfare, predictive maintenance, and fleet management. By integrating ILIAS Solutions’s cutting-edge software into its OPTIME service...

Iran is reshaping its military strategy to counter adversaries and extend its power beyond its borders. Its allies—Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—have kept Israel occupied. But after the assassination of the Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran is now openly contemplating its own attack, while driving a wedge between the potentially warming ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. What was Iran’s role in...