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 entire cavalry battalion.

Frontline Flicks: Waterloo (1970)

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 defence markets. Which alternatives are most likely to replace American defence products?

U.S. Tops Arms Trade – While Allies Plot a Plan B

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 the Hamas assault on Israel outside Gaza?

Regional Proxy Forces Against Israel: Iran’s Triple H Strategy

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-fareed-zakaria/

Bunker Books: The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

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/rethinking-the-battlefield-the-quiet-might-of-passive-surveillance/

Rethinking the Battlefield: The Quiet Might of Passive Surveillance

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 contemporary expansionist ambitions.

Read the article:
https://nordicdefencereview.com/the-kremlins-gambit-understanding-soviet-motivations-in-the-cold-war/

The Kremlin’s Gambit: Understanding Soviet Motivations in the Cold War

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 article: 
https://nordicdefencereview.com/still-stuck-in-the-mud-why-russian-tanks-carry-logs-in-the-21st-century/

Still Stuck in the Mud: Why Russian Tanks Carry Logs in the 21st Century

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://nordicdefencereview.com/frontline-flicks-la-grande-illusion-1937/

Frontline Flicks: La Grande Illusion (1937)

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-reservists-until-65/

Facing Russian Threat, Finland Plans to Keep Reservists Until 65

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 narrative grounded in real-world trends and emerging technologies, offering a cautionary tale about the vulnerabilities of modern military systems and the potential consequences of geopolitical tensions.

Read the article:
https://nordicdefencereview.com/bunker-books-ghost-fleet-a-novel-of-the-next-world-war-2015/

Bunker Books: Ghost Fleet – A Novel of the Next World War (2015)

Focusing on security and defence issues. Audio version of the publication: https://nordicdefencereview.com

Bunker Books: The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria

Nordic Defence Review

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