Defense

VIENNA — The chief executive of Rheinmetall, Europe’s highest-valued defense company, continues to face criticism after dismissing Ukraine’s drone industry as the work of “housewives” with “3D printers in their kitchens” − comments his own company quickly walked back. Now, German media report the Bundeswehr’s flagship Rheinmetall counter-drone system is running at least 16 months…

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here. The U.S. Navy spent at least six months resurrecting a high-energy laser weapon that previously graced the bow of a warship for a new military exercise last year, the service recently revealed. The Navy’s Directed Energy Systems…

PARIS — The war in Ukraine is driving a shift toward fast-changing, mass warfare that Western militaries are unprepared for, while Russia is adapting rapidly, according to Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The gap between what Europe should be doing for defense and its actual capabilities undermines deterrence, risking Russian aggression if Moscow concludes…

BERLIN — Three Baltic states recorded drone incursions within roughly 48 hours this week, as Ukrainian strike drones targeting Russian Baltic port infrastructure were apparently diverted into NATO territory by Russian electronic warfare. The most serious incident occurred at 3:43 a.m. on March 25, when a drone crossing Estonian airspace from Russia struck the chimney of the Auvere power station…