Sounds Strategic

As European rearmament accelerates and NATO's defence ambitions expand, what progress has actually been made and where do the gaps remain? Meia Nouwens is joined by four IISS experts to reflect on the key discussions from the third IISS Prague Defence Summit, covering South Korea-Europe security ties, land warfare, defence spending and the challenge of turning strategic ambition into real capability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Czech ammunition output surpassing US production capacity, sovereign AI systems pushing back against American platforms and a growing Chinese challenge in quantum submarine detection: these are the fault lines shaping Europe's defence transformation. As Washington's strategic priorities shift and Russia's threat endures, IISS experts examine what it will take for Europe to move from dependence to strategic leverage and why Indo-Pacific partners may hold part of the answer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe's military space capabilities are expanding, but so are the threats they face. This episode discusses the IISS research paper Advancing European Military Capacity in Space, assessing how European governments are working to reduce their dependence on the United States in a domain that underpins modern warfare. From Russian GPS jamming and satellite shadowing to the prospect of a nuclear weapon in orbit, the episode maps the threat landscape before turning to Europe's response: where investment is going, where the gaps remain, and why coordination and launch capacity are as critical as the satellites themselves. It also tackles the legal grey zones created by commercial satellites being drawn into military operations and what the US Golden Dome missile defence programme means for arms control in space.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The episode examines the gap between NATO's 5% GDP spending commitments and the delivery of real military capability, the challenge of sustaining support for Ukraine as US stockpiles face pressure from the Iran conflict and Türkiye's growing defence industrial ambitions and the political significance of hosting the summit. The conversation also addresses NATO's structural three-front problem, spanning command seams, sustainment and force-level gaps, lessons European militaries should be drawing from Ukraine and whether a more formalised European Plan B is now a strategic necessity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Veerle Nouwens, Darshana M. Baruah, Morgan Michaels and Dr Daniel Salisbury to reflect on the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was held in Singapore from 29–31 May 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.