Yesterday I posted a thread about American weapons and components in fighter aircraft and how Europe has to wean itself off them.

Today let's look at transport, tanker, maritime patrol, and airborne early warning aircraft.
(Tomorrow then trainer aircraft and drones)
1/25 Transport aircraft come in two sizes: for strategic airlift or tactical airlift.
Simplified: strategic airlift transports materiel between continents and tactical airlift within a theater of operations.
For strategic airlift the choice for Europe is easy: A400M Atlas, because
2/n

Let's talk about American weapons and how Europe has to wean itself off them.
Part 1 of a long thread; this one looking at fighter jets.

First and foremost: Europe has to get all American made components out of all weapon systems produced in Europe. If Trump can shut down a
1/24 European production line by withholding a component, then that component has to replaced... and if that is impossible, then that weapon system has no future and production has to end.
As for the F-35... Europe has nothing even close in combat capability. Best course will be
2/n

The Gripen was designed by Sweden for Sweden's Bas 90 air base system and - truly - Sweden built the perfect fighter for Sweden's Bas 90 system... which resulted in a fighter no one but Sweden needs.

Bear with me as I explain a few things @Saab doesn't want you to know.
1/29 Bas 90 was developed in the 1970s, when the Swedish Air Force was flying the Viggen (and some upgraded Draken). Bas 90 consisted of some 30+ reserve air bases with a 2,000+ metres (6,600+ ft) long main runway and 2-3 short runways of 800 metres (2,600 ft).
2/n

I set out to create a table showing the reduction in British Infantry units between 1989 and 2025...

After doing Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire - I gave up.

For three reason:
a) the sheer size of it! The British Army had 100 infantry battalions in 1989 (not counting the
1/8 nine battalions of the Ulster Defence Regiment).
b) the British Army's habit of reroling battalions every four years.
c) the disbanding of volunteer regiments in the early 1990s, then the merging of volunteer battalions into new volunteer regiments in the mid 1990s, and then
2/8

I spent my evening creating this graphic to show how much the 🇬🇧 British Army's armoured forces have atrophied since 1989:

• overall from 19 cavalry regiments to 9
• and from 14 armoured (tank) regiments to 2

This is no longer a credible force for peer-to-peer conflict.
1/4 The picture is equally bad for other NATO armies, which however did not amalgamate their cavalry/armoured forces, but simply disbanded tank units.
These numbers of disbanded tank battalions for the main NATO nations are (1989 -> 2025):

🇺🇸 123 -> 31
🇩🇪 81 -> 5
🇫🇷 21 -> 4
2/4

To give you an idea how irresponsible German politicians gutted the German Army, here is a list of its brigades in 1990 and when they were disbanded:

• Panzergrenadierbrigade 1 ❌ 2007
• Panzerbrigade 2 ❌ 1993
• Panzerbrigade 3 ❌ 1994
• Panzergrenadierbrigade 4 ❌ 1993
1/8 • Panzergrenadierbrigade 5 ❌ 1996
• Panzerbrigade 6 ❌ 1993
• Panzergrenadierbrigade 7 ❌ 2004
• Panzerbrigade 8 ❌ 1993
• 🇩🇪 Panzerlehrbrigade 9
• Panzergrenadierbrigade 10 ❌ 1993
• Panzergrenadierbrigade 11 ❌ 1993
• 🇩🇪 Panzerbrigade 12
2/n

🇮🇹 Italy will become the highest defence spender in Europe if 🇪🇺 President Ursula von der Leyen manages to activate the EU's escape clause for defence investment.

You see, Italy produces almost everything (!) what its military wants in Italy - even all of the Italian F-35.
1/19 Italian Prime Minister @GiorgiaMeloni has said for years that only countries with a robust AND a ready military will sit at the table, while everyone else will be on the menu.
So she chose defence industry manager @GuidoCrosetto as her defence minister. But the European rule
2/n

This is a map of Canada... and if you read this thread the circles will make sense.

Canada is lies on 3 oceans:
• Atlantic Ocean to the East
• Pacific Ocean to the West
• Arctic Ocean to the North

Canada should be able to patrol and defend all of them... but it can't.
1/23 Canada's fighters are based at CFB Cold Lake and CFB Bagotville. The two circles show the combat range of Canada's current and future fighter with an air-to-air weapons load:

• red: CF-18 Hornet with three external drop tanks.
• orange: F-35A with internal fuel only.
2/n

Immediately after becoming Prime Minister of Italy Benito Mussolini made his close ally Emilio De Bono the Chief of Police.
De Bono then turned police in a tool of fascist oppression and ordered the murder of dissidents.
1/4 Immediately after becoming Chancellor of Germany Adolf Hitler made his close ally Hermann Göring the Chief of Prussia's Police.
Göring then turned police in a tool of fascist oppression, created the Gestapo and ordered the murder of dissidents.
2/4

Let's bust some more Gripen E myths:

Of course Gripen has a fast turnaround time - due to having the fewest hardpoints of all Western fighters and the smallest fuel tank of all Western fighters.

The Gripen also has the shortest combat range at full weapons load. If you want
1/9 to extend the range, either you can't use the full weapons load or you have to mount external fuel tanks, which of course use weapon hardpoints.

The Gripen E also has less thrust than all other Western fighters and it doesn't "supercruise". That's a load of bollocks.
2/n

The Gripen E is least capable fighter produced in Europe. Both Rafale and Eurofighter are much more capable and those two are still less capable than the F-35A.

Even the F-15EX is more capable than the Gripen E. No Air Force with access to either F-35A, Rafale or Eurofighter
1/9


will buy the Gripen E. It's just not happening.

The Gripen E carries the least amount of weapons over the shortest distance.

And stop with "Gripen E is improved for arctic conditions": where do you think Eielson Air Force Base is?
2/n

This is the North Atlantic Ocean.

The ocean that both, the US and Europe, need to be free of hostile submarines. Chinese and russian submarines can only enter it by six routes. Three of which are impassable for them.

But the easiest & shortest open route is past Greenland.
1/25 During WWI German submarines sank 6,000+ allied ships and during WWII 3,500+ allied ships.

In both wars the allies had to deploy 100s of destroyers, corvettes, subchasers and aircraft to hunt Germany's U-Boote.

(Photo: a U-Boot is hit by a US Navy plane on 16 July 1943)
2/n

This is the North American continent.

It consists of 4× nations:
🇨🇦Canada
🇺🇸United States
🇩🇰Denmark (Greenland)
🇫🇷France (Saint Pierre & Miquelon)

and 6× air forces, the smallest of which is Canada's.
The map shows bases with fighter jets (details in the next tweet).
1/22 Bases with fighter jets:
• Blue: US Air Force
• Dark Blue: US Navy
• Yellow: US Air National Guard
• Green: US Air Force Reserve
• Orange: US Marine Corps
• Red: Royal Canadian Air Force
• Grey: NORAD Forward Operating Locations
• Black: former US fighter jet bases
2/22

This is Ireland.

A beautiful, green island, inhabited by the North Irish and to their South the worst defence scroungers of the continent.

With just 0.25% of GDP for defence the Republic of Ireland is the lowest defence spender in all of Europe.

Even the Vatican spends
1/41 GDP-wise ten times more on the Swiss Guard.

Ireland is shamelessly scrounging off the UK for its defence.

Even more infuriating: the Irish had a budget surplus of €25 billion in 2024. That's +8% of GDP. And yet they expect the UK to deploy its limited military resources
2/41

As many people do not realize the importance of 🇬🇱 Greenland for the defence of the 🇺🇸 US, I will explain it:

• 🇨🇳 chinese nuclear submarines

If you watched The Hunt for Red October, you already know the reason the US has been, is, will be worried about enemy submarines.
1/24 Enemy submarines operating off the US East Coast would sink US ships, blockade US ports, launch cruise missiles at US cities, and disrupt US supply and reinforcement transports to Europe.

Today russia's Northern Fleet has 5× cruise missile and 9× attack submarines at
2/24

Top 3 countries in Europe:

Ordering new main battle tanks:
🇵🇱 Poland: 180× K2, 250× M1A2 SEPv3
🇮🇹 Italy: 240× KF51 Panther
🇩🇪 Germany: 123× Leopard 2A8, 17× Leopard 2A7 A1
1/5 Ordering new infantry fighting vehicles:
🇵🇱 Poland: 1,000+ Borsuk
🇮🇹 Italy: 679× KF41 Lynx
🇨🇿 Czechia: 172× CV90 Mk IV
2/5

After the end of the Cold War 🇸🇪 Sweden demilitarized #Gotland island, the key strategic location in the Baltic Sea.

After russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, Sweden remilitarized the island. The new Gotland Regiment (P 18), an armored formation, is a signal to enemy and allies,
1/9 that Sweden WILL DEFEND Gotland.

Sweden also formed a second amphibious battalion, ordered Blekinge-class submarines, bought Patriot air defence systems, grows its air force with Gripen E fighters, ordered modernized RBS 15 Mk. IV anti-ship missiles, etc. etc.
2/9

🇩🇰 Denmark

They last added a frigate to their Navy in 2011. They plan to add the next by around 2032 (!).

This is an unserious clown-show!

Alas, they are just as unserious as 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇬🇧🇮🇹🇪🇸🇸🇪🇳🇴🇧🇪🇵🇹🇳🇱🇮🇪. Governments in Europe refuse to accept that we are in an emergency far
1/14 worse than any in the last 80 years.

• russia is invading Ukraine, which will fall if we do not triple our military aid.
• China will invade Taiwan, which will cut off all trade with Japan and South Korea
• Trump is gonna break all bonds with Europe, and invade Panama
2/14

Combat brigade reductions of #NATO nations 1989 vs. 2025:

🇺🇸 -52×
🇩🇪 -40×
🇫🇷 -27×
🇸🇪 -25×
🇬🇧 -24×
🇮🇹 -17×
🇳🇴 -13×
🇪🇸 -11×
🇳🇱 -9×
🇩🇰 -5×
🇧🇪 -5×
🇨🇦 -1×

A detailed break down follows, and also details about the former Warsaw Pact members: 🇧🇬🇨🇿🇸🇰🇭🇺🇵🇱🇷🇴
1/28 🇺🇸 USA 1989: 110× brigades
• Army: 55× (34× Armor/Mech., 14× Infantry, 4× Airborne, 3× Air Assault)
• National Guard: 52× (30× Armor/Mech., 22× Infantry)
• Reserve: 3× (1× Mech., 2× Infantry)

Of the Army brigades 17× were based in Europe, 3× in South Korea, 1× in Panama.
2/28

What does Trump's victory mean for NATO - listed from most certain to worst:

1) Operation Atlantic Resolve, which protects Eastern Europe since russia's invasion of Ukraine, will almost certainly end.
2) The only two US Army brigades in Europe (2nd Cavalry Regiment in 🇩🇪 &
1/4 173rd Airborne Brigade in 🇮🇹🇩🇪) will very likely return to the US.
3) US Air Force units in Europe will likely be reduced, but I doubt Trump will close the bases... he needs them to bomb Iran.
4) US nuclear sharing with 🇩🇪🇮🇹🇳🇱🇧🇪🇹🇷 will likely end, leaving Europe without
2/4

russia isn't a superpower.
Never was a superpower.

Got whooped by Japan in 1905, couldn't beat Austria-Hungary & was trashed by Germany in 1914-17, barely beat the Chechens in the 1990s.

The only time moscow led a superpower was post WWII, after the russians enslaved the
1/4 people of Eastern Europe.
Once Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan threw of their colonial oppressor, russia reverted
2/4