Ulrike Franke

Senior Fellow @ecfr
. #Drone politics PhD @UniofOxford
. previously @sciencespo
. #Germany #Defence #MilitaryStuff #AI Diskutiert bei @SicherheitsPod

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rikefranke
Website: https://ecfr.eu/profile/ulrike_esther_franke/

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[email protected]

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Last Notes

2026-08-05 08:40:12 GMT

Unusual drone sighting situation at Leipzig airport in Germany: a drone, possibly armed with some kind of explosive, has been found on the ground at Leipzig airport. Later, an aircraft reported a collision with an unknown object.
More info certainly to follow.
https://www.bild.de/regional/leipzig/neue-details-zur-sperrung-am-flughafen-leipzig-drohne-trug-ein-paeckchen-mit-zuender-6a72de2d22542e2b26f0cc4c

2026-07-30 19:48:05 GMT

The German government is working on a plan on what to do if regions vote in extreme-right AFD governments which may not allow NATO troop movements or may otherwise want to impede defence policies and Russia deterrence.
https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Sorge-vor-AfD-Wahlerfolgen-Bund-arbeitet-an-Nato-Notfallplan-id31141678.html

2026-03-11 07:56:02 GMT

This is a very good approach.
(And I say approach, rather than outcome, because the headline goes a bit far. But still: well done Ukraine!!)
#drone
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/world/europe/ukraine-drones-china.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

2026-03-02 14:37:08 GMT

You can watch Macron’s nuclear speech here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/international/live/2026/03/02/en-direct-discours-d-emmanuel-macron-sur-le-nucleaire-suivez-l-allocution-du-chef-de-l-etat-a-brest-sur-la-dissuasion-francaise-et-la-securite-en-europe_6669237_3210.html

2026-02-17 19:16:59 GMT

As far as I know there is no Italian blood in my ancestry.
And yet.
😅
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/116/087/574/848/042/164/original/7b61870142d904c1.jpeg
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/116/087/574/903/457/357/original/3f243d72f1f16cbc.jpeg
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/116/087/574/931/995/679/original/5f44a901e9b4a35a.jpeg

2026-02-10 13:47:00 GMT

Shots fired.
“Because, as you can imagine, if by chance the German partner were to call into question the joint aircraft project, we would be forced to call into question the joint tank project.” -
Macron in Le Monde
https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2026/02/10/emmanuel-macron-c-est-le-moment-pour-l-union-europeenne-de-lancer-une-capacite-commune-d-endettement-via-des-eurobonds_6666101_3234.html

2026-02-04 09:36:24 GMT

This is incredibly weird (and doesn't exactly look like strategic policy-making:
In late December, the Trump administration decided to ban all imports of new models of foreign (read Chinese-made) drones. But then... (thread)
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-commerce-department-drops-plan-impose-restrictions-chinese-made-drones-2026-01-09/

2026-01-20 19:41:11 GMT

Definitely
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/115/929/125/402/351/652/original/25abce130e880c03.jpeg

2026-01-15 09:48:25 GMT

One for @[email protected]:
Just booked a Munich - Paris ticket on DB. The munich-stuttgart leg is done by westbahn - and DB is unable to sell you a ticket, or even tell you where to get it (I mean, I figured it out, but would my parents?)
Ridiculous.

2025-12-05 16:37:30 GMT

Some reading for the weekend (I find this really quite interesting but our statistics say you’re not reading stuff on FCAS 🧐) Come on, I promise it’s more fun than the US NSS!
https://ecfr.eu/article/the-trouble-with-fcas-why-europes-fighter-jet-project-is-not-taking-off/

2025-11-24 20:31:57 GMT

This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is.
The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/11/19/nicolas-guillou-french-icc-judge-sanctioned-by-the-us-you-are-effectively-blacklisted-by-much-of-the-world-s-banking-system_6747628_4.html

2025-11-24 20:31:57 GMT

- reply

“Without sovereignty - military, health, financial and digital - we can no longer guarantee the rule of law.”
This is likely to increasingly become a topic.
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/115/606/573/380/989/474/original/0fe15a64d3a50da6.jpeg

2025-11-24 20:31:57 GMT

- reply

The situation these judges are being put in for doing their work is unbelievable. They can’t use any US services - and not just for work, in their private lives too.
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/115/606/571/581/168/239/original/a2344deb9683d841.jpeg

2025-10-07 08:41:02 GMT

And here we go. I never wrote this article, and yet it is cited here.
https://www.liberalbriefs.com/geopolitics/power-without-mandate-the-perils-of-germanys-military-ambition
And of course, it sounds so plausible, I seriously checked whether I had forgotten it, or the footnote was slightly wrong.
The other sources are hallucinated too.
#AIisnotresearch
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/115/331/979/642/906/104/original/f1d881227a9bf60b.jpeg

2025-05-12 08:08:19 GMT

This feels like something Mastodonusers in particular are gonna love 😆
https://on.ft.com/3H2aWLC
Three things we learned about Sam Altman by scoping his kitchen

2025-04-29 12:38:22 GMT

What a statement! More than half (!) of US Americans say their President is a “dangerous dictator”!
Source: https://www.prri.org/research/democracy-at-a-crossroads-how-americans-view-trumps-first-100-days-in-office/
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/114/421/287/872/302/198/original/f3767c30a409f67c.jpeg

2024-12-03 09:36:15 GMT

Gift link to @spiegel.de long-read on Germany’s defence industry.
I continue to believe that the biggest failure of the Zeitenwende (which, contrary to many I don’t consider an overall failure) was to not build up the defence industry faster.
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/europas-sicherheit-die-deutsche-ruestungsindustrie-ist-zu-teuer-und-zu-langsam-a-d133376c-6121-497c-b22f-77bc32c89ddf?giftToken=71ff4ca0-062e-4135-87aa-80e56cc65b34

2024-11-06 10:12:58 GMT

Mastodon is the platform where you post an article and can be 100% sure that the replies will be about 1) paywalls, 2) the (usually unacceptable) political stance of the publication and 3) tracking and cookies, but CERTAINLY NOT an engagement with the content of the article.
Self righteousness may feel good but doesn’t make for good exchange.

2024-09-22 06:46:53 GMT

Some weekend reading:
My latest, in which I argue that the growing role that civilian companies are playing in warfare is changing the balance of power between the state and the private sector.
https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/how-companies-go-to-war/
https://bagarrosphere.fr/system/media_attachments/files/113/179/857/048/235/291/original/f4ed2a9d89b0f1c8.jpeg