We encourage you to read our review of the past week in Central and Eastern Europe:
Slovakia plans to purchase additional F-16 fighter jets
During US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Bratislava, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced the purchase of four additional F-16 aircraft – the contract for the first 14 units was signed in 2018 and has already been mostly fulfilled. The current Slovak government justifies the replenishment of Slovakia’s tactical air force by the need to increase operational capabilities after the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. This decision has been criticized by the current state leadership.
Prime Minister Fico used the visit of the American dignitary to present a wide-ranging plan for cooperation with Washington, covering not only military issues but also energy (the construction of another nuclear power plant and gas imports). Keeping its distance from Kyiv, the current Slovak government is trying to improve cooperation with the US, and the announcement of plans to purchase more F-16s should be seen in this context. At present, no official decisions have been made by the US government, but on February 11, the Slovak Ministry of Defense was to formally notify its intention to purchase additional fighter jets.
Ukraine plans to develop a network of arms sales outlets in Europe
President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced plans to establish 10 sales centers in Europe to support the export of Ukrainian arms to partner countries. The first offices will be established in the Baltic and Nordic countries, with drone technology, in which the Ukrainian defense industry has specialized since the outbreak of full-scale conflict with Russia in 2022, being the priority product. The first potential transactions would come from production surpluses and equipment that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently unable to use on the battlefield.
Since last year, Ukraine has been openly planning to gradually relax its export regime and leverage its accumulated experience, extensive manufacturing and R&D capabilities, and the positive reputation of selected weapon systems tested in frontline conditions. The planned measures are intended to increase the role of arms production in the Ukrainian economy and create new security ties with Western countries. It is no coincidence that the priority areas for expansion are countries that share the perception of the threat from Russia and express a willingness to use Ukraine’s experience in modernizing their own armed forces.
Hanwha starts construction of a production center in Romania
South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace has initiated the construction of a production center in Romania, which, according to the signed contract for the purchase of 54 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 36 K10 ammunition trucks, will be responsible for part of the production and repair activities. The new plant will be located in the city of Petrești, and its scope will also include the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, armored land platforms, and long-range systems. According to the manufacturer’s announcement, production in Romania will also serve to fulfill other export contracts.
The development of the new production plant in Romania shows that the South Korean company has big ambitions for growth in the European market and is not limiting itself to supplying K9 self-propelled howitzers and K239 launchers to NATO’s eastern and northern flanks. The location of a large production plant in Romania, despite a relatively small contract for self-propelled howitzers (compared to Poland, for example), is a significant achievement and may be linked to both further purchase plans and relatively low energy prices (important from the point of view of industrial production).
50th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (50. ОБрБпС)
A new formation within the Unmanned Systems Forces (WSB) of the Russian Ministry of Defense, created on the basis of the “GROM Kaskad” brigade (formerly BARS “Kaskad”), is to be ready by the end of 2026 and may number several thousand soldiers, operating simultaneously on many fronts. The brigade includes more than 10 subunits of operators of various classes of UAVs (“Forpost-RU,” “Orion,” “Orlan-10,” “Supercam S150”), anti-drone units, radio-electronic warfare, communications, logistics, engineering, and medical units. The main strike force consists of long-range drones (Geran, Gerbera), loitering munitions (Lancet), numerous FPVs (including fiber optic ones), heavy copters, interception drones, ground robotic systems, and unmanned motorboats.
At the beginning of 2026, this is the only known operational brigade of this type within the WSB structure; in addition to it, there are six separate regiments and about ten separate unmanned battalions operating. At present, there are no publicly confirmed plans to create further brigades (there is general talk of increasing the number of unmanned forces and forming new units without specifying their size and affiliation).
Russia: massive operation by the services against illegal weapons
In 37 regions of the Russian Federation, the FSB, police, and Rosgvardia carried out extensive operations targeting the illegal trade in weapons and explosives. Eighty-six people were detained, and 19 underground workshops involved in the production and modification of weapons and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices were shut down. A total of 124 firearms (including automatic weapons, pistols, rifles, and grenade launchers), 36 grenades, approximately 20 kg of explosives, and over 15,000 rounds of ammunition were seized. The operation, described by the FSB as a “large-scale raid,” was nationwide and centrally coordinated.
An operation of this scale demonstrates the determination of the Russian security forces to tighten internal security in wartime conditions, both in terms of public safety and the protection of critical infrastructure. The growing volume of illegal weapons, some of which are “leaking” from the Ukrainian front, creates a real risk of an increase in armed crime and terrorist and sabotage threats throughout the Russian Federation. The crackdown by Russian security forces on the network of “underground gunsmiths” can be interpreted as a preventive response to fears of the activation of sabotage groups, pro-Ukrainian cells, and attempts to create armed resistance structures in peripheral regions and occupied territories.
Belarus: further course of the spring inspection of the armed forces
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense has announced “further stages” of the inspection, starting on February 2 and 16 this year, for selected units of the Western Operational Command (ZDO), without specifying the exact dates of the next phases. All that is known is that most units and formations are to undergo a series of “sudden (unannounced) situational tasks” until spring, culminating in a comprehensive exercise in diverse environmental conditions, with no specified date. Belarusian sources describe the further course of the inspection as an “active phase” lasting until spring, followed by an analytical stage ending with a summary at the Security Council Secretariat and the presentation of a report to Alexander Lukashenko.
The lack of a fixed schedule suggests that the inspection model is tailored to testing the actual mobilization readiness and response of the command to unplanned tasks, rather than a classic exercise demonstration. The culmination in the form of a comprehensive exercise in various environmental conditions indicates that Minsk wants to simultaneously “sell” the operation as a demonstration of the army’s resilience to prolonged tension and use the conclusions from the Russian-Ukrainian war to adjust its operational and modernization plans. The inclusion of the Security Council Secretariat as the final “analytical filter” strengthens political control over the army and allows Lukashenko to link the results of the inspection with doctrinal and personnel decisions in the Belarusian army.
Ukrainians in Norway threatened by Russian special services
The Norwegian Civil Counterintelligence Service (nor. Politiets Sikkerhetstjeneste – PST) warns against the activities of Russian special services targeting members of the approximately 100,000-strong diaspora of war refugees from Ukraine living in Norway. Various methods of influence are used, exploiting natural human vulnerabilities. Threats directed at family members or pointing to the risk of losing property located in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine in the event of unwillingness to cooperate are said to be particularly dangerous. In addition, financial rewards are offered in exchange for information.
According to official statistics, there are over 100,000 Ukrainians in Norway, of whom about 85,000 arrived in connection with the outbreak of war in Ukraine. About half of this diaspora is considering returning to their country. Russia treats Norway as a strategic adversary and, through the involvement of its special services, is attempting, on the one hand, to gain access to sensitive information in the area of security and, on the other, to conduct active operations against Norwegian society or classic sabotage activities. The situation of such a large group of Ukrainian citizens, who have left their relatives and property in the war-torn regions, creates significant opportunities to influence and persuade them to cooperate. The identification and documentation of threats and specific events on the basis of which Norwegian counterintelligence signals a serious security risk indicates the need to conduct analyses and take possible protective measures in other countries on NATO’s eastern flank as well. Poland, as a country with a Ukrainian diaspora of over 1.5 million, including nearly 1 million people with temporary protection status, faces a serious challenge in ensuring security.
New directions for cooperation between Estonian defense companies
In February 2026, an Estonian delegation attended the World Defense Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia. During the event, cooperation was established between the Estonian defense sector and defense companies from Asia and the Middle East. Three memoranda were signed on cooperation in the fields of drone technology, autonomous systems, and digital technologies in the broad sense. The partners included Threod Systems (Estonia) and First Shield (Saudi Arabia), The Armored Group (Oman) and DefSecIntel Solutions (Estonia), and Hanwha Aerospace South Korea and Frankenburg Technologies (Estonia).
Estonia is leveraging its expertise in digitization, drone technology, and autonomous systems to gain a competitive advantage in international markets. The Estonian Ministry of Defense’s involvement in promoting the offerings of Estonian companies demonstrates its recognition of this area as one of its important strategic directions. For Estonia, this is both an opportunity to increase revenues in this sector of the economy and to promote and gain recognition for Estonian expertise on global markets.
News from the Eastern Flank Institute (IWF):
- IWF Director Piotr Woyke gave an interview to Polsat News television, in which he commented on the controversy surrounding the EU’s SAFE program and the role it could potentially play in the development of the Polish arms industry. The entire interview can be viewed on the Polsat News website. In addition, he participated in the podcast “Pokój z widokiem na wojnę” (A Room with a View of War), discussing issues of deterrence strategy, Poland’s strategic sovereignty, and the security of NATO’s eastern flank. The entire interview can be viewed on YouTube.
- IWF Program Council member Gen. Jarosław Gromadziński published an article entitled “We have fangs, let’s bare them at Russia” in Newsweek magazine. In it, the general discussed the most important topics concerning Polish security and the direction of development of the Polish armed forces, including issues of the size of the armed forces, personnel reserves, and cooperation with Sweden and other NATO countries in the Baltic Sea region. More information can be found on Gen. Jarosław Gromadziński’s profile on the X portal.
