Always on Target
Geopolitics on Fliegerfaust: international developments and strategic context intersecting with aerospace, defense, and the global economy.
Russia revives retired aircraft: what is forcing airlines to pull Tu-204s, Il-96s and Boeing 747s out of storage in 2026? First, the demand picture is not a collapse. Russia is still moving large passenger volumes across a vast domestic network. The fleet picture is tightening. Age, sanctions, and delayed domestic production are converging on the
Canadian aircraft decertification: is Transport Canada really blocking Gulfstream—and can a U.S. president “decertify” Canadian-built aircraft in retaliation? First, the stakes are not abstract. They sit on U.S. ramps, fly U.S. passengers, and support U.S. missions. (Read our follow-up story: Gulfstream certification: Transport Canada clears G500 and G600) Next, the claim at the center of
Discombobulator secret weapon: what is it—and did it really help U.S. forces seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas? First, the name sounds like a prop from a spy parody. Yet the claim attached to it sits inside a real, high‑stakes event: the U.S. raid that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. On January
Tocumen Airport expansion: can Panama City’s Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen (IATA code: PTY; ICAO code: MPTO) stay ahead of demand as it targets up to 22.6 million passengers in 2026? First, the numbers look big because they are big. Panama’s main gateway closed 2025 with 20.98 million passengers (+9% vs 2024), then publicly projected 2026
UPDATE #2: Bombardier Gripen Canada: what changed after our November 10, 2025 report asked whether Canada might actually build the Saab Gripen at home? New information has also raised the stakes Notably, on November 10, we published our first look at the Bombardier–Saab idea (to read first). At the time, the concept still lived somewhere
Canada gold reserves: how did Canada, a G7 country, go from holding more than 1,023 tonnes of gold to holding none—and why does that decision look even more reckless in today’s risk environment? How did Ottawa go to just 68 ounces recorded on March 31, 2016—and still choose to hold none today? Moreover, the question
US foreign investments are back—so is this the moment Washington finally starts out-building Beijing in the places that matter most? In early January 2026, the investment headlines stopped sounding abstract and started sounding like ports, rail lines, and hard cash. Moreover, the Trump administration’s early pattern looks less like a slogan and more like a
France orders GlobalEye—so what does a Swedish airborne radar deal, built on Canadian metal, change for Europe’s air defence and Canada’s aerospace industrial base? On December 30, 2025, Saab confirmed it signed a contract with France’s Direction générale de l’armement (DGA) for two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, plus ground equipment, training,
Bombardier Gripen Canada: is this the moment a Swedish‑Canadian fighter line becomes real? On October 22, 2025, Sweden and Ukraine signed a letter of intent for up to 150 Gripen E fighters, instantly raising the stakes for Saab’s production capacity and vaulting Canada—through Bombardier—into the conversation about where new assembly lines could land. Two days
Canada Suspends Sanctions on Russia: does the Airbus waiver reflect pragmatic industrial policy or a double standard that weakens Western unity? Governments keep two ledgers—one for principle, one for supply? On November 6, 2025, Ottawa granted Airbus a fresh waiver fromCanadian sanctions on Russian‑origin titanium, averting a disruption to widebody imports and safeguarding assembly and
