Mark Urban
23K posts
Mark Urban
@MarkUrban01
Columnist for Sunday Times, BBC 1990-2024, author; Big Boys Rules, Rifles, Generals, TF Black, Tank War, Skripal Files, Red Devils, Tank. Trustee @I_W_M 2018-26
London (usually) Katılım Mayıs 2013
1.4K Takip Edilen75.1K Takipçiler
This account is terrible. What current events are showing is that if neither party want an all out guns blazing war it actually takes quite a lot to get one going. The escalation threshold is often surprisingly high - that doesn’t mean no retaliation- it just means no general war
WarMonitor🇺🇦🇬🇧@WarMonitor3
Iran is confirmed today to have attempted to fire at US navy vessels that is a clear violation of a ceasefire and declaration of war.
English
@tleilax___ Looks like their oil infrastructure gets hit whatever they do
English
U.A.E options :
1/ Do nothing and suffer continuing Iranian escalation
2/ Strike Iran alone and suffer an Iranian retaliation on the energy infrastructure
3/ Try to bring the US, other Gulf monarchies, Israel and/or any other country willing to help into the fight and escalate massively now.
None of those are particularly good options.
Chris Rollins@ThePowerAudit
UAE just partially closed its airspace for one full week. May 4 through May 11. NOTAM A1722/26: Emirates FIR partially closed. Commercial traffic restricted to narrow corridors through specific waypoints only. Al Dhafra (US/coalition air base) stays open on restricted routing.
English
@FayeEsq We have to compare what they’re all saying! But there’s been an exchange of fire that’s clear. Less so whether it’s the start of a bigger breakdown of the ceasefire
English
An awful lot happening in the Strait of Hormuz today, so much so that...
English
I've already had to update my blog open.substack.com/pub/markurban/…
English
Quite a big day in the Strait of Hormuz - but what did it mean? open.substack.com/pub/markurban/…
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
Really looking foward to hosting a panel discussion this week for @thetimes with @MarkGaleotti @MarkUrban01 @olivernmoody and @larisamlbrown
Not too late to join us! thetimes.com/events/times-e…
English
Interesting gesture from US side - is this an easing of their blockade that’s meant to pave the way for Iranian acquiescence in allowing hundreds of neutral vessels to leave the Gulf? Maybe, but would undermine the IRGC ‘tollbooth’ concept for the Strait of Hormuz
Ishaq Dar@MIshaqDar50
Pleased to announce that twenty-two crew members from the seized Iranian container vessel, “MV Touska”, have been safely evacuated to Pakistan. The individuals were safely flown in Pakistan last night and will be transferred to Iran today. The Iranian ship is also being backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for its return to its original owners after necessary repairs. These actions are being coordinated with the support of both the Iranian and the US authorities and surely constitute an important confidence-building measure. Pakistan expresses its appreciation to the United States and Iran, and remains committed to facilitating dialogue, diplomacy, and mediation for the regional peace and security.
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
#OTD 1982 I was stationed with portable radio on the bridgewing of HMS Arrow as we came alongside the stricken HMS Sheffield who'd minutes earlier had been hit by an Exocet missile. The brave fight to save her ended with 200+ crew jumping to safety aboard us, 20 men sadly died 🙏
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
It's an EXTREMELY INTERESTING development from Ukraine - now big bomber drones have spikes to defend itself from FPV drones.
Soon we are going to see cope cages employed too, I guess. It does not seem very efficient, but interesting innovation!
English
@BriW74 @moviesinfocus To be fair a Scottish accent isn’t too much of a stretch for a film called Highlander …
English
@moviesinfocus Sean Connery's ability to play any role with a Scottish accent and to carry it off with aplomb.
English
Russell Mulcahy’s Highlander is without a doubt one of the finest cult films of the 1980s. This 1986 film is a wonderful action-fantasy romp that pretty much works on every level. Simply put, it’s as close to perfection as any movie of this ilk can be.
moviesinfocus.com/review-40-year…
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
This Two Ronnies sketch was never televised originally (it appeared many years later), but I’ve no idea why. It was written by Ronnie Barker, under the pseudonym Gerald Wiley, and for my money it gives Four Candles a run for it’s money. Seriously, if I’d written something this good I’d just retire immediately.
What a talent!
Good morning.
English
@cdrsalamander There’s enough carriers - the issue is the low availability of ships and air wings open.substack.com/pub/markurban/…
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
A few days ago, the IDF chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, spoke at a military conference and slammed the serious discipline issues and the erosion of professional conduct by Israeli soldiers throughout the multi-front wars in recent years. He decried the behavior that soldiers were capturing themselves on cameras and sharing on social media, including unnecessary destruction, looting, wearing incendiary patches, making offensive statements, and much more – all of which he described as a “rebellion” against the army’s values. While he acknowledged the context of the incidents as the “product of a long and complex period,” referring to the wars following the October 7, 2023, attack, he stressed that this “does not justify them” and that the IDF must not compromise on its values, cautioning that the “erosion of norms could be no less dangerous than operational threats.”
What’s noteworthy about Zamir’s remarks is that he is acknowledging the terrifying scale at which these “incidents” keep happening, signaling that there’s a systemic problem far worse than a few bad apples. He has long warned about the military's exhaustion, which is overstretched, suffering from a manpower shortage and fatigue, and has never had to fight at such a sustained, continuous rate of deployment. I share this because, unfortunately and predictably, anytime an incident comes to light showcasing horrific behavior by IDF soldiers, many are quick to jump to “whataboutism” or to dismiss this behavior as something isolated and would be addressed by an internal investigation. What many who may describe themselves as being “pro-Israel” may struggle with grasping is that the scale of the problem is not fixable by simply promising to investigate individual transgressions and violations; you also cannot bury your head in the sand and say, "What about Hamas, or what about Hezbollah, or Iran.|
The solution is to relieve soldiers from extended deployments; reset expectations across the IDF as far as ethical behavior and rejuvenate the commitment to professional conduct; institute operational security measures like the US and other armies and forbid personal phones and social media activities while on duty; institute serious consequences far beyond army service for violators whose action compromise Israel’s global standing; and offer transparency with investigations and their outcomes.
But insisting on hollow slogans that purport unmatched moral supremacy of the IDF while the entire world is taking notice is neither effective nor does it contribute to solving a serious problem that may change Israel’s character forever.
English
Mark Urban retweetledi
“The Tank is dead long live the Tank” tank warfare from WW1 to the Ukraine war - coming 04 June2026
English
A significant loss for the Israelis this. Plenty of debate there now about how they will counter this threat. The total destruction of Merkavas since 7/10/23 could be counted on the fingers of one hand, despite hundreds of attacks
Woofers@NotWoofers
For the first time, an IDF Merkava Mk. 4 has been lost to an FPV drone. Seen here, a Hezbollah FPV flies right into the anti-drone cage, which does nothing to prevent an ammunition cookoff, likely destroying the tank.
English
@MarkUrban01 @thinkdefence I did indeed, and I meant CV90, not what we'd do to CV90!
English
There is a lot to like about CV90, its good enough, and has a large user base.
Jonas Olsson@jonasolsson
BAE Hägglunds currently has an order book of around 600 CV90s. The now five-country joint procurement is expected to cover at least 500 more vehicles, underscoring the need to expand capacity. “Probably, we’re gonna deliver a CV90 per day [after the investments]. That’s roughly where we’re gonna be,” Gustafsson-Rask said. “We will probably deliver the last vehicles — given approximate volume of 500 vehicles, adding into current order book — we will be until 2032-ish.” Photo credit: Jonas Olsson
English
@MarkUrban01 Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say ?
English
Went on the BBC Global Story podcast to talk about how Ukraine became a drone superpower podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the…
English
@roblesslie @thinkdefence Or would we? Did you see the Swedish guy saying earlier this week that they would not have been able to meet the Ajax contract because it was so over-specified by the MoD?
English
@MarkUrban01 @thinkdefence But, unlike Ajax, we would get a working vehicle family from CV90 if we order it. Could we lease something (Bradley?) to fill the gap, or make do with Boxer?
English