


Is the age of American air superiority coming to an end?
The growing effectiveness of air-defence systems could blunt the West’s most powerful weapons
ON AUGUST 26TH the skies over Ukraine filled with the roar of 230 missiles and Shahed explosive-laden drones. It was Russia’s biggest such attack and it ought to have been devastating, since the largest missiles each carried as much as 700kg of explosives. Yet it soon became clear that Russia had failed. Ukraine claimed it shot down 201, or 87%, of the missiles, a stark example of how little effect air power has had in Europe’s biggest war in more than eight decades.

Why warriors should welcome laws of war
Lessons from a 17th-century thinker on preventing crimes against humanity

What has four stomachs and could change the world?
Technology is transforming cattle farming, but not fast enough

The Art of the Deal: global edition
Donald Trump will have vast leverage over American allies, but ruthless despots may resist his dealmaking
Could the next pope come from Africa or Asia?
Those are the regions where the Catholic church is growing fastest
Will the West betray or save anti-Putin protesters in Georgia?
Democratic activists in Russia’s near-abroad pin their hopes on admission by the EU and NATO
“Tariffers” v “traders”: the new contest for Donald Trump’s ear
Eye-witnesses to the drama of the first Trump presidency brace for the sequel