🇫🇷🗳 National Rally (RN) scored a major victory ahead of the 2027 presidential elections!

RN increased its seats in the French Senate from 3 to 15 yesterday.

The French Senate holds indirect elections every 3 years, each time electing half of the Senate or 174 seats. Senators are not elected by ordinary French citizens however instead by elected local officials

RN first entered the Senate in 2014 with 2 seats and in 2023 it won 3 seats.

RN rival, France Unbowed of Jean-Luc Mélenchon won its first seat ever in the French Senate in the same election.

🔗 https://www.politico.eu/article/far-right-scores-historic-victory-in-french-senate-election/

⚡️🇮🇱🇦🇪 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during their meeting Sunday to deny a report that he had warned Netanyahu of a looming Hamas attack before October 7, 2023, according to the Associated Press, citing a person with firsthand knowledge of the meeting.

➡️ Netanyahu continues to deny receiving such a warning. The UAE Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Sunday's meeting but did not issue a denial of the warning claim, reiterating that the UAE maintains "open and direct lines of communication" with Israel and that "all relevant intelligence" is shared when necessary.

➡️ The controversy began September 8 with an investigation alleging Mohammed bin Zayed called Netanyahu about a week and a half before October 7 and warned him that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation. Netanyahu's office called the account an "absolute lie."

➡️ The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel personally called Netanyahu in early October 2023 after two earlier Egyptian warnings failed to prompt action. The New York Times reported Friday that Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu in late September that Hamas was considering a major attack.

➡️ The Atlantic reported that Kamel made a secret visit to Israel on September 26, 2023, 11 days before the massacre, with flight records showing his aircraft remained at Ben Gurion Airport for just 67 minutes.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🇳🇱🇪🇺🇨🇳 The EU's most valuable company is making zero profit in Europe

A top executive at ASML Holding NV, said it isn’t selling any of its chipmaking machines on the continent and that the region risks getting left behind as the US, China and India invest heavily in developing their domestic semiconductor industries.

“We’re not selling anything at all in Europe. That’s because Europe isn’t investing and because no chip factories are being built there,” ASML Executive Vice President Frank Heemskerk, who is responsible for global public affairs, said at an event in Amsterdam late Monday.

ASML is a linchpin in the semiconductor supply chain as it’s the only maker of the sophisticated lithography equipment crucial to producing cutting-edge chips. Its machines are used by customers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. to print intricate patterns of transistors on silicon wafers and have been key to powering the global artificial intelligence boom.

The European Union is overhauling its Chips Act, which came into effect in 2023 in response to the semiconductor shortage during the Covid-19 pandemic and was intended to boost the continent’s share of global production. However, the law largely failed to stimulate investment in new chip plants. The bloc’s auditing body said last year that the EU is unlikely to meet its target to double its market share by 2030.

The chip equipment maker is also being aggressively courted to expand its presence in the US, China and India, according to Heemskerk.

“We need to scale up our production. We aren’t doing that solely in the Netherlands,” he said. “There is a fierce competitive battle to get us to do it somewhere else. What’s important for ASML is that Europe steps up to the plate.”

China and India “roll out the reddest of red carpets for me and they say, ‘come invest here, too, and set up your factory here,’” Heemskerk said. “We conduct a quarter of our research in the US and they say, ‘can’t that be half?’

Europe contributed nothing to ASML’s net system sales in the second quarter. That compares with a 1% slice represented by Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2025.

🔗 https://archive.ph/2xEf6

🇺🇸 Will C-17 production resume?

US Air Force leadership is actively considering whether to restart production of the C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft. This is part of the emerging Next-Generation Airlift (NGAL) concept, intended to replace both the C-17A and C-5M Galaxy beginning in the mid-2040s.

Air Mobility Command (AMC) chief General Tulley confirmed that reopening Boeing’s assembly line, which closed in 2015, is being examined in detail. “All options are on the table,” he said.

Key questions concern whether the production tooling has been preserved, the total cost of restarting production, and whether extensively upgrading the C-17 would make more sense than developing an entirely new military transport aircraft. Such upgrades would include networking capabilities, self-defense systems, and improved fuel efficiency. In June, the US House Armed Services Committee directed the Air Force to prepare a formal report on the issue as part of the fiscal year 2027 defense policy bill.

RAND Corporation analysts previously estimated the cost of restarting production at $3.11 billion to $10.36 billion, depending on the extent of modifications to the C-17. Boeing hopes for co-financing from foreign operators, including Britain, Canada, Australia, and Gulf states, which could partially offset the costs.

Tanker aircraft can also carry cargo. The high operational tempo resulting from the conflict with Iran is placing considerable strain on existing transport and tanker fleets. This is compounded by problems with the KC-46. The Advanced Tanker Systems (ATS) program emphasizes survivability and network integration. Air Force leadership has suggested that a future tanker could be optionally crewed or fully unmanned, citing the US Navy’s progress with the MQ-25 Stingray. This would address aircrew shortages, but not the shortage of aircraft.

The paradox is that little has been heard about new US military transport aircraft development, even preliminary work. One exception is Radia’s proposed clean-sheet Windrunner heavy transport aircraft. Media outlets delicately describe the program as being “in the early stages of development,” which, in plain English, means “they’ve barely even started.” Other potential developers, both the industry giants and the startups so beloved by the Pentagon these days, seem to show little enthusiasm.

In practice, this leaves no alternative to restarting C-17 production. If the Air Force does face a shortage of cargo capacity, lengthy debates over where to find the money to restart production will follow. Under these circumstances, the Americans may begin losing ground in the military transport market, just as they are already losing ground in the tanker market.

#info
#USA

🚀 🇺🇸 🛰 From concept to reality.

SpaceX has successfully deployed Starlink V3 satellites into Earth’s orbit and made contact with them for the first time.

At scale, one Starship carries 60 V3 satellites, the same network capacity as about 20 Falcon 9 launches.

📎 Nic Cruz Patane

🇷🇺🇬🇧⚡️ — Russia warns the UK and NATO that any military action against Kaliningrad would trigger a response using all means at Moscow’s disposal, including nuclear weapons.

Moscow says it does not seek confrontation with NATO or Europe, but would respond if military action against Russian territory were initiated.

@Intelslava