Ulrike Franke

NZZ has written a very nice portrait about me and my work www.nzz.ch/pro/wie-spri...

“But before we can have robodog save us the trouble and indignity of carrying the groceries, Dimensional needs to improve the robots’ ability to autonomously navigate an urban environment. Thus the need for robot dog walkers”

Denmark’s Weibel will supply key radar technology for Poland’s new military drone wall. Europe’s largest counter-UAS system. 🇩🇰🇵🇱📡 In just two weeks, Weibel has secured military orders from first the US and now Poland, worth a combined DKK 1.2 billion (€161 million). www.dr.dk/nyheder/indl...

How Long Will Russians Put Up With War? Here’s What They Told Us. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/w...

Every time I look for public domain images to use in a post online I think back on this conversation with @professormusgrave.bsky.social, about how the US (especially DoD's) vast public domain image production shapes how stories are told online athertonkd.substack.com/p/public-dom...

In case you missed it www.worldpoliticsreview.com/france-germa...

Some words from me in the @theipaper.com this weekend. My last trip to Kyiv highlighted the critical importance of anti-ballistic missile systems and civil defence, both of which the UK badly lacks. Most importantly, I highlight the critical necessity of continuing to support Ukraine.

So I went and watched the De Gaulle movie (first one so far, h/t @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com ), and it really is excellent. I have to say though, I really was shocked by how much of this I *didn’t know*!

We talk about the power middle size countries have, or do not, in this @sicherheitspod.de episode sicherheitspod.de/2026/09/15/f...

Mag sein, dass es angesichts der US-Einfuhrzölle für #Audi wirtschaftlich sinnvoll ist, ein Werk vor Ort zu errichten. Aber das ausgerechnet bei einem Trump-Wahlkampfevent anzukündigen, bedeutet dann doch, von dem Kakao zu trinken, durch den man gezogen wird. Peinlich.

The next Bond movie should be set in Ukraine and Putinists should be the villains.

Yeah, good. (Many Chinese cars also not allowed on Bundeswehr bases either)

"When asked where this agreement had come from, Trump admitted that he had made it up. It was entirely in his head, which is where so many of his great diplomatic triumphs appear to occur." @ldfreedman.bsky.social

Yeah, good. (Many Chinese cars also not allowed on Bundeswehr bases either)

And of course, the article was inspired by this discussion 👇 bsky.app/profile/rike...

Are France and Germany breaking up again? I wrote about the question that keeps popping up, but remains relevant. What on earth is going on in the Franco-German relationship ?! www.worldpoliticsreview.com/france-germa...

The lady doth protest too much.

“by creating an agency dedicated to expanding that work, the Defense Department is signaling its intent to ramp up a range of aggressive covert activities abroad — potentially including cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions and disinformation operations.” www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

Oh this looks super interesting

God I love Switzerland. In every other country (especially Germany these days) it’s “please arrive the day before, please plan with at least 3h buffer.” In Switzerland: “oh your train arrives 15 min before you go on stage? No problem, that’s plenty of time!” #punctuality #efficiency

My second most boomer opinion is that I will absolutely not respond to any kind of professional request on *Instagram * . Come on, my email is easily findable, I will not schedule interviews or respond to queries is freaking instagram messages!!

At this point, I am not even surprised or dismayed by Franco-German defence projects not working. I am mainly shocked that somehow we are not even able to end these projects with some semblance of order and cooperation. Check out our discussion on Le Casque et la Plume.

“The maneuvers are an escalation of cat-and-mouse games that Russia, the United States and China have been playing with each other in space, mainly involving military spacecraft.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/s...

It’s really striking how much time I spent this week scheduling and rescheduling events/interviews etc just for them to be cancelled. Even the news agencies struggle to keep up with the news cycle.

“The announcement of this model has caught the attention of Europe enthusiasts: Large 4 was trained entirely in Europe, on 3,800 Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips in the company’s own data centres.” www.faz.net/premium/digi...

Fire at Starlink Center in Lithuania Was Sabotage, Officials Say www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/w...

Hey friends, I need Zurich recommendations: nice places to go, be it cafés or restaurants, museums or parks. Where do you like to hang out? And anything particularly exciting for small kids under 5?