Welcome to The World in 10.
In an increasingly uncertain world, this is The Times' daily podcast dedicated to global security.
Today with me, Alex Dibble and Stuart Willey.
Donald Trump's effect in just the first 92 days of his second term is undeniable,
upending how the United States has seen around the world in terms of trade,
the economy, the rule of law, and dramatically US foreign policy.
And now that is prompting American allies to look at the weapons in their arsenals,
as many contemplate moving away from a dependence on US-produced weapons.
Our guest today is The Times' defence editor Larissa Brown, who's been writing about this shift.
Arms fairs, Larissa, are often an opportunity for weapons makers to show off their latest shiny kit.
But now there is a new sales pitch, isn't there?
Tell us about desensitised weapons.
Well,
what's happening is defence companies are becoming quite nervous about using any US components in their...
military equipment or weapons and so increasingly we found that British and European companies are instead opting for what's deemed ITAR free products which are products that basically don't come under certain restrictions from the American government and therefore They are not components from America.
And instead, they're trying to get components from Britain and Europe.
Now,
this has become a key factor when these companies are considering what they put into their weapons.
More recently, because of Donald Trump's behavior,
he's obviously increasingly seen as unreliable when it comes to defense equipment, basically.