Archive: News & Articles

The task of building and breaching battlefield obstacles has come sharply back into the spotlight following Ukraine’s difficulties breaking through Russian lines during their summer 2023 counter-offensive. It therefore bears examining Russia’s approach to defensive fighting, as well as the particular difficulties faced by Ukraine in overcoming the many obstacles in their path. Russia’s defences […]

Self-propelled (SP) mortars remain crucial in providing support to fast-paced operations by mounted, mechanised and armoured forces. In addition to tracked and 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicles, mobile mortars are increasingly being mounted on 4×4 vehicles. While mortars come in various calibres, vehicle-mounted mortars usually range from 81 mm (medium) to 120 mm (heavy), although a […]

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, most US investment in integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) had been on large, non-mobile systems. Manoeuvre formation IAMD was reduced and units removed from the order of battle. Other NATO members made similar decisions. Elsewhere, countries that continued to field new ground-based air defence […]

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has very clearly demonstrated the continued importance of artillery – both tube and rocket – on the modern battlefield. It has also supplied real world data on what artillery can achieve today and what it needs to achieve to meet the conditions expected in the conflicts of tomorrow. Developers of […]

The ongoing Russia–Ukraine war has shown that artillery – traditionally known as the ‘king of the battlefield’ – remains a key element of any country’s armed forces. This runs contrary to the previous assessment in many countries that modern guided munitions and aviation would mostly replace artillery. It has also become clear that modern digital […]

The European continent is criss-crossed by a large number of waterways that make large-scale ground military manoeuvres difficult. This article examines the extent of the challenges that water obstacles present and why gap crossings are relevant in the case of the War in Ukraine. It discusses the risks inherent in performing a water-crossing operation and […]

The capture of Avdiivka on 17 February 2024 marked a tactical and symbolic victory for Russia. Yet far more significant than the capture of the town itself was that the offensive heralded the deeply troubling trend of the return of Russian air power. As this column warned back in ESD’s January edition (see ‘Breaking the […]

Establishing a beachhead is the defining component of an amphibious assault. Fail, and the following forces may have to find an alternate landing site or fight their way onto shore. Succeed and it is possible to achieve surprise at scale, which has been identified as an important component of military success.[1] The impact a successful […]

Small arms represent one of the most fundamental elements of military equipment. As such, one might expect that these weapons and their accompanying ammunition have benefitted from years of significant technological advances, though such an expectation would only partially ring true. Significant technological progress has indeed taken place, but many widely used types of small […]

As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, access to the Black Sea for both sides has remained deeply strategically relevant. As the battle for control continues, neither side can afford to surrender control of this vital area.  A stalemate and renewed sense of urgency As Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine seems to become […]

The British Royal Navy is in the middle of a significant programme of fleet renewal. Two major projects are currently underway that will ultimately see the commissioning of eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare and five Type 31 general purpose frigates. Together, they will replace over two thirds of the navy’s major surface combatants. Responsible for […]

The ongoing war in Ukraine underscores just how hotly contested the airspace over the tactical edge will be in future conflicts. There are no firm definitions for very short-range air defence (VSHORAD) or short-range air defence (SHORAD), though a 2019 official UK publication entitled ‘Joint Air Defence’ provides some useful thresholds. The document states that […]

The battlefield threat posed by small and medium unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), as well as by precision artillery continues to evolve. Both are driving a demand for counter-UAV (C-UAV) and counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) systems, and there is a good degree of overlap between the two. Intense research and development efforts are necessary to […]

Turrets are central to armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) design and house many of the most important subsystems on any platform. These can include the main armament, sensors, fire control systems, and protection systems. The choice of turret can affect greatly what a system can or cannot do. The market for standalone turrets provides potential users […]

Armed forces continue to pursue active protection systems (APSs) capable of effectively defeating anti-armour weaponry. As many different designs have completed their development, the current APS market offers users more options than ever before. The high numbers of damaged or destroyed armoured vehicles suffered by the warring parties in the Ukraine War underscores the urgent […]

Armoured vehicle design is based on the so called ‘iron triangle’ of firepower, protection and mobility. The most successful vehicles are those that achieve the best balance between these three criteria. Other factors come into play though, including the operational doctrine of the operator driving the specifications of the vehicle, the tasks that the vehicle […]

Looking out over the next decade, this article aims to identify some of the key trends and requirements which we are likely to see emerge in armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) of the 2030s and beyond. While predicting the future can often be challenging, examining current trends in industry and on the battlefield can provide a […]

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities are an essential, overlaying enabler for naval operations. As the strategic importance of operational tasks such as mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare returns, so does the requirement to expand and enhance ISR capability and its support for such tasks, particularly through enhancing multi-domain command, control, and communications. Intelligence, surveillance, […]

Amid an uncertain security environment, competition in Low Earth Orbit and the stratosphere is heating up. SpaceX launched their 42nd Starlink delivery mission of the year on 25 September 2023, at 4:48 a.m. EDT, when a Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rocket placed 21 V2 Mini Starlink […]

In a round of related exercises off the coast of Portugal, NATO has been exploring the future potential of maritime unmanned assets. Hosted by the Portuguese Navy out of its Maritime Experimentation Operations Centre on the Tróia peninsula and its naval facilities in Sesimbra, NATO has recently conducted two overlapping exercises focused on integrating maritime […]

As the threat from manoeuvrable hypersonic missiles adds to the already vast array of ballistic and other missile threats, increasingly extensive and sophisticated space-based satellite constellations providing missile warning and tracking functionality are being deployed to bolster US missile defences for the protection of the US and its Allies. This article examines the threats demanding […]