Archive: News & Articles

Efficient processing of high-performance fabrics for personal safety Personal protective equipment (PPE) must function flawlessly under extreme conditions. Whether in law enforcement, firefighting, military, or industrial safety applications, protective textiles such as Aramid, Kevlar® or Cordura® are required to deliver maximum resistance to heat, cuts and abrasion. However, these properties also make the materials difficult […]

Driven by the realities of modern warfare, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are evolving rapidly, reflecting their increasing operational importance on the battlefield. More importantly, combat employment prompts innovations in both tactics and technology, which in turn expands the range of combat and support roles for UGVs, with many new roles having emerged in recent years. […]

The Threat and Solutions Recent incidents as far apart as the Baltic and the waters off Taiwan have highlighted the vulnerability of critical underwater infrastructure to malign actors. Whilst such threats have a long history, the increased significance of subsea assets to global economic activity underlines the importance of understanding these dangers and devising appropriate […]

It is difficult to exaggerate the current sorry state of the British Army. In the 1990s, a Chief of the Air Staff moaned that the UK got more international kudos from deploying a single  Warrior MICV battlegroup than the entire Royal Air Force. And the British Army was seen as a “reference army” for many […]

Defence against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) hazards has spent decades as, principally, a military discipline. Great effort has gone into developing an industry devoted to protecting military personnel from CBRN hazards. However, CBRN threats are, in recent decades, just as relevant in a civil protection and law enforcement context. CBRN terrorism, as well […]

Protected patrol vehicles (PPVs) are military workhorses, serving in a wide variety of combat and support roles. The following is a selected overview of currently marketed systems, presented by region. Protected Patrol Vehicles form a diverse category comprised of a wide variety of platforms. Most of those currently being built are 4×4 or 6×6 vehicles. […]

Throughout the Middle East, governments and armed forces are improving their ability to counter the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) threat to military and civilian targets. Counter-UAV systems of various types are being procured from domestic and foreign sources. The threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles throughout the Middle East is strong and still increasing. Operators […]

Building indigenous defence industries is strategically attractive but can be challenging to execute. Earlier Arab efforts, particularly Egypt’s post-1950s’ programmes, were ambitious but enjoyed limited success. Today, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pursuing defence industrialisation on a far larger, and better-resourced scale. This article examines traces the path from early ambitions to the capabilities […]

The methods and means of conducting combat operations have changed significantly over the past decade, prompting militaries worldwide to react and adapt. Logistics, as one of the most critical components of modern warfare, has likewise undergone substantial transformation, with many changes already implemented and others still in the trial phase. Against this backdrop, so-called last-mile […]

The northern Euro-Atlantic theatre is today a stage on which maritime asymmetric activities are involving and impacting non-state, state, and multinational actors. The underwater domain remains a particular area of state-based strategic contest because it remains opaque, cloaking submarine and, increasingly, uncrewed platform operations. In a significant Euro-Atlantic security shift, asymmetric activities and capabilities are […]

Despite relentless Russian strikes on its facilities and energy infrastructure, Ukraine has nonetheless managed to massively scale up its domestic defence production over four years of war, emerging as both a technological innovator and strategic partner for European nations seeking greater military self-sufficiency. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched on 24 February 2022, has […]

The mass employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in armed conflicts over the past decade has initiated numerous debates on the current state and future development of armoured vehicles, as well as on the employment of armoured forces – their structure and role on future battlefields. While these debates are far from concluded, the broader […]

Improved sensors and electronics have forced a major rethink in turret design for armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). The traditional crewed turret is no longer the default, with uncrewed alternatives rapidly gaining ground. This shift over the last decade is reshaping how armies are balancing protection, situational awareness and firepower. Turret designs for AFVs have seen […]

Several nations are introducing next-generation armoured amphibious vehicles, preserving the capability to conduct amphibious assault operations if required. While the last major amphibious assault was conducted during the Korean War, the major powers maintained strong amphibious capabilities throughout the Cold War, and continue to do so today. Numerous regional powers also recognise the value of […]

Military engineering has been a crucial element of land warfare for hundreds of years, providing essential capabilities that support operations at the tactical, operational, and even strategic levels. Ever since warfare evolved into combined-arms operations heavily dependent on mechanised ground forces, engineering vehicles have appeared on the battlefield and quickly become indispensable in a wide […]

Integrated logistics support (ILS) [1] data connects engineering, procurement, and maintenance across a system’s entire lifecycle. This article examines some of the key specifications, tools, and lessons learned in this sphere. ILS data overview ILS data are all logistical data that you need to operate and maintain your civilian or military system. Industry, armed forces, […]

Europe is rapidly increasing the size of armoured vehicle fleets, but it is long-term readiness – not acquisition – that has become the key challenge. Recurring issues such as shortage of parts, technical-data gaps, and uneven maintenance capacity are also limiting availability across multiple fleets. Solutions, including predictive maintenance and AI-driven life-cycle management are only […]

According to NATO’s Systems Life Cycle Management (SLCM) policy the main goal of systems life cycle management is to deliver, use, and maintain NATO capabilities efficiently and effectively while ensuring a high level of Operational Availability (AO), reducing in-service costs. The application of System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) is based on the following principles: Commitment […]

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, promises naval forces unprecedented autonomy at sea, such as the ability to print replacement parts in hours rather than wait weeks for resupply. However, a 2016 experiment that brought down a drone with corrupted design files exposed a critical vulnerability which poses risks to widespread operational adoption. […]

Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are well-suited to Russia’s constrained naval reality in the Black Sea theatre: they’re cheap, scalable, and uncrewed. After suffering numerous losses to Ukraine’s indigenous USVs, Russia has rapidly developed multiple designs and established specialised units to deploy them. The era of Russian sea drones looks to have begun, despite significant technical […]

From nerve agent antidotes to radiation sickness treatments, medical countermeasures against CBRN threats remain an oft-overlooked corner of defence spending. This piece examines the current state of play and identifies where the most urgent capability gaps lie. Military medicine has always been worried about how to treat injuries and illnesses caused by chemical, biological, radiological, […]

The skies over the Middle East tell a story of dramatic transformation: Iran’s once-powerful air force is a shadow of its former self, while Syria’s capability has been destroyed, yet Gulf states are acquiring hundreds of advanced Western fighters. This piece charts the changing aerial order of battle in the Middle East over the decades. […]