Archive: News & Articles

The German/Norwegian combined submarine programme to deliver the Type 212 Common Design (T212CD) diesel-electric submarine (SSK) for the German Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) remains on track to deliver a first boat into service in 2029, programme officials told the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) conference in Oslo in March. Moreover, the increasing challenge presented […]

The last three years have seen navies involved in the most intensive maritime conflict of recent decades. The outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in February 2022, followed by the commencement of attacks on Red Sea shipping by rebel Houthi forces in Yemen in November 2023, have provided ‘real world’ evidence of the impact of technological […]

The Portuguese Navy has been leading the way amongst NATO navies in developing maritime uncrewed system (MUS) technologies. Now, including at the national level, it is seeking to accelerate delivery of these systems into integrated maritime multidomain operations (MDO). The drive towards tactical integration of MUS technology is proceeding under the leadership of Portugal’s new […]

In mid-January 2025, NATO stood up ‘Baltic Sentry’, an activity designed to build surveillance presence to deter increasing threats to critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) on the Baltic seabed. This move is one of several national, multinational, and wider NATO activities that have been established and integrated to address the Baltic CUI threat. CUI vulnerability has […]

The last few decades have been difficult for the Polish submarine force. Despite many plans to modernise the Polish submarine fleet, the Polish Navy currently has only one diesel-electric submarine (SSK) – the ex-Soviet Kilo class ORP Orzeł. This vessel is ageing and has not undergone extensive modernisation, meaning its combat capabilities are very limited. […]

Canada continues to invest in its submarine capability, to offset increasing underwater threats in its areas of responsibility and interest and to build more operational output, as it transitions from its current boats to a planned new fleet under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project. The submarine remains a pre-eminent naval – and national – instrument […]

When it comes to holding ground, some military fundamentals never change. From trench systems to urban fortifications, this analysis examines how armies are protecting their forces in an era of contested logistics and persistent surveillance. “It takes a land force to defeat a land force,” Amos Fox, a retired US Army officer and now lecturer […]

The US DoD trains thousands of military helicopter pilots each year and these are produced by the US Army, Navy and Air Force to different standards using unique training pipelines and utilizing different training aircraft. All three services have, or are in the process, of adopting new training syllabi to address a number of shortfalls. […]

Reducing the time between detection, identification, and engagement by the appropriate weapon platform is crucial in order to maximise the chances of successful target destruction on the battlefield. This requires a near real-time sensor-to-shooter (STS) loop, enabled by the latest command and control (C2) technologies networked with effectors. Lessons learned on the battlefields of Ukraine […]

The Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) and its variants first entered British Army service in 1987. Some 38 years later, it has reached its out-of-service date, but at this point there is no defined successor system. So, who are the key contenders? That there needs to be a successor to Warrior is obvious, but defining […]

Emerging threats observed in the ongoing Russo–Ukrainian conflict and a series of conflicts in the Middle East from 2022 to 2024 have sparked renewed interest in armoured vehicles and their protection. Contemporary solutions include various layers of protection designed to increase the survivability of armoured vehicles against multiple threats on the battlefield. Among other measures, […]

With the re-election of US President Donald Trump, questions regarding the transatlantic relationship between the US and Europe have once again come to the forefront, including the extent to which the US needs Europe. A sober reading shows that the US has good reason to remain engaged in Europe; most notably, US security depends on […]

As Europe’s geopolitical landscape shifts, Finland stands out not just for bringing crucial conventional capabilities to the NATO alliance, but also as a key player in mitigating chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, with a comprehensive network of military, civil, and industrial capabilities in this sphere. NATO’s new member in the far north, Finland, […]

Marking 20 years of NATO Life Cycle Management (LCM), the 20th edition of the NATO LCM Conference will be held on 21 and 22 January 2025 in Brussels. Gathering numerous government and industry representatives, and chaired by Thomas Espelund Pedersen (Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation) and J. Bo Leimand (LEIMAND Freelance Consultancy), the conference […]

Almost three years since Russia invaded Ukraine, the rules-based order that once governed security on the European continent lies entirely in shreds. Yet, one European security organisation, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was created during the Cold War to deal with precisely the threats that the European continent is faced with […]

ESD was recently invited on board a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker to observe part of the Norwegian-led trilateral exercise ‘Apex Buccaneer’. This article details what this exercise involved and examines why exercises like ‘Apex Buccaneer’ are essential in facilitating Arctic security. On 3 December 2024 Norway, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States […]

In late 2024, the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine or at least suspending hostilities remained unclear; however, officials from both Ukraine and its partners in the West are increasingly discussing the possibility of such a scenario. The inauguration of US president-elect Trump on 20 January 2025 is considered the starting point for the […]

A number of high-speed naval vessels currently in service are capable of speeds between 40 and 70 knots, significantly outpacing most surface combatants. Some high-speed vessels are specialised on performing particular mission profiles, while others are multi-mission craft. One characteristic that they all share is their relatively small size, with even the largest units being […]

Several Western navies are modernising their mine countermeasures capabilities with new, specialised vessels. Naval mine warfare remains a potent threat in the 21st century. The mine countermeasures (MCM) vessels of many nations are ageing and – in some cases – are in urgent need of replacement. The need to introduce new MCM vessels (MCMVs) is […]

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have emerged as a potent new threat to military ships. This requires a re-evaluation of ship-defence technology and tactics.  For decades anti-ship missiles (ASMs) have arguably posed the dominant threat to surface vessels. However, a new, asymmetrical threat emerged in October 2000 when a small, explosive-laden […]

The future submarine operating environment The water around your submarine is reverberating due to a distant active low-frequency sonar. Every few minutes, the sonar operators report a splash point, a sign that a passive sonar buoy has been dropped by one of the numerous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) out on patrol that relentlessly hunt you […]