Archive: News & Articles

Traditional air defence systems, designed for larger and more expensive threats, struggle to provide a cost-effective countermeasure to widely used micro- and mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs). The need for affordable countermeasures is urgent, especially as adversaries both state and non-state are increasingly deploying UAVs in coordinated attacks. This article explores the role of low-cost kinetic […]

Increasingly, militaries are pursuing short-range air defence (SHORAD) solutions to prepare for an era of near-ubiquitous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and loitering munitions, as well as dealing with the continued proliferation of cruise missiles, and rapidly evolving battlefield dynamics. With concerns over the development of hypersonic weaponry and the introduction of more types of stealth […]

From wedding photographers with DJI Mavics, to Lancets and Z-16 reconnaissance drones, the Ukrainian conflict has witnessed an unprecedented proliferation in drone-based battlefield Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), as well as precision strike. This article explores primarily how Russia has rapidly adapted and evolved its drone capabilities, turning drones from less-common support tools […]

With low-cost drones and missiles threatening even well-defended naval assets, this analysis examines a systems approach to integrating electronic warfare that could rebalance the cost equation. Recent experience of naval combat in theatres such as the Red Sea and Black Sea has illustrated several challenges which navies will face with respect to air and missile […]

The large-scale use of unmanned weapons platforms in Ukraine reflects the rapid evolution of modern warfare, where tactical advantages are often short-lived due to the emergence of countermeasures. With Ukraine ramping up production of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, this surge highlights Ukraine’s growing reliance on unmanned systems for defence. Lessons from the war show that […]

The Western Balkans are at risk of becoming increasingly forgotten amidst a resurgent US policy towards Russia. As the EU frantically races to fill the growing vacuum left by an increasingly uncompromising US foreign policy on Ukraine, some in the region may choose to find their own way and return to the darker side of […]

On 19 March 2025, the European Commission published its ‘Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030’. At the outset, many of the threat assessments, security priorities, and capability gaps contained therein are broadly the same as those which have been repeated countless times over the last few years. However, these have now been joined […]

Over more than a century of operational deployments, military vehicles of all descriptions have evolved in shape, size and weight, with military bridging and gap-crossing systems keeping up with those changes in order to safely bear in-service vehicular platforms across obstacles to maintain force mobility on the battlefield. Through the eyes of leading industry players, […]

In the current fast-paced technological landscape, defence equipment is experiencing rapid advancements. The French Special Forces, who assess new equipment annually, must stabilise their inventory to effectively develop operational concepts. The French Special Forces (SF) are made up of the Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (COS; ENG: Special Operations Command) and units from the Army, Navy […]

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 […]

BAE Systems’ Herne extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XLAUV) completed initial in-water trials in late 2024, barely a year after commencing development. What was behind this fast-track effort, and how was it achieved? Recent years have seen growing interest in the utility of long endurance, large payload robotic submersibles as ‘force multipliers’. This reflects a view […]

While neither as reliable as high-end bespoke munitions, nor as overwhelming as traditional massed artillery, the growing array of affordable precision strike options offers militaries a third way forward. The tradeoff between mass and precision has often characterised discussions regarding warfare. Militaries can either achieve statistical effects (for example that a given weight of fire […]

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 […]

The growing and increasingly-quiet submarine fleets of potential adversaries present Western navies with a resource-intensive challenge using traditional ASW approaches. This article examines a number of more cost-effective and scalable alternative methods that may allow navies to do more with less. The prosecution of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) represents one of the most complex aspects of […]

Ever since the NATO Prague summit in late 2002, NATO has fundamentally changed. This change can be witnessed by the addition of new members and the transformation of the alliance that has strengthened its deterrence posture. As an intrinsic part of the transformation process training has had a major part to play and this role […]

The adoption of improved laser-based tactical engagement simulation for military collective training continues to grow. Alongside this growth, technology is enabling new capabilities to be added to aid training realism. A case in point is the use of geometric pairing to provide simulation of indirect fire weapons such as artillery and mortars. The cornerstone of […]

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 Army is moving ahead with efforts to ensure that manoeuvre forces enhance their mobility with requisite on-the-move networking and command-and-control capabilities. One of the key takeaways from the ongoing war in Ukraine sounds like one of the most obvious, particularly for land manoeuvre forces: Movement is life, staying still is death. Manoeuvre formations […]