Archive: News & Articles

Military demands for connectivity show no signs of abating and are only likely to increase in the coming years. Could V-band radio help absorb some the growing communications burden on the future battlefield? The V-band occupies part of the radio segment of the electromagnetic spectrum spanning from 40-75 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths of between 7.5 […]

The US Army is currently modernising its combat vehicle fleet in order to meet more challenging adversaries. This effort combines upgrading in-service systems and introducing completely new combat vehicles. The US Army is currently pursuing 35 high-priority acquisition programmes covering six capabilities categories. These include various vehicle classes as well as improved-range tube artillery. Overall, […]

Four contractors are competing for the right to build a new fleet of heavy trucks for the US Army. By leveraging state-of-the-art and next-generation commercial technology, the Pentagon hopes to acquire a modernised transport fleet tailored to the needs of multi-domain operations (MDO). Presently, the US Army operates four different classes of heavy tactical vehicle […]

With the coastal subsurface domain remaining an area that Western special forces can exploit, a number of companies are providing platforms to facilitate such operations. Peter Felstead looks at recent developments in this sphere. While the close-in surveillance of hostile shores can increasingly be achieved by unmanned platforms, when it comes to covertly putting personnel […]

To offset the emerging, but now enduring, threat to seabed critical underwater infrastructure (CUI), navies are looking to build CUI security through co-operating on information sharing and operational responses. Innovative technology and information analysis are playing a key role in enhancing such cooperation and response. The explosions suffered by the two Nordstream gas pipelines on […]

The UK Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigate is designed specifically to address the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) threat. Given the continued increase in the ASW threat, the frigate’s design has wide appeal. For Western navies operating in the Euro-Atlantic theatre, the core tasks of traditional, high-end naval warfare hold enduring importance today. The operational presence of […]

Arquus has been developing a range of options to allow existing armoured fighting vehicles to be upgraded with hybrid propulsion systems. Recently, this work has begun to gain momentum, with the company proposing a range of upgrade paths targeted at different sectors of the vehicle market. Arquus started working on alternative mobility solutions more than […]

Given the high cost of developing high-technology weaponry, any approach that promises to save time and money is of potential value. When the British Army took its latest surface-to-air missile into service at the end of 2021, it was not only fielding a replacement for the ageing Rapier system, but was also showing how an […]

An effective and comprehensive new weapon-locating radar capability has been in UK MoD sights for some time. Until operational though, extending existing systems to sustain present capabilities is the order of the day. This article looks at the UK MoD’s roadmap on introducing a new battlefield weapon-locating capability through its SERPENS programme, whilst maintaining an […]

What will be the highlights of the 2024 edition of WDS? As well as seeing the return of such successful show features as the International Women in Defence Forum, Future Talent Form and the content theatres, there are a new show features for the 2024 edition. Front and centre is the dedicated Space Arena, reflecting […]

Plans are afoot in the United Kingdom to revitalise the country’s dedicated military communications satellites with the latest addition to the Skynet family. The United Kingdom entered the club of nations possessing dedicated military communications satellites in 1969. That year, the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Skynet-2B satellite reached the heavens. This was not the […]

Intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) are time-honoured cornerstones of military strategy. From the era of horse-mounted scouts to the epoch of globe-circling satellites, the potency of ISR lies in its power to collect, analyse, and leverage information about adversaries in the carrying out of successful military operations. While the modes of ISR have evolved […]

The US Army is changing how it organises and deploys its manoeuvre force in response to ongoing and future threats. This reorganisation will have an impact on how this force communicates. In 2016, the US Army created the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) as the basic, deployable manoeuvre unit. For all intents and purposes, the BCT […]

So far in 2023, Canada has signed up for some major high-value procurement programmes, while working on existing high-value procurements, and is already laying the groundwork for future major procurements. In terms of high-value procurement programmes, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) started 2023 with the announcement that it would be purchasing 88 Lockheed Martin […]

History teaches us that all militaries, even the strongest and the most modern ones, almost as a rule, are preparing for ‘the previous war’. Experiences from the current war in Ukraine are showing that military conflict on European soil between peer competitors is fought on completely different principles than those predicted and prepared for in […]

The War in Ukraine and a general increase in military spending is pushing several countries to modernise their ageing naval fleets, thus boosting the order books of shipyards after years of negative outlook. If this is good news, the situation remains complicated within the EU, where shipbuilders’ economic outlook is less prosperous compared with Asian […]

There is over a century of broad amity between the United States and the United Kingdom. The defence and security alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom is, indeed, a special one. Americans and Britons fought alongside each other in two world wars, Korea, and several conflicts in the Middle East. Both were […]

Electronic Warfare (EW) in Ukraine has been a critical enabler for both sides of the war in Ukraine, with each scrambling to adapt to modern battlefield possibilities within the electromagnetic spectrum. This domain has been used for a variety of purposes, including gathering information, target locating/positioning, disruption, deception, and even downing UAVs. While EW has […]

In this article, Ian Frain examines some of the heavy-lift helicopter programmes from the recent past and present. Currently, there are only four heavy-lift platforms in the world. The twin-engine, eight-blade Russian Helicopters Mil Mi-26, NATO reporting name Halo, is the largest helicopter currently in service, since the late 1980s. Then there is the three-engine, […]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a crucial asset on the battlefield in the last decades. Initially a niche product that only a few of the best funded armies in the world could afford, these systems are now broadly used by state and non-state actors, and the war in Ukraine has clearly proved their importance […]

While tactical ballistic missiles have been used on battlefields in previous conflicts, the war in Ukraine has seen some of the most intense usage of such systems in any modern conflict. With some historical introductory anecdotes, this article looks at tactical missile use against Ukraine through the eyes of Ukrainian intelligence. It addresses developments in […]