53 research outputs found
Taking to the skies
A resurgence in spending on manned and unmanned air power across Asia-Pacific is largely being driven by regional and territorial disputes, and the desire to keep up with near neighbours in a regional arms race
Lessons from Iraq and Chilcot
The UK’s Chilcot Report into the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has some essential lessons for
all Ministries of Defence to take on board when it comes to ensuring troops have the
equipment and support they need, before the next major military operation starts
Integrated Project Teams: The MoD's New Hot Potato?
Since the announcement of Smart Procurement, much has been written on the
potential benefits that IPTs will hopefully bring. It is supposed that they will
improve the interface with industry, create a better understanding of
requirements and establish an environment where industry is motivated to perform
and so reduce cost, risk and time into service while improving product quality.
The formation of a team should provide continuity, consistency, flexibility and
~ increased performance due to the integration of a wide-range of functional
activities and decision-making, as well as increased motivation. These may well
be gallant objectives, but how achievable are they? What obstacles does the MoD
face in the implementation of the IPTs? Have they grasped a 'hot potato'
Anglo-French defence cooperation in the age of austerity
This paper seeks to assess, from a predominantly UK perspective, the potential benefits of enhanced Anglo-French defence cooperation, not only to the two countries concerned but also to Western Europe and the USA. The paper will mainly focus on defence cooperation and not the subordinate agreement regarding limited cooperation on nuclear weapons, which addressed cooperation on the safety and security of nuclear weapons, stockpile certification and countering nuclear and radiological terrorism but seemed to be driven by "acute financial pressures, symptomatic of severe structural deficiencies"
Is sea-basing a viable method of providing logistic support to the UK amphibious force?
Maritime power has traditionally been a central part of the UK’s defence planning and is well
suited to supporting a wide range of military operations. The littoral area has always created
problems for naval planners as most landings historically have had to endure a tactical
separation of the naval and land components, and hence an artificial seam between the Navy
and the Marines. With the end of the Cold War, amphibious operations are going to be more
difficult to conduct than in the past, and amphibious forces are going to have to adopt
manoeuvre warfare capabilities in order to successfully complete their missions. It is very
likely that amphibious forces will have to conduct operations against a numerically superior
enemy, who is on his own terrain, and be surrounded by a neutral, if not hostile populace. As
such, the concept of Operational Manoeuvre From The Sea (OMFTS) whereby the sea is used
as a manoeuvre space, and command and control is fast enough to cope with large amounts of
information, but at the same time allow subordinates maximum flexibility to use their
initiative, is increasingly attractive. It will be important not only for the combat elements to be
able to use this new concept, but the Combat Service Support (CSS) elements as well
Generating a carrier strike capability: People are still central
The UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will give the Navy force projection at sea and ashore. But according to a National Audit Office report, there are limited suitably qualified and experienced personnel to operate the new carriers in time for development of the capability before 202
Questions to answer: Striking in the dark? The British Army and the new Strike Brigade concept
Implications for the U.S. of Anglo-French Defense Cooperation
The paper analyzes, from a predominantly UK perspective, the implications for
the U.S. of the November 2, 2010, Anglo-French Defence Cooperation Treaty. The
current pressures on British and French defence budgets were the primary driving
force behind this cooperative effort. London and Paris have made steps toward
improving joint efforts in a number of areas, with defence acquisition and
industrial cooperation being prominent. In the UK, there appears to be strong
political support at the highest levels, which has permeated to lower levels in
the bureaucracy, while the UK defence industry appears to be cautiously
optimistic about future business opportunities.
The impact of enhanced Anglo-French cooperation on the U.S. would appear to be
largely favourable for Washington. Rather than providing a basis for weakened UK
attention to the U.S., as some fear, the efforts by London and Paris will
potentially generate greater national military capability from scarce resources
and could serve as a vehicle for broader European efforts to enhance their
defence capabilities. While multinational European military development projects
are viewed with scepticism in the UK, the Anglo-French arrangement could
strengthen the prospects for bilateral projects in which other European states
may elect to participate
The British Army in Transition: from army 2020 to the Strike Brigades and the logistics of future operations
The financial crisis of 2008 and the economic recession that followed forced the UK Government to adopt measures to reduce public spending in order to deal with a growing budgetary deficit and the UK's spiralling sovereign debt. Like most other departments, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) had to play its part, as well as tackling a massive funding gap in its equipment plan. While 2010's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)[i] and the National Security Strategy (NSS)[ii] have been criticised as lacking any real strategic intent[iii], they did at least attempt to tackle the MOD's budgetary problems. It also set in motion an ongoing programme of structural change, for both the MOD and the UK Armed Forces, that has continued after the publication of SDSR 2015[iv] and meant that the MOD has faced a difficult period – having to juggle the need to conduct major transformation, change the way it acquires defence capability, and restructure the armed forces while continuing to conduct operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This paper aims to examine the impact of both SDSRs on the British Army, and takes a broadly chronological approach in doing so. It analyses the new 'Strike Brigade' concept and what that might mean for defence acquisition and the logistic support to future operations, while highlighting the questions still surrounding the outcome of the latest review
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