Read more about the article Beyond Exquisite: Europe’s Defence Strategy in the Era of Precise Mass
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Beyond Exquisite: Europe’s Defence Strategy in the Era of Precise Mass

As precision strike capabilities proliferate globally, European states face the strategic dilemma of finding the right balance between mass and precision in their defence posture. Historically reliant on high-quality, exquisite systems, a legacy of the Cold War, their militaries must adapt to an era where lower-cost, mass-produced precision weapons are reshaping modern warfare. While the United States is recalibrating its strategy toward a mix of stealth and scale, Europe must craft its own approach, factoring in its industrial capacity, geopolitical imperatives, and alliance commitments. Successfully developing and integrating attritable systems without undermining technological superiority will be necessary to strengthen European armed forces and ensure long-term operational readiness. This article argues that European defence planners must rethink force structures and procurement strategies, striking the right balance between quality and quantity to enhance flexibility and credible deterrence in a volatile regional environment.

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5 March 2025
Read more about the article Checks and Balances in the High North: The British Vision of the Arctic
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Checks and Balances in the High North: The British Vision of the Arctic

The UK’s Arctic strategy is shaped by evolving geopolitical, military, and environmental challenges. Although not a part of the Arctic, the British Army plays a crucial role for the greater securitisation of the region. This paper examines the UK's defence contributions in the High North, focusing on military cooperation with Arctic states, strategic deterrence measures, and environmental considerations. Key initiatives such as Project Heimdall, the F-35 Lightning II program, and the Littoral Response Group (North) illustrate the UK’s commitment to NATO’s Arctic security framework. Additionally, UK partnerships with Arctic nations highlight collaborative approaches to Arctic governance. With increasing Russian and Chinese activity in the region, the UK’s role is crucial in maintaining stability through joint exercises and surveillance initiatives. The paper also explores future policy directions, including UK-Scandinavian security alignment and transatlantic defence shifts. Balancing military preparedness with environmental stewardship remains a core challenge for UK policymakers. As Arctic geopolitics continue to evolve, the UK's strategic role will be integral to shaping a secure and sustainable Arctic future.

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4 March 2025
Read more about the article From Paper to Precision: Streamlining Weapon Issuance and Maintenance Through Automation
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From Paper to Precision: Streamlining Weapon Issuance and Maintenance Through Automation

This paper treats the topic of Weapon Management Systems and the benefits their automation would have on Innovation and Interoperability in the defence sector. It argues, specifically, that automation provides a way of improving the military landscape in its entirety with a bottom-up approach. Methodically, the research draws from the contemporary relevance of the concepts of Innovation and Interoperability to highlight how digitalising and streamlining military administration can have positive and lasting effects on the defence sector. In that, this paper finds that automation can benefit Innovation by furthering broad sections of the world of defence and the entanglement between these sections. Particularly here, the bottom-up perspective becomes an important aspect of how automation can improve the military land- scape. In the discussion about Interoperability, the bottom-up perspective offers insights into the flaws of current European frameworks in enhancing the military by making it more in- teroperable. The automation of Weapon Management Systems therefore serves as an overview of how seemingly smaller initiatives can positively impact relevant features of current defence needs. This research thus makes a bold attempt in trying to present new ways of implementing important steps in European defence.

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3 March 2025
Read more about the article The Evolving Theatre of Urban Warfare: A Post-Modern Battlefield in Ukraine and Gaza
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The Evolving Theatre of Urban Warfare: A Post-Modern Battlefield in Ukraine and Gaza

This paper examines the evolving dynamics of urban warfare, emphasising the integration of advanced technologies and their profound impact on modern military operations. Through detailed analyses of the battles of Bakhmut and Gaza, the study explores how innovations such as kamikaze drones, precision-guided munitions, and enhanced surveillance systems have transformed the urban battlefield, rendering it both deadlier and less predictable. The research highlights how these technologies have led to the ‘civilianisation’ of high-tech warfare, where cyber operations and sophisticated information campaigns play roles as critical as physical firepower. Additionally, the paper investigates the psychological dimensions of urban combat, focusing on the use of cyber warfare to influence morale and public perception. By synthesising insights from recent conflicts, this study reflects on the operational, ethical, and strategic challenges faced by modern militaries, particularly in densely populated environments. The findings aim to inform future defence strategies, offering valuable perspectives for policymakers and military planners confronting the complexities of post-modern urban warfare.

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18 February 2025
Read more about the article Space-to-Space Military Systems — An Operational Paradigm Shift
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Space-to-Space Military Systems — An Operational Paradigm Shift

Current developments in space-to-space kinetic and non-kinetic weapons are changing the nature of military conduct in outer space. Additionally added flexibility, manoeuvrability and sustainability in space operations is made possible by in-orbit refuelling, servicing, assembly and manufacturing capabilities. When coupled with new technologies like military space vehicles, hunter-killer and nesting doll satellites and converged directed energy weapons, the space domain is realigned with more traditional operational domains of warfare. Although the nature of many military systems are by nature classified, one can infer from the current gamut of Western and adversarial projects already implemented but also in development that an operational paradigm shift is taking place in space. As such, European interoperability has never been so crucial - but similarly so is the ability to militarise space while guided by a stern moral compass, where legal accountability is ambiguous. In this vein, the article contends that space is experiencing an operational paradigm shift. Space is now, for all effects and purposes, a battlefield.

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10 February 2025