This is a defence site where of course we all like to discuss the nuts and bolts of equipment, current operations and strategic issues but is there a danger of becoming inward facing and forgetting that defence sits within a wider context? So, here is a question, in pictures… What Are The Strategic Threats To The UK? Or To [...]
Second part of IXION’s guest post I have been accused of being anti RAF Anti Navy but not yet anti Army, still the day is young.. Given that there is no credible, likely, short, or medium term threat of actual state invasion of the UK mainland, or any other member Nato we might realistically beable to help’s mainland. Jus because [...]
A guest post from IXION This is part 1 of 4 (I think). In which I pose some questions and propose some views on the defence of the UK. What are we defending? Who are we defending against? How can we defend it? What are our defence forces for? Without wishing to start my own SDR I would suggest that [...]
We often think the grown-ups at RUSI and Chatham House have a monopoly on strategic thought but having been at home to increasing concerns about their lack of influence and thought leadership for a while now the latest output from RUSI kind of tells me why. The survey can be found here http://www.rusi.org/news/rss/ref:N4EB171FEE2471/ The survey puts forward ten propositions, or [...]
Of all the increasingly shrill alarms about the rise of China as a strategic threat to the West one of the loudest has been its near monopoly on rare earth minerals. The diagram below illustrates the near monopoly China has on their extraction. These are vital to modern electronics and defence electronics are no different in that respect to those [...]
I have looked at the issue of energy, food and water security a few times and as a companion to the previous piece on strategy I thought a follow up would be useful. This isn’t an exhaustive list but concentrates on resources, energy, food and trade. The Conservative party, to their credit, highlighted the issue a number of times pre-election, [...]
As interesting and fun as our various discussions and hair brain schemes about the future shape of UK defence (capabilities and equipment) are, we all acknowledge that without an underlying concept of what the armed forces ‘are for’ we are indulging in nothing but fantasy fleets, however dour and grounded in fiscal reality they may be. The Future Of series [...]
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