Advanced Land Warfare: Tactics and Operations

in Advanced Land Warfare, OUP, 2023

This chapter is structured as follows. First, the development of land warfare is briefly outlined, before key current and future challenges in the operational environment are examined. In the following section, the future character of war and the transformation of the battlefield is addressed. Thereafter, the structure of the volume and its chapters are outlined.

in Advanced Land Warfare (OUP), 2023

The chapter outlines the findings of the volume. The authors outline a framework for a versatile approach to land warfare. First, they establish a structure of the myriad elements and factors influencing land forces, presenting a continuum of land operations modelling the use of conventional capacity and kinetic effects at different levels of conflict intensity and the role of land forces visualizing the heterogeneity of possible conflict environments where land forces may be deployed. Thereafter, the chapter presents two schematic models; the first locates land forces in the broader operating environment by outlining how the strategic environment, conflict intensity, interoperability, and multi-domain operations are constitutive enablers and/or constraints to activities in the land domain. The second outlines how the capabilities of forces in the land domain need to be understood as a function of the interaction between own capabilities, the adversary, the human- and physical terrain, and the information environment. The multidimensional demands placed on land forces in contemporary and future operational environments necessitate a conscious multi-pronged approach to the development of land warfare capabilities, aimed at gaining a versatile edge on tomorrow’s battlefields. In turn, this concerns both the build-up and construction of capabilities, and the means by which they are deployed and utilized in future conflict. The chapter argues that the achievement of versatility should be a crucial aim of contemporary land forces. As outlined in the integrated versatility model, versatility builds on two interrelated and mutually reinforcing qualities in a military organization, adaptability and flexibility. Together, they compose the underlying preconditions for truly versatile land forces.

2011

The government's recent review of the state of the United Kingdom's defence and security posture, and austerity measures restricting the amount of funding and resources allocated for these ends, have raised a number of questions surrounding the role of the military and its ability to realize national foreign policy objectives in the future.

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences, 2016

Complex military operations, are those military campaigns including, but not limited to, those military operations by conventional defence and security forces in alliance with paramilitaries and civil groups against non-conventional armed groups (insurgents and terrorists who do not recognise and observe legally-institutionalised municipal and international laws), have taken centre stage in current strategic discourse. This is because insurgency and terrorism pose the greatest challenge to most sovereign state entities who, in most cases, respond without properly appreciating and addressing the numerous challenges, potential and real, which face national armed forces combat personnel in their physical theatres of anti-insurgency/anti-terrorism operations or battle space as the case maybe. This paper posits that it is not possible to adequately contain the nefarious activities of insurgents and terrorists without adequately identifying and addressing the unique challenges which face combat personnel in those theatres or spaces of operation. It goes on to conclude that unless this prevailing situation is reversed, prospects for effective counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism initiatives will likely remain bleak.

Future Wars (futurewars.rspanwar.net), 2017

Part I of this write-up discussed the changing nature of warfare over the last several centuries, based on Lind’s categorisation of “Generations of Warfare” as well as the concept of “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA). This part looks at the fast changing pace at which warfighting concepts are undergoing change in the present century, especially as a result of the ongoing rapid technological advancements. It gives an overview of some new conceptualisations of modern warfare such as “Asymmetric Warfare”, “Unrestricted Warfare” and “Hybrid Warfare”. It also dwells briefly on new Information Age warfighting concepts, such as “Network Centric Warfare”, “Information Warfare” and “Cyber Warfare”.

Future Wars (futurewars.rspanwar.net), 2017

Over the centuries, warfare has undergone significant transformation, due to new discoveries and innovative application of technologies, resulting in dramatic changes in military doctrine, organisational concepts, and conduct of military operations. The changing face of war was categorised as “generations of warfare” in 1989 by a team of US analysts, led by William S Lind. The changing nature of warfare is also reflected in the concept of Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). This first of a two-part article takes a brief look at these two aspects, and their relevance to the current Indian security scenario.

The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy, or decision unless so designated by other official documentation. Comments or suggestions should be addressed to: Director US Army Concepts Analysis Agency ATTN: CSCA-MD

Routledge Handbook of the Future of Warfare, 2023

This handbook provides a comprehensive, problem-driven and dynamic overview of the future of warfare. The volatilities and uncertainties of the global security environment raise timely and important questions about the future of humanity's oldest occupation: war. This volume addresses these questions through a collection of cutting-edge contributions by leading scholars in the field. Its overall focus is prognostic rather than futuristic, highlighting discernible trends, key developments and themes without downplaying the lessons from the past. By making the past meet the present in order to envision the future, the handbook offers a diversified outlook on the future of warfare, which will be indispensable for researchers, students and military practitioners alike. The volume is divided into six thematic sections. Section I draws out general trends in the phenomenon of war and sketches the most significant developments, from the past to the present and into the future. Section II looks at the areas and domains which actively shape the future of warfare. Section III engages with the main theories and conceptions of warfare, capturing those attributes of contemporary conflicts which will most likely persist and determine the dynamics and directions of their transformations. The fourth section addresses differentiation and complexity in the domain of warfare, pointing to those factors which will exert a strong impact on the structure and properties of that domain. Section V focuses on technology as the principal trigger of changes and alterations in the essence of warfare. The final section draws on the general trends identified in Section I and sheds light on how those trends have manifested in specific local contexts. This section zooms in on particular geographies which are seen and anticipated as hotbeds where future warfare will most likely assume its shape and reveal its true colours. This book will be of great interest to students of strategic studies, defence studies, war and technology, and International Relations.

2022

The 2018 U.S. National Defense Strategy made headlines by officially downgrading terrorism as a national security priority in favor of “inter-state strategic competition.” Many interpreted the statement as signifying a return to “conventional combat,” yet a closer reading suggests that even state-based competition is likely to be “irregular.” Much like insurgent adversaries, revisionist states blend separate lines of effort to offset military weakness, weaponize narratives to ease strategic progress, and exploit social and political contradictions to undermine and divide target societies. This approach is appealing because it allows for gains that, although incremental, are less likely to face backlash and are therefore more sustainable. Indeed, it was precisely when Russia abandoned this playbook, through its conventional invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, that it succeeded in mobilizing significant local and global resistance, greatly complicating its military and political effort. Thus, for several reasons, irregular warfare is likely to be the strategy of choice for states seeking to contest international order. The United States, and the West, struggle to understand and respond to irregular warfare, whether by states or nonstate actors. Attempts to master the art have generated much new jargon, ranging from “hybrid war” to “the gray zone,” and most recently “integrated deterrence.” The terminology belies a struggle to overcome entrenched presumptions about war—a confusion that generates cognitive friction with implications for strategy. To inform a better approach, this monograph presents an analytical framework to assess and respond to irregular threats. The framework is based on the pedagogical approach of the College of International Security Affairs (CISA) within the National Defense University (NDU), the only U.S. irregular warfare college. It is designed to cut through the analytical ambiguities of irregular warfare and map such strategies to design an effective counter. Though an analytical framework is no panacea for the malaise facing Western strategy, it is an indispensable starting point for all that must follow.