Defence Notes
DSEI 2021: UK defence industry policy risks strategic incoherence (Opinion)
The UK has a globally regarded network of defence and security companies — but industrial sovereignty is being eroded by a steady stream of bids from overseas.
Defence Notes
Choppy waters ahead for UK and NATO in the Black Sea (Opinion)
NATO planners face a tricky challenge from a riled and increasingly assertive Russia in the Black Sea — but they cannot afford to back down.
Defence Notes
Ajax adds to woeful litany of British Army procurement failures (Opinion)
Given the latest delay to a key programme, how much confidence should there be in the underequipped British Army achieving key vehicle procurement ambitions laid out in the recent Integrated Review?
Defence Notes
Questions hover over Five Eyes (Opinion)
Is Five Eyes fit for the 21st century, and will it see its 100th birthday as it is currently configured?
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Defence Notes
UK Indo-Pacific tilt risks obscuring importance of Middle East
27th April 2021
The special naval relationship between the UK and US could be jeopardised if the former focuses too much on the Indo-Pacific region by drawing resources away from the strategically important Arabian Gulf.
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Defence Notes
UK rolls the dice with Integrated Review
31st March 2021
The Integrated Review is certainly ambitious in its scope but how realistic is it?
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Defence Notes
UK ambitions fail to bridge the gap to fiscal reality
18th February 2021
In a changing world some things stay the same, such as the MoD’s tendency to overcommit itself financially. Can the ministry avoid lurching from one financial crisis to another in the decade ahead?
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Defence Notes
Brexit leaves future UK-EU defence relationship undefined
22nd January 2021
More clarity is needed on how a post-Brexit UK, with its ambitions for ‘Global Britain’, regards mainland Europe in terms of defence and security.
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Defence Notes
All that glitters is not gold for MoD
29th December 2020
The major multi-year funding injection announced by the UK government in November 2020 appears attractive — but in fact it lays bare a dilemma at the heart of the MoD.
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Defence Notes
UK armed forces fret as review looms closer
14th October 2020
Have difficult decisions on intractable problems been delayed too long, as the clock ticks down to publication of the integrated review of UK defence and security capabilities?
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Naval Warfare
UK juggles priorities as it assesses Middle East deployments
21st September 2020
The International Maritime Security Construct recently opened its formal headquarters in Bahrain. The grouping of nations focusing on delivering maritime security in the complex Gulf region ...
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Defence Notes
UK needs to decide – is it in or out of Asia-Pacific?
21st August 2020
The UK RN seems determined to deploy a carrier group in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, as the first operational deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth. ...
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Defence Notes
NSA appointment reflects UK defence policy vacuum
29th July 2020
The corridors of Whitehall are generally quiet peaceful places, but in recent weeks there has been the Civil Service equivalent of an almighty shouting match, ...
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Defence Notes
Organisational and ministerial changes bode ill for MoD
1st July 2020
The Whitehall machine is undergoing yet another session of tinkering in an effort to make it more efficient and coherent: at least, that is the ...
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Defence Notes
Great power competition in the frozen North poses tough questions for UK
12th June 2020
The Arctic may be known for its freezing temperatures, but it is hard to escape the conclusion that in strategic terms, the temperature is rising ...
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Defence Notes
US risks further erosion of global influence with confused strategy
28th May 2020
Amid the fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic, as nations try to chart a way out of the crisis and focus on recovery, there has ...
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Defence Notes
COVID-19 ripple effects cause lasting strategic headaches
12th May 2020
The 75th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May marked the end of the Second World War in Europe. The intervening years have seen the continent ...
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Naval Warfare
COVID-19 exposes USN fault lines
23rd April 2020
Worldwide disruption continues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the global response imposing many changes to normal routines and activity. For armed forces ...
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Naval Warfare
Nuclear deterrence renewal poses similar challenges to UK and US navies
13th April 2020
The UK government is committed to beginning work on development of the next generation of nuclear warhead for its Trident missile programme. This news is ...
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Defence Notes
COVID-19 will deliver lasting ramifications
19th March 2020
The COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, dominating global news cycles and completely reshaping how nations are governed. Across the world, lockdowns, transport bans ...
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Defence Notes
No easy choices for UK in latest strategic review
11th March 2020
With the first phase of Brexit completed, the UK now faces strategic choices about the role it wishes to play in the world, and the ...
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Defence Notes
Opinion: British Army could emerge as the winner from ministerial changes and spending reviews
17th February 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has completed his first significant reshuffle, hiring and firing ministers to form his cabinet and to focus on the delivery of ...
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Defence Notes
Opinion: Transatlantic relationship enters an uncertain phase
6th February 2020
The decision by the UK government to approve the use of Huawei technology in “non-core” parts of the new national 5G network has been met ...
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Defence Notes
Opinion: Another year of instability amid Middle Eastern power plays
22nd January 2020
The new decade has opened, quite literally, with a bang. The drone strike by the US military on 3 January to kill the head of ...
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