British Army’s ISR commander warns of new challenges facing defence forces
The Russia-Ukraine war has highlighted the need for ISR such as mobile observation systems used by Ukraine Army. (Photo: Come Back Alive Foundation)
The major functions of C4ISR – supporting decision-making, force protection and targeting – may not have changed but the UK’s leading ISR commander has said that armed forces needed to acknowledge the capability in its own right by learning lessons from ongoing conflicts, dealing with the ongoing data revolution and making better use publicly available information.
Maj Gen Matthew Jones, director ISR – defence intelligence for UK Strategic Command, speaking at Defence IQ’s C4ISR Global conference in London last week, said that his key role remained “seeing what is over the hill” but noted that the role of systems supporting
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
SOF Week 2026: How SOF Teams Are Powering Radios, Drones and Battlefield Networks (video)
At SOF Week 2026, Sean O’Neill, Senior Business Development Manager with Iris Technology, discusses the growing importance of tactical power management systems for modern military operations.
-
SOF Week 2026: How SOF Operators Are Driving the Future of Battlefield Communications (video)
At SOF Week 2026, Austin Farnham, President of Octane Wireless, discusses how direct feedback from special operations forces is helping shape the next generation of battlefield communications technology.
-
World Defense Show 2026: Northrop Grumman to present improved C2 management system
The Northrop Grumman Integrated Battle Command System is in service with Poland and the US Army with another 20 countries believed to have expressed an interest.
-
Thales looks to boost DigitalCrew system through AI and human-machine teaming trials
The Thales DigitalCrew package, first unveiled at last year’s Defence IQ International Armoured Vehicles conference, is designed to merge imaging and apply a layer of decision-making and observation algorithms to support crew and other personnel.
-
Babcock nears first customer for Nomad AI translation tool
Nomad can provide militaries with real-time intelligence, saving critical time on the battlefield.
-
AUSA 2025: Israel’s Asio Technologies to supply hundreds of improved Taurus tactical systems
Taurus operates alongside the Israel Defense Forces’ Orion system which supports mission management across tens of thousands of manoeuvring forces, from squad leaders to battalion commanders.