Why is it that Western infantry has been so dominant in battle during counterinsurgency operations? The casualty numbers are exceptionally unequally distributed between Western forces and the insurgents. Conventional wisdom attributes a lot of importance on superior technology such as air superiority, surveillance systems, precision munitions, command-and-control systems, and night vision capabilities. But what if […]
Archives for February 2018
New report on Germany’s troubled equipment status
Deutsche Welle: Many primary weapons systems in the Bundeswehr are not available for training exercises or deployment, according to a new Defense Ministry study. The “Report on the Operational Readiness of the Bundeswehr’s Primary Weapons Systems 2017,” which has been seen by the Reuters news agency and the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group, is set to […]
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review misses the point on Russia
The Pentagon published its Nuclear Posture Review for 2018 (NPR) earlier in February. It dramatically changes some assumptions about nuclear weapons that were laid out in the previous NPR from 2010. The new NPR concludes that there has been a deterioration in international relations with a return to great power competition and a more complex […]
Things to look for in near future for Russian Baltic Fleet: Return of AGI and naval exercise
Intelligence ship Fyodor Golovin (AGI) of the Russian Baltic Fleet has been relieved off Syria and is now returning to the Baltic Sea. That reported Russian military news site flot.com on Tuesday. Fyodor Golovin was replaced on duty by the intelligence ship Ekvator of the Black Sea Fleet. Russia has had a shortage of intelligence […]
Helicopter scandals for everyone, Black Hawk to the rescue
Helicopters are a common problem for the scandinavian countries. Everyone seems struggling with deliveries, reliability, and costs. It is not a flattering story for European helicopters NH90 and AW101, and the American Black Hawk and Seahawk may be the solution everyone is turning to. Recently it made headlines that Sweden is considering not using NH90 […]
Russia has lost its economic leverage over Ukraine
Nicu Popescu has written a great article for Carnegie Moscow Center about the future relationship between Russia and Ukraine. “Those in Moscow who believe that all is not lost for Russia in Ukraine, citing the example of Georgia, which is gradually normalizing relations with Russia despite the 2008 war, are being overly optimistic. While the […]
Latvia buys Spike anti-tank missiles
Latvia has signed a deal to purchase Spike anti-tank missiles from Israel for a total sum of €108 million. That reports Latvian Public Broadcasting. Spike is a very capable weapon, which is comparable to the American Javelin system that neighboring Estonia recently purchased. The weapons will be delivered to Latvia until 2023. The exact number […]
Russia forbids soldiers to use social media
New guidelines from the Russian Ministry of Defense aim to limit the access of soldiers to the internet. So far these guidelines are only recommendations, but they will be implemented in legislation soon. That reports Izvestia. Some of the recommendations are very sensible: Install software updates, don’t install suspicious apps, and use complex and unique […]
K9 Thunder howitzers delivered to Finland
Finland has received the first K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers from South Korea. That announced Finnish defense minister Jussi Niinistö on Friday. Finland has ordered a total of 48 K9 Thunder howitzers, and judging by the images from the Vuosaari docks at least four of them have arrived. The K9 Thunder is a 155 mm self-propelled […]
U.S. military budget for 2018 blows the boundaries of reason
US military spending is an interesting topic. On the one hand there is a widespread conception among military personnel that the military is suffering under severe budget constraints. On the other hand the actual spending on the military is very high — and much higher than during the Cold War. Now the 2018 budget is […]
