Article recommendation: Liam Collins identifies a good list of lessons to be learned from the war in Ukraine about war with a near-pear adversary. Some of the items are old skills that counter-insurgency focused thinking has caused Western armies to forget. Others are truly new.
Army
Let’s hope insurgents don’t learn basic infantry skills
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Turkey is losing Leopard 2 tanks in Syria at an alarming pace
The Turkish operations in Northern Syria have caused some debate about the quality of the Leopard 2 tanks. The Leopard 2 is widely regarded as one of the best tanks in the world, yet the Turks seem to lose them on the battlefield at an alarming pace. Yesterday, another Leopard 2 became the victim of […]
Proxy wars seem to be a thing again
Sébastien Roblin for War on the Rocks in connection with the American decision to provide Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine: Michael Kofman, an analyst with extensive knowledge of Russian military affairs, was skeptical that a “few missiles” would be of any serious military benefit in a New York Times column in August. He wrote that […]
Norway buys K9 Thunder howitzers from South Korea
Norway has bought the K9 Thunder 155mm self-propelled howitzer, reports the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency. The contract includes 24 new howitzers and an unspecified number of K10 designated ammunition resupply vehicles. In addition to this there is an option for the purchase of another 24 howitzers. The initial cost is 1.8 billion NOK, and that […]
Three random things that aren’t too important for U.S. military
Forward Observer has made a list of three things that the U.S. military needs to fight in NATO-aligned Europe. The list is: Installation of GPS navigation in those Blackhawk helicopters that don’t have it already. Better cold weather gear and boots. An ADR safety certification of cars and trucks laden with hazardous materials. They could […]
Sweden establishes new regiment on Gotland
The Swedish government has decided to form a new regiment on Gotland. From the beginning the regiment will count 350 soldiers but that number is expected to grow successively, reports svt.se. The headquarters for the new regiment will be in Visby. This is the first establishment of a new regiment in Sweden since World War […]
Estonia receives Javelin anti-tank missiles
Estonia has received the first delivery of Javelin Block 1 missiles. Javelin is a man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile that is produced by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. That announces the Estonian Ministry of Defense. The missiles will replace the old MILAN system in both the army and the voluntary Estonian Defense League. Last year Estonia received […]
