Military Sciences

Fighting for the soul of Western militaries

Manoeuvre warfare, the manoeuvrist approach, and manoeuverism as military concepts have been revered by Western militaries for half a century, while their lesser-known brethren concepts such as positional and attrition warfare have long been forgotten. Peter Roberts and Amos Fox, a US military theorist, reflect on contemporary conflict against these paradigms and draw some interesting and...

""The main driver for supersonic unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is to allow them to operate alongside piloted, supersonic fast jets in tactical situations without having to coordinate between aircraft types with very different levels of performance," said Justin Bronk, research fellow for airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "In other words, UCAVs designed for 'loyal wingman' type operations are more likely to be designed with supersonic performance than ones designed to operate independently." "

World's first pilotless supersonic combat drone on sale for $16m

21st-Century Assistance Dogs? Harnessing Data and Technology

Paul O’Neill and Alison Gregory

This report reflects the learning from a RUSI/PA Consulting-hosted series of discussion groups on data and technology. The groups were held between June and December 2020, and featured representatives from the public sector, multiple industry sectors and academics.

FCAS: Is the Franco-German-Spanish Combat Air Programme Really in Trouble?

Justin Bronk

A new European combat aircraft is still likely to emerge from a programme plagued by mismatched national positions, priorities and industrial responsibilities.

Reports of the ‘Failure’ of the F-35 are Premature and Exaggerated

Justin Bronk

The announcement that a forthcoming US Air Force TacAir study will include an assessment of a new clean sheet design to replace the F-16 has led many to label the F-35 a failure. While it is certainly an important change in public messaging, the underlying dynamics do not support this interpretation.

Rose Roth, language and youth

Peter Roberts talks to veteran Welsh politician and former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Madeleine Moon about her reflections on two decades of handling political-military relations, and on the challenge of answering the desire for engagement by younger generations.