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F-110 frigates infographic. Source - Navantia.

F-110 frigates’ anti-submarine capabilities

by Christian D. Villanueva López in Armament

Russian Tu-160 bomber. Source - Russia Beyond.

Nuclear war in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine seems to be heading, step by step and inexorably, towards a first use of nuclear weapons. Something unheard of since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This is the consequence of the years-long move towards a Second Nuclear Age and the normalisation of the concept of Offensive Deterrence, which Russia has been putting into practice since the early stages of the conflict to modulate the degree of Western involvement. If Russia, faced with the threat of complete military defeat and the loss of conquered territories, finally resorts to atomic weapons it will have done nothing more than confirm some of the theories explained in this article. At the height of the Cold War, Herman Kahn, one of the most prominent nuclear strategists, said in 1984 in his famous book ‘Thinking the Unthinkable in […]

Captain Dean W. Morisson, Executive Officer with the 1st Infantry Divisions 3rd Brigade Reconnaissance Troop, directs Staff Sgt. Nicholus Danielsen, acting platoon sergeant with the troop, while conducting clearing operations in Fallujah Nov. 15, 2004. Source - US Army.

An introduction to urban warfare

This article aims to provide a basic introduction to urban combat – or urban warfare -, the historical perspective on the problem and its evolution. It also aims to outline some of the different solutions that various countries, organisations, practitioners, or academics have offered to the specific problems they have encountered. All of this is done by sharing a series of sources of information with which to delve deeper into the subject and enter into the debates that are taking place today. An effort has been made to include a bibliography so that the reader can look more deeply into the different issues and debates related to urban warfare. If the reader so desires, this article could also be called a State of the Art of Urban Warfare. Introduction to the urban warfare problem “Operating in a rural area, if […]

The tactical nuclear ground battle in Ukraine

The use of tactical (or non-strategic) nuclear weapons on the ground battlefield is much more difficult to visualise and understand than is popularly assumed. In general, the usual thing is simply to extrapolate the apocalyptic images of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then deducing that carrying out a few attacks with nuclear artillery fire would cause extremely destructive effects that would annihilate an enemy army with relative ease. Things, however, are far from being so simple, with multiple technical problems that are not easy to solve. This turns tactical nuclear warfare into a complex issue that is not within the reach of any power, as we will see below. In addition to the difficulty of inflicting an acceptable level of damage on the enemy, we must also take into account the effects on our own troops -sometimes difficult […]

Strategic Transport

The war in Ukraine has shown us once again the importance of Strategic Transportation. In the Russian case, given the enormous distances to be traveled through a country that is the size of a continent. In Ukraine, due to the amount of supplies, systems and platforms sent by its allies throughout the world. However, there are not a few armies, including the Spanish Armed Forces, that neglect a fundamental capacity, especially when they are part of organizations such as the European Union and NATO, as is our case. Most confrontations or acts of war between sovereign countries take place across common borders. Even so, due to its extension or due to the resources that must be mobilized, both in personnel and in material means, they force their armies to make large transport movements to go to the front. If we […]

Launching of a Chinese space rocket. Source - CCTV.

Chinese FOBS and Limited Nuclear Options

On 16 October, the US Financial Times published what, in the world of Strategic Studies, was a real bombshell: China’s alleged test of a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) combined with a hypersonic missile. The advantages of FOBS lie in their ability to attack by orbital flight, so that they can describe unpredictable trajectories with a flight profile that makes them very difficult to detect, track and intercept with anti-missile systems or space weapons. In addition to the advantages of orbital flight, in the terminal phase of the attack, the weapon re-enters the atmosphere and strikes as a hypersonic glide-glide missile (HGV). Taken together, the combined characteristics of FOBS and HGVs provide unique capabilities to prevail in a crisis or limited nuclear engagement. However, this weapon is not a panacea and has the disadvantage that ballistically it is very inefficient; it takes alot of energy to launch a FOBS-HGV, while the same amount of energy used by a rocket in ballistic launch could launch many ballistic warheads. Moreover, FOBS-HGVs are not a “First Strike” weapon that could alter strategicstability between China and the US but are only a weapon for limited engagements and escalation control. Theselimited engagements were formalised […]

AUKUS could lead to the Royal Australian Navy's acquisition of Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. Source - General Dynamics Electric Boat

AUKUS and nuclear submarines

Australia’s announcement that it will acquire at least eight nuclear-powered attack submarines came as a remarkable surprise. Especially as it was accompanied by another announcement of even more profound consequences: the formation of the AUKUS between the US, the UK and Australia itself. It is true that for years there had been talk in defence circles that Australia needed nuclear-powered attack submarines. As early as 2009, the then Australian government ruled that the nuclear option to replace the nationally designed (highly problematic and poorly operational) Collins-class diesel-electric submarines was ruled out. Various studies on the future of Australia’s submarine weapon, such as this one by ASPI in 2012 entitled ‘Mind the gap. Getting serious about submarines‘, explored three options, one of which was to have nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines, although there were doubts that even the Americans would be willing to transfer the technology. According to the Financial Times, it was the Australians who asked the Americans for technology for nuclear attack submarines. The very creation of AUKUS, a military technology-sharing partnership, […]

On “Strategic Autonomy”

If in the field of European security and defense in recent years one expression stands out above all, it is that of “Strategic Autonomy”, especially since the publication of the EU Global Strategy in 2016. However, lacking of a specific definition, this is presented as one of the pending accounts of the EU, especially in view of the preparation of the Strategic Compass. ‘European strategic autonomy’ are not mere words. The strategic independence of Europe is our new common project for this century. In everyone’s interest. Seventy years after the founding fathers, European strategic autonomy is the number one goal of our generation. For Europe, this is the true beginning of the XNUMXst century (European Council, 2020) In this forceful way, the speech of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, ended in front of the Brussels Economic Forum […]

Distributed Lethality

In 2015, the United States Naval Institute (USNI) published an article signed by Vice Admiral Thomas Rowden and Rear Admirals Peter Gumataotao and Peter Fanta, calling for an operational change in the US Navy that would lead to what its authors called “Distributed Lethality”. To do this, they not only asked to increase the offensive power of each ship in the surface fleet, but also wanted them to start operating in what they defined as “hunter-killer surface action groups”, leaving behind the large formations of escorts, with AAW orientation and articulated around nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. We have talked about the Third Offset Strategy, understood as the economic, military, technical and diplomatic effort of the United States to compensate for the military rise of the People’s Republic of China and its expansion, especially in the naval field, it is now time […]

Third Offset Strategy

The Third Offset Strategy is the US response to the military rise of revisionist powers like the People’s Republic of China. It aims to overcome the limitations of the RMA (Revolution in Military Affairs) of Information, the one that in the decades before and after the turn of the century promised us a long-distance, precise and bloodless war, is already a reality assimilated to a greater or to a lesser extent by many of the most powerful armies. It is evident that this RMA has changed the way of waging war in many aspects, although its influence is far from what was promised by many of its main defenders during the happy 90s. The new developments in terms of autonomous weapons, cyber warfare or nanotechnology, for On the contrary, they represent a change of greater significance that could forever change […]

F-110 frigates’ anti-submarine capabilities

The F-110 frigates have the difficult mission of replacing the F-80s, which have provided such a good service, giving back to the Armada some of the anti-submarine capabilities that we have neglected for decades. To do so, they are relying on an anti-submarine suite provided by Thales and SAES, which includes top-level equipment on a par with navies such as the US Navy and the French Marine Nationale. As a result, they will form the core of a force that will be supplemented in the future by the capabilities provided by S-80 submarines and future maritime patrol aircraft, manned or unmanned. Although the years ahead are far from rosy, as there is much work to be done – as much as there has been institutional neglect – the F-110 frigates are a great first step. In January 2013 the Military […]

The combat system of the S-80 submarines

It is difficult to explain the complexity inherent in platforms such as the S-80 submarines. This type of programme is often compared to space programmes, partly for marketing reasons, but also to try to summarise, in a few words, the enormous number of systems and subsystems that make them up. Over the next three articles we will explain one by one the systems that, vertebrated by the Combat System, will allow the S-81 “Isaac Peral” and its twins to be among the most capable conventional submarines in the world. To this end, in this first article, we will talk about the sonar suite. Subsequently, in a second publication, we will focus on the surface sensors, communications systems, platform control and navigation systems, and countermeasures systems. Finally, a third article will be devoted to armament, as this is such a complex […]

M142 HIMARS

Since the first M142 HIMARS system arrived in Ukraine on June, rivers of ink have been written about its role in the war. There is no doubt that thanks to its mobility, versatility, precision and range, it has allowed Ukraine to inflict real damage on Russian logistics. Hence, limiting its ability to coordinate large-scale operations and thus limiting its progress. In this sense, the HIMARS and its brothers, the M270 and the MARS II, have changed the sign of the conflict. However, it has not been their only notch, as they have previously played an important role in other conflicts, including Afghanistan and the fight against Daesh. What is more important, everything seems to indicate that we are only at the beginning of its operational life, since improvements and new ammunition are constantly being developed that promise an intense future. […]

USS America (LHA-6) F-35B loaded. Source - US Navy.

The return of light aircraft carriers

In the decades immediately after the Second World War, light aircraft carriers progressively decreased in number, becoming the solution for those navies that could not afford to maintain true fleet carriers. This trend became even more pronounced with the end of the Cold War and the decommissioning of many of the last exponents still in service. Now, faced with a new scenario of great power competition in which naval supremacy is no longer assured for the US and its allies, and with the impossibility of operating more Nimitz and Gerald R. Ford class supercarriers, the light aircraft carrier concept is regaining much of its appeal. This is not only because of the possibility of access – at least for some US partners – to the F-35B, but also as a platform from which to operate fixed-wing drones, something that China […]

FGK Programme (Fuze Guidance Kit)

Four years ago, the Madrid-based company Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) began working on a unique project in our country: the design of guidance kits that could be used in rocket ammunition as well as in howitzers and mortars. Since then, the dozens of people working on the FGK (Fuze Guidance Kit) programme have achieved important advances and passed numerous milestones. For example, on 7 June, at the Torregorda Test Centre (Centro de Ensayos de Torregorda, CET), which is part of INTA (National Institute for Aerospace Technology) and located on the outskirts of the city of Cadiz (Spain), we were able to witness the launch of five 155 mm projectiles equipped with five guided fuses. The results of the tests, which were a resounding success, achieving an accuracy that would be impossible to achieve without these kits and demonstrating the reliability […]

Status-6 / Poseidon / Kanyon

President Putin’s statements in early March 2018 have highlighted a number of deep-rooted Russian weapons developments, including the Status-6 (AKA Poseidon, AKA Kanyon). On the one hand, it would seem that Russia is closer to developing a Science Fiction-like arsenal than to having conventional strategic forces. On the other hand, for years now, there has been discussion about the real viability of these weapons and developments. It is true that the presentation of the new systems by the President of a nation as powerful as the Russian Federation gives a boost to their existence. It is no less true, on the other hand, that rumors have been reproducing for years and that, although scarce, there has been information on the subject for years for those who wish to delve a little into the matter. In any case, we must not […]

Turkish Leopard 2A4 in Syria. Source - Defence Blog.

Turkish Leopard 2A4TR in the Syrian snow

The Turkish Army acquired 298 second-hand Leopard 2A4 from the Bundeswehr depots, as many of NATO’s European partners. These Turkish Leopard 2A4TR received a single modification in later years, consisting of the addition of new and improved air filters – something important for the dusty lands of the Middle East – although possibly this improvement was implemented without thinking that they would be tested in a conflict as complex as the Syrian conflict… Turkish Leopard 2A4 in Syria: Operation Euphrates Shield At the end of August 2016, after months of preparation, Turkey began the deployment of troops through northern Syria with the intention of preventing the unification of the Kurdish cantons in Syrian territory, whose peshmerga were expelling Daesh from large areas of the country. The possibility of the Kurds achieving a sort of state of their own in northern […]

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is, with the permission of the US Navy and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, the most comprehensive, powerful and balanced naval force in Asia. By converting its Izumo-class “helicopter destroyers” into light aircraft carriers, acquiring F-35B stealth fighters, a host of world-class escort ships, and the most sophisticated submarine force in the region, They have become a reference over the years. What’s more, in the midst of an increasingly complex regional climate and with a Government determined to increase defense investment to the extent necessary to maintain Japan’s independence and security, all indications are that in the years to come this force will not rather than grow in size and capabilities. The director of this publication, after many months of waiting, has finally agreed to publish a series of three articles focused on the […]

Republic of Korea Navy

The Republic of Korea has gone from having a largely coastal navy focused on North Korea to one with growing ocean capabilities and equipped with some of the most modern and well-armed ships in the world. Moreover, far from acquiring them from third countries, over the years it has taken advantage of both the lessons learned and the undeniable capabilities of its civilian naval industry (the largest in the world) and arms industry to design and build not only first-class warships class, but also missiles and systems of all kinds with which to equip them. In a few years, moreover, it is possible that they will have new aircraft carriers thanks to British help, with which, together with the People’s Republic of China and Japan, it would be the only navy in the region capable of deploying considerable air-naval power, […]