Army Technology • 18th April 2024

Interview: Nato’s new standard for Audacious Wargaming and bespoke simulation

US Army Colonel Steve Banks is head of the modelling, simulations and learning technology branch at NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, Virginia. Army Technology interview Banks at ITEC 2024 conference in London on 9 April 2024. Banks was at ITEC 2024 to provide information on a new capability development programme, Audacious Wargaming. The programme aims to take wargaming from an ‘ad hoc’ process defined by each user, and codify this practical method of analysis under a Nato

Airforce Technology • 16th April 2024

F-35 sustainment costs soar even as flight hours get cut, says GAO

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) have said the F-35 program sustainment costs have increased by 44%, from $1.1trn in 2018 to $1.58trn in 2023, even as use of the F-35, and its availability, have decreased, with the F-35 Joint Program Office reporting a 21% reduction in flight hours across the programme. The F-35 Lightning II aircraft is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most costly weapon system, with an acquisition cost of $442bn for the 630 in-service fighter jets, and the approx

Army Technology • 11th April 2024

New US DoD autonomous weapons officer has collateral damage expertise

Dr Radha Iyenghar Plumb, co-author of a 2010 paper linking civilian casualties in Afghanistan to subsequent insurgent violence, was sworn in on 9 April 2024 as the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO), a position that should prove key to the implementation of US policies for autonomous weapon systems and autonomous systems in the kill chain. Iyenghar Plumb most recently served as the DoD Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustai

Army Technology • 26th March 2024

Lords' defence committee hears lessons for UK from war in Ukraine

Army Technology interviewed Lord Ashton, Chair of the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee (IRDC), to discuss the committee’s latest inquiry, one that examines the lessons learned in the war in Ukraine and their implications on UK defence and procurement. It is the intention of the IRDC to complete the inquiry by the end of June, with the possibility for a follow-up inquiry before the end of 2024, says Lord Ashton, in the event of a late General Election According to ev

Army Technology • 19th March 2024

DARPA drone-autonomy rapidly delivers to EW contested areas

The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has moved from concept to contract in 70 days, on a project to provide a plug-in autonomy adaptor for off-the-shelf drones to operate in areas contested by Electronic Warfare (EW). GlobalData spoke to Dr. Lael Rudd, manager of DARPA’s Rapid Experimental Missionized Autonomy (REMA) programme at the end of the first three-month “spiral challenge”, to understand how the development was carried forward so quickly, and whether REMA is writing

Army Technology • 6th February 2024

Lord Hannay on Committee Report: EU-UK unity essential to defeat Russia

interviewed Lord David Hannay following the release of a House of Lords European Affairs Committee report, into the joint response of the UK and EU to the invasion of Russian into Ukraine, published on 31 January 2024, with the report finding that Russian efforts to circumvent sanctions has resulted in a troubling degree of latitude for the rogue state. The report finds that the UK and EU must continue with support for Ukraine, and sanctions on Russia, for as long as it takes to reverse the eff

GDT Magazine • 13th October 2022

OSINT in Ukraine: civilians in the kill chain and the information space - Global Defence Technology | Issue 137 | October 2022

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) has a long history of use in the intelligence community and the verification and crosschecking of evidence against data points is a standard tool for security services. The war in Ukraine has been exceptional regarding civilian activity in verification of OSINT information, with large online open-source investigation communities and individual researchers sourcing and geolocating evidence before disseminating it to a public audience. “Ukraine’s armed forces have

GDT Magazine • 6th December 2023

Belarus – Russia’s nuclear option? - Global Defence Technology | Issue 144 | December 2023

Satellite imagery of Belarus from the start of September captured covert radiological warfare exercises by an alliance of post-soviet states, provoking concern among analysts that Russia is committed to hosting nuclear weapons in Belarusian territory. The intra-day imagery, gathered by geospatial intelligence company BlackSky and then independently verified by specialist defence services company Preligens, exposed the radioactive decontamination of a formation of military vehicles at Bretsky T

The Financial Times • 15th January 2019

Congo voting data reveal huge fraud in poll to replace Kabila

Martin Fayulu was the clear winner of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential elections last month, a Financial Times analysis of two separate collections of voting data shows, contradicting claims from authorities that rival contender Felix Tshisekedi had won the historic vote. The analysis points to huge fraud in the first change of power since Joseph Kabila took over the presidency of the mineral-rich central African nation almost 18 years ago. It is likely to embolden critics of Mr

Naval Technology • 14th March 2023

China's secret naval base in Cambodia, through satellite imagery

At DGI London on 27 February, BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole stunned audiences with geospatial intelligence revealing the progression of China’s secret naval base in Ream, Cambodia. The quick response time satellite imagery that made this possible was as remarkable as the revelations that followed. While the principle seems simple, only in the last three years has a company invested in the commercial application for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR): instead of imaging satellites

Army Technology • 30th November 2022

US won’t let China take Taiwan chip-makers ‘intact’

Speaking at the Richard Nixon Foundation’s Grand Strategy Summit on 10 November, former US National Security Advisor Ambassador Robert O’Brien appeared to lend credence to reports the US will disable Taiwan’s semi-conductor chip manufacturing capabilities if China attempts to reunify the island with the mainland. “If China takes Taiwan and takes those factories intact – which I don’t think we would ever allow – they have a monopoly over chips the way OPEC has a monopoly, or even more than the w

Army Technology • 1st December 2023

Lords: MoD need 'complete reset' for AI and autonomous weapons

Army Technology interviewed Lord Robert Lisvane, Chair of the House of Lords Inquiry into AI enabled Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) that has published, 1 December, a report recommending the UK government seeks public support in implementing wider use of AWS in defence. The report, ‘Proceed with Caution: Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems‘, also suggested that meaningful human oversight be embedded at every stage of development and deployment, and that Artificial intelligence should be p

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism • 23rd April 2018

Dying Homeless: Counting the deaths of homeless people across the UK

The number of people sleeping rough rose by 169% between 2010 and 2017. During the bitter cold of the 2017-2018 winter, some deaths made headlines, including that of a man who died close to the Palace of Westminster. Despite many vulnerable people being known to the authorities, local journalists and charities were often the only ones that reported these deaths. The Bureau spoke to councils, hospitals, coroners' offices, police forces and NGOs. While there is a charitable network recording in

Army Technology • 22nd March 2023

UK Special Forces in Afghanistan investigated for unlawful killings

A statutory inquiry was launched on 22 March into claims that British Special Forces in Afghanistan murdered innocent civilians and engaged in a cover up of the deaths. Extrajudicial killing allegations involving elite British forces in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013 will be investigated, as will the response of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Military Police to those allegations. The inquiry will be chaired by senior Court of Appeal Judge Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and will hav

GDT Magazine • 9th December 2022

Seabed warfare is a ‘real and present threat’ - Global Defence Technology | Issue 138 | December 2022

In February, the French Navy unveiled a new strategic seabed warfare doctrine, while in May, the UK Royal Navy met with private operators in the undersea, indicating that navies in the area are studying seabed warfare vulnerabilities. Due to the experience gained building the infrastructure developed by the oil and gas industry, it is thought that the commercial sector has primacy in ocean floor operations at depths beyond the continental shelf. “The civilian sector, such as offshore oil and ga

Army Technology • 13th July 2023

Germany breaks with Nato to send 4000 troops to Lithuania

On Tuesday 11 July, at the end of the first day of the Nato summit in Vilnius, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would permanently station 4000 troops in Lithuania – first announced by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on June 26th – as part of a bilateral agreement between the two countries, rather than as part of NATO’s plans to increase the existing battalions, reported Lithuania’s public broadcaster, . However, this came a little more than 24 hours after a release f

GDT Magazine • 13th April 2023

Former Chief of Defence, Lord Stirrup responds to Integrated Review Refresh - Global Defence Technology | Issue 140 | April 2023

One of the key issues the House of Lords’ IRDC was concerned about in the 2021 IR, in its original form, was how the UK positioned itself in relation to China. There had been a “strategic void” at the heart of UK foreign policy oaths subject. However, had the Integrated Review Refresh, published in February 2023, made the distinction between calling China an ‘important partner’, as published in 2021, and calling China a ‘systemic competitor’ as the 2021 document had also done. “Well, I think t

Army Technology • 3rd October 2022

Japan as the third global military power

If Japan fulfils its budget goals in the next five years the nation will go from the fifth or seventh strongest military power – in terms of firepower or defence spending respectively – to third in the world after the US and China. Japan’s defence expenditure is anticipated to increase from $53.1bn next year to $70.4bn in 2027, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 7.3%, according to GlobalData. After the Cold War, Japan maintained a ‘dual hedge’, encouraging relationships with both Chin

GDT Magazine • 13th April 2023

Quantum leap: Reaping the benefits of early adoption - Global Defence Technology | Issue 140 | April 2023

With the publication in March 2023 of its National Quantum Strategy, the UK Government has signalled its intention to be an early mover in quantum technologies with a wide slate of investments in the sector. In many ways the arc of development set out is a clear example of what defence procurement should be: heavy investment early on, subsidising risks for research partners while allowing private sector institutions room to innovate as the technology grows in sophistication. At an end point, cus

Army Technology • 21st August 2023

Satellite reveals Sudanese Forces' airstrikes shielded by UK evacuation

In analysis of satellite imagery released today, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appear to have used a temporary non-conflict zone around the airfield at the centre of the UK-managed evacuation from Sudan, while staging airstrikes against paramilitary rebels in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Satellite imagery from BlackSky, a major geospatial intelligence provider, taken during the SAF/RSF ceasefires, show Sudanese military aircraft using the Wadi Seidna airfield concurrently with internationa