Army Transformation: Implications for the Future

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee on July 15, 2004
Another article that questions the effectiveness of the transformation being implemented by the US Army.

EU launches crisis police force: European Gendarmerie Force

BBC NEWS Europe EU launches crisis police force

"...something between the neutrality of traditional UN peacekeeping and Nato's cruise missiles."

The text from the news report sums it up well. Policemen are more suited for "before & after" scenarios. Before & after a full-scale conflict, soldiers often look out of place on the ground. Sudan is the perfect scenario for this force, however the force is not ready yet.

Heavy APC / IFV for urban warfare?

The Israeli Ministry of Defence is considering the development of a new heavy APC dubbed Nemerah (Tigress), based on the Merkava MBT, as was reported in Jane's Defence Weekly. Israel has a range of heavy APCs converted from old MBT platforms.

opswarfare agrees that a normal APC /IFV, with armour that is only thick enough to protect against small arms fire, is inadequate for modern warfare, especially urban warfare, where RPG and IED threats exist. We have seen this scenario played out in Palestine or Iraq; a lowly RPG can take out a APC.

Russia is the other country with this type of vehicle in development, BMPT & BTR-T.

Maritime Prepositioning Force [MPF]

These are the hardworking elements of the Gator Navy that work silently in the background. They consist of commercial container ships that have been converted to supply the logistical needs of the USMC at war. This type of ship is also a defence against the possibility of a devastating first strike on land assets. They supply nearly everything "...from tanks and ammunition to food and water and from fuel to spare parts and engine oil." The MPF is part of the US Military Sealift Command. What makes them special is the ability to launch amphibious craft and vehicles using a submerged stern ramp. A Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future) [MPF(F)] is already being planned, with more features.

Amphibious Warfare (N753) & click on link at the bottom right
Maritime Prepositioning Ships - T-AK
Maritime Prepositioning Force

Armoured face mask

First seen by opswarfare in a book on special forces, the man in the middle is wearing an armoured face mask. opswarfare thinks these masks should be used more, as they provide important protection to the face. Also, there is potential for incorporating imaging devices and communications equipment. These men belong to Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza [NOCS], a special forces branch of the Italian Police Force. opswarfare has, to date, not seen any other organisation that uses these masks.

Shooting around corners

An old idea updated with new technology, cornershot allows shooting around corners. The example shown uses a pistol; there is a larger version for anti-tank missile.

Blast From the Past

Improvised bombs pose a serious threat to modern militaries. Technologies and techniques both new and old can help.
A sobering article on how something as simple as a roadside bomb cannot even be dealt with easily using technology. Warfare has always remained asymmetric in nature, and will continue to be so. Success belongs to those with ingenuity, not technology.

Littoral warfare by remote control

Littoral warfare by remote control
Every weapons platform seems to be going unmanned nowadays, this article talks about unmanned surface vehicles. A good application could be resupply ships.

Subskimmer

Subskimmer
after reading about subskimmers in the SAS fighting techniques handbook, opswarfare did a google search and came up with the link above, the idea seems quite suitable for covert infiltration, being a simpler solution compared to normal SDV or the new ASDV.

Israel's low-intensity conflict doctrine - inner conflict

Israel's low-intensity conflict doctrine - inner conflict
This article once again shows, opswarfare feels, that the US Army & USMC should learn from the Israelis with regards to solving the Iraq issue.