The Defence Horizon Journal - Podcasts

Military effectiveness hinges on technological innovation and organisational fitness—the ability to adapt, integrate, and exploit new capabilities. While AI, cyber warfare, and autonomous systems are reshaping conflict, rigid hierarchies and cultural resistance hinder their adoption. Bridging the gap between technological potential and institutional readiness requires decentralised decision-making, strategic alignment, and adaptive...

Emerging and Disruptive Technologies are fundamentally reshaping modern warfare, creating a paradox where military forces are empowered and constrained by digital advancements. Western militaries, particularly NATO, face growing friction as their force structures struggle to adapt to the constantly evolving Russian way of warfare witnessed in Ukraine. This paper introduces the concept of digital friction, the operational strain cau...

The evolution of battlefield surveillance, from traditional elevated vantage points to advanced satellite remote sensing, has transformed geospatial data into actionable insights. The research focuses on creating a Digital Twin of a battlefield using a range of data sources. A methodology for assessing terrain features, such as visibility, slope, and soil moisture, is developed, along with a model for vegetation cover using Sentine...

Technological advancements and evolving security policies increasingly shape military conflicts through AI, autonomous systems, and cyber capabilities. Future developments can be analysed from both military-technological and tactical perspectives, highlighting challenges in command structures, information processing, and execution. The vignettes address the aspects of capability, understanding, and will, i.e., the parts of combat p...

Explosives and pyrotechnics play a critical role in modern military technology. Recent advancements in nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and 3D additive manufacturing are transforming the development, applications, and safety of these technologies. This paper examines how these disruptive technologies shape the future of explosives while addressing the challenges of their ethical application. Special attention is given to AI...

This critical analysis evaluates Thomas Rid's thesis in "Cyber War Will Not Take Place," which argues that cyber operations do not fulfil Clausewitzian criteria for war. It supports Rid's overall assertion while exploring nuances and limitations in his argument. Despite the compelling nature of Rid's claim that cyber war as a standalone phenomenon is unlikely, the analysis underscores the complementary role of cyber operations in m...

Following the annexation of Crimea a decade ago, Russian warfare tactics have evolved to adapt to technological advancements and make up for shortfalls in conventional military domains; among them falls the use of Russian television and Telegram channels to influence the Ukrainian public. As claimed by Maschmeyer et al.’s “Donetsk Don’t Tell - ‘Hybrid War’ in Ukraine and the Limits of Social Media Influence Operations”, television ...

Taiwan occupies a pivotal position in the realm of technological geopolitics due to its dominance in semiconductor manufacturing and strategic location in the Indo-Pacific region. As global powers increasingly depend on advanced technologies for economic and security imperatives, Taiwan has emerged as a critical player in the strategic calculus of nations like the United States, China, and their allies. While these powers emphasise...

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European policymakers have gained a renewed sense of how fragile peace is in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). A brief brush through Bosnia's recent history reveals outstanding issues following the war in the 1990s, foreign meddling in internal politics, as well as an internal secessionist movement on the rise. All these factors point to the necessity of security guarantees. Moreover-due t...

Religion und Militär in der Türkei, wie auch früher im Osmanischen Reich, werden als strukturbildende Größen für die gesellschaftliche Entwicklung erkannt. Diese wurden im Kemalismus neu ausgeformt und begründeten dann die Geschichte der modernen Türkei, bis sie durch Recep Tayyip Erdoğan erneut ausgeformt wurden und dadurch einen großen Einfluss auf die internationale geostrategische Lage ausüben.

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Although the US Navy is assessing hybrid fleet designs combining existing crewed vessels and autonomous systems, the process of devising a deterrent strategy to exploit these capabilities is just getting underway. A new bi-modal strategy combining sea denial and sea control capabilities is emerging as the basis of a maritime deterrent. NATO planners should consider this bi-modal approach to maritime deterrence to utilise better new...

Die deutsche Militärstrategie muss die konzeptionelle Lücke zwischen verteidigungspolitischen Vorgaben und der militärisch-operativen Ebene schließen. Im Dokument sind konkrete militärstrategische Bedrohungen zu identifizieren und diesen ist ein militärisches Gegenhandeln im Rahmen des durch die Verteidigungspolitischen Richtlinien definierten Aufgabenspektrums der Bundeswehr entgegenzustellen. Damit leistet die deutsche Militärstr...

Dieser Podcast diskutiert die wachsende Bedeutung Künstlicher Intelligenz im militärischen Bereich, insbesondere im Kontext aktueller Konflikte. Die Entwicklung und Erprobung K.I.-gestützter Waffensysteme eröffnen neue strategische und technologische Möglichkeiten, werfen aber auch Fragen auf. Im Fokus der Analyse stehen die Rolle des Völkerrechts als regulatorischer Rahmen, die Notwendigkeit ethischer Leitlinien sowie die Sicherhe...

As an output of strategic culture, a State Defence Strategy should set the direction of the defence policy and focus on defence system development and employment. As the main effort line to shape plans to be a reliable alliance member, the Slovenian Defence Strategy takes over the burden of collective defence (capabilities and operations). It fosters democracy, human rights, and civil and parliamentary military control. Strategic c...

As an output of strategic culture, a State Defence Strategy should set the direction of the defence policy and focus on defence system development and employment. As the main effort line to shape plans to be a reliable alliance member, the Slovenian Defence Strategy takes over the burden of collective defence (capabilities and operations). It fosters democracy, human rights, and civil and parliamentary military control. Strategic c...

Urban warfare presents complex challenges that necessitate rethinking traditional military strategies, particularly manoeuvre warfare. The Swiss defence doctrine "Armee 2030" addresses these challenges by emphasising multidomain operations, technological integration, and adaptability. Key to this approach is the decentralisation of command, allowing for autonomous decision-making by leaders on the lower tactical level who must cons...

Die Taktikausbildung im Österreichischen Bundesheer (ÖBH) war in den letzten Jahrzehnten von der Idee des Manövers geprägt. Sämtliche Lösungen für taktische Herausforderungen haben sich daher am Manöver orientiert. Das Manöver hatte zum Ziel, eine eigene Überlegenheit aufgrund Beweglichkeit und Überraschung zu erreichen. Dieses Dogma wurde auch dem gegnerischen Verhalten zu Grunde gelegt. Spätestens seit Beginn des aktuellen Kriege...

In contrast to recent engagements at sea defined nearly exclusively by the logic of attrition, this paper argues that manoeuvre warfare is an essential component of naval warfare. The article shows that, depending on mission objectives, naval operations are characterised by manoeuvre warfare and thus contribute to minimising an adversary’s attempt to attrite one's forces.

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In spite of the expectations of Moscow, the war in Ukraine has quickly turned into a war of attrition. Based on open-source military publications, this paper aims to present Russian views on the causes of positional war as well as on the future of manoeuvre warfare. While not questioning the purpose of the war, in between the lines, Russian military thinkers acknowledge the responsibility of the political leadership for underestima...