News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author examines how the Royal Navy contributes to Britain’s national security by balancing deterrence, economic protection, global influence, and homeland defence against the challenges of limited resources, technological change, and evolving threats. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Our correspondent provides an appreciation of Royal Navy leadership maintaining strategic direction during the COIN era.

Ed. The author provides a command account of HMS Cattistock’s shadowing of the Russian intelligence ship Yantar in November 2024. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author proposes adapting the Royal Australian Navy’s ‘Ship Zero’ concept for the Royal New Zealand Navy, by providing a pathway for crew training and integration before platforms are fully delivered. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author, former Conservative MP and Shadow Defence Minister, outlines Russian and Chinese activities in the Arctic as part of his forthcoming book on the subject, The Arctic: Land of the Great Bear. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author considers the lessons of the late-19^th century Jeune École, a historical cautionary tale reflective of the introduction of naval drone warfare. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author, an RNSSC 1SL Fellow, continues his ‘liminal advantage’ series [111/4, p. 40], with due regard to the imaginative demands of leadership in the maritime domain. A 30 minute read.

Ed. The author provides a primer on the Arctic sea-route arms race, a unique theatre where renewed investment has transformative strategic potential. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Churchill’s final volume of his war memoirs is titled Triumph and Tragedy: the theme of the volume is “how the great democracies triumphed and so were able to resume the follies which had so nearly cost them their life.” What did Churchill mean by tragedy? Was he referring to the incredible loss of life caused by the firestorms of Dresden and Tokyo or by the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or was he lamenting the tragedy that, for most of Eastern Europe, he foresaw that one jackboot was to be replaced by another. As it wasn’t just the democracies that triumphed, the most successful victor of the Second World War was indeed Stalin claiming territories and spoils both in Europe and in Asia. Once again, we risk another tragedy as it looks increasingly likely the jackboots are on the rise.