News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Our correspondent considers some of the formidable challenges the PLAN would need to overcome to make an amphibious invasion of Taiwan a realistic proposition, and the long-term hybrid warfare alternatives to which the PRC may turn. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Protecting cultural heritage has profound subsidiary implications for diplomatic and naval missions that the modern RN cannot ignore. The author argues that a balanced Navy, and especially the Maritime Reserve, must be proactive when it comes to preventing looting and piracy that attack the cultural foundations of Allied and neutral nations. A 10 minute read.

Ed. In the first of a series of articles by BRNC Pellew Division officer cadets, the author examines the continuing challenges of women acting in combat roles. A look at the history demonstrates that the press of mobilization often requires abandoning long-held social conventions. The government and media have a responsibility to do more to reach the goals for female enlistment. A 10 minute read.

Ed. A former Editor of the NR reflects on the lessons he might have given his younger self; advice for starting out on a naval career.

Ed. The author questions the ability of the Allies to successfully deter future Russian sub-threshold or hybrid operations, with narrow deterrence having failed both in Syria and Salisbury. The deniability of attacks on vulnerable undersea cables and infrastructure has been clearly demonstrated over the past two years. A 20 minute read.

Ed. The author notes the danger of assuming unimpeded access for the RFA’s Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ships (MROSS) to contested waters in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere.

Ed. As a diversity and inclusion resource for Black History Month, in the second article of a two-part series, the author examines how slavery, the law and conflict pushed black sailors into the Royal Navy before and after Trafalgar, and how those black sailors were treated. A 40 minute read.