The British Army has launched a new approach to “fighting and winning future wars.”
Dubbed “The Land Operating Concept,” the new strategy sets out how the country’s armed forces will respond to future security threats.
According to UK Director of Army Futures, General James Bowder, the British Army will further the use of “Recce-Strike,” or the combination of surveillance capabilities and artillery strikes.
It will be employed by battlegroups, brigades, divisions, or even small military units to find enemies as far forward as possible and destroy them.
“[We’re aiming for] battlegroups that can see further and shoot further in direct and indirect fires than we have ever managed before. Drones that can see and sense well beyond the next tactical bound,” he said.
The concept mandates the army exploit the electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace by outmaneuvering, outpacing, and outmatching opponents in these fields.
Additional Strategies
Bowder explained that soldiers are often subject to increased risk on the battlefield because of their vulnerability to being located by enemy drones and struck by long-range missiles.
With the new land operating concept, the army will adopt a new approach to survival by effectively concealing troops while hunting down enemy artillery systems, surveillance assets, and logistics chains.
Furthermore, UK ground forces are urged to increase the speed, reach, and sophistication of their information warfare capabilities to gain a tactical advantage.
“They must be first with the truth, adept at calling out misinformation and expert at publicizing the enemy’s missteps,” the British Army noted.
Major Factors
The British Army created the new battlefield approach considering several major factors that it said “armies around the world” will increasingly face.
Soldiers will reportedly find themselves more exposed because of the exponential increase in the quality and quantity of sensors and precision weapons.
The speedy development of autonomous systems also forces tactics to change to adapt to modern warfare, Bowder said.
In addition, the army will no longer always maintain surprise and deception in their military actions due to the prevalence of advanced mobile technologies and the increasing use of the internet.
