The Defence Horizon Journal - Podcasts

Modern conflicts are increasingly fought in the cyber and information domains, where effects unfold primarily in the cognitive rather than the physical sphere. Addressing such non-kinetic threats requires multidisciplinary expertise and close cooperation between public defence institutions and private-sector innovators. This paper outlines key factors for efficient cooperation and proposes a criteria-based framework that systematically defines the knowledge, skills, and capacities needed to counter Cognitive Warfare.
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Despite two centuries of technological progress, Clausewitz’s concept of friction remains a vital analytical lens for warfighting in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. This article interprets friction in the context of cognition, focusing on algorithms and human-machine miscommunication to address the gap between educational practice and officers’ preparation for operational reality.
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The Shahed-136, an Iranian-manufactured loitering munition built largely from foam and plywood, has emerged as a very effective weapons system. The Shahed-136 drone has demonstrated that low-cost, mass-produced aerial munitions can systematically overwhelm sophisticated and expensive air defence architectures. Iran's direct deployment of Shaheds against Israel in 2025, followed by Russia's relentless campaign averaging 140 drone strikes per day over Ukraine, established saturation as a viable operational method. Now in February 2026, the use of Shahed-136 by Iran and LUCAS by the U.S. revealed a new doctrine of attrition warfare centred on saturation and economic exhaustion.
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Since the 2023 Vilnius Summit, NATO has recognised industrial capacity as a core element of deterrence. The Alliance has endorsed the Defence Production Action Plan, adopted the Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge, and aligned with parallel US and EU initiatives, the National Defence Industrial Strategy and the Act in Support of Ammunition Production to accelerate output, standardisation, and supply-chain resilience. Yet policy vocabulary has advanced faster than procurement logic. The return of industrial war, combined with a sensor-saturated battlefield, means that design choices now carry direct operational consequences. Manufacturability, supply substitution, repairability, and distributed production potential are variables of combat endurance. This article argues that NATO's real gap is not only an industrial-capacity gap, but also an industrial-operational doctrine gap: the Alliance has not yet fully integrated production resilience and battlefield transparency into a mature procurement doctrine suited to prolonged high-intensity conflict.
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The 2026 Hormuz Crisis is often misinterpreted as a fraying of Western influence; however, a closer look reveals a calculated recalibration of U.S. power. This article examines Washington’s pivot toward "Strategic Autonomy", a move that shifts the burden of regional stability onto competitors while insulating Western markets.
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The People’s Republic of China’s contemporary power strategy extends beyond military modernisation. It integrates overt strategic signalling, digitally amplified emotional storytelling, and Confucian moral framing into a unified hybrid model of influence. Through spectacles such as the 2025 Victory Day Parade, curated soldier narratives, and globally celebrated athletic achievements, Beijing projects deterrence while cultivating legitimacy. Understanding this fusion is essential for policymakers navigating twenty-first–century competition.
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Britain’s decision to allow the United States to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia in military action tied to the Iran crisis raises a simple but serious question. Can a state still call itself restrained when it provides the territory, access, and infrastructure that enable escalation? This article argues that it cannot. Once British-controlled facilities become operational enablers of war, Britain no longer appears like a distant observer. It becomes part of the conflict in the region's eyes, and likely in the calculations of any state considering retaliation. The article also argues that this choice weakens Britain’s diplomatic credibility, deepens legal and political risk, and exposes British citizens to strategic and economic costs that have not been honestly explained.
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Recent conflicts underscore the practical relevance of simulation-based and gamified approaches to military training. From the use of commercial platforms for pilot familiarisation to incentive-based systems for drone operators in Ukraine, gamified logic is increasingly shaping how military personnel train, adapt, and perform under operational conditions. Based on an exploratory field trial and drawing on the long-standing educational mandate attributed to Maria Theresa, this study frames gamification not as a technological novelty but as a contemporary medium for experiential learning. For the trial, officer cadets participated in competitive tactical scenarios using a commercial PC-based simulation (WARNO). Repeated questionnaires, an intermediate diagnostic intervention, and qualitative experiential reports were used to examine learning effects, including decision-making under time pressure, understanding of combined arms operations, and the role of structured reflection.
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Ever since the war in Iran erupted early in 2026, much of the world’s attention has been fixated on the Middle East. North Korea is no exception. It will likely be closely monitoring the conflict to extract lessons on regime survival, deterrence, and how to survive a multi-front war involving the United States. While the Iran case is not directly analogous to the Korean Peninsula, it nonetheless offers a set of strategic signals that will shape internal debates within the North Korean leadership. This conflict may reinforce North Korea’s existing policy trajectory rather than prompting a fundamental strategic shift.
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Communicative interoperability is vital in multinational coalition warfare. While current Extended Reality (XR) systems excel in procedural motor training, this study proposes developing the KMA-XR-AI system to expand this scope to the communicative ‘fog of war.’ The system is intended to synergise multimodal sensing with adaptive AI to complement traditional XR capabilities. By fusing bio-physiological and acoustic signals via a Hybrid Sensing Module, the system would calculate a real-time Cognitive Load Index (CLI) to drive a Smart Scaffolding Protocol. This intervention will be designed to distinguish between linguistic deficits and stress-induced inhibition during tactical verbal interactions, and ultimately, optimise verbal proficiencies essential for mission success, offering a technological evolution for future military training.
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