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This article analyses the Battle of Rafah, which took place in May 2024 and, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, was of “critical” importance. To this end, the following lines will delve into topics such as the background, placing the Battle of Rafah within the framework of the current conflict in the Gaza Strip. In addition, the scenario will be analysed, the participating forces and their plans prior to the battle will be studied, the development of the battle will be narrated and final conclusions will be provided, which will place special emphasis on aspects such as tactics or the intrinsic difficulties of fighting in urban terrain. Ultimately, the Battle of Rafah is interesting from different points of view, as an irregular urban confrontation on a border with a third country and, furthermore, within a region with enormous significance in world geopolitics. Index Background [Keep reading…]

Russia and NATO have been engaged in a struggle for control of the Baltic for years. What was once practically a Soviet lake has become, in the space of a few years, a NATO lake. In the event of a conflict, the disparity of forces necessarily leads one to think of a relatively quick naval outcome in favour of the Atlantic Alliance, although what happens in the Baltic cannot be separated from the theatres of Central and Northern Europe, where Russia has other arguments, even if the war in Ukraine has called them into question. The worst for the Kremlin, however, will come in the future, as the ageing of its fleet, the fact that it does not have submarines in this sea and the need to allocate most of its resources to compensate for the losses suffered in the framework of the war in Ukraine [Keep reading…]

China's influence on Middle East security is an aspect that has been little studied at the moment, although it is essential to understand the functioning and dynamics of the international system. The Asian giant, which has been changing its foreign policy as its economy has grown in order to become more assertive, nevertheless maintains a relatively low profile in relation to the Middle East, despite the fact that it is a crucial region both as a transit point and for hydrocarbon exports. China's strategy in the Middle East is, in any case, a long-term bet that is not always easy to implement, since there are certain events in which its way of proceeding can cost it credibility, such as the Houthi issue, or the fact that it does not have sufficient capacity to influence certain key actors in the region, such as Iran. Index The Middle East in the [Keep reading…]

Table of Contents Introduction Overview Field Organization Artillery Air Defense and Air Assets Drones Anti-tank Weapons Electronic Warfare and Communications The Transformation of the BTG. Assault Detachments The Situation from the Point of View of Armored and Mechanized Units War of Attrition and Maneuver Conclusions Notes Bibliography Introduction This conflict is causing an important evolution in the technological and strategic fields, although not so much in the tactical field. On the ground, both contenders have been adapting their tactics and organization to a situation that at first reminds us of the First World War, but which at other levels stands out for the massive use of drones, the management of (dis)information, the use of precise long-range fires, electronic warfare (EW), and other aspects based on digital management. As a result, the employment profile of maneuver units has changed and the use of weapons has changed. [Keep reading…]

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the latter country has been defending itself in multiple ways. Among them, resorting to the use of long-range weapons, from modified small planes to old drones of Soviet origin and, increasingly, to their own designs that have allowed them to reach targets more than 1.500 kilometers inside the Russian Federation. Beyond calling into question the reputation of what many considered to be the "best air defense in the world," the Ukrainian attacks have effectively limited Russia's ability to conduct attacks both through its combat aircraft and troops over the land; although not to the degree that kyiv wants. In the next few lines we review the way in which Ukraine has been committing increasing resources in a race to develop long-range weapons. [Keep reading…]

In recent years, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has made progress in modernizing its naval capabilities with the addition of new and capable units, from destroyers to landing and logistical support ships. A process that will be intensified after the recent approval of the new National Defense Strategy and the Integrated Investment Program, which prioritize the incorporation of unmanned systems, including unmanned submarines type XLUUV. Throughout this article we explore both the advances made by Australia in this matter and the strategy followed by the RAN in its naval modernization process, prioritizing long-range systems and unmanned technologies to improve its deterrence and force projection capacity. thus seeking to confront countries such as the People's Republic of China, with an increasingly hostile attitude. Table of Contents Introduction The AUKUS framework in the development of XLUUV [Keep reading…]

The evolution of naval strategy in the Baltic Sea since the end of the Cold War can be considered one of the great successes of Western geopolitics and, in particular, of NATO. This is so, because in the space of a few years the members of the Alliance have been able to wrest from Moscow control of a sea that, until then, had been considered a Soviet-Russian lake: a crucial scenario that, if of war, would have forced this organization into a costly battle to keep its lines of communication open, while closing them to its opponent. A process that has been enhanced after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has affected the naval strategies of both parties and which also has profound implications for other theaters, all of which justifies its study. [Keep reading…]

The Battle of Avdiivka was one of the culminating moments of the Ukrainian war. The importance of this city for the Ukrainian war effort, its role as a communications node and industrial center or the possibility that, upon its fall, other key points such as Pokrovsk would be threatened, forced the Ukrainian Armed Forces to stand up to this city. of the Donbas. After months of fighting to take over the flanks of this city, Russian troops finally broke through the Ukrainian defenses in the south of Avdíivka in January 2024, although they would still need until mid-February to conquer the urban center. A defeat of the AFU that, despite the enormous attrition suffered by Russia, opened the doors to subsequent advances marking, along with what happened in Bakhmut, a before and after in the future of this war. Index Introduction Order of Battle The Battle of [Keep reading…]

Wagner's missions in Africa have been characterized as relatively successful for the personnel of this parastatal army, except in the case of Cabo Delgado, in Mozambique. Africa, in fact, has been a quiet destination for these mercenaries, until at the end of July, Wagner's greatest military disaster to date began to unfold, with the exception of what happened during the battle of Khasam, in Syria, on the 7th. and February 8, 2018. With the difference that on this occasion, after the Tuareg ambush on the Russian mercenaries, access to devices such as Starlink has allowed the networks to be flooded with images of the carnage perpetrated in the Adrar of the Ifoghas . Index Introduction The Russian presence in Mali The military coup: the conditions are created for Russia's entry into Mali Africa Corps or Wagner? Context of the armed conflict in Mali [Keep reading…]

Launched just over a year ago, on June 17, 2023, the aircraft carrier "Fujian" (Type 003) of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of the People's Republic of China, represents a real before and after in terms of engineering and military possibilities for the Asian giant. Equipped with electromagnetic catapults and a very small island, it will allow China to continue increasing its air-naval dominance over its surrounding seas thanks to its ability not only to operate J-15 (and in the future, J-35) fighter-bombers but also Xian KJ-600 embarked early warning aircraft. Thus, and although it is still far from its American rivals in the Gerald R. Ford class, with its four catapults and three elevators, it marks the path to follow for the future Type 004, about which speculation is already beginning. The Navy of [Keep reading…]