7 days ago
Cheap drones are devastating Putin's troops, but Britain shouldn't ditch hi-tech kit yet
If we look elsewhere for examples, the recent war between Israel and Iran saw the former inflict devastating damage on the latter predominantly through modern combat aircraft and a variety of precision weapons, complemented by smaller drones. And the air defence of Israel against ballistic missiles necessitated the use of an expensive but effective layered system of missiles.
European militaries actually have some significant advantages over Russia in their supposedly 'legacy' systems, especially in combat aircraft and precision strike munitions. The problem is that they don't have enough, unless they pool those capabilities, and in many cases they have so far failed to effectively equip them with ammunition and spare part stockpiles.
Solving the personnel retention problem in European militaries is as important as experimenting with new technology. Building up industrial bases to be ready to meet expanded demand in time of war will be necessary to help Western militaries adapt to the shock of industrial war.
It is in this last area that the biggest challenge of the 'high-low mix' may come, as the most complex systems will take time to replace, and in the short-term Europe will have to make do and mend with capabilities brought in through a process known as 'dissimilar rearmament'.
This involves adopting stop-gap capabilities and managing with what can be acquired quickly while the broader industrial base shifts gear.
