Military Technology 06/2021

THEME: Homeland Security MT 6/2021 · 27 proportions has led to a huge increase in the demand for (and develop­ ment of) innovative recharging solutions, as well as driving the develop­ ment of low consumption systems. Water, though, is the major concern – and a growing one. In a US Army War College study published in 2019, the authors warned that US ex­ peditionary forces are coming “perilously close to mission failure” in the effort to keep soldiers adequately hydrated, even in modestly challenging environments. The reasons are several fold. One is sheer scale. To illustrate – the camp used at Kandahar during ISAF operations in Afghanistan was originally built as an ‘airport of dis­ embarkation’ by the Soviets, for a target population of 4,000. In 2009, the population approached six times that, straining the original infrastruc­ ture for potable water as well as hygiene and sewage. The use of re­ verse osmosis water purification can alleviate some of the problem but, as French forces in the Sahel have found recently, that is not always an effective solution when sources of free water are vanishingly rare. And it is likely to get worse. Salt water intrusion into coastal areas and the seemingly unavoidable changes in weather patterns for the foreseeable future mean that the provision of water – for deployed forces and often, in the areas in which such operations inevitably take place, for the local population – will remain a stressing factor for the armed forces, for disaster relief agencies and for the wider auspices of government. Water security is a real issue – and we need to ensure we tackle it now in order to avoid it becoming a more serious issue in the not-too-distant future. at the airport, convoyed to the point of need and distributed for imme­ diate use. The memory is not so much the volume – though that was considerable – but the sheer persistent nature of the traffic: seemingly unending. In an interview elsewhere in this issue the Chairman of the EU Military Committee graphically illustrates the ‘teeth to tail’ ratio applicable to rapid deployment forces. A deployed force of 5,000 sets of ‘boots on the ground’ requires at least double that number – possibly treble – to supply, support and sustain it; meaning an intervention force of 5,000 troops could require the involvement of 20,000 personnel. Not to mention the equipment (aircraft, ships, trucks, fork lift trucks, packaging…) Food is certainly a major item on the list in terms of volume, but also from a morale perspective. Military rations are all very well, and are de­ signed to sustain soldiers engaged in hard physical activity. But shipping in Thanksgiving turkeys, or the equipment to provide ‘home cooking’ style meals where appropriate and possible can have dramatic effects on morale which (to quote another of Napoleon’s supposed maxims) has three times the effect of physical assets. Hence the focus of specialist firms – such as Kärcher Futuretech – on the development of field catering equipment that is rugged, flexible and designed with multiple potential uses in mind. Their equipment is used in the humanitarian and disaster relief context as much as in military operations. Energy is also a major concern. The inexorable onward march of pro­ gress, fuelled by massively innovative technological advances, means that one of the modern soldier’s overriding priorities is portable energy. Weapon sights, surveillance devices, protective systems, communi­ cations assets – all require power in exponentially larger amounts than even a decade ago. The prospect of a ‘battery mountain’ of staggering Tim Mahon is Editor-in-Chief of MilTech .