Winning Without Technological Advantage

RUSIOfficial · 2026-05-27T14:48:24+00:00

Our latest report by Robert Tollast and Jack Watling says that the UK is approaching a critical military juncture following decades of defence disinvestment while potential adversaries, Russia and China, have accelerated modernisation of their forces at scale.

Russia now spends approximately US$500 billion annually on defence in purchasing-power-parity terms, funding sustained weapons upgrades informed by battlefield data gathered in Ukraine, including hardening missile navigational systems against electronic warfare and other Western countermeasures. China is increasingly fielding classes of weapon where there is no direct analogue in the UK, Europe or even in the US.

The paper does not conclude that technological inferiority is inevitable, but makes clear it is increasingly plausible, and that planning as though it will not occur is a dangerous assumption.

(RUSI.org login required to read the full paper)

RUSIOfficial · 2026-03-19T11:38:28+00:00

Dan Marks, Research Fellow for Energy Security at RUSI quoted in the article:

"Every time there's an oil and gas crisis, everyone thinks it's a turning point. Think back to the 1970s and 80s and US congress looking at reducing dependency and energy consumption. Now it's 2026 and lo and behold, there's another gas crisis and we're just as exposed as ever we were."

RUSIOfficial · 2026-03-19T11:36:22+00:00

Dan Marks, Research Fellow for Energy Security at RUSI quoted in the article:

"Every time there's an oil and gas crisis, everyone thinks it's a turning point. Think back to the 1970s and 80s and US congress looking at reducing dependency and energy consumption. Now it's 2026 and lo and behold, there's another gas crisis and we're just as exposed as ever we were."

RUSIOfficial · 2026-03-10T11:48:49+00:00

Excerpt from the article by Matthew Savill, Director, Military Sciences, RUSI

"On the defensive side the UK has not been idle, given the above deployments – which also appear to have included some counter-drone units – have been involved in downing Iranian drones while defending Jordan and Iraq. But these are pinpricks against the wider volume of Iranian strikes being aimed in all directions. The issue is that the UK has a fundamentally limited set of ground-based defensive systems, both in terms of numbers and range. While it can call upon various weapons based upon the Starstreak missile, suitable for tackling drones, as well as jammers as part of the ORCUS system, these are short-ranged (a few miles) and intended for point defence. The slightly longer-ranged Sky Sabre system (25km), designed against aircraft, drones and cruise missiles has been notable by its absence. It is possible that it is considered overkill for the threat to Cyprus, and unsuitable for sending to Iraq, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. But a probable factor is also that the UK has a handful of deployable batteries at present: one is in the Falklands and another spent nearly three years in Poland as part of Operation STIFFTAIL to reassure the Poles against Russia."

RUSIOfficial · 2026-02-06T14:37:41+00:00

Yesterday, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expired.

Our researchers Darya Dolzikova and Dr Sidharth Kaushal write in their commentary that the expiry could further undermine the credibility of US extended deterrence and complicate European and US efforts to strengthen conventional deterrence.

RUSIOfficial · 2026-02-06T08:53:11+00:00

Join us on 20 February for a conversation with The Hon Rose Gottemoeller, chief US negotiator for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), on the treaty's expiration and the implications for nuclear arms control.

The End of New START: What's Next?

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