Concepts

Future Air and Space Operational Concept (FASOC) 2009

The Future Air and Space Operational Concept, 2009 (FASOC 2009) is an extrapolation of the policy outlined in Defence Strategic Guidance 08 and the High Level Operational Conceptual Framework (HLOC) and is consistent with Joint Doctrine Publication (JDP) 0-01, British Defence Doctrine (3rd Edition) and other capstone Joint doctrine publications.

The paper complements its sister environmental operating concepts and the endorsed interim concepts. Therefore, while making the case for air power capabilities and limitations in the round, as each of the other Services has already done within their respective environmental concepts, FASOC 2009 does not pre-empt any subsequent policy judgements about the balance required between the different Services’ capabilities, but does offer the potential within the Service to rebalance, for example between manned and unmanned systems.

Date: 1 Sep 09

Future Character of Conflict

The Future Character of Conflict is a study initiated by the Vice Chief of Defence Staff on the Character of Conflict out to 2029 and the broad implications that flow from it.

The Future Character of Conflict found that the global trends indicate increasing instability and growing opportunity for confrontation and conflict.  State failure, extremists, increased competition for resources and the changing global balance of power will dictate why, where and how we engage in conflict. 

The study concludes that the character of conflict will continue to evolve.  Though it is impossible to accurately predict the exact character of the future conflict, in many of our future operations we are likely to face a range of simultaneous threats and adversaries in an anarchic and extended operating area.

The study was led by the Ministry of Defence's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC).  It was undertaken alongside the Centre's Global Strategic Trends Programme.  The work predates the Secretary of State's announcement of a Defence Review and is independent of it. 

Date: 2 Feb 10

Future Maritime Operational Concept 2007

The Future Maritime Operational Concept (FMOC) provides the contextual basis for military activity in the Maritime environment, out to 2025, in order to guide capability development and stimulate further conceptual work.

FMOC is consistent with, and complements, other Environmental Operational Concepts and the Joint Interim Concepts (JICs). In association with the JICs, it provides the conceptual underpinning for subordinate conceptual products, especially Concepts of Employment (CONEMPs) and Concepts of Use (CONUSEs), and should be read in conjunction with the detail provided in the authoritative and published LitM and CS Hybrid Interim Concepts.

In accordance with anticipated Policy guidelines, it describes an integrated, expeditionary capability designed to prevail in the most demanding circumstances and configured to support the decisive achievement of political expectations and strategic objectives. Set within the philosophy of the Effects-Based Approach (EBA), Joint Action and a Comprehensive Approach (CA), it confirms the enduring attributes of naval forces - Access; Mobility; Versatility; Resilience; Sustained Reach; Lift Capacity; Poise; and Leverage.

The paper then describes how Maritime forces can be used to realise effects and achieve favourable outcomes, both in relation to potential opponents and in dealing with complex situations.

Date: 5 Feb 08

The UK Military Space Primer

The UK Military Space Primer provides an introduction to potential military uses of Space and to the physical principles and constraints that enable and restrict them. It complements references to Military Space applications included in documents such as the Future Air and Space Operational Concept and British Air and Space Power Doctrine (AP3000). It also provides an introduction to strategic thinking on Space and an outline of how various Space-faring nations organise to exploit Space.

The UK Military Space Primer emerged from the updating of the Future Air and Space Operational Concept during 2008-9, and the accompanying awareness of the growing dependence of many aspects of modern life on capability delivered from and through Space. These factors highlighted the need for an accessible introduction to the principles that underpin all Spaceflight applications, be they military, civil or commercial.

The Primer is in 4 chapters, covering the Space Environment, Orbits, Launchers and satellite design; legal issues; Space Applications (principally from a military standpoint) and finally how Military Space relates to other users requirements and activities. Chapter 4 also outlines some ideas about Strategic Thinking and Space, and how the UK and its allies organise for Space at the National and Military Strategic level.

Much of the reliance on space alluded to above has arisen unnoticed because of the transparent nature of the services provided. To this extent, the end user may feel they do not require a detailed insight into the underlying principles.

Any military reader, however, who aspires to be an intelligent customer for space, or who wants to think about how Space Capability can be incorporated into planning or operations in other environments needs to understand at least some of the content.

Students of contemporary military affairs and more general readers interested in military spaceflight may also find it of interest.

The Primer is copiously illustrated and extensively cross-referenced, principally to show how the fundamental physics of spaceflight influence all meaningful activity in Space, but also to illustrate how apparently abstract ideas have very concrete implications. No mathematical or engineering background is assumed.

A bibliographic essay provides suggestions for further reading. The contents, index and use of Annexes to isolate detail should allow readers to extract information on a particular topic without scanning the full text.

Date: 21 Jul 10