{"id":27963,"date":"2019-09-08T18:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-09-08T18:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/08\/uk-army-sticks-to-armor-upgrade-plan-despite-new-pivot-toward-hybrid-warfare\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:21:44","slug":"uk-army-sticks-to-armor-upgrade-plan-despite-new-pivot-toward-hybrid-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/dsei\/2019\/09\/08\/uk-army-sticks-to-armor-upgrade-plan-despite-new-pivot-toward-hybrid-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Army sticks to armor-upgrade plan despite new pivot toward hybrid warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2014 Britain\u2019s newly declared focus on combating hybrid threats will have no bearing on the Army\u2019s priority to invest in armored vehicle programs, according to officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creation of a new formation, known as the 6th Division, to counter Russia, among others, in cyberspace, information operations and other non-kinetic tactics is a sign of the changing nature of warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe priorities at the moment are absolutely about delivering the modernization of our armored fighting vehicle fleet: Warrior, Challenger 2 and Mechanised Infantry Vehicle,\u201d according to a senior service official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. \u201cThese remain our priorities for the foreseeable future until those vehicles are delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebalancing the Army to combat hybrid warfare will not be at the expense of capabilities needed on conventional battlefields, said the official. Put another way: The utility of the tank and other armored fighting vehicles remains uncontested for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one Australian general at a recent land warfare conference in London noted: \u201cYou can cyber all you like, but there comes a time when only a tank will do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem for the British forces, however, is that much of their armored fighting vehicle capability is found wanting, which is partly why modernization remains a priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The land forces have a quality deficit that is only now being fixed after years of development delays in the Warrior program, budget issues and requirement uncertainty that stalled the Challenger 2 update and new requirements for the eight-wheel drive Mechanised Infantry Vehicle, or MIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\t