In response to the UK government's latest call for the "Global UK" strategic vision for the next decade, the UK Department of Defense has led the proposal of the "Global Mobility" force support capability requirement for the next 20 years, and conducted relevant force design research under the leadership of Rand Europe. On October 14, 2021, a public research report titled "Global Mobility: Future Force Design 2040" (referred to as "Force Design") was released.

In March 2021, the UK government released the Integrated Review of Security, a comprehensive evaluation report of the UK 2030 Policy Strategy Framework, Defence, Development and ForeignPolicy》， Proposed the goal vision of 'Global Britain'. At that time, the British Ministry of Defense also released a defense guidance document titled "Defense in the Age of Competition", which provided some explanations on the changes in global mobility requirements, including:

·Emphasis is placed on achieving global 'sustained engagement' through the deployment of front-line forces, a series of regional hubs, and an expanded network of defense advisors.

·The goal and vision of the British Navy is to achieve a sustained global presence, based on which more ships, submarines, naval soldiers, and Marines will be deployed, and aircraft carrier strike groups will be periodically deployed in the Indo Pacific region.

·Create a 'digital backbone network' to share defense data assets globally.

·Pay more attention to cyberspace, electromagnetic capabilities, and space-based intelligence surveillance (ISR) capabilities.

·Army modernization and restructuring, including longer range artillery, more precise firepower, and a "deep reconnaissance strike" brigade combat team, balanced by reducing overall troop numbers.

·Reforming the Royal Marine Corps to create a future assault team.

·Create a new Army Special Operations Brigade (consisting of four "Cavalry" regiments) to assist conventional forces in undertaking some of the overseas security assistance and capacity building tasks previously undertaken by British special forces, freeing them to focus more on high-end combat and engaging in activities against hostile countries below the threshold of armed conflict.

Here, we will briefly introduce the main feature considerations and specific design plans for the "global mobility" capability requirements by 2040 in the current research on "Force Design" in the UK.

1、 Strategic considerations for the UK to build a 'global mobile' force support capability

According to the 'Force Design' report, the UK aims to build a 'global mobile' force support capability over the next 20 years, with the main strategic goal of shifting military deployment and intervention capabilities towards the Indo Pacific region.

Currently, the strategic focus of the British Armed Forces is to continue to monitor the situation in the Euro Atlantic region and support NATO in responding to the Russian threat. At the same time, the UK will need to adjust its plans and military deployment posture to tilt towards the Indo Pacific region. This change will have a direct impact on its global mobility needs. The future global mobility of the UK requires the ability to deploy personnel and military supplies to remote areas and implement support and safe recovery in war zones, which will be a key driving factor in achieving the strategic vision described in the latest comprehensive strategic assessment of the UK.

2、 The definition and main characteristics of 'global mobility' in the UK

According to the definition of "global mobility" in the "Force Design" report, the demand for "global mobility" pursued by the UK is mainly a mobile transportation support capability for military operations tasks. The report points out that mobility (transport capability) refers to the deployment and support of military forces implemented to support national strategies. It considers how to deploy personnel, equipment, and reserves from the UK to the theater of war in the future, by 2040, to achieve the required effectiveness, including the use of strategic base "ship stops", regional hubs, and deployment directly from the UK, as well as the challenges of crossing hostile and controversial airspace such as anti access area denial (A2AD) environments. Global mobility "clearly covers all areas of action, including air, sea, road, rail, and possible space operations.

In the future, the UK may or needs to develop three types of global mobility capabilities, and achieve a comprehensive balance and compromise development of these three methods, that is, to achieve a differentiated global mobility capability of "ownership collaboration intervention". 'Own' mobility refers to the leadership and ownership of the UK in this capability, from concept to development and manufacturing capabilities, which may target all functions or subsystems within that capability. The 'collaborative' mobility capability refers to the unique contribution that the UK can make in this capability, enabling it to collaborate with other countries to achieve its mobility goals. 'Intervention' mobility refers to the ability in which the UK primarily seeks to obtain the use of certain capabilities or services from other countries through the use of options, transactions, and relationships. In the future, the UK will mainly focus on the coordinated development of these three methods in resource allocation and capacity development management.

3、 Main considerations for the design of future 'global mobile' forces in the UK

Force design refers to the practical activity of force designers conceptualizing and developing national defense capability plans to achieve the required national defense force posture. The several elements of military force design include considerations of readiness, planning, intervention areas, as well as force size and structure. According to the research report on military force design, several key factors driving the formation of global mobility demand in the UK include:

·Threat environmental factors, including intensified competitive environments (such as A2AD), cyberspace and electromagnetic environments, climate deteriorating regions, or countries that refuse to intervene, station, and fly over airspace.

·The development of information environment, cyberspace, and space has the potential to seamlessly integrate data between various systems (such as through "digital backbone networks") and achieve better situational awareness (such as through space-based intelligence monitoring systems). But at the same time, security and operational risks will also increase, as adversaries may invade, interfere, or completely destroy these capabilities.

·Widespread global trends, including urbanization, climate change, net zero emission targets, civilian development (such as automation, autonomy, advanced manufacturing), or constantly changing alliances and partnerships. These factors cannot be independently influenced and affected in the field of national defense. Urbanization may increase the demand for more agile and resilient equipment, including autonomous systems, helicopters, and tactical transport equipment. Climate change and net zero emissions targets will pose new challenges to mobility, requiring proactive planning in advance. The constantly changing alliances and partnerships will have a significant impact on collaborative mobility and interoperability. In the future, the UK needs to leverage alliances and partnerships, rely on foreign resources, ensure its voice in the Euro Atlantic region, and maintain its ability to intervene in the Indo Pacific region to alleviate the limitations of limited domestic resources on its mobility. Therefore, this will put forward new requirements for the interoperability and synergy between its equipment assets and partners. The interconnection and support coordination requirements across military capabilities will drive the demand for real-time and accurate data management.

·The improvement of mobility demand in resource constrained situations requires innovative methods to meet it. In the future, the UK may adopt integrated methods or multi domain integration approaches, collaborating with its foreign partners as well as industry, non-governmental organizations, and a wide range of social forces to ensure its mobility. In the next 20 years, the three main fixed wing transport equipment, C-17, C-130, and the "Voyager" multi-purpose refueling transport aircraft, will all be retired if there is no expansion model to keep up.

4、 Optional development directions and implementation requirements for the UK's' global mobility 'capability

The design of future global mobility in the UK should comprehensively consider the competition between the defense sector and other fields in limited resources, achieve twice the result with half the effort, and provide a global mobility that is both efficient and flexible. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the relationship between global mobility supply and demand, and achieve efficient delivery methods and realistic capability requirements. The development directions that can be referenced include the following aspects, and at the same time, these directions will also bring certain challenges.

·Enhance the use of multifunctional platforms to provide better adaptability, agility, and interoperability. For example, the concept of "Multi Role Vessel" (MRV) in the UK allows the vessel to perform various tasks, including global strategic mobile transportation of equipment and devices, providing equipment, troops, supplies, and logistical support for amphibious operations, maritime supply, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, rapid evacuation of civilians, and ensuring the transfer to safe ports. Its characteristic is that it can be used for ships to dock and unload cargo, as well as to support naval operations through landing craft, ships, multi-point aviation, and maritime supply.

·Utilizing international cooperation to gather, share, and enhance interoperability to provide more cost-effective opportunities for the use of mobile equipment, while also posing challenges in terms of availability assurance, reliability, and achieving mutual benefit among all relevant partners. Reference projects include: (1) ARK project, initiated by Denmark and later adopted by Germany. This project uses roll on/roll off ships to provide heavy sea transportation capabilities, which can be leased for civilian markets when not used for military missions, thereby minimizing military costs. A new agreement reached for the project in November 2020 covers a total of seven roll on/roll off ships. This project has transported military equipment to multiple countries including the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Slovakia. (2) The multi country multi-purpose refueling transport fleet under the European Defense Agency enables six countries (including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Norway, Belgium, and the Czech Republic) to perform extensive operations in multiple fields, with exclusive rights to operate NATO owned aircraft in joint and shared deployment environments. The fleet plan was initially initiated by the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with several other countries joining over the next few years. The aircraft used is the Airbus A330, which is configured for aerial refueling, passenger and cargo transportation, and medical evacuation operations. The fleet will consist of 9 aircraft, of which 3 have already been delivered.

·Using civilian solutions to provide a more cost-effective and relaxed environment, low-cost transportation and logistics, and better environmental sustainability. The capabilities that can be referenced include: 1. Autonomous driving and swarm robot technology in the civilian field. 2. The US Civil Reserve Air Fleet, which is a cooperative agreement that can be activated when needed, allows the US Air Force to expand its fleet using selected aircraft from American airlines.

·The use of autonomous driving, optional manned driving, lightweight equipment, and automated equipment has the potential to reduce costs and lifecycle risks, and can be used in challenging environments such as cities and climate degradation, but there may be regulatory challenges and changes in security requirements. The technologies that can be referenced include Lockheed Martin's autonomous driving system.

·Developing data-driven mobility is a necessary component of the overall digital integration of defense systems, but it also increases network risks and vulnerabilities, thereby enhancing the potential significant impact and important military implications of being attacked by adversaries. The capabilities that can be referenced include 1. Digitalization of the supply chain. 2. Artificial intelligence predicts logistics.

·Using additive manufacturing. The enhanced use of additive manufacturing can also reduce the demand for mobility and help establish the self assurance capability of the military.

5、 Suggestions on the Development of Global Mobility Capability in the UK

The 'Force Design' report provides some specific recommendations for the development of the UK's' global mobility 'capability. Firstly, it believes that global mobility should be enhanced through the development of space-based and information technologies. Secondly, it believes that some of the most popular innovative practices in the United States can be utilized, including: spiral development; Create digital twins and apply digital engineering; Rapid prototyping; Modular open system architecture; The iterative model of DevSecOps and software development; wait.

In addition, the report also proposes eight policy recommendations:

1. More attention should be paid to resilience and redundancy issues rather than efficiency, in order to better provide resource guarantees for delivering global mobility, and upfront costs can be seen as an insurance policy.

2. Global mobility needs to consider the need for "multi domain integration" to increase joint synergies between forces, beyond the traditional authority of a single force or top-level budget decision-makers, and seek multi domain and multi-mode solutions to meet mobility needs.

3. Strengthen the deployment of multi country cooperation plans to gain greater value from them.

4. Collaborate with partners and allies to enhance the freedom of regional intervention, stationing, airspace overflight, and operations in critical areas.

5. Invest in strategic bases and regional hubs to achieve forward deployment of mobile equipment and enhance pre deployment actions to shorten deployment preparation time and enhance deterrence.

Given the spread of A2AD capabilities, enhance the protection and survivability of global mobile equipment, enabling it to operate in a range of threatening environments.

7. Identify the vulnerabilities of global mobile equipment and infrastructure in the entire defense sector to help address potential risk areas, including air and missile threats, cyber attacks, and the increasingly severe challenges posed by environmental degradation.

8. Global mobility needs to consider sustainability and net zero carbon emissions development needs to ensure alignment with broader government sustainability goals.

Source: Global Aviation Information