i
t is hard to know what is meant by
the word 'war' anymore. 'War' has
been declared on such things as ter-
ror, drugs, and now, most bizarrely,
mosquitoes as the Brazilian government
reacts to the threat posed by the Zika virus
to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games.
Canada has not declared war on another
state since the 1940's, although there has
been plenty of conflict and military action
since then. The problem is that while con-
ventional war between military forces is less
and less prevalent, governments still expect
to exert power when a threat is identified.
The new security environment includes
problems like asymmetric conflict amongst
the people and operations by proxy forces
are the norm.
How then do we plan for future defence
forces and what technologies will they re-
quire to enable their capabilities and coun-
ter those of potential enemies? Most often,
militaries begin their efforts with a future
trends analysis before new acquisitions
are made. The Canadian Armed Forces'
first attempt at this occurred in 2010 with
their release of The Future Security En-
vironment 2008-2030. Part one of this
G
GlOBal DEFENCE
ken Hansen is a resident research fellow at the Centre for Foreign Policy
Studies and Adjunct Professor in Graduate Studies at the Department of Political
Science at the Dalhousie University. His interests include maritime security theory
and naval operational doctrine. He is team leader of the CFPS Maritime Security
Policy Program research into piracy, illegal migration and crime at sea.
fuTure war and new
naval TeChnoloGy
How then do we plan
for future defence forces
and what technologies
will they require to
enable their capabilities
and counter those of
potential enemies?
www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 27
