Explaining the British Army’s Strike Concept

Thanks to Jonathan for the link!

via RUSI

Nothing that has so far been said about Strike has anything in common with those things that arguably made FRES something to ridicule. Strike is a concept, not a replacement vehicle programme, and one on which the future of the field army as a deployable land force might depend. It will be given physical expression in the shape of at least two vehicles and possibly more, and there is no demand for them to be deployed by air.

Strike is predicated on a completely different starting point to that which informed FRES. The rationale for Strike acknowledges the real limitations of the existing force, both operational and economic, and offers infantry brigades the ability to march and manoeuvre under armour at far greater distances than is currently possible.

Although understanding the field army as having ‘light’, ‘medium’ and ‘heavy’ formations is somewhat simplistic, it may have to suffice for brevity. One of the main flaws of FRES was that it was part of a medium force capable of delivering the effect of a heavy force but with a lower logistic footprint, as well as being capable of air deployment. Strike will be neither a heavy armoured brigade nor a light infantry brigade, but an infantry brigade moving and maneuvering under armour.

Then this.

 The conceptual and perceptual problem with Ajax is its strong similarity with the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) once fitted with the new 40 mm CTA turret. However, the supposed duplication or problematic division of labour is not as some in the media have suggested. In very simple terms, the heavy force will be CR2 with Warrior, where the latter will carry the heavy force’s dismounted component. In a Strike Brigade, Ajax will be fulfilling the heavy force CR2 equivalent, with MIV transporting the dismounted force. Any suggestion that Ajax is somehow akin to Warrior by virtue of a common main armament is not, therefore, valid from the perspective of force structures. Nor is the epithet of Ajax as a poor man’s ‘mini-tank’ well informed; Ajax will provide effective direct fire support for MIV’s dismounted personnel in Strike’s concept of employment.

Story here.

This is the best explanation of the British Army's Strike Concept that I've read.  Not saying it will work but at least I get what they're trying to do.