Future Land Forces Event Summary

Kicking off our Future Land Forces event, we heard from Brigadier General Slawomir Lidwa, Deputy Inspector of Land Forces in Poland’s Armed Forces General Command. Brigadier General Lidwa gave us an insightful overview of Poland’s dramatic armed forces modernisation programme which will see Poland becoming one of the most well-equipped armies in Europe. Such a programme, that delivers mass at speed will be how Poland will close its borders to outside powers that have used it as a playground for centuries.

Midway through the first day of our Future Land Forces event, the audience was lucky enough to hear from the commander of Sweden’s Army Major General Jonny Lindfors. Major General Lindfors gave attendees an update of Sweden’s evolving strategic thinking as a historically neutral nation which has had to evolve recently as NATO’s newest member. This sea change of strategy has seen Sweden jointly procuring platforms like the CV90, planning to grow the size of its military, and supporting Ukraine as it continually holds its own against Russia’s aggression. 

Wrapping up our first day, in a panel discussion between Geoff Hitchcock and Jack Humphery, from Teal Drones and Tomahawk Robotics respectively, the ever evolving capabilities of unmanned systems and their counters was discussed. Culminating our event for the day was the Commander of Lithuania’s Land Forces Brigadier General Arturas Radvilas. Brigadier General Radvilas, discussed Lithuania’s transformation into a harder and heavier fighting force with the adoption of infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. 

On the second day of our Future Land Forces event, we heard from a diverse range of military experts from all around the world. From Brazil to Finland, we heard how militaries are responding to a more dynamic and threat-rich geopolitical environment. Brigadier General Marcelo Rocha Lima, Head of Strategic Project Office in the Brazilian Army, gave the audience an overview of Brazil’s significant modernization project that will see the country acquire new main battle tanks, helicopters, and infantry fighting vehicles. Next, we heard from Lieutenant Colonel Markus Wahlstien, Director of Finland’s Army Research Centre and Academy, who gave us an overview of how Finland is preparing its more light local troops to more heavy and manoeuvrable forces to defend the country against any future aggression. 

Helping to culminate our second day was a talk on urban warfare, which covered the British army’s developing approaches to urban warfare training and possible avenues for improvement.

Sights and sounds are important for soldiers operating in urban terrain, the speaker contended. From immersing recruits to the sounds of tank fire in enclosed spaces to using 3D printing technology to model a potential adversary’s vehicles, all are vital for an army that will have to contend with an increasingly urbanised world. 

On the last day of our event, militaries from across the world came together to talk about how best to manoeuvre in an increasingly hostile world and battlefield. Seeking to ease this tall task, our industry presenters introduced a series of novel platforms to solve some of the military’s most complex problems.

Beginning the day, in one presentation Milrem Robotics talked about a variety of unmanned ground vehicle platforms which seek to lessen casualties in an increasingly threat-rich battlefield.

Next, in a presentation from the US Army we were shown the new situational awareness system called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System. The system improves both the wearer’s ability to find the enemy and communicate with fellow soldiers, all in a personal visual display.

Ending the day, we had the pleasure to hear from Israeli Brigadier General and Chief of the Lessons Learnt Center, Guy Hazoot who talked to the audience about the military’s evolving tactics and strategy in the wake of October 7th.