A new kind of war: Do costly weapons platforms have a future?

It may be time to rethink the large amounts being spent on weapons platforms like tanks, jets and helicopters

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was an attempt to reshape the map of Europe. But, so many months in, what has reshaped more than anything else is the general understanding of how wars in the 21st century will be fought and won. On paper, prior to the invasion, the Russian Federation’s superiority in conventional weapons platforms over Ukraine was overwhelming. Russia, for example, had almost 16,000 armoured fighting vehicles on the eve of the invasion, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, compared to 3,309 in Ukraine; and there were 1,291 Russian warplanes, giving them a 10:1 superiority ratio