https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/27 Thu, 28 May 2026 18:52:41 GMT 2026-05-28T18:52:41Z https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5495 The Western Front: The Generals in the First World War Lloyd, Nick The Western Front, that cauldron of war, a bubbling, fermenting experiment in killing that changed the world. The Western Front would become synonymous with stalemate and mass slaughter, with indecisive, attritional struggles, amid a tortured landscape of barbed wire and mud. All the commanders of the First World War, whether leading the British, French or German, struggled in this maelstrom. Yet, for years the 'Generals' have been characterised as ‘donkeys’ or ‘butchers’: unfeeling military aristocrats fighting the wrong kind of war, unable to adapt or change to the new realities unfolding on the battlefield. In this episode, Professor of Modern Warfare in the Defence Studies Department, Nick Lloyd, counters this prevailing narrative, to provide a much more complex and nuanced understanding of these men, trying to cope with a war that had shattered their lives as much as any other. Discussing his book, The Western Front: A History of the First World War, he shares how the truth about the Generals’ performance was a much messier picture than we might imagine, of trial and error, success and failure, with each promising development followed by an equally effective counter-measure from the enemy. He explores how their efforts to overcome the challenge of trench warfare led to innovation, new technology and ultimately the dawn of modern warfare. And how these men were human beings with families – some of whom would be terribly damaged by the battles they themselves directed. In so doing he asks us to follow these men on their command journey, consider their successes and failures and ask ourselves if we would fare any better in their place. Find out more about Professor Lloyd’s book: www.penguin.co.uk/books/308121/the…ck/9780241347195 Watch his book launch on the War Studies YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPhJnEXDTU8 Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5495 2022-10-30T00:00:00Z https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5494 Military Insider's Guide to Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR) Hillier, Colin; Constable, Tom This episode, continuing our Education series, Tom and Colin are joined by Ian Ferguson who is a QGI working at the Royal School of Artillery, teaching and advising on simulation and training matters for the British Army. Ian has spent the last 3 years working in the Simulation Wing of the RSA, trialling and experimenting with a range of XR technologies. (We would like to note that the views expressed on this podcast are from Ian’s personal experience, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the UK Ministry of Defence). Ian provides a helpful overview and clarification, covering: XR, VR, MR and AR terms Considerations for selecting VR systems Common issues with XR systems (nausea, compute power, cloud access) Likely development direction for key technologies As ever, this topic is deeper than it initially appears. Ian guides us through a discussion around some of the strengths and weaknesses of the various technologies that are involved in XR systems, with some strategies and approaches for dealing with introducing systems into the training pipeline. Tom provides a bit more detail on the challenge he’s set within the Synthetic Internet that Colin will face in a forthcoming episode. How’s that for a cliffhanger? Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5494 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5493 Horizontal Scaling of Synthetic Environments - Jason Kennedy Kennedy, Jason Following on from our previous episode with Joe Robinson, we are joined by Jason Kennedy who is the VP of Engineering at Improbable. Jason has an impressive background in, having previously directed large teams of engineers to push the boundaries of simulation technology for defence and space applications. In a full and frank discussion, Jason describes the challenge for scaling simulation applications for serious training and decision support applications. Coining the term ‘Horizontal Scaling’. Jason covers the demand signal first, laying out the need for improved collaboration between government, academia and industry across simulation technologies. Partly to reduce costs, but more importantly to model and rehearse things that just can’t be done live due to the need for scale, complexity or things that are too dangerous to do in the real world on a live population. Jason goes on to describe what isn’t working and proposes some approaches for improved collaboration and argues the case that there may be some dominant platforms for our ecosystems (such as we see with Apple and Google) but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if it lifts the rest of the industry and academia to innovate. Like the rail network, some monopolies are just a reality we may have to live with, rather than a fragmented approach to developing our infrastructure. As ever we are joined by Andy Fawkes from MS&T, who has curated some of the best stories from the last two weeks across training and simulation. One story that doesn’t seem to go away is the problems with UK MFTS. Andy also covers initiatives to lower the environmental impact of flying training and of course next week is ITEC in Rotterdam, which no doubt will provide a whole host of more interesting news to come! Thu, 20 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5493 2023-04-20T00:00:00Z https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5491 Challenges and Solutions of Climate Geoengineering Jalili, Duraid What is climate engineering? How and why are certain shifting geoengineering policies engendering conflict? How do we differentiate between and prioritise the multitude of governance factors? How does funding affect the outcome of policy implementation and how are traditional concepts still being utilised, in tandem with more modern ideas. In the fifth and final episode of this five-part mini-series on Climate Change and National Security focuses on these challenges. Dr Duraid Jalili from the King’s Environmental Security Research Group and Professor Matt McDonald from the University of Queensland, speak to Professor Olaf Corry, Professor of Global Security Challenges at the University of Leeds and expert in international politics and geoengineering, and Dr Naho Mirumachi, Reader in Environmental Politics and Convenor of the King’s Water Hub Research Group. They will discuss the challenges, risks and potential controversy facing proposed solution mitigation and adaptation of implementing large and small scale geoengineering policies. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://defrepo.kdu.ac.lk/handle/123456789/5491 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z