This article tackles the political dimension of the development of anti-satellite weapons. The main goal is to assess their significance from the American, Russian, and Chinese perspective to understand the emerging balance of power in space. While the U.S. is struggling to maintain its position of dominant space power, its main adversaries are developing technologies that can diminish American dominance. It is, therefore, widely believed that outer space is poised to be weaponized by multiple systems designed to destroy satellites in-orbit, both ground- and space-based. On the other hand, the United States is executing multiple fast-track research& development programs aimed at increasing the resilience of the U.S. space systems.

Given the fact that major sporting events such as the Olympic Games attract attention all over the world, the aspect of their security has become even more important, especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Organizers of this type of mass sports event treat the issue of safety as top priority. The paper examines the empirical data from scientific publications, press releases and formal government documents that pertain to Russia's preparation to properly secure the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in terms of security. The aim of this article was to identify the threats to the Winter Olympics in Sochi and to characterize the security system organized by Russia against this background. The conducted research confirmed that the greatest threat in Russia was the high activity of national liberation groups, fighters and terrorists from the Sochi area, which clearly intensified in the period preceding the Olympics. In addition, the security system created by Russia involved many different state bodies, including agencies, police and law enforcement services, and the army. Based on the research, it can be concluded that the security system created in Sochi may be a good example for other countries that will try to organize the Olympic Games in the future.

This paper discusses the threats related to the development of the phenomenon known as lone wolf violence. Its main goal is to analyze lone wolves' activities, particularly their tactics in carrying out actions that pose a threat to aviation safety. The primary method used for the main argument of the paper, interdisciplinary modeling of the determinants of violence, allows for formulating forecasts on the development of lone wolves phenomenon in the most important context for those predictions, i.e., changeability of used means. This inventiveness comes down to disorganized forms of functioning (leaderless resistance) and the methods used in fighting, both of which stem from considerable power disproportions between lone wolves (terrorists) and states. The development of violence among lone wolves is analyzed from the perspective of this constantly changing tactical and technological means. This paper is of both explanatory and prognostic nature. It consists of five parts. The first is dedicated to providing theoretical background and depicting case studies that serve as a starting point for the following analyses. The second section is dedicated to a brief description of used methods. Next, the types of lone wolves' activities are characterized and examined. In section four, the current and potential tactics employed by terrorists are analyzed. This paper concludes with the author's prognosis regarding the future development of this phenomenon.

The 2019 attacks on the oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia and the effectiveness of combating Armenian long-range anti-aircraft systems have highlighted the nature and scale of the challenges for air defense posed by unmanned aircraft systems. The aim of this article is to summarize the lessons learned from the use of unmanned systems in recent conflicts, to assess the development of trends in such systems, and to discuss the implications of those developments for air defense. This article discusses the impact of the development of unmanned aircraft systems on air defense concepts, their organization, and the effectiveness of this defense for the defended assets. It also tries to highlight how unmanned aircraft systems may reduce the survivability of air defense systems. This research is based on publicly available documents related to air defense and unmanned aircraft systems as well as selected analytical studies on the implications of the development and use of unmanned aircraft systems for air defense. As such, this research identifies the possible challenges related to ensuring effective air defense against attacks by unmanned aircraft systems, resulting from the costs of defense despite the availability of technological solutions. It also raises the issue of survivability of air defense systems if attacked by unmanned aircraft systems.

The aim of this study is to identify a drone swarm’s capabilities and the key factors influencing its employment in military operations. The research takes the quantitative analysis of scientific literature related to the technical and operational utilization of drones. The use of drones for military purposes in contemporary world is widespread. They conduct dull, dirty, dangerous and deep military operations replacing manned aviation in many areas. Progressive technological development including artificial intelligence and machine learning allows for the use of military drones in the form of a swarm. It is a quite new technology at the beginning of development. The study indicates that the capabilities of a drone swarm based on communication within the group and autonomy differentiate it from the typical use of unmanned aircraft. Size, diversity, self-configurability and self-perfection amongst the others indicated in literature are attributes of a drone swarm which may give advantage in military operation comparing to the classic use of unmanned aircraft. Emergent coordination as a command and control model of a drone swarm is a future way of utilizing that technology in military operations. In the future, a drone swarm will be a cheaper equivalent of advanced and much more expensive weapon systems conducting combat operations.

As strategic research plays an important role in shaping and implementing the state's security and defense policy there is a need for institutionalized capability in this field. Institutes of strategic studies serve as primary institutions providing states’ authorities with expertise related to strategic problems. The article discusses the mission, organization and activities of the Institute for Strategic Research of the Military School (Institut de Recherche Strategique de l'Ecole Militaire – IRSEM). The article attempts to assess the role of the institute for France’s security and defense policy. The research has been based on critical qualitative analysis of publicly available sources on IRSEM mission, organization and activities. The analysis was reinforced by a short term internship of the author to the Institute in 2020. The results of research suggest that the scope of the Institute’s activities is broader than research activities. IRSEM importance for French security and defense policy stems also from its support to professional military education, outreach activities and so called “strategic succession”.

The paper aims to analyse and evaluate cooperation between the United Kingdom and Kenya in the defense and security areas in the second decade of the 21st century. The analysis is conducted in the light of the theory of postcolonialism. The research uses the method of analyzing text sources. The paper begins with an introduction synthetically describing the transition of British-Kenyan relations from colonial to postcolonial, and the main methodological assumptions of the paper. Then the theoretical assumptions of postcolonialism are presented. The next three sections include: the circumstances of cooperation in the fields of defense and security; Military cooperation to restore peace in Somalia; and The United Kingdom programs to enhance peace and security in Kenya and East Africa. The paper ends with a conclusion. The main research questions are: Was the defence and security cooperation during the recent decade a continuation of the status quo or was there something different about it? If there was something different, what caused the change? Are there prospects for strengthening the cooperation in the future? Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has strengthened cooperation with Kenya in the areas of defense and security. The actions of the British were aimed at strengthening Kenya's military potential and its ability to influence the international environment. The United Kingdom's increased involvement in Kenya was driven by internal, bilateral and international factors. Kenya also expressed its readiness to strengthen this cooperation, guided by its own interests.

This article presents the results of research that set out to identify and diagnose the trends found in the development of Russia's precision-guided weapons. The research process mainly employed the critical assessment of the literature and comparative analyses. As a result of the research, it was established that Russian thought on the strategic use of precision destruction weapons was historically determined and changed with technological progress, economic opportunities and changes in foreign policy objectives. Today, precision-guided weapons are complex strike systems capable of shaping the battlespace. Its high effectiveness makes it a real threat to objects that determine the opposing side's defense capability and can be considered strategic. The new generation of precision-guided weapons and hypersonic weapons will be crucial in achieving victories in armed struggle in the near future. Precision weapons will also be an effective tool of pressure and blackmail used to achieve the goals of international competition without the need for direct military confrontation.

The main goal of the research is to identify the key problems related to information security in the armed forces and to classify the most important factors and aspects necessary to increase security. The implemented research methods include a critical analysis of legal acts, organizational and competence documents, literature on the subject. Synthesis and inference were employed to achieve the formulated goals. The main findings indicate that the armed forces' information security system will play an increasingly important role in shaping the security of modern states and should be treated as a priority. The results of the analyzes indicate that in the coming years, the main challenge of modern armies will be to strengthen the offensive and defensive information capabilities of the state. The general findings of this article present the view that information security is a key task for the armed forces to ensure national security. Therefore, it is necessary to revise, clarify and tighten up the procedures in force for the protection of key information processed in the state -especially in the armed forces – which should have adequate capabilities to conduct complex operations in cyberspace. Moreover, the need for a thorough and comprehensive analysis of this topic is confirmed.

The article presents inspirational methods of command, which might be helpful in the decision making process on the battle- field on tactical and operational levels. The methods allow activating subordinates as well as delegating authority. They also carry qualities and functions that allow taking full advantage of the knowledge and wisdom of subordinates. They may also become useful in the implementation of the training process and current activities.