As Senior Land Warfare Fellow at RUSI and defense correspondent for The Telegraph, Watling analyzes conventional force modernization and great power competition. His work informs both NATO policy debates and public understanding of contemporary conflicts.
Jack Watling has cultivated a unique dual expertise as both a conflict journalist and military analyst over his 15-year career. His work bridges operational military insights with geopolitical analysis, informed by extensive fieldwork in active war zones. We observe three distinct phases in his professional evolution:
This landmark 2024 RUSI report demonstrates Watling’s signature methodology combining arms tracing, satellite imagery analysis, and frontline interviews. The study maps Russia’s artillery logistics from North Korean shell imports to Belarusian rail networks, proposing concrete sanctions enforcement strategies. Its impact led to revised EU export control lists targeting 37 previously unregulated components.
"Russia’s artillery advantage stems not from technical superiority but systemic prioritization of munitions stockpiling since 2014. This creates a strategic window where coordinated sanctions on ball bearings and nitrocellulose could degrade their firepower dominance within 18 months."
Watling’s 2023 Spectator exposé revealed critical gaps in UK armored vehicle readiness through Freedom of Information requests and maintenance records analysis. The article sparked parliamentary inquiries that uncovered 58% of Challenger 3 tanks lacked functional targeting systems, directly influencing the 2024 Defence Equipment Plan’s £3.7 billion allocation for ground forces modernization.
This March 2024 Foreign Policy piece outlines a three-pillar strategy for long-term Western assistance, emphasizing standardized ammunition production and Czech-led EU artillery shell initiatives. Watling critiques the "shells per day" metric still used by NATO planners, advocating instead for dynamic frontage-based calculations that better reflect Ukraine’s defensive needs.
Watling prioritizes stories examining how Western manufacturers can overcome production bottlenecks for key systems like 155mm artillery shells. His RUSI report highlights Rheinmetall’s new modular shell casing technique as a replicable model. Successful pitches should provide access to production engineers or raw material suppliers, not just corporate spokespeople.
With NATO’s 2025 Steadfast Defender exercises approaching, Watling seeks examples of multinational maintenance protocols or cross-border munitions compatibility solutions. The 2023 German-Polish artillery ammunition standardization agreement featured in his Spectator work demonstrates the depth of technical detail required.
Watling’s fieldwork identifies Estonia’s mobile artillery reconnaissance drones and Czech Republic’s modular shell factories as underreported success stories. Pitches should connect these regional developments to broader NATO capability gaps, avoiding generic "David vs Goliath" narratives about smaller nations’ contributions.
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