Dealing with a shortage of tactical-lift helicopters is not always a matter of buying more new rotorcraft, which may be just as well, because most armed forces can’t afford that. Even with resurgent production of the Boeing CH-47F Chinook, there remains an urgent need for more lift, and in Europe and Israel this is being met by upgrades and increased use of the old-technology, robust Mil Mi-17, usually known by its NATO name Hip.

One of the U.K. Royal Air Force’s (RAF) newest command centers has no aircraft, boasts a staff of just 20 and operates from a windowless bunker in the heart of the U.K. Yet it is a key component in an increasingly vital international effort to survey, map and understand the largest and arguably most complex battle zone of all.

One of the Royal Air Force’s newest command centers has no aircraft, boasts a staff of just 20 and operates from a windowless bunker in the heart of the U.K. Yet it is a key component in an increasingly vital international effort to survey, map and understand the largest and arguably most complex battle zone of all.