2020s in military history

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war[lower-alpha 1] was an armed conflict between Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh together with Armenia, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but partially governed by Artsakh, a breakaway state with an Armenian ethnic majority.[lower-alpha 2]

Clashes began on the morning of 27 September 2020 along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, which had been established in the aftermath of the First Nagorno-Karabakh war (1988–1994). In response to the clashes, Armenia and Artsakh introduced martial law and total mobilization,[9][10] while Azerbaijan introduced martial law and a curfew,[11] later declaring partial mobilization on 28 September 2020.[12] Turkey provided military support to Azerbaijan, although the extent of this support has been disputed.[13][14] Turkey's involvement is thought to have been an attempt to extend its sphere of influence, both by increasing the standing of Azerbaijan in the conflict and by marginalizing Russia's influence over the region.[13][15]

Following the capture of Shusha, the second-largest settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, ending all hostilities in the area from 00:00, 10 November 2020 Moscow Time.[16][17][18] The President of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to end the hostilities.[19] Under the agreement, the warring sides will keep control of their currently held areas within Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia will return the surrounding territories it occupied in 1994 to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan will also gain land access to its Nakhchivan exclave bordering Turkey and Iran.[20] Approximately 2,000 Russian soldiers will be deployed as peacekeeping forces along the Lachin corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for a mandate of at least five years.

The Tigray conflict is an ongoing armed conflict that began in November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, between Tigray Region special forces led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in alliance with Amhara Region special forces.[21]

The conflict stemmed from the attempt of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to distance the country's politics from ethnic federalism, a power-sharing system giving regional influence to individual ethnic groups, by merging the ethnic and region-based parties of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which had governed Ethiopia for 30 years, into a nationwide Prosperity Party.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front, a military and politically powerful entity inside Ethiopia representing 6% of the total population ethnically, refused to join the new party, and alleged that Abiy Ahmed became an illegitimate ruler by rescheduling the general elections set for 29 August 2020 to an undetermined date in 2021 due to COVID-19.

Artificial intelligence solutions are being developed and deployed for air combat purposes, though sixth-generation jet fighters are expected to still have human pilots.[22] Specific tasks will, however, are being automated, for example in the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System.[22]

The United States formally withdrew from the Treaty on Open Skies on November 22, 2020.[23]

On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, officially titled the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan.[24] The provisions of the deal include the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.[25] The United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months if the Taliban keeps its commitments.[26] The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days,[27] and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020.[28] The deal was supported by China, Russia and Pakistan, although it did not involve the government of Afghanistan.[29]

Despite the peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, insurgent attacks against Afghan security forces were reported to have surged in the country. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April 2020), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, which showed an increase of more than 70% as compared to the same period in the previous year.[30] More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, because of a significant reduction in the number of offensives and airstrikes by Afghan and U.S. forces against the Taliban due to the agreement, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier. On 22 June 2020, Afghanistan reported its "bloodiest week in 19 years," during which 291 members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were killed and 550 others wounded in 422 attacks carried out by the Taliban. At least 42 civilians, including women and children, were also killed and 105 others wounded by the Taliban across 18 provinces.[31] During the week, the Taliban kidnapped 60 civilians in the central province of Daykundi.[32]

The Brereton Report found evidence of 39 murders of civilians and prisoners by (or at the instruction of) members of the Australian special forces, which were subsequently covered up by ADF personnel.[33][34][35] The report stated 25 ADF personnel were involved in the killings, including those who were "accessories" to the incident.[36] The unlawful killings discussed by the report began in 2009, with most occurring in 2012 and 2013.[37]

The Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad was accused by Iran of using an "artificial intelligence" machine gun controlled by a satellite in the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.[38]

The Philippines was considering a purchase of the BrahMos cruise missile system in late 2020.[39]

In early 2020, the Syrian Civil War flared up, with massive fighting between Syrian government forces and rebel groups in northwestern Syria. In March 2020, Syria claimed that a number of its soldiers had been killed in Turkish attacks.[40] Turkey warned that millions of migrants might head for the EU.[41] Greece suspended all asylum applications.[42]

In May 2020, Special UN Envoy Geir Pedersen said that warring factions had indicated some willingness to have new peace talks.[43]

Fighting in the Syrian Civil War continued around the areas of Idlib and Aleppo in northwestern Syria.[44]

The Finnish Navy is building its largest ships since World War II with the Pohjanmaa-class corvette. Meanwhile, the Finnish Air Force will replace its McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighters through the new Finnish fighter jet procurement programme, being the most expensive military procurement in Finnish history. Finland is also procuring a new surface-to-air missile, with possible contenders being the AMRAAM-ER, IRIS-T SL, EMADS, SPYDER MR/LR or David's Sling systems.[45]

The French Navy received the first of the Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarines in 2020.[46]

The Russian Navy will build a new base in Port Sudan, which will be the country's first in Africa since the Soviet Union had a base in Baledogle, Somalia during the Cold War until 1977.[47][48]

In 2020, Russian cyberwarfare operations hacked US federal government departments, FireEye, an IT security company.[49]

The United Kingdom unveiled the largest spending increases on the military since the end of the Cold War.[50]