At just after 9am on Sunday, police on the Isle of Wight picked up a mayday call. The captain and crew of a vast oil tanker, the Nave Andromeda, had discovered a group of seven Nigerian stowaways on board. When they threatened to hand the men over to border police, violence broke out, and the crew was forced to retreat to a secure part of the ship.

For ten hours, everything stood still. Then, in the darkening night, four navy helicopters, painted pitch black, flew softly overhead. Sixteen men quickly scaled down ropes onto the ship, catching the stowaways by surprise. In just nine minutes, Nave Andromeda was secured.

The men who recaptured the ship were members of the Special Boat Service, or SBS. The SBS is a special operations force (SOF) - a small group of crack troops trained to carry out small-scale, targeted missions. It played a key role in the Falklands War, retaking South Georgia and Port Stanley from Argentinian forces.

The SBS only sustained two casualties during the war, both of whom were shot by members of the SASThe Special Air Service, a special ops group made up of the very best soldiers in the British Armed Forces. who mistook them for Argentinian soldiers.

Special operations forces have a very long history. Possibly the first recorded example is in the story of David and Goliath. In Japan, ninjas were a kind of SOF, trained to carry out assassinations and sabotages and to act as bodyguards.

More recently, the USA and the UK have made increasing use of SOF troops in the war on terror. Since they are trained to infiltrate fortified positions and carry out hostage rescues and assassinations, they are perfectly placed to combat the guerrillaA type of warfare in which small groups use their mobility and knowledge of the terrain to harass much larger forces, attacking their supply lines and reconnaissance missions. The term means "little war" in Spanish. warfare favoured by most terrorist groups. It was an SOF group, Seal Team Six, that killedn Osama bin LadenA Saudi Arabian terrorist who masterminded the 911 terrorist attacks, which killed 3,000 people. Before this, he was a US ally who fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. in Pakistan in 2011.

However, some claim that the importance of SOF in the war on terror has been exaggerated. They point out that the USA and the UK are dependent on local proxiesIn warfare, a proxy is a smaller military power that fights or otherwise acts on behalf of a larger one. to do their fighting for them. During the war withn ISISThe name originally belonged to a goddess worshipped in Ancient Egypt, but became tainted by association with Islamic State terrorists., it was militiasA militia is an informal armed group operating independently of the state. in Iraq and Syria, with US funding, that drove the terrorists out of their strongholds. These alliances with local forces, critics argue, are more strategically important than flashy special operations.

Special operations are often carried out without regard for national sovereignty. After the killing of bin Laden, the Pakistani government criticised the USA for not informing them in advance of the raid, insisting that it did not have the right to carry out military operations on Pakistani soil.

SOF groups undergo a punishing training regime which forges bonds of loyalty between members of the group. However, this can result in teams hiding incriminating evidence to protect their comrades. In 2017, Seal Team Six was accused of carrying out and then covering up war crimes in Afghanistan.

Colonel Joel Babbit of the US Army states that SOF is also reliant on technology, especially drones. The role of such technology is predicted to grow in coming years. In his view, the future of warfare is actually software.

Yes, say some. They argue that the nature of warfare has changed in recent decades: in future all threats will be from guerrilla forces, which launch attacks from fortified positions and then melt away into the countryside, and take hostages to make political demands. SOF, which can locate and infiltrate their bases and are trained in hostage rescue, are ideally placed to face this kind of threat.

Not at all, say others. They argue that local proxies have shouldered the burden of the war on terror, with SOF playing a relatively minor - but much higher-profile - role. They claim that the work of SOF is dependent on technology that will soon be sophisticated enough to replace human soldiers entirely. Moreover, SOF can also spark new conflicts by failing to respect national borders.

SAS - The Special Air Service, a special ops group made up of the very best soldiers in the British Armed Forces.

Guerrilla - A type of warfare in which small groups use their mobility and knowledge of the terrain to harass much larger forces, attacking their supply lines and reconnaissance missions. The term means "little war" in Spanish.

Osama bin Laden - A Saudi Arabian terrorist who masterminded the 911 terrorist attacks, which killed 3,000 people. Before this, he was a US ally who fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Proxies - In warfare, a proxy is a smaller military power that fights or otherwise acts on behalf of a larger one.

Isis - The name originally belonged to a goddess worshipped in Ancient Egypt, but became tainted by association with Islamic State terrorists.

Militias - A militia is an informal armed group operating independently of the state.