Hybrid CoE contributed to the NATO Command and Control Centre of Excellence (NATO C2COE) annual seminar on ‘Multi-domain operations – Keys to master complexity’. Dr Johann Schmid gave a presentation during the event on Hybrid warfare and multi-domain operations and contributed to the panel discussion that followed.
Hybrid warfare extends the battlefield by exploiting multiple military and non-military domains and dimensions. Culture, information, economy, technology, and society as a whole can become ‘battlefields’ in this context. Hybrid warfare of a type demonstrated, for example, on the Ukrainian battlefield, if waged against European countries, would pose a particular challenge for Europe and the crisis management and defence of both NATO and the EU. Although it may seem unlikely from today’s perspective, in an extreme case, NATO’s military defence and deterrence posture could be bypassed by subversive means in a ‘downward or horizontal escalation mode.
Countering hybrid actors and activities calls for a comprehensive and coordinated response in multiple domains. Creating an accurate multi-domain situational awareness picture is a first step in this direction.
The NATO C2COE annual seminar focused on multi-domain operations and their impact on command and control (C2). The aim of the seminar was to challenge participants’ preconceived notions of multi-domain operations by providing the latest insights into and perspectives on command and control in the context of a changing operational environment with hybrid warfare as a key element.
Please find the read-ahead article written by Johann Schmid on Hybrid warfare – operating on multidomain battlefields here.
For further information on the NATO C2COE annual seminar, please visit https://c2coe.org/seminar/.
