Conventional Warfare Research Articles

Cyber Warfare and Cyber Terrorism Threats Targeting Critical Infrastructure: A HCPS-based Threat Modelling Intelligence Framework

Acts of cyber warfare and cyber terrorism (CWCT) that target a nation's critical infrastructure (CI) are quickly becoming a larger threat to national security than conventional kinetic warfare strategies. Adversaries or potential adversaries can target a nation's electrical grids, telecommunications, financial services, transportation, healthcare systems, and other forms of CI. These acts pose a major threat to a nation's CI and consequently exposes citizens to public health, safety, security, and economic development risks. Identifying cyber vulnerabilities and threats can help nations to improve their CI defence strategies. There is a crucial need for research that can aid in understanding the major types of CI threats and by what method they might occur. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to develop an initial threat intelligence framework of CWCT attacks on CI. Drawing from a Human–Cyber–Physical Systems (HCPS) lens, the threat intelligence framework classifies CWCT attacks according to the methods, weapons, vulnerabilities, targets and impact of the CWCT attack. The cyber warfare community can extend the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to develop more advanced cyber security mitigation strategies, training scenarios and simulations. Large-scale monitoring of CI threats requires in-depth threat intelligence analysis and a collaborative defence strategy. This calls for a higher degree of coordination and orchestration between the military, intelligence agencies, government departments, multinational allies, regulators, and commercial entities. Future research can customize the proposed HCPS-based threat intelligence framework to cater for the unique threats facing specific CI domains.

Penggunaan Cyber Warfare dalam Konflik Bersenjata Internasional Antara Rusia-Ukraina Menurut Hukum Humaniter Internasional

Today's the advancements of technology have an impact on many aspects of life, including health, education, transportation, business, information communication, and government administration. Nonetheless, given the strong relationship between technology and the military, technology advancements could lead to a war. The sheer proliferation of technologies implemented in military operations spawned technology-based warfare called cyber warfare. Cyber warfare refers to wars carried out through the virtual world and is coordinated with conventional warfare. In cyber warfare, opposing countries perform cyber operations through cyberspace as the latest weapon of warfare launched to destabilize the national security and stability of the target state. The current cyber warfare is in the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This article analyses the deployment of cyber warfare in international armed conflict from the international humanitarian law perspective, and it also investigates Russia's use of cyber warfare against Ukraine. The purpose of this article is to understand how international humanitarian law rules the use of cyber warfare in international armed conflicts, in addition to the way Russia employs cyber warfare against Ukraine. This article is normative law research which uses the statute approach with juridical-normative research method. The findings found that cyber warfare carried out within the framework of international armed conflict is subject to international humanitarian law and that its use is also restricted by the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The research also found that Russia's cyber warfare against Ukraine in an international armed conflict is against the principles of differentiation and proportionality.

The Human Weapon System in Gray Zone Competition

Russia’s experience in Ukraine highlights the importance of the human weapon system in next generation warfare. They show that despite technological superiority and investment in sophisticated weapons and equipment, such as hypersonic missiles, people are the core of a successful military strategy. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in kinetic and largely conventional warfare, the human weapon system is essential across the range of military operations, particularly in gray zone operations. There may be no place where the human weapon system is more important; strategic and meaningful management of the human weapon system for use in countering gray zone activities may prevent escalation into kinetic operations.

Interpreting the Russian Way of War. Comparative Analysis of Soviet Military Operations with Phase I Russian Operations in Ukraine

The following paper provides a comparative analysis of Soviet military operations in Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan and Phase I Russian operations in Ukraine. The principal object of analysis is the employment of military force within the Soviet and later Russian military operational art outside of large-scale doctrinal conventional warfare. The principal thesis of the paper revolves around providing adequate evidence for two core postulations – the Soviet and later Russian militaries have historically relied in the case of escalation and use of conventional military force on the “military operation” as a method to utilise said military force in a low-intensity, non-kinetic approach where large-scale conventional land forces, in combination with airborne and special forces, would rapidly overwhelm an adversary’s military and civilian capabilities to offer resistance; first-phase Russian operations in Ukraine in 2022 followed the provided historical model, encompassing all elements and methods previously employed, but were unable to repeat Soviet successes, failing due to a variety of factors, which had previously worked in favour of the Soviet military, but were not sufficiently present or counteracted. The paper conducts a comparative analysis by synthesising the key elements, which make up the matrix of a given “military operation” – political goals, military objectives, preparation and execution, and applies them in each of the three case studies – Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan and Ukraine. By analysing each of these elements, the paper provides proof of the identical approaches used by the Soviet/Russian militaries and also its subsequent conclusions on the inability of the Russian military to achieve success in Ukraine.

Interpretarea modului rusesc de a duce războiul – analiză comparativă între operațiunile militare sovietice și Faza I a operațiunilor rusești în Ucraina –

The following paper provides a comparative analysis of Soviet military operations in Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan and Phase I Russian operations in Ukraine. The principal object of analysis is the employment of military force within the Soviet and later Russian military operational art outside of large-scale doctrinal conventional warfare. The principal thesis of the paper revolves around providing adequate evidence for two core postulations – the Soviet and later Russian militaries have historically relied in the case of escalation and use of conventional military force on the “military operation” as a method to utilise said military force in a low-intensity, non-kinetic approach where large-scale conventional land forces, in combination with airborne and special forces, would rapidly overwhelm an adversary’s military and civilian capabilities to offer resistance; first-phase Russian operations in Ukraine in 2022 followed the provided historical model, encompassing all elements and methods previously employed, but were unable to repeat Soviet successes, failing due to a variety of factors, which had previously worked in favour of the Soviet military, but were not sufficiently present or counteracted. The paper conducts a comparative analysis by synthesising the key elements, which make up the matrix of a given “military operation” – political goals, military objectives, preparation and execution, and applies them in each of the three case studies – Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan and Ukraine. By analysing each of these elements, the paper provides proof of the identical approaches used by the Soviet/Russian militaries and also its subsequent conclusions on the inability of the Russian military to achieve success in Ukraine.

Asymmetric and Hybrid Warfare in Postmodern Times: Lesson from Hezbollah-Israeli War 2006

This paper discussed asymmetric warfare between Hezbollah as a non-state actor against Israel in the Second Hezbollah-Israeli War in 2006. This paper focused on Hezbollah's strategy as the weaker side to fight against Israel as the state with the strongest military forces in the Middle East. The battle between Hezbollah and Israel can be categorized as post-modern warfare because it has hybrid and irregular elements of warfare. That is, the war mixes the use of conventional and non-conventional methods of warfare. This paper uses the concept of hybrid warfare and Taylor’s strategy theory to explain the Hezbollah strategy against Israel. The main objective of this paper is to analyze and explain the strategies employed by Hezbollah, a non-state actor, in the Second Hezbollah-Israeli War in 2006, utilizing the concepts of asymmetric and hybrid warfare. The paper focuses on Hezbollah's use of post-modern strategies, such as guerrilla tactics, unconventional warfare methods, information warfare, and psychological tactics, to counter the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and achieve its goals in the asymmetric conflict. This paper finds that Hezbollah uses elements of post-modern strategy by conducting guerrilla and hide-and-seek tactics, mixing the use of conventional and modern warfare equipment, the use information and media, engaging in acts of terror, and applying psychological warfare to achieve the ultimate goal the main objective) in the fight against Israel Defense Force (IDF).

PENGARUH BESAR CU CHI TUNNELS DALAM KEMENANGAN PERANG GERILYA BANGSA VIETNAM

The Vietnamese guerrilla war lasted from 1953-1954 culminating in victory at Dien Bien Phu, the end of nearly a century of French colonial rule over Indochina. The Vietnamese people led by Ho Chi Minh launched massive attacks on French outposts using a combination of conventional and guerrilla warfare tactics. Equally important in supporting the Vietnamese army's guerrilla warfare victory were the Cu Chi Tunnels, which served as a base of operations against French forces. The methodology in writing this journal by analysing the making of Cu Chi Tunnels which includes structure, development pattern, room composition using descriptive analysis method supported by literature study, literature, national and international scientific journals. The results and discussion in this research are Cu Chi Tunnels played an important role in the military strategy of the Vietnamese army, as a means of communication and logistics transport, as well as a storage place for weapons and ammunition. The structure of the tunnel has the natural advantage of being near the Saigon River which allows for air penetration, in the form of lateritic clay (iron soil). Meanwhile, the pattern of tunnel construction as a secret passage for fighting and escaping was made zigzagging, not straight "like a snake". For the composition of the tunnel room, three levels were built separately but interconnected, designed to serve various functions as living quarters, weapons and ammunition storage facilities, hospitals, as well as communication and command centres.

The Russian Origin of hybrid warfare as a tool to promote the Anti-Russian Agenda in Western Society

The author examines the publications of Western authors on the subject of hybrid warfare from 2014 to 2022, inclusive. The purpose of the study is to analyze the views of Western political and military experts that hybrid warfare is a development of Russian military thought, as one of the mechanisms to promote the anti-Russian agenda. The subject of the study is the publications of Western researchers on the topics of information and hybrid warfare from 2014 to 2022. The object of the study is a Russophobic narrative created around the phenomenon of hybrid warfare by Western political and military experts. The Russophobic narrative means a constructed sequence of images and ideas of an anti-Russian orientation, clothed in the form of a scientific narrative. Due to the huge array of publications for the period from 2014 to 2022, the work analyzed studies reflecting the main specifics of the views of Western authors on the subject under consideration. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that Western researchers began to attribute hybrid warfare to the development of Russian military theorists in 2014, which falls on a new round of active confrontation between Russia and the United States and the beginning of an active anti-Russian campaign in the West. Hybrid warfare has become a journalistic cliche today, which experts and journalists use to describe any actions that do not fit within the framework of traditional ideas about the principles of conventional warfare. Based on initially false and unsubstantiated theses, Western authors accuse Russia of waging a "barbaric war" on the territory of Ukraine in the period from 2014 to 2022. This study revealed that all the tools and elements of hybrid warfare described by Western experts have been successfully used by the United States and the NATO bloc in the course of modern military conflicts. Thus, the humanitarian sphere in the West has turned into another element of propaganda.

HYBRID WARFARE: EMERGING CHALLENGES FOR PAKISTAN

Hybrid Warfare is gaining currency and posing new challenges to military thinkers and practitioners. The changes by the technological revolution, information and psychological operations, digitisation of the battlefield, and modernization in conventional warfare have ceased to be the standalone option for applying force. These changes envisage the application of all Elements of National Power (EoNP), projected along a continuous span of activities, stretching from stability, security, reconstruction and terminating at armed conflict. The paper explains that hybrid warfare is the instrument of choice by the challengers, primarily India, to weaken Pakistan, subjugate it and either balkanise it or make it a flaccid state as the least desired objective. With hybrid warfare as an instrument of application against Pakistan, this article has attempted to dissect hybrid warfare's contours and its impact on Pakistan.

AWS compliance with the ethical principle of proportionality: three possible solutions

The ethical Principle of Proportionality requires combatants not to cause collateral harm excessive in comparison to the anticipated military advantage of an attack. This principle is considered a major (and perhaps insurmountable) obstacle to ethical use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS). This article reviews three possible solutions to the problem of achieving Proportionality compliance in AWS. In doing so, I describe and discuss the three components Proportionality judgments, namely collateral damage estimation, assessment of anticipated military advantage, and judgment of “excessiveness”. Some possible approaches to Proportionality compliance are then presented, such as restricting AWS operations to environments lacking civilian presence, using AWS in targeted strikes in which proportionality judgments are pre-made by human commanders, and a ‘price tag’ approach of pre-assigning acceptable collateral damage values to military hardware in conventional attritional warfare. The article argues that application of these three compliance methods would result in AWS’ achieving acceptable Proportionality compliance levels in many combat environments and scenarios, allowing AWS to perform most key tasks in conventional warfare.

Industry 4.0 vs. Industry 5.0: Co-existence, Transition, or a Hybrid

Smart manufacturing is being shaped nowadays by two different paradigms: Industry 4.0 proclaims transition to digitalization and automation of processes while emerging Industry 5.0 emphasizes human centricity. This turn can be explained by unprecedented challenges being faced recently by societies, such as, global climate change, pandemics, hybrid and conventional warfare, refugee crises. Sustainable and resilient processes require humans to get back into the loop of organizational decision-making. In this paper, we argue that the most reasonable way to marry the two extremes of automation and value-based human-driven processes is to create an Industry 4.0 + Industry 5.0 hybrid, which inherits the most valuable features of both - efficiency of the Industry 4.0 processes and sustainability of the Industry 5.0 decisions. Digital cognitive clones twinning human decision-making behavior are represented as an enabling technology for the future hybrid and as an accelerator (as well as resilience enabler) of the convergence of the digital and human worlds.

The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian Hybrid War on the European Union's Cybersecurity Policies and Regulations

While Russia transitioned from hybrid to conventional warfare in Ukraine, NATO recognized cyberspace as another domain where allied response can be invoked. The European Union also decided to enhance the cybersecurity capabilities of the organization and its member states, making social resilience a priority area. It is recognized that the security of cyberspace and related systems is not just an economic issue but one that affects the whole society, necessitating a more complex strategy and regulation. The EU has taken steps to mitigate the cyber risks associated with hybrid warfare, enhancing network and cognitive security. However, offensive cyber operations could increasingly lead to open armed conflict. During existing conflicts, some cyber operations may undermine public confidence and further escalate the situation. The EU and its Member States must pay closer attention to escalation dynamics in their legislation and practices. It is crucial to scrutinize cyber policies, set specific targets and deadlines, and regularly update them. This will require stakeholders to find the appropriate regulatory levels and align national regulations, practices, and standards.

The Cultural Element in NATO Military Doctrines: Important, but a Declarative Issue?

Despite the historically perceived importance of the cultural element in warfare, after the end of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other culturally distant countries, it is believed that the cultural element has lost its importance. According to some experts, the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine marks a return to conventional warfare, in which a state's material military capabilities play the most significant role in determining its power. But in fact, in this war, soft interoperability, the most essential aspect of which is the cultural element, gained considerable prominence by demonstrating once again that understanding one's own culture and values comes before understanding others. This study aims to look at the cultural element more broadly through the prism of interoperability and, specifically, through soft interoperability and answer the question of how the cultural element, specifically the cultural competences of military personnel manifests in NATO military doctrines, given that NATO is an international security organization with obligations that extend beyond simple defence.

RECONSIDERING THE CONCEPT OF CHOKEPOINTS FOR THE 21st CENTURY

Chokepoints can be best described as areas where the ability to transport or deploy assets or goods can be severely denied or restricted, due to their limited spatial characteristics. As such, a potential party to an armed conflict can deploy a relatively small detachment of assets in order to interdict the aforementioned actions, with considerable results, especially during a conventional, large scale war, representing, from a certain perspective, a method of conventional asymmetric warfare against a numerically superior force. During history, chokepoints have been mainly considered to be areas of water or land, where the ability to maneuver of the deployed forces have been severely hindered, although, with the emergence of new warfighting domains, such as cyber and space, the definition of the chokepoint, as well as the perception of using them during warfare, can be expanded. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different types of non-traditional chokepoints (space and information centered), their origins and vulnerabilities, as well as presenting a series of recommendations with the purpose of increasing their level of security. The methodology of research used in this paper is the historical analysis of the concept of chokepoint, the observation of technical measures that could create to the establishment of new types of chokepoints, as well as that of possible ways of mitigating these security threats

NUCLEAR DETERRENCE AND NUCLEAR INTIMIDATION IN RUSSIA’S POLICY

Nuclear weapons play a key role in Russia’s security thinking. Concepts of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation include both doctrinally defined nuclear deterrence and doctrinally indefinite nuclear intimidation. The latter has become a central element of the hybrid war waged by Russia. The failure to achieve the initial goals of Russian large-scale military aggression against Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, has affected Russia’s nuclear policy. The criteria for the use of nuclear weapons in conventional warfare and the forms of nuclear intimidation have changed.
 The effectiveness of Russia’s nuclear policy depends on the degree of compliance of its components with established international norms, formed within the framework of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. These norms can be defined as the global nuclear order. Russia’s policy of nuclear intimidation falls out of this order and creates a “nuclear disorder”. Currently, it is losing effectiveness for the Russian leadership, since it is increasingly seen as a “nuclear bluff”. Russia is trying to hide its nuclear intimidation behind the doctrinal provisions of nuclear deterrence, which generally remains effective.
 In the war against Ukraine, Russia is actively trying to artificially create criteria for the use of nuclear weapons that would formally correspond to the global nuclear order, while leaving room for nuclear intimidation. In particular, this may explain accusations against Ukraine of developing weapons of mass destruction and Russia’s attempts to annex the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories as soon as possible.
 The creation of a postwar architecture of international security will require bringing Russian nuclear policy to the norms of the global nuclear order.

A comparative view of India and Pakistan’s defence capabilities: Historical evolution and future trends

War has been here since time immemorial and has been influenced and modified by various civilizations; as necessitated by internal and external conflicts and challenges. Every country views war under the lens of factors such as its geography, threats from neighbouring countries, internal circumstances and economic standing. This article discusses and highlights the quest for modern conventional warfare advancement generally, and particularly in the context of two South Asian nuclear armed nations – India and Pakistan, two arch-rivals. Both nations have been trying since their independence to gain an edge over the other in terms of defence, and so have invested more than they should in the defence sector for various reasons. The article presents the relevance of conventional warfare in the Indo–Pak context and sheds light on the strategic context of South Asia which hosts two nuclear-armed rivals. It discusses the historical and near-contemporary use of conventional warfare by both nations in the pursuit of their political objectives. It draws attention to the growing Indian military modernization in its conventional arsenal, especially by the induction of the Russian-built T-90S tank and S-400 missile system, French-built Rafale fighter jet and aircraft carrier. It also discusses low-observable instruments such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The article focuses on the tactical, operational, as well as strategic implications of such advanced hardware on the Armed Forces of Pakistan. The world cannot afford a nuclear war and that too between heavily populated immediate rivals. Owing to this, both are investing more and more in modern conventional warfare by developing and advancing their defence systems, weapons, strategies and other related warfare – which the world must not ignore. This article enunciates how India getting its hands on the Russian T-90S, S-400 Missile System, Rafale Aircraft and INS Vikramadtiya has pushed Pakistan into a state of immense concern over its security and its quest for meeting this looming threat. This article also discusses the historical travelogue of advancements and investment made in the purchasing of the modern conventional warfare equipment both by India and Pakistan.

From gray zone to conventional warfare: the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Black Sea

ABSTRACT A gray zone conflict that emerged after the Russian annexation of Crimea was an element of the Russian strategy of establishing and consolidating a new and more favourable internationally recognized maritime order in the Black Sea, Kerch Strait, and the Sea of Azov. Empirical data shows that Russian superiority over Ukraine and inferiority vis-a-vis the West shaped a double asymmetry of its tactics of projecting power against Ukraine while avoiding confrontation with the West. Eventually, Moscow reached a point where the gray zone tactics could not secure its objectives. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 signalled the exhausting coercive potential of a gray zone conflict. Although, despite of transition to conventional warfare, we found continuity of ‘gray zone’ tactics of double asymmetry and denying responsibility in the Russian playbook. Hence, a possible de-escalation of the Russia – Ukraine war may likely return to a gray zone conflict.

Contemporary Warfare Theories and the War in Ukraine

Russia’s war against Ukraine has not only challenged the prospective scenarios and anticipation processes of numerous analysts but has also questioned the very definition of war. After eight years of theorising war belowor at the bottom of the spectrum, Moscow has now reintroduced high-intensity conventional warfare in Europe. The investigation of contemporary warfare theories offers insight into the nature of this war. Generations of warfare offers numerous conceptualisations that can be used to understand different aspects of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The question of hybrid warfare contains many surprising elements. Moreover, the confrontation between theories below and above the spectrum of violence can offer constructive insights into this complex and unexpected war.

Visualizing Martial Mothers, Eagle-Women, and Water Warriors in the Florentine Codex

Military histories of the Spanish invasion of Tenochtitlan (1519–21), home to the Mexica-led Triple Alliance (or so-called Aztec Empire), have primarily focused upon men and their armories, often juxtaposing ironclad Spaniards against Nahua opponents dressed as Eagle and Jaguar Warriors. Indigenous women appear to lack this battle garb, known by specialists as military “devices” (tlahuiztin in Nahuatl), unlike precolonial depictions of warrior matriarchs and precolonial records showing women as unruly community defenders. This study challenges assumptions about Nahua material culture through critical engagement with a key source in Nahuatl studies, the sixteenth-century Florentine Codex, an encyclopedic collection consisting of “three texts”: the original Nahuatl, an accompanying Spanish translation, and thousands of illuminations created by Nahua scholar-artists. By utilizing ethnolinguistic and visual analytic methodologies, this essay reveals an inextricable link between Nahua women’s maternity, maturation, and martial ability in conventional and supernatural warfare.

Why the U.S. Military Lost Afghanistan

Why did Afghanistan falter as a U.S. partner? America’s war in Afghanistan was lost for many reasons, but the U.S. military contributed to its downfall in two ways. First, U.S. combat units, trained to fight conventional battles, conducted counterterrorism operations (aka “search and destroy” missions) against guerilla forces that resulted in hardening the resolve of the enemy while causing widespread and senseless civilian casualties. Second, the Afghan military could not exist without U.S. logistical and material support. Because the Afghan Army was trained and equipped to fight a conventional-type war, they were incapable of operating independent of U.S. support, and could not survive on their own against guerrilla forces in a protracted civil war. Therefore, the Afghan security forces were not properly trained and equipped, demonstrating that the U.S. military repeated mistakes of the Vietnam War. It is argued that the United States must temper its conventional warfare mindset and re-direct resources toward improved ways to conduct limited wars against irregular adversaries. The constabulary forces concept described by Morris Janowitz is a feasible way to improve the chances that U.S. forces will succeed in such limited wars.