Twenty-First Century Warfare Will Be Hybrid

Abstract

Hybrid warfare will be the dominant form of warfare in the 21st century due to the prevalence of hybrid threats that currently exist throughout the world. A combination of conventional and irregular warfighting capabilities, hybrid warfare is the 21st century kind of warfare with its own limiting conditions and its own peculiar preconceptions. It is critical for the Department of Defense to determine the strategic implications of hybrid warfare on the National Military Strategy and the way that the United States military will fight this type of warfare. The Department of Defense must develop a comprehensive military strategy that will guide the services in their development of doctrine for conducting hybrid warfare. This strategy research project will define hybrid threats, examine the emergence of hybrid warfare, postulate on the reasons why hybrid warfare will be the dominant form of warfare that most sovereigns will apply in the 21st century, examine the National Military Strategy for defining hybrid warfare, and analyze Joint and Service hybrid warfare doctrine. Finally, the paper will recommend changes in strategy and doctrine to ensure that the U.S. military is prepared to counter this dangerous, growing threat over the next 25 years.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 2011
Accession Number
ADA553122

Entities

People

  • Leslie F. Brown

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter IED
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Combat Areas
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Hybrid Threats
  • Hybrid Warfare
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Computer Engineering
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies