Insights – Irregular Warfare Center

Added on January 28, 2025 Insights

The Emerging Potential for Quantum Computing in Irregular Warfare

Quantum computing represents a paradigm shift in computational technology, poised to revolutionize industries including national security and defense. While the abilities of quantum computing still remain largely theoretical, significant progress is being made. Notably, experiments from companies like Google and IBM have demonstrated early examples of quantum supremacy, where quantum computers outperform classical systems on specific tasks. These breakthroughs suggest that quantum computing is not only on the horizon but is considered an inevitable advancement that stakeholders should prepare for now.

Added on October 28, 2024 Insights

Reframing the Term “Irregular Warfare” in Times of Peace into the Contemporary Idea of “Defense Support to Strategic Competition”

In contemporary global security dynamics, the terminology used to describe military and strategic operations is crucial. The terms “irregular” and “warfare” often either fail to resonate with foreign partners and U.S. government interagency partners or raise red flags due to different organizational meanings, as they imply a state of conflict that is not necessarily present. This publication explores the shift from traditional concepts of Irregular Warfare (IW) to a more fitting term, “Defense Support to Strategic Competition,” to describe the Department of Defense’s (DoD) activities short of war in support of interagency organizations and foreign partners. Ultimately, various components within the DoD are capable of providing valuable assistance and support to interagency organizations to create enduring advantages in Strategic Competition. However, a barrier exists in understanding among organizations as to what “irregular warfare” is and how it can be applied in Competition and Crisis prior to an overt military conflict.

Added on October 23, 2024 Insights

Stealth Surgery: Mitigating Signature Detection Risks for Special Operations Surgical Teams

In modern warfare, United States (U.S.) military special operations frequently employ unconventional and irregular tactics, often operating in environments denied by opposition forces. Special Operations surgical teams (SOST) provide immediate medical care in these high-risk environments, with their success and safety heavily dependent on avoiding detection of any kind. However, the electronic medical equipment used, such as patient monitors and ventilators, emit electromagnetic radiation that adversaries can detect with sensors and analysis systems. As nations like Russia and China continue to enhance their electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, the need for robust countermeasures becomes increasingly critical.

Added on July 16, 2024 Insights

The Irregular Warfare Center and Hybrid CoE Cooperation: A Vital Partnership for the Future

The Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) and the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (HCOE) entered into a unique partnership in FY 24 making both institutions stronger and more globally connected. The HCOE was born out of a desire to strengthen NATO-EU cooperation on hybrid threats with the 2016 Joint NATO/EU declaration committing both institutions to counter hybrid threats in a cooperative manner. In this declaration, NATO and the EU voiced the realization that hybrid threats exploited the divisions between civil and military responses. Success in countering these threats requires combining individual strengths and areas of expertise. Finland answered the call in 2017 by creating the HCOE and, to date, 36 NATO Allies and EU Member States have become members of the Center.

Added on July 3, 2024 Insights

SOF Should Not Be Used as Assault Troops: Lessons from the Russo-Ukraine Conflict

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and its subsequent transition into a large-scale war, has shown that conventional warfare maintains its relevance in a world of strategic competition. At the same time, however, it has also underscored the inherently hybrid nature of modern warfare, with blurred boundaries between conventional and irregular elements. For Russia and Ukraine, this means that the conflict is occurring at all levels, tactical to strategic, and in multiple domains simultaneously: the front lines, rear areas, areas of occupation, the cyber domain, the information environment, and beyond. In planning for national and territorial defense, countries must account for this element, or risk mismatching resources in ways that degrade their warfighting capability. In this complex threat environment, Special Operations Forces (SOF) have proven invaluable.

Added on June 25, 2024 Insights

A Wagner Group Delivery to Hezbollah: Russia and Iran Reaffirm Mutual Objectives via Proxy Groups

As the Israel-Hamas War continues, questions loom as to whether Hezbollah, a strong ally of Hamas and Iran, will enter the fight against Israel. Both regional and international actors remain concerned of escalation as assistance provided by countries like Iran and Russia arrives in the Levant. On 3 November 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to U.S. intelligence, Russia’s Wagner Group is planning to provide the Pantsir-S1 system to Hezbollah. This comes as Hezbollah’s leading figure, Syed Hassan Nasrallah, gave a public speech the same day, praising the organization’s fallen fighters, asserting support for Palestinian efforts in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and blaming the United States for the war.

Added on June 3, 2024 Insights

Perspectives Apart: Unveiling the Indo-Pacific Understanding of Irregular Warfare

The turn toward strategic competition, due to the increase in conflict outside the bounds of conventional war, has also pivoted security researchers and practitioners toward the idea of irregular warfare (IW). Though IW has been practiced and written on for centuries, the term is not conceptualized in similar fashion across the world—or even across the organizations constituting the U.S. government. Though a globally uniform idea of IW is not likely, and perhaps not even desirable, due to regional and historical differences in conflict experience, it is still critical for the Department of Defense (DoD) to understand how allies and partners conceptualize IW in order to engage them effectively. The Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) has worked to fill this gap with a series of regionally focused studies and follow-on workshops on the conceptualization of IW. The first study in the series focused on the European conceptualization of IW through engaging with PME institutions in the region. The second study followed the same methodology but turned to the Indo-Pacific region. The results of the second study show that, like Europe, countries in the Indo-Pacific conceptualize IW differently, requiring a nuanced understanding of these regional conceptualizations to engage partners and allies in the region effectively.

Added on February 12, 2024 Insights

Contrasting Chinese and American Approaches to Irregular Warfare

In the grand theater of global conflict, the strategic mindsets of the two world powers are often best summarized by the ancient board games of Chess and Wei Qi (Go). These games, emblematic of divergent cultural philosophies, illuminate the contrasting approaches to irregular warfare adopted by the United States and China. Chess, with its focus on the decisive defeat of a singular king, mirrors the direct, force-centric tactics of American military strategy. In stark contrast, Wei Qi, with its slow encirclement and control of territory, reflects the Chinese penchant for gradual, indirect methods and long-term strategic positioning.

Added on February 5, 2024 Insights

Irregular Warfare in the Age of Technology

In our rapidly evolving technological age, the face of irregular warfare — historically characterized by asymmetric tactics and human-centric operations — finds itself undergoing a transformation. While technology promises amplified capabilities for those involved in irregular warfare, it also brings along its own set of unprecedented challenges.

Added on January 31, 2024 Insights

The Legacy of Irregular Warfare Masters

Engulfed within the nebulous terrain that delineates the boundaries of irregular warfare, a domain characterized by its defiance of conventionality and its asymmetrical tactics, we find ourselves confronted with a pantheon of enigmatic leaders whose tales are etched in the annals of history. These leaders, whose inherent amalgamation of idiosyncratic traits and characteristics demarcates them from their contemporaries, also serve as indomitable beacons illuminating the path toward victory. While history has lauded leaders like Mao Zedong, T.E. Lawrence, Michael Collins, and Vo Nguyen Giap for their contributions in this arena, a closer examination of their strategies reveals both triumphs and controversies that surrounded their methods.