🧭 MPR Doctrine Reference Library

Under “Active Defense,” forces hold prepared positions and trade enemy advances for punishing firepower. The objective is to bleed attackers in pre-registered kill zones, then counter-strike as their formations falter.

Strategy — Attrition by Firepower
Fix the enemy in lethal artillery and direct-fire zones to grind down their assault strength.

Strategy — Tactical Counter-Blows
Deploy mobile reserves into breached enemy flanks for rapid, decisive counter-attacks.

Tactics

• Kill Zone Preparation: Pre-register artillery and mortar fire on likely enemy avenues of approach.
• Interlocking Fields of Fire: Position anti-armor and machine-gun nests to create overlapping defensive arcs.
• Barrier Employment: Emplace minefields and wire obstacles to canalize and slow attacker formations.
• Counter-Armor Reserves: Keep mechanized units hidden for rapid thrusts into enemy flanks after contact.

Aerial ramming is a combat tactic in which a pilot deliberately strikes an enemy aircraft with their own, often as a last‐ditch measure when out of ammunition or in desperate defense. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Strategy — Desperate Impact
Commit a single‐use airframe to eliminate a high-value aerial threat when conventional weapons are exhausted.

Strategy — Shock Effect
Leverage the extreme nature of ramming to demoralize enemy aircrews and ground forces.

Tactics

• Wingtip Strike: Clip an opponent’s wing to induce uncontrollable roll and crash.
• Tailhook Ramming: Hook the enemy’s tail or control surfaces to disable flight controls.
• Propeller Ram: Use the propeller arc to shear off enemy structure at close range.
• Fuselage Impact: Align fuselages for maximum structural damage at point-blank closure.

“AirLand Battle” integrates ground and air forces to strike deep into enemy rear echelons. By synchronizing interdiction, suppression, and close support, it shatters the enemy’s cohesion before their main forces can mass.

Strategy — Deep Interdiction
Send combat aircraft to destroy second-echelon formations, logistics hubs, and C2 nodes far behind the frontline.

Strategy — Integrated Close Support
Embed forward air controllers with maneuver brigades to deliver precision fires exactly when and where needed.

Tactics

• B-52 Airstrike Packages: Launch coordinated bomber raids to sever enemy supply corridors.
• SEAD Missions: Dispatch specialized strike teams to neutralize enemy air defenses before follow-on attacks.
• CAS Wave Coordination: Cycle groups of attack aircraft to maintain unbroken pressure on forward enemy units.
• Deep Recon Patrols: Use UAVs and electronic surveillance to locate and track enemy reserves.

“AirSea Battle” fuses naval and air power to breach anti-access/area-denial belts. Precision strikes neutralize shore-based threats, then carrier and land-based aviation establish control of the maritime battlespace.

Strategy — A2/AD Suppression
Hit enemy radars, missile sites, and network nodes with coordinated air-sea strike packages.

Strategy — Maritime Air Superiority
Deploy carrier strike groups to establish a protective air umbrella over surface and amphibious forces.

Tactics

• Distributed Lethality Strikes: Use small, fast-attack craft and land-based missiles to saturate enemy coastal defenses.
• Fifth-Gen Fighter CAP: Patrol with stealth fighters to detect and defeat incoming threats.
• Amphibious Airborne Inserts: Insert special operations teams to seize A2/AD nodes for follow-on forces.
• Networked ISR Fusion: Tie ship, air, and satellite sensors into a common picture for rapid targeting.

Under “Air Supremacy,” forces seek uncontested control of the skies by neutralizing enemy aircraft, air defenses, and ISR platforms, ensuring freedom of action for friendly air, land, and maritime operations.

Strategy — Fighter Dominance
Patrol and engage hostile air assets to establish exclusive aerial freedom.

Strategy — Integrated Suppression
Combine SEAD and electronic warfare to dismantle multilayered air defense networks.

Tactics

• Beyond Visual Range Engagement: Use radar-guided missiles to destroy threats before visual contact.
• Combat Air Patrols: Station fighter pairs over key areas for immediate interception.
• SEAD Packages: Dispatch anti-radiation missiles to blind enemy SAM sites.
• Escort Formations: Shield strike aircraft in combat-box patterns to repel interceptors.

The “Allied Joint Doctrine” codifies how multinational forces operate seamlessly under a single command. It standardizes procedures, communications, and command orders so that armies, navies, and air forces from different nations can fight as a unified coalition

Strategy — Unified Command & Control
Establish a single headquarters structure with liaison officers and common OPORD formats to synchronize allied efforts.

Strategy — Interoperability Through Standards
Enforce common equipment, communications protocols, and training to ensure each nation’s units can plug into coalition operations without friction.

Tactics

• Combined Staff Exercises: Conduct regular wargames and field drills under joint staff to validate procedures.
• Standard Operating Procedures: Issue single-format OPORD and FRAGO templates across all participating forces.
• Liaison Officer Exchanges: Embed officers in partner headquarters to facilitate real-time coordination.
• Cross-Decking Training: Rotate personnel onto allied ships, aircraft, and formations to build familiarity.

A2/AD denies an adversary entry into—or freedom of maneuver within—a contested region. It layers long-range fires, air defenses, sea mines, and cyber/EW to keep hostile forces at standoff.

Strategy — Layered Denial
Integrate missiles, air defenses, and minefields in overlapping belts to block sea and air ingress.

Strategy — Offensive Attrition
Launch preemptive strikes on projected threat vectors—C2 nodes, logistics hubs, sensor arrays.

Tactics

• Networked SAM Belts: Surface-to-air missile sites with overlapping coverage.
• Submarine Ambush Patrols: Stage subs at chokepoints to interdict shipping.
• Sea Minefields: Sow offensive and defensive mines in amphibious corridors.
• Cyber/EW Strikes: Jam radars, spoof navigation, disrupt C4ISR before engagement.

Under “Assured Second Strike,” a nation maintains a survivable retaliatory capability after suffering a first strike to deter aggression through credible reprisal.

Strategy — Force Survivability
Harden and disperse delivery systems—submarines, mobile launchers, air assets—to ensure post-strike lethality.

Strategy — Prompt Retaliation
Maintain alert states and streamlined command authorities to respond swiftly if deterrence fails.

Tactics

• Submarine Deterrence Patrols: Keep SSBNs submerged on continuous patrol to assure covert launch capability.
• Mobile Launcher Dispersal: Rotate road-mobile missile units across wide regions to complicate targeting.
• Airborne Alert Missions: Hold strategic bombers or tankers aloft to survive ground strikes.
• Pre-delegated Strike Authority: Empower lower echelons with launch orders if national command is incapacitated.

Asymmetric warfare describes conflict between belligerents of unequal power, where the weaker side employs unconventional methods to offset the stronger’s advantages. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

Strategy — Exploit Vulnerabilities
Identify and target critical weaknesses in the enemy’s logistics, morale, or command structure.

Strategy — Indirect Approach
Avoid direct clashes; use disruption, delay, and diversion to exhaust superior forces.

Tactics

• Guerrilla Ambushes: Hit-and-run attacks in terrain favoring small units.
• Improvised Explosive Devices: Deny freedom of movement on roads and supply lines.
• Cyber Intrusions: Disrupt critical networks and sow confusion in rear areas.
• Propaganda Campaigns: Undermine enemy morale and rally local support.

“Attaque à outrance” was a pre–World War I French doctrine advocating relentless, bayonet‐led assaults with minimal cover or reconnaissance.

Strategy — Offensive Élan
Maintain unbroken momentum to overwhelm the enemy before they can react.

Strategy — Shock Assault
Rely on massed infantry charges to break through defensive lines by sheer will.

Tactics

• Massed Bayonet Charges: Close rapidly with enemy trenches under fire.
• Minimal Recon: Sacrifice intelligence gathering for speed of advance.
• Fixed Formation Assaults: Advance in tight ranks to concentrate force.
• Uninterrupted Advance: Push through enemy fire without pausing to dig in.

“Attrition Warfare” seeks victory by wearing the enemy down through superior mass and firepower, accepting high casualties to exhaust adversary resources and will.

Strategy — Massed Firepower Concentration
Focus overwhelming artillery and direct fires on selected enemy sectors to break their cohesion.

Strategy — Sustained Engagement
Maintain constant pressure—rotate fresh units forward to deny the enemy respite.

Tactics

• Trench Networks: Construct layered defenses to anchor lines and absorb enemy assaults.
• Artillery Barrages: Employ massed cannon and rocket fire to wear down fortifications and troops.
• Wave Assaults: Launch successive infantry waves to seize ground despite heavy losses.
• Logistics Saturation: Keep relentless resupply flowing—ammo, fuel, and reinforcements—to sustain the grind.

The Autonomous Kill-Web orchestrates AI-driven sensors and shooters across domains. Autonomous platforms detect, decide, and engage targets in milliseconds—creating a self-healing, self-defending network.

Strategy — Distributed Lethality
Disperse intelligent nodes (drones, vessels, satellites) for a resilient, overlapping engagement web.

Strategy — Rapid Machine-to-Machine Kill Chains
Automate target handoff and weapon assignment to collapse sensor-shooter cycles.

Tactics

• Drone Swarms: Autonomous UAV packs for massed sensor/strike ops.
• Networked Mines: AI-enabled naval mines that self-activate on threat profiles.
• Automated EW Nodes: Unmanned jammers to detect and disrupt comms autonomously.
• Edge Decision Agents: AI in forward platforms executes local kill decisions at low latency.

“Mosaic Warfare” leverages large numbers of autonomous, networked systems—drones, robots, missiles—that collaborate to overwhelm enemy defenses through sheer volume and adaptability.

Strategy — Swarm Massing
Deploy heterogeneous unmanned systems en masse to saturate and confuse air defenses.

Strategy — Adaptive Reconfiguration
Enable AI-driven units to reorganize dynamically in response to emerging threats.

Tactics

• Drone Swarm Attacks: Coordinate thousands of loitering munitions to strike simultaneously.
• Autonomous Recon Chains: Use chained UAVs and UGVs for real-time target acquisition and tracking.
• Machine-Driven Logistics: Automate resupply convoys and casualty evacuation with autonomous vehicles.
• AI-Directed Fires: Employ algorithms to select optimal munition mixes and timing for each engagement.

Bandenbekämpfung (“bandit fighting”) was Nazi Germany’s aggressive counterinsurgency doctrine aimed at eradicating partisan groups through punitive measures.

Strategy — Population Control
Secure and pacify civilian areas to deny partisans support.

Strategy — Denial of Support
Destroy supply lines and safe havens used by irregular fighters.

Tactics

• Search-and-Destroy Sweeps: Conduct large-scale operations to clear suspected zones.
• Reprisal Actions: Punish villages accused of aiding partisans to deter collaboration.
• Forced Relocations: Remove civilian populations from contested areas.
• Scorched Earth: Burn crops and infrastructure to starve out insurgent support.

Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”) emphasizes rapid, combined-arms penetration of enemy lines. Its goal is to encircle and destroy enemy formations before they can react, using speed, surprise, and concentrated force.

Strategy — Schwerpunkt (Focal Point)
Concentrate armored and mechanized units at a decisive point to break through defenses.

Strategy — Bypass and Encircle
Exploit the breach to encircle enemy units, cutting off lines of retreat and supply.

Tactics

• Panzerkeil Formation: Use wedge-shaped tank formations to punch through enemy lines.
• Close Air Support Coordination: Integrate Stuka dive-bombers to suppress enemy strongpoints ahead of the advance.
• Rapid Flanking Maneuvers: Employ motorized infantry on either flank to seal off enemy pockets.
• Mobile Supply Trains: Maintain fuel and ammunition delivery via trucks and captured airfields to sustain momentum.

The “Blue-Water Navy” doctrine emphasizes the ability to project naval power across the open oceans, maintain sea control far from home ports, and deter or defeat peer adversaries in deep-water environments.

Strategy — Sea Control & Denial
Establish and sustain uncontested maritime domains through carrier strike groups, submarines, and maritime patrol assets.

Strategy — Power Projection
Deploy naval forces globally to influence distant theaters, support joint operations, and reassure allies.

Tactics

• Carrier Strike Group Operations: Use carriers with escorts to project air power and sea control.
• Submarine Patrols: Conduct covert undersea operations to interdict enemy shipping and ISR networks.
• Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Execute long-range ASW and anti-surface sorties to detect and track threats.
• Amphibious Readiness Groups: Pre-position marine expeditionary forces for crisis response ashore.

Under “Carrier-Centric,” naval forces center operations around aircraft carriers, leveraging embarked air wings for strike, air defense, and reconnaissance far from friendly shores.

Strategy — Sea-Based Airpower
Extend air operations beyond land bases to strike targets at range and provide maritime air cover.

Strategy — Mobile Command Platform
Use the carrier as a sovereign hub for C2, logistics, and force sustainment in contested zones.

Tactics

• Strike Package Coordination: Integrate fighters, bombers, and EW aircraft for joint missions.
• Continuous CAP Cycles: Rotate Combat Air Patrol sorties to maintain unbroken air cover.
• Rapid Deck Sorties: Optimize launch and recovery cycles to maximize sortie generation.
• Maritime Recon Flights: Use carrier aircraft for ASW and surface surveillance patrols.

Under “CBRN Defense,” forces integrate detection, protection, decontamination, and medical response to operate in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear environments.

Strategy — Early Detection
Deploy sensors and reconnaissance assets to identify CBRN hazards before they affect troops or populations.

Strategy — Protective Posture
Equip units with protective gear and enforce collective protection measures to mitigate exposure.

Tactics

• Chemical Agent Monitors: Emplace fixed and mobile detectors to trigger timely alarms.
• Masked Maneuvers: Conduct movement drills under full protective ensemble to maintain readiness.
• Decontamination Stations: Establish field decon lanes for personnel, vehicles, and equipment.
• Medical Countermeasures: Pre-position antidotes and prophylactics for rapid response to exposure.

Civil control of the military ensures elected civilian leadership retains ultimate authority over armed forces through legal, institutional, and cultural mechanisms.

Strategy — Political Oversight
Empower legislatures, ministries, and civilian agencies to set defense policy and budgets.

Strategy — Professionalization
Cultivate a professional officer corps trained in respect for civilian supremacy and rule of law.

Tactics

• Legislative Committees: Review and authorize military expenditures and operations.
• Civil-Military Liaison Offices: Embed civilian advisors at key command echelons.
• Defense Audits: Conduct regular financial and performance audits of the armed forces.
• Education Programs: Train officers in democratic norms, human rights, and constitutional law.

Under “Civil-Military Integrated Defense,” civilian infrastructure and populations are aligned with military planning to strengthen resilience and whole-of-nation deterrence.

Strategy — Dual-Use Infrastructure
Leverage transportation, energy, and communication networks for rapid military mobilization.

Strategy — Community Defense Participation
Train and equip local volunteer units to support surveillance, logistics, and civil defense tasks.

Tactics

• Civil Reserve Fleets: Activate merchant vessels for sealift and supply under military control.
• Local Observation Posts: Enlist civilians to report unusual activities and augment reconnaissance.
• Dual-Use Facilities: Pre-stock hospitals and shelters for conversion to casualty and command centers.
• Nationwide Drills: Conduct integrated civil-military exercises to test coordination under crisis.

The Code of the United States Fighting Force is the Department of Defense’s directive on lawful conduct in combat, outlining obligations for humane treatment of prisoners, protection of civilians, and adherence to the rules of engagement.

Strategy — Lawful Engagement
Embed legal review and oversight into every operation to ensure compliance with international law.

Strategy — Cohesive Discipline
Maintain unit cohesion and morale by training all ranks in ethical decision-making under fire.

Tactics

• ROE Briefings: Conduct pre-mission rules-of-engagement drills with all participants.
• Detainee Handling Procedures: Standardize registering, guarding, and transferring POWs.
• Chain-of-Command Enforcement: Ensure every action is reported and traceable to commanders.
• Civilians-First Patrols: Integrate civil affairs teams to minimize non-combatant harm.

“Cognitive Warfare” focuses on influencing enemy decision-makers by targeting perceptions, beliefs, and decision processes through tailored information and deception.

Strategy — Perception Management
Craft narratives and leak disinformation to guide adversary leadership toward errors.

Strategy — Decision Shaping
Introduce information operations that delay or misdirect enemy choices at critical junctures.

Tactics

• Deception Operations: Create false orders, phantom units, or spoofed signals to confuse enemy intelligence.
• Influencer Targeting: Feed tailored messages to key individuals via social media or compromised communications.
• Sensory Manipulation: Use simulated audio, visual, or cyber events to induce stress and decision paralysis.
• Cultural Operations: Leverage social networks and cultural symbols to affect group psychology.

“Cold Start” mandates lightning-limited offensives into neighboring territories before full mobilization completes. It seeks to seize strategic objectives rapidly, then consolidate gains before international intervention halts the campaign.

Strategy — Swift Corps Thrust
Launch armoured and mechanized corps in coordinated spearheads across multiple axes to overwhelm border defenses.

Strategy — Punitive Depth Raids
Insert rapid-reaction brigades to strike logistical nodes up to 100 km inside enemy territory, disrupting reinforcements.

Tactics

• Task Force Infiltration: Use light armour and heliborne infantry to bypass hardened border defenses.
• Leapfrog Mechanized Columns: Rotate fresh units into lead positions to maintain momentum.
• High-Altitude Artillery Fires: Pre-sight guns to deliver immediate long-range barrages on enemy rear.
• Limited Air Supremacy Sorties: Achieve localized control for CAS and interdiction without full-scale air war.

The Combat Box formation arranges heavy bombers in staggered echelons to maximize overlapping defensive fire and maintain tight bombing concentration on targets.

Strategy — Mutual Support
Position aircraft so each crew is covered by multiple gun batteries from neighboring planes.

Strategy — Concentrated Bombing
Synchronize bomb runs to deliver a dense pattern of explosives on enemy installations.

Tactics

• Staggered Altitude Echelons: Alternate flight levels to cover blind spots.
• Formation Spiral Egress: Exit in a corkscrew to evade flak and fighters.
• Cross-Cover Overlaps: Angle wings so guns cross-fire at expected attack vectors.
• Bomb Release Sync: Use synchronized markers to drop ordnance simultaneously.

“Combined Operations” integrates land, sea, and air forces into synchronized campaigns. By choreographing multi-domain assaults, it overwhelms the enemy’s ability to respond in any single sphere of war.

Strategy — Sea-Land-Air Synchronization
Plan and execute assaults where naval bombardment, airborne insertion, and ground maneuver strike simultaneously at decisive points.

Strategy — Phased Forcing of Enemy Defenses
Sequentially penetrate obstacles: naval fires soften beaches, airborne troops secure inland objectives, then mechanized forces exploit the breach.

Tactics

• Amphibious Assault Waves: Launch successive landing craft and hovercraft under naval gunfire support.
• Airborne Seizure of Key Terrain: Insert paratroopers to capture airfields or chokepoints ahead of the main landing.
• Naval Gunfire Liaison Teams: Embed forward observers aboard ships to call precise fire on shore defenses.
• Joint Terminal Attack Controllers: Coordinate CAS and artillery to clear beachheads in real time.

Command by Negation grants subordinate commanders freedom to act unless explicitly countermanded, reducing micromanagement in fast-moving operations.

Strategy — Decentralized Initiative
Empower field commanders to seize fleeting opportunities without waiting for orders.

Strategy — Rapid Response
Minimize approval delays so units can react instantly to tactical developments.

Tactics

• UNODIR Protocols: Report “UNODIR” (Unless Otherwise Directed) to confirm intent.
• Intent-Based Orders: Issue mission objectives rather than step-by-step commands.
• Autonomous Task Groups: Form small teams with delegated authority for independent ops.
• Override Notices: Use clear negative orders to rescind actions only when necessary.

“Command of the Sea” ensures friendly naval and merchant vessels can operate unimpeded while denying the same to the enemy. Control of sea lines of communication underpins power projection and sustainment of global operations.

Strategy — Sea Denial and Blockade
Use submarines, surface combatants, and maritime aircraft to interdict and blockade enemy shipping lanes.

Strategy — Force Projection ashore
Secure maritime superiority to support amphibious landings, littoral strikes, and overseas basing.

Tactics

• Submarine Wolfpack Attacks: Coordinate multiple submarines to intercept and sink high-value convoys.
• Carrier Strike Group Operations: Employ carriers with escorts to project air power over sea and coastal areas.
• Maritime Patrol Aircraft: Conduct long-endurance ASW and anti-surface warfare sorties to detect enemy vessels.
• Sea Minefields: Deploy defensive and offensive mines to channel or deny access in critical waterways.

“Continental Policy” directs Japan to balance its land and maritime forces for regional power projection. It emphasizes securing overland supply routes through continental Asia while maintaining naval strength to protect sea lines.

Strategy — Regional Concentration
Prioritize rapid deployment of ground forces into key continental chokepoints to deter aggression.

Strategy — Maritime Security Layering
Establish sequential naval patrol zones from home ports to forward bases to safeguard supply and reinforcement convoys.

Tactics

• Rail-Ground Link Nodes: Pre-position armoured divisions at rail hubs for swift continental thrusts.
• Littoral ASW Screen: Patrol coastal waters with destroyers and P-3 aircraft to shield convoys.
• Forward Basing Exercises: Conduct joint drills at continental airfields to validate rapid force projection.
• Combined Arms Liaison: Embed naval planning officers with army headquarters for synchronized operations.

Conventional Warfare encompasses force-on-force engagements using non-nuclear, non-chemical, and non-biological weapons to achieve strategic objectives.

Strategy — Combined Arms
Coordinate infantry, armor, artillery, and air support to exploit each arm’s strengths.

Strategy — Maneuver
Strike at enemy flanks and rear to bypass strongpoints and disrupt cohesion.

Tactics

• Frontal Assaults: Mass firepower to fix enemy defenses before envelopment.
• Flank Envelopment: Use mobile columns to strike side or rear positions.
• Siege Operations: Surround and isolate fortified areas to force surrender.
• Counter-Battery Fire: Rapidly locate and suppress enemy artillery.

Under “Counter-GPS & Navigation Denial,” forces seek to blind and confuse adversaries by disrupting satellite-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems, gaining tactical and operational advantage.

Strategy — Spectrum Warfare
Coordinate electronic and cyber operations to jam, spoof, or degrade enemy GNSS receivers across the battlespace.

Strategy — Alternative Navigation Assurance
Train and equip friendly forces with inertial, celestial, and terrestrial PNT methods to operate when satellites are denied.

Tactics

• Jamming Pods: Employ airborne, ground-based, or shipboard emitters to create GPS blackout zones.
• Spoofing Broadcasts: Transmit counterfeit satellite signals to misdirect enemy navigation systems.
• Encrypted PNT Beacons: Deploy protected local positioning transmitters for friendly maneuver support.
• Inertial Navigation Drills: Conduct regular training in GPS-denied navigation techniques.

“Counterinsurgency” fuses military, political, and economic efforts to uproot insurgent movements. It protects the populace while isolating guerrillas, aiming to win hearts and minds and restore state authority.

Strategy — Population Security
Fortify and secure key population centers to deny insurgents influence and recruitment grounds.

Strategy — Targeted Neutralization
Employ precise, intelligence-driven operations to remove insurgent leadership and support networks.

Tactics

• Village Protection Detachments: Station mixed military-civil teams to guard and assist local communities.
• Precision Night Raids: Use special forces to capture or eliminate high-value insurgent targets under cover of darkness.
• Information Campaigns: Broadcast counter-narratives to undermine insurgent propaganda and bolster government legitimacy.
• Humanitarian Assistance Operations: Provide medical, infrastructure, and economic aid to win civilian support.

The Cult of the Offensive is the belief that offensive action is inherently decisive; it prioritizes rapid, aggressive attacks to seize the initiative.

Strategy — Preemptive Autonomy
Adopt a posture of striking first whenever feasible to keep the enemy off balance.

Strategy — Aggressive Doctrine
Emphasize bold operational planning and reserve commitment to sustain momentum.

Tactics

• Preemptive Strikes: Launch surprise attacks on enemy C2 and logistics nodes.
• War-Gaming Exercises: Train for rapid offensives in varied scenarios.
• High-Tempo Probes: Conduct frequent reconnaissance-in-force operations to test defenses.
• Attritional Raids: Use repeated small attacks to degrade enemy will and capabilities.

The “Dahiya Doctrine” prescribes disproportionate retaliation against adversaries by targeting their civilian infrastructure and support networks. Named after Lebanon’s Dahiya district, it aims to deter hostility through overwhelming, precision-guided urban strikes.

Strategy — Shock and Deterrence
Inflict rapid, heavy damage to civilian and military nodes to break enemy morale and deter future aggression.

Strategy — Networked Precision Fires
Use real-time intelligence and integrated command to coordinate simultaneous strikes across multiple targets.

Tactics

• Urban Precision Strikes: Employ guided munitions against critical infrastructure in populated areas.
• Domino Effect Strikes: Sequence attacks to cascade failures across power, water, and communications.
• Integrated ISR Targeting: Fuse UAV, SIGINT, and human intelligence for pinpoint target acquisition.
• Rapid Civil Affairs Messaging: Broadcast warnings post-strike to maximize psychological impact.

The “Debriefing” doctrine codifies systematic after-action review processes to capture lessons learned, validate assumptions, and continuously refine tactics, techniques, and procedures.

Strategy — Institutional Learning
Embed structured feedback loops into every operation to turn experience into doctrine updates.

Strategy — Continuous Improvement
Rapidly incorporate AAR findings into training, wargaming, and procurement decisions.

Tactics

• After-Action Reviews: Conduct facilitated sessions immediately post-mission to compare plans vs. outcomes.
• Data Collection Protocols: Deploy digital logging tools for real-time capture of key decision points.
• Doctrine Revision Boards: Assemble cross-functional experts to vet and codify recommended changes.
• Distributed Knowledge Repositories: Maintain searchable AAR archives accessible to all echelons.

“Deep Battle” or “Operational Art” focuses on synchronizing battles across the entire depth of the enemy’s formation, aiming to disrupt second and third echelons before they engage.

Strategy — Echeloned Offensives
Plan multi-layered attacks where initial breakthroughs are followed by fresh forces pushing deeper into enemy territory.

Strategy — Systemic Disruption
Target infrastructure, reserves, and logistics to paralyze the adversary’s ability to reinforce and sustain front-line units.

Tactics

• Artillery Depth Fires: Use massed indirect fires to suppress rear-area defenses and supply lines.
• Air Interdiction: Deploy strike aircraft to isolate the battlefield and prevent enemy reinforcements.
• Breakthrough Corps: Assemble specialized mechanized armies to exploit breaches.
• Continuous Maneuver: Maintain pressure by rotating fresh units into the fight rapidly.

The “Deep Operation” doctrine—rooted in Soviet operational art—seeks to shatter an enemy’s cohesion through synchronized multi-echelon strikes that penetrate through tactical defenses deep into their rear areas.

Strategy — Layered Penetration
Orchestrate successive breakthrough and exploitation waves to collapse defenses from front to rear.

Strategy — Operational Depth
Employ reserves and mobile formations beyond the first line to disrupt command, logistics, and reinforcements.

Tactics

• Maskirovka at Depth: Use deception and electronic warfare to conceal main thrusts.
• Mechanized Exploitation Corps: Commit fast armored formations into operational gaps.
• Airborne Raids: Insert paratroopers to seize key nodes in the enemy rear.
• Follow-On Infantry Waves: Sustain momentum by immediately reinforcing initial penetrations.

Under “Deep State Defense,” official military forces integrate closely with state-backed irregulars and paramilitaries to create a resilient, multidimensional defense network under centralized control.

Strategy — Proxy Integration
Embed paramilitary and militia units within regular formations to extend reach and deniability.

Strategy — Institutional Layering
Leverage intelligence, security services, and civil agencies in defense planning to harden the rear and support frontline operations.

Tactics

• Paramilitary Command Cells: Create joint headquarters combining regular and irregular leadership.
• Civil Surveillance Networks: Use local informants and technology to monitor and preempt threats.
• Embedded Rapid Reaction Forces: Station mixed-formation detachments for immediate counterinsurgency response.
• Unified Liaison Teams: Assign joint officers to coordinate civil and military defense efforts.

The “Defence Diplomacy” doctrine leverages military assets—exercises, exchanges, and assistance—to build partnerships, shape security environments, and resolve crises without resorting to force.

Strategy — Security Cooperation
Forge alliances and interoperability through joint training, officer exchanges, and capacity-building missions.

Strategy — Soft Power Projection
Use humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and military aid to enhance influence and stability.

Tactics

• Joint Exercises: Conduct multinational drills to demonstrate commitment and share best practices.
• Military Attaché Engagements: Station liaisons in embassies to coordinate defence cooperation.
• Capacity-Building Teams: Deploy advisory groups to train partner forces in core skills.
• Peacekeeping Contributions: Lead or support UN/coalition operations to bolster credibility.

“Defence in Depth” layers defenses to absorb and erode an attacker’s strength. Forward positions delay and channel enemy forces into prepared kill zones, while rearward mobile reserves deliver decisive counter-attacks.

Strategy — Layered Attrition
Trade territory for time by forcing attackers through successive defensive belts under concentrated fire.

Strategy — Counterattack Reserve
Hold mechanized and armored units in depth to strike the enemy’s exposed flanks once they’re committed.

Tactics

• Forward Obstacles: Deploy minefields, wire, and demolitions to canalize enemy advances into fire zones.
• Interlocking Fire Positions: Position artillery and anti-armor teams for overlapping coverage.
• Depth Mobile Columns: Keep striking forces concealed for rapid penetration of enemy flanks.
• Staggered Withdrawal: Conduct controlled pulls to successive positions, preserving cohesion and inflicting maximum casualties.

Under “Defensive Buffer Zone,” a state maintains a controlled or partially demilitarized area between its forces and the enemy to delay aggression and provide strategic depth.

Strategy — Zone Establishment
Define and fortify a buffer belt through treaties or unilateral measures to absorb initial enemy advances.

Strategy — Rapid Reaction Standoff
Position mobile reserves just behind the zone to counterattack any incursions before they penetrate core defenses.

Tactics

• Observation Posts: Emplace sensors and patrols along the buffer boundary for early detection.
• Fortified Checkpoints: Establish hardened positions to channel and slow enemy forces.
• Alert Protocols: Institute real-time communication systems to notify command of zone violations.
• Counterattack Drills: Practice swift mechanized sorties from rear assembly areas into the buffer zone.

The “Dispersal” doctrine emphasizes scattering forces, platforms, and critical infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to precision strikes and ensure survivability under attack.

Strategy — Survivability by Dispersion
Distribute units across multiple, concealed sites to complicate targeting and maintain operational continuity.

Strategy — Operational Resilience
Design redundant command, control, and logistics nodes so losses do not cripple force projection.

Tactics

• Field Basing: Establish temporary outposts rather than fixed bases.
• Hardened Dispersed Sites: Use camouflaged shelters and underground facilities for critical assets.
• Mobile C2 Modules: Operate from transportable command posts to evade detection.
• Cache & Conceal Logistics: Pre-position supplies in concealed nodes near likely operating areas.

Under “Demilitarized Buffer Zone,” a neutral territory is maintained between opposing forces under international agreement to prevent escalation and buy time for diplomacy.

Strategy — International Guarantees
Secure multilateral accords and deploy neutral observers to enforce zone integrity.

Strategy — Standoff Deterrence
Station rapid-reaction forces beyond the zone to demonstrate readiness without infringing neutrality.

Tactics

• Multinational Patrols: Rotate neutral force contingents to police buffer boundaries.
• Remote Sensing Flights: Use UAVs and satellites for continuous compliance monitoring.
• Joint Liaison Cells: Embed representatives from all parties in a shared coordination center.
• Incursion Alert Drills: Exercise quick notification and de-escalation procedures for accidental breaches.

“Domicide” refers to the deliberate destruction of civilian homes and shelters as a means of warfare, seeking to break an opponent’s will by uprooting populations and disrupting societal foundations.

Strategy — Population Displacement
Target residential infrastructure to force mass evacuations and undermine civilian support for combatants.

Strategy — Psychological Shock
Use destruction of homes to amplify fear, degrade morale, and pressure leadership to capitulate.

Tactics

• Precision Strikes on Shelter Nodes: Employ guided munitions against densely populated housing clusters.
• Demolition Ambushes: Rig abandoned dwellings with charges to target returning civilians or counter-attackers.
• Indirect Fire Campaigns: Use artillery and rockets to batter urban sectors systematically.
• Civil Infrastructure Degradation: Destroy utilities and access routes to accelerate abandonment.

“Economy of Force” directs commanders to assign minimal essential combat power to secondary efforts, conserving strength for decisive actions elsewhere. It maximizes efficiency by applying overwhelming force at critical points while using just enough resources to hold less vital sectors.

Strategy — Minimal Commitment
Allocate small, self-sufficient units to secondary fronts to fix the enemy with minimal risk.

Strategy — Concentrated Decisive Action
Concentrate main combat power rapidly at decisive points for breakthroughs.

Tactics

• Fixing Detachments: Deploy light infantry and fire teams to pin enemy forces without high casualties.
• Rapid Force Redeployment: Use mechanized shuttles to shift main units into breach sectors.
• Feint Operations: Conduct deceptive attacks to misdirect enemy reserves.
• Reserve Guarding: Hold uncommitted armored units ready to exploit successes or reinforce threatened areas.

Under “Effects-Based Operations,” military, informational, economic, and diplomatic tools are orchestrated to achieve specific strategic outcomes. The emphasis is on shaping an adversary’s behavior and perceptions rather than attriting forces alone.

Strategy — Strategic Targeting
Identify and engage key nodes—political, economic, or military—to produce cascading effects across the adversary system.

Strategy — Synergistic Campaign Design
Integrate cross-domain actions so that each measure amplifies the effects of others toward the desired end state.

Tactics

• Weapon-Target Pairing: Match specific munitions to target vulnerability for maximum systemic disruption.
• Information Operations: Synchronize messaging to erode enemy morale and cohesion.
• Economic Levers: Employ sanctions or embargoes timed with kinetic actions to magnify pressure.
• Political Signaling: Conduct limited demonstrations of force to shape adversary decision cycles.

Under “Electromagnetic Dominance,” forces seek to control the electromagnetic spectrum through jamming, spoofing, and cyber-electronic warfare to blind, confuse, and degrade enemy C4ISR.

Strategy — Spectrum Control
Establish supremacy in key frequency bands to deny adversary use and ensure friendly data flows.

Strategy — Integrated EW Campaigns
Synchronize electronic attacks with cyber operations to maximize systemic disruption.

Tactics

• Mass Jamming Barrages: Deploy high-power transmitters to overwhelm enemy receivers.
• Decoy Emissions: Use false signals and repeater drones to misdirect adversary sensors.
• Electronic Shielding: Harden friendly platforms with frequency-hopping and anti-jam measures.
• SIGINT Exploitation: Harvest enemy emissions for targeting and situational awareness.

Under “Environmental Engineering,” military planners manipulate terrain and waterways to gain strategic advantage—flooding, damming, or burning to shape enemy movements and deny key areas.

Strategy — Terrain Denial
Alter landscapes (flood plains, landslides) to channel, slow, or halt enemy advances.

Strategy — Environmental Shock
Leverage engineered wildfires, controlled flooding, or drought inducement to disrupt logistics and morale.

Tactics

• Controlled Flooding: Breach levees or sluice gates to inundate approach routes.
• Wildfire Ignition: Deploy incendiary munitions or incendiary drones to burn vegetation corridors.
• Dam Breaching: Use precision demolition to collapse dams and flood lowland targets.
• Soil Modification: Scatter soil treatments to create mud traps and impede vehicle mobility.

Under “Ethno-Religious Irregular Warfare,” forces exploit sectarian and cultural divisions to mobilize local militias, undermining state cohesion and complicating adversary responses.

Strategy — Community Mobilization
Rally co-religionist or co-ethnic populations to form proxy militias with local legitimacy.

Strategy — Cultural Leveraging
Use religious sites, festivals, and leaders to disseminate propaganda and recruit fighters.

Tactics

• Local Proxy Recruitment: Embed agents to enlist tribal or sect-based fighters.
• Targeted Propaganda: Distribute sermons, pamphlets, and broadcasts to inflame grievances.
• Safe-Zone Sanctuaries: Establish protected enclaves where irregulars can train and resupply.
• Guerrilla Cell Networks: Form small, covert units operating within sympathetic communities.

The U.S. Army’s FM 100-5 “Firepower” doctrine centers on leveraging overwhelming indirect and direct fires—artillery, close air support, and naval gunfire—to shape the battlefield and support maneuver forces.

Strategy — Massed Fires
Concentrate artillery and air-delivered munitions to suppress or destroy enemy formations ahead of maneuver.

Strategy — Fire–Maneuver Integration
Synchronize fire support with infantry and armor advances to maximize effect and minimize own-force exposure.

Tactics

• Pre-Registered Fire Plans: Pre-compute firing solutions on key terrain and likely enemy avenues.
• Combined Arms Fires Cell: Embed liaisons in maneuver units to coordinate artillery, CAS, and naval fires in real time.
• Fire Support Coordination Line: Establish boundaries beyond which fire assets can engage without additional clearance.
• Reactive Counterfire: Use radar and sensors to detect and immediately suppress enemy indirect-fire assets.

“Fifth-Generation Warfare” leverages advanced technologies—AI, autonomous systems, cyber-electronic attacks, and big data—to achieve overmatch below the threshold of open conflict and collapse adversary systems without traditional force-on-force engagements.

Strategy — AI-Enabled Decision Cycles
Automate sensor-to-shooter loops for lightning-fast targeting and response before human notice.

Strategy — Swarm and Distributed Operations
Employ large numbers of low-cost autonomous nodes to overwhelm, confuse, or saturate defenses.

Tactics

• Autonomous Drone Swarms: Launch massed UAV packs for persistent surveillance and strike saturation.
• Cyber-Electronic Fusion: Combine electronic jamming, spoofing, and network intrusions to blind and misdirect foes.
• Directed Energy Probes: Use high-power microwaves or lasers to disable electronics and sensors at range.
• Data-Centric Targeting: Leverage machine-learning analysis of multi-domain data streams for pinpoint, predictive strikes.

Under “First-Generation Warfare,” armies deploy in massed lines and columns, relying on disciplined volleys and bayonet charges to break enemy formations. It emphasizes rigid formations, linear tactics, and frontal assaults.

Strategy — Massed Line Engagement
Concentrate infantry in linear formations to bring maximum firepower to bear at a decisive point.

Strategy — Coordinated Volley Fire
Synchronize musket or rifle volleys in disciplined ranks to overwhelm enemy ranks before closing for melee.

Tactics

• Volley Fire Discipline: Train units to fire in unison on command for maximum shock effect.
• Bayonet Assaults: Fix bayonets and charge in formation immediately after volleys to exploit enemy disarray.
• Drilled Maneuvers: Practice close-order formations and flank movements to maintain cohesion under fire.
• Linear Reconnaissance: Use forward skirmishers in extended lines to screen main body and gather intel.

The “First Island Chain” doctrine envisions using the string of islands off East Asia’s continental shelf as a forward barrier to contain and deter hostile naval and air power near major maritime chokepoints.

Strategy — Geographic Containment
Control key islands to deny adversary access to the western Pacific and protect sea lines of communication.

Strategy — Layered A2/AD
Emplace integrated anti-ship, anti-air, and cyber capabilities across the chain to interdict hostile forces at distance.

Tactics

• Island Garrison Fortifications: Harden airstrips and ports with missile batteries and air defense radars.
• Maritime Patrol Networks: Deploy MPAs and UAVs to maintain persistent surveillance over contiguous sea lanes.
• Submarine Ambush Zones: Position attack submarines in choke points to interdict warships and logistics vessels.
• Joint Exercise Drills: Conduct regular multinational drills to practice barrier enforcement and rapid reinforcement.

The “Five-Paragraph Order” (SMEAC) doctrine standardizes combat orders into Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration/Logistics, and Command/Signal to ensure clarity, speed, and mutual understanding in mission planning and execution.

Strategy — Standardized Planning
Use a uniform format to reduce confusion, expedite briefings, and enable shared mental models across units.

Strategy — Rapid Mission Flow
Streamline decision-making by focusing on essential facts and intent in a concise five-step framework.

Tactics

• SMEAC Briefs: Teach leaders to craft swift, five-section orders under time pressure.
• Back-Brief Drills: Require subordinate confirmation of each paragraph to verify understanding.
• Visual Aids: Use maps and overlays keyed to SMEAC elements during planning.
• Order Rehearsals: Conduct quick walk-throughs of tasks, coordinating timelines and synchronization.

“Fleet in Being” leverages the mere existence of a naval force as a deterrent, forcing the enemy to allocate resources against a potential threat. The fleet maintains readiness in protected waters, ready to sortie if adversary movements open an opportunity.

Strategy — Deterrent Presence
Keep capital ships and escorts poised in key chokepoints to constrain enemy planning and deployments.

Strategy — Sea Power Projection
Use the fleet’s threat to shape maritime operations without needing to engage directly.

Tactics

• Chokepoint Patrols: Station destroyer and cruiser groups at narrow straits to monitor and control traffic.
• Escort Screening: Deploy frigates and corvettes around merchant convoys to deny enemy interdiction.
• Submarine Deterrence: Position attack submarines inconspicuously to threaten hostile surface forces.
• Naval Air Readiness: Keep carrier air wings at immediate scramble status to respond to any emergence of enemy task forces.

“Flexible Response” replaces massive retaliation with a spectrum of options—conventional, tactical nuclear, and strategic nuclear—to tailor deterrence and escalation management.

Strategy — Graduated Deterrence
Develop multiple response levels to deter aggression without immediate recourse to all-out nuclear war.

Strategy — Alliance Integration
Coordinate response options with allies to present a unified deterrent posture across the conflict spectrum.

Tactics

• Conventional Counterforce: Target enemy military assets with precision strikes before escalating to nuclear options.
• Tactical Nuclear Weapons: Deploy low-yield nukes on the battlefield to signal seriousness without strategic annihilation.
• Demonstration Strikes: Conduct visible low-yield tests or exercises to reinforce deterrence.
• Crisis Management Cells: Maintain joint military-civilian teams to calibrate and authorize each escalation step.

“Force Concentration” directs commanders to mass combat power at the decisive point to overwhelm the enemy, while economy of force is applied elsewhere to fix or contain opposing elements.

Strategy — Decisive Point Massing
Allocate the bulk of available units to a single axis of advance or attack to break through enemy defenses.

Strategy — Economy of Force Allocation
Employ minimal essential strength on secondary fronts to hold the line and prevent enemy redeployment.

Tactics

• Armored Wedge Formation: Concentrate tank and mechanized infantry in a wedge to punch through defenses.
• Artillery Aggregation: Position multiple batteries on a narrow frontage for massed fire missions.
• Reserve Surge Teams: Hold mobile reserves ready to reinforce the point of crisis immediately.
• Air Strike Packages: Synchronize close air support and interdiction strikes on the chosen breakthrough sector.

Pioneered in World War II, “Forward Air Control” embeds expert controllers at the front to direct close air support, ensuring timely, accurate strikes in direct support of ground maneuvers.

Strategy — Embedded Air-Ground Liaison
Position trained FACs alongside assault units to call in and adjust air strikes on fleeting targets.

Strategy — Real-Time Targeting
Use radio and visual signals (smoke, panels) to mark enemy positions and guide aircraft in dynamic battles.

Tactics

• Air Liaison Officers: Deploy FAC officers with maps and radios to coordinate strike packages.
• Smoke Marker Deployments: Use colored smoke to pinpoint enemy strongpoints for pilots.
• Panel Signaling: Employ ground panels laid out in grid patterns to convey coordinates to pilots.
• Radio Waveform Procedures: Standardize transmission protocols for brevity and clarity under fire.

“Forward Basing” establishes logistical hubs and combat outposts near potential theaters of operation to reduce deployment time, extend reach, and enhance deterrence through visible posture.

Strategy — Expeditionary Footprint
Pre-position personnel, equipment, and supplies at forward locations to enable rapid force generation.

Strategy — Persistent Presence
Maintain rotating rotations and infrastructure upgrades to signal commitment and readiness.

Tactics

• Prepositioned Stocks: Store vehicles, ammunition, and sustainment supplies afloat or ashore near likely flashpoints.
• Rotational Deployments: Cycle units through forward bases on set schedules to ensure continuous readiness.
• Joint Security Forces: Embed host-nation and ally detachments for base protection and interoperability.
• Rapid Runway Repair Teams: Train engineering detachments to restore airfield ops within hours of damage.

Under “Forward-Deployed Strike Group,” naval and joint forces maintain a persistent, high-readiness posture near potential flashpoints to deter aggression and respond instantly.

Strategy — Regional Deterrence
Position carrier, amphibious, or expeditionary units close to hotspots to signal resolve and complicate enemy planning.

Strategy — Rapid Response
Keep tailored task forces on standby for immediate strike or reinforcement missions.

Tactics

• Pre-Positioned Logistics: Stockpile fuel, ammunition, and spares at forward bases.
• Rotational Deployments: Cycle ships and Marine units through deterrence patrols.
• Joint Exercises: Conduct regular drills with host-nation and allied forces.
• Persistent Maritime Patrols: Use surface and subsurface vessels to monitor key sea lanes.

The “Fragplan” concept uses modular fragmentary plans (FRAGPLANs) to update and adapt overarching operational orders rapidly, allowing commanders to respond to shifting conditions without rewriting entire campaign plans.

Strategy — Modular Contingency Design
Build OPLANs in interchangeable modules that can be activated, modified, or replaced as required.

Strategy — Trigger-Based Execution
Define clear conditions under which specific FRAGPLAN modules will execute automatically.

Tactics

• Template FRAGORDs: Pre-draft standardized fragmentary orders for common contingencies.
• Digital Dissemination: Use secure networks to push FRAGPLAN updates instantly to subordinate echelons.
• Back-Brief Verification: Have subordinates confirm receipt and understanding before execution.
• After-Action Plan Refinement: Incorporate combat feedback to adjust FRAGPLAN triggers and content.

“Fourth-Generation Warfare” blends conventional, irregular, and information operations. It emphasizes decentralized, networked actors, media influence, and eroding an adversary’s will rather than seizing terrain.

Strategy — Hybrid Blended Campaigns
Fuse guerrilla tactics, cyber attacks, and propaganda to create ambiguity and overwhelm enemy decision-cycles.

Strategy — Population-Centric Influence
Win hearts and minds through information operations, civic action, and targeted messaging.

Tactics

• Ambush & Hit-and-Run: Strike vulnerable targets quickly and disappear into civilian areas.
• Cyber Exploitation: Penetrate networks to disrupt command, sway public opinion, and leak sensitive data.
• Media Saturation: Use social platforms and local outlets to shape narratives and undermine adversary credibility.
• Proxy Force Support: Train, equip, and direct non-state or deniable actors to extend strategic reach.

“Full-Spectrum Deterrence” blends conventional forces, tactical nuclear capabilities, and irregular warfare to deter or respond to adversary aggression across the full conflict spectrum.

Strategy — Graduated Response
Signal willingness to escalate from conventional through tactical nuclear options to deter adversary escalation.

Strategy — Asymmetric Offset
Leverage low-cost irregular and nuclear tools to counter a conventionally superior foe.

Tactics

• Tactical Nuclear Deployment: Disperse low-yield warheads near likely frontlines to raise the costs of invasion.
• Proxy Insurgency: Support irregular militias to impose continuous pressure below overt war.
• Quick Reaction Forces: Maintain mobile brigades to reinforce threatened sectors swiftly.
• Demonstration Exercises: Conduct publicized drills with nuclear and missile units to reinforce deterrent credibility.

“Full-Spectrum Dominance” seeks uncontested superiority across land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains. By integrating all warfighting functions, forces can detect, engage, and destroy threats anywhere before they can effectively respond.

Strategy — Information Superiority
Achieve real-time situational awareness through persistent ISR and robust networks.

Strategy — Precision Engagement
Employ guided munitions and coordinated joint fires to neutralize high-value targets swiftly.

Tactics

• Persistent UAV Patrols: Maintain unblinking drone coverage over contested areas for continuous intelligence.
• Cyber-Electronic Attacks: Disrupt enemy communications and sensors to blind opposing forces.
• PGM Strike Packages: Launch synchronized missile volleys against hardened targets.
• Space-Based Recon Support: Leverage satellite imagery to cue dynamic targeting of mobile threats.

“Generations of Warfare” categorizes conflict evolution into successive paradigms—from massed linear attrition to maneuver, from network-centric integration to hybrid and cognitive engagements—each reflecting new technologies and operational art.

Strategy — Generational Adaptation
Continuously assess and adopt the latest doctrinal generation to maintain overmatch against peer and near-peer adversaries.

Strategy — Transformation Planning
Structure forces, training, and acquisitions around emerging generation-defining capabilities.

Tactics

• Trench Network Preparation: Implement massed defensive belts characteristic of first-generation attrition warfare.
• Armored Penetration Wedges: Employ concentrated armor thrusts emblematic of second-generation blitz tactics.
• Small-Unit Maneuver: Execute decentralized, infiltration-based assaults reflecting third-generation doctrine.
• Sensor-Shooter Integration: Fuse ISR and precision fires in milliseconds as seen in fourth-generation network-centric fights.
• Hybrid Influence Actions: Combine kinetic, cyber, and information operations in blended campaigns of fifth-generation conflict.

Under “Global Strike,” military forces develop the capability to launch precision attacks against targets anywhere on the planet—rapidly neutralizing high-value threats before they can mobilize.

Strategy — Precision Long-Range Fires
Employ ICBMs, air-launched cruise missiles, and hypersonic weapons to strike deep inland targets.

Strategy — Global Surveillance
Integrate satellite, UAV, and signals intelligence for real-time targeting and battle damage assessment.

Tactics

• ICBM Readiness Posture: Maintain missile silos and mobile launchers on quick-reaction alert.
• Bomber Task Force Missions: Forward-deploy strategic bombers at allied airfields for rapid strike.
• Sea-Launched Cruise Patrols: Keep submarines and surface ships armed with long-range missiles on deterrent patrols.
• Dynamic Targeting Cells: Use joint C2 centers to update strike packages mid-mission.

“Grey-Zone Operations” utilize coercive measures below the threshold of armed conflict, blending military, economic, and political tools to achieve objectives without triggering full-scale war.

Strategy — Incremental Coercion
Escalate pressures gradually—cyberattacks, embargoes, militia provocations—while avoiding legal definitions of war.

Strategy — Plausible Deniability
Use proxy forces and covert actions to obscure state responsibility and complicate response.

Tactics

• Economic Sanctions and Manipulations: Target key sectors to inflict pain without overt hostility.
• Covert Paramilitary Raids: Employ unmarked forces to seize territory or assets.\li>
• Disinformation Campaigns: Undermine adversarial narratives through tailored media and social channels.
• Cyber Probing: Conduct low-level intrusions to map defenses without provoking major retaliation.

Under “Homeland First,” national defense priorities center on protecting sovereign territory and critical infrastructure before expeditionary operations—maximizing domestic security.

Strategy — Domestic Prioritization
Allocate the bulk of forces and resources to homeland defense and civil support.

Strategy — Sovereignty Defense
Harden borders, airspace, and maritime approaches to deter and defeat incursions.

Tactics

• National Guard Mobilization: Integrate reserve and militia units into border and critical site defense.
• Border Security Operations: Employ sensors, patrols, and rapid-reaction teams along frontiers.
• Civil Defense Drills: Regularly exercise evacuation, sheltering, and emergency response plans.
• Domestic Air Defense Networks: Layer SAM, fighter patrols, and radar to cover key population centers.

Hybrid Warfare blends conventional, irregular, cyber, and information operations to present multiple threats simultaneously. It seeks to create ambiguity and overwhelm adversaries across all domains.

Strategy — Multi-Domain Integration
Synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic means—armed forces, proxies, cyber, and media—to strike at critical vulnerabilities in concert.

Strategy — Gray-Zone Escalation
Employ covert or deniable actions below the threshold of open war to gradually shift the balance without triggering full-scale retaliation.

Tactics

• Proxy Force Engagements: Equip and direct irregular or paramilitary groups to seize objectives while maintaining plausible deniability.
• Cyber Intrusions: Disrupt command networks, critical infrastructure, or communication systems to degrade adversary coordination.
• Information Operations: Flood media and social channels with tailored narratives to influence public perception and decision-makers.
• Covert Sabotage: Deploy special operations teams for clandestine raids on key facilities to destabilize the opponent.

The “Indirect Approach,” pioneered by Liddell Hart, seeks to defeat the enemy by striking where they are weakest or least prepared rather than confronting their main strength head-on.

Strategy — Strategic Envelopment
Maneuver forces to attack an enemy’s flank or rear, threatening lines of communication and logistic hubs.

Strategy — Operational Feints
Simulate main assaults in one sector to draw forces away, then strike the true objective elsewhere.

Tactics

• Diversionary Raids: Conduct small-scale attacks to fix enemy units out of position.
• Infiltration Teams: Use stealth or specialized units to penetrate defenses and disrupt rear areas.
• Deception Operations: Employ false radio traffic, dummy formations, and disinformation to mislead.
• Flanking Maneuvers: Rapidly shift mobile columns around enemy flanks to collapse their line.

The “Intent” doctrine emphasizes clear commander’s intent—articulating desired end states—so subordinate units can exercise initiative and adapt to changing circumstances.

Strategy — Mission Command
Empower decentralized decision-making by sharing the commander’s vision and objectives down to the lowest echelons.

Strategy — Decentralized Execution
Allow subordinate leaders to choose methods and timing to accomplish intent when connectivity or orders are disrupted.

Tactics

• Intent Statements: Issue concise “why” and “what” messages alongside tasks to guide flexibility.
• After-Action Reviews: Capture lessons to refine shared understanding of intent across units.
• Back-Briefing: Require subordinates to restate intent to ensure comprehension.
• Decision-Point Training: Exercise junior leaders in simulated ambiguity to internalize intent application.

Iran’s A2/AD doctrine in the Strait of Hormuz layers anti-ship missiles, fast-attack craft, mines, and electronic warfare to deny transit through this chokepoint.

Strategy — Layered Denial
Emplace coastal missile batteries, minefields, and anti-air defenses in overlapping belts to interdict shipping.

Strategy — Chokepoint Control
Use geography and mobile elements to threaten all vessels transiting narrow straits within range of shore systems.

Tactics

• Coastal Missile Batteries: Deploy shore-based anti-ship missiles with rapid salvo capability.
• Fast Attack Craft Swarms: Employ small boats to harass and saturate enemy escorts.
• Sea-Minefields: Lay defensive and offensive mine belts to channel or deny passage.
• Electronic Jamming: Disrupt targeting radars and naval communications to blind adversary ships.

Irregular Warfare emphasizes guerrilla tactics, insurgency, and subversion rather than head-to-head military engagements. It relies on local support and asymmetry to erode stronger foes over time.

Strategy — Population-Centric Insurgency
Secure the support of local communities through protection, services, and propaganda to isolate and delegitimize the adversary.

Strategy — Hit-and-Run Operations
Execute swift, small-scale attacks on enemy vulnerabilities, avoiding prolonged engagements and withdrawing before a concerted response.

Tactics

• Ambush Patrols: Use terrain concealment for surprise attacks on convoys or small units.
• Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs): Emplace roadside bombs to disrupt enemy logistics and morale.
• Sabotage Raids: Infiltrate to damage infrastructure—bridges, rail lines, power grids—to impede enemy movement.
• Safehouse Networks: Establish clandestine support sites for training, medical care, and planning.

The “ISTAR” doctrine integrates Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance to accelerate decision-cycles and improve precision fires across all domains.

Strategy — Persistent ISR
Maintain continuous sensor coverage (air, space, cyber) over the battlespace to detect and track threats.

Strategy — Kill-Chain Optimization
Streamline data fusion and command links to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline.

Tactics

• UAV Overwatch: Employ drones for 24/7 aerial surveillance of critical sectors.
• SIGINT Tracking: Locate enemy emitters and communications nodes for targeting.
• Forward Recon Patrols: Insert reconnaissance teams to verify targets ahead of strikes.
• Targeting Cells: Establish joint facilities to fuse sensor data and assign fires rapidly.

“Jeune École” advocates using small, fast vessels—torpedo boats, cruisers, and submarines—to attack enemy commerce and naval bases, avoiding large fleet engagements.

Strategy — Disrupt Enemy Trade
Strike merchant shipping lanes to undermine economic stability and war-sustaining imports.

Strategy — Decentralized Squadrons
Deploy independent raiding flotillas that operate with autonomy in friendly or neutral waters.

Tactics

• Torpedo Boat Attacks: Use small craft under cover of darkness to torpedo larger warships and transports.
• Submarine Blockades: Patrol strategic chokepoints to interdict shipping silently.
• Commerce Raiding Cruisers: Employ lightly armored cruisers to overrun unescorted merchant convoys.
• False-Flag Operations: Approach under neutral colors to confuse and surprise targets.

“Jointness” emphasizes seamless integration of land, sea, air, space, and cyber forces under unified command to maximize combat effectiveness.

Strategy — Unified Command
Establish a single, integrated headquarters to plan and execute cross-domain operations.

Strategy — Interoperable Forces
Standardize procedures, communications, and equipment to allow forces from different services to operate as one.

Tactics

• Joint Planning Cells: Embed representatives from each service in a single planning team.
• Cross-Service Exercises: Conduct regular drills that require multi-domain coordination.
• Liaison Detachments: Assign liaison officers to partner units for real-time coordination.
• Common Data Links: Use shared networks to distribute battlespace awareness to all elements.

Under “Joint Air Attack Team Tactics,” air units operate in integrated teams combining fighters, bombers, and support aircraft to saturate enemy defenses and achieve air superiority.

Strategy — Synchronized Strike
Coordinate timing and targets across multiple aircraft types to deliver simultaneous effects at critical points.

Strategy — Escort Suppression
Deploy dedicated SEAD elements alongside strike packages to neutralize enemy air defenses before the main assault.

Tactics

• Fighter-Bomber Pairings: Pair air superiority fighters with bombers to protect high-value strike platforms.
• SEAD Escort Flights: Use specialized aircraft to jam or destroy radar and missile sites ahead of the main force.
• Time-on-Target Attacks: Plan ingress so all munitions impact within a narrow time window, overwhelming defenses.
• Data-Link Integration: Share real-time targeting and threat data across all team members.

The German “Kampfgruppe” doctrine forms flexible, ad-hoc combined-arms combat groups tailored to specific missions, exploiting local strengths.

Strategy — Ad-Hoc Combined Arms
Assemble infantry, armor, artillery, and engineers into mission-specific task forces under single command.

Strategy — Operational Flexibility
Empower Kampfgruppe commanders to adapt composition and tactics rapidly to battlefield changes.

Tactics

• Modular Task Forces: Tailor force mix—tanks, infantry, artillery—to mission requirements.
• Decentralized Command: Grant junior leaders authority to adjust plans in real time.
• Combined-Arms Pinchers: Coordinate pincer movements with armor and infantry to encircle the enemy.
• Mobile Fire Support: Use attached self-propelled artillery to keep pace with advancing elements.

“Launch on Warning” commits to firing nuclear forces upon detection of an incoming enemy strike, before impact. It maximizes deterrence by ensuring retaliation even under surprise attack.

Strategy — Hair-Trigger Readiness
Maintain nuclear forces on high alert with permissive launch protocols to minimize decision-time after a warning.

Strategy — Early Detection Assurance
Invest in radar, satellites, and command redundancies to guarantee reliable warning of missile launches.

Tactics

• Continuous Watch Postures: Rotate crews in missile silos and submarines on constant alert.
• Pre-Delegated Authority: Empower field commanders to order launches if central command is incapacitated.
• Secure Communication Links: Harden and diversify networks to maintain launch orders under attack.
• Routine Launch Drills: Conduct frequent exercises simulating warning-to-launch sequences to test procedures.

The “Lethality” doctrine focuses on maximizing the destructive power and effectiveness of forces through concentration, precision, and speed.

Strategy — Concentrated Firepower
Mass fires—artillery, missiles, and airstrikes—at decisive points to overwhelm defenses.

Strategy — Rapid Target Neutralization
Employ precision munitions and fast-moving units to strike high-value targets before they can react.

Tactics

• Massed Precision Fires: Coordinate simultaneous launches of guided munitions to cripple key assets.
• High-Tempo Maneuver: Use mechanized and airborne forces to seize objectives rapidly.
• Overwhelming Suppression: Blanket enemy positions with suppressive fire to fix and destroy.
• Integrated Sensor-Fire Links: Fuse ISR data directly with shooters to minimize decision times.

Under “Loss-of-Strength Gradient,” commanders account for the diminishing combat power of forces the farther they operate from their logistics and command centers.

Strategy — Depth Maintenance
Position principal combat elements close to supply hubs and use intermediate staging areas to arrest attrition over distance.

Strategy — Reserve Allocation
Hold fresh reserves in rear echelons to reinforce or exploit forward units before they cross critical depletion points.

Tactics

• Forward Logistics Nodes: Emplace fuel, ammunition, and repair depots at regular intervals toward the front.
• Unit Rotation: Cycle frontline units back to rest areas to recover strength and morale.
• Echeloned Basing: Use layered base zones to progressively support advancing formations.
• Rapid Route Repair: Employ engineer detachments to clear and maintain supply lines under fire.

“Maneuver Warfare” emphasizes speed, flexibility, and disruption of enemy cohesion, aiming to incapacitate command and control rather than simply attriting forces.

Strategy — Operational Tempo
Exploit speed and surprise to unbalance the adversary, striking at critical nodes rapidly.

Strategy — Flank and Envelopment
Bypass heavy defenses and strike from unexpected directions to collapse the enemy’s frontage.

Tactics

• Rapid Armored Thrusts: Employ mechanized formations to penetrate deep into enemy rear areas.
• Reconnaissance-in-Force: Send probing units to identify weak points and distract defenders.
• Decentralized Execution: Empower subordinate leaders to seize fleeting opportunities without waiting for higher approval.
• Combined Arms Teams: Integrate infantry, armor, engineers, and aviation in agile formations.

Maskirovka is the Russian military doctrine of deception, designed to mislead enemy intelligence through camouflage, misinformation, diversion, and operational concealment. Its goal is to distort the adversary’s perception and delay or disrupt effective decision-making.

Strategy — Strategic Deception Operations
Use false movements, simulated intent, and engineered visibility to divert attention from real objectives and create exploitable enemy miscalculations.

Strategy — Operational Camouflage
Conceal the size, disposition, and goals of forces by masking electronic signals, dispersing units, and emplacing decoys and cover assets.

Tactics

• Dummy Installations: Construct false headquarters, launch sites, or radar systems to attract enemy targeting.
• Signal Masking: Use electronic silence or spoofed transmissions to mislead SIGINT surveillance.
• False Timelines: Conduct rehearsals and staged buildups to confuse the timing of actual operations.
• Camouflage Discipline: Employ strict light, noise, and signature control to avoid detection by ISR assets.

“Massive Retaliation” promises overwhelming nuclear response to any aggression, deterring enemy action by raising the specter of total destruction.

Strategy — Ultimatum Deterrence
Convey that any conventional attack will trigger strategic nuclear strikes on enemy homelands.

Strategy — Centralized Control
Maintain tight civilian and military coordination to authorize swift nuclear launch decisions.

Tactics

• Strategic Bomber Forces: Keep nuclear-capable bombers on alert for rapid deployment.
• Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles: Deploy ICBMs to ensure second-strike capability.
• Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles: Use SSBNs to provide a survivable nuclear deterrent.
• Early Warning Systems: Integrate radar and satellite networks to detect incoming attacks instantly.

“Militarized Interstate Dispute” defines limited uses of force—threats, displays, or minor skirmishes—between states below the threshold of full-scale war.

Strategy — Escalation Control
Calibrate shows of force and limited engagements to coerce without provoking all-out conflict.

Strategy — Crisis Signaling
Use mobilization, boundary demonstrations, and naval maneuvers to signal resolve and test adversary reactions.

Tactics

• Border Patrol Skirmishes: Conduct brief incursions to probe defenses and gather intelligence.
• Naval Freedom of Navigation Operations: Sail warships through disputed waters to assert rights.
• Airspace Intercepts: Scramble fighters to intercept or shadow foreign aircraft near borders.
• Public Mobilization Drills: Stage visible troop exercises near flashpoints to raise diplomatic pressure.

Russia’s official military doctrine blends conventional deterrence, hybrid warfare, and strategic retaliation to defend sovereignty and project power.

Strategy — Hybrid Maneuver
Integrate regular forces, special operations, proxies, and information campaigns to seize initiative across multiple fronts.

Strategy — Strategic Deterrence
Leverage nuclear capability, advanced missile systems, and deep-strike assets to dissuade adversary escalation.

Tactics

• BTG Deployments: Send battalion tactical groups combining armor, artillery, and infantry for rapid response.
• Cyber-EW Operations: Launch coordinated hacking and jamming to blind enemy C4ISR.
• Proxy Sponsorship: Arm and direct local militias for deniable pressure on hostile regimes.
• Strategic Bomber Patrols: Fly long-range sorties to demonstrate nuclear strike reach.

Emphasizing restraint, this nuclear doctrine (adopted by states like Pakistan) maintains only a limited number of nuclear weapons sufficient to inflict unacceptable damage on an aggressor, discouraging first strikes without triggering arms races.

Strategy — Minimum Yet Credible
Field just enough nuclear capability to impose unbearable costs in retaliation — no more, no less.

Strategy — Second Strike Assurance
Develop survivable systems (e.g., mobile launchers, sea-based assets) to preserve deterrent credibility even after a first strike.

Tactics

• Dispersed Warheads: Deploy nuclear assets across terrain to avoid decapitation in a surprise attack.
• Ambiguity in Deployment: Conceal precise locations to complicate enemy targeting.
• Symbolic Signaling: Occasionally showcase delivery platforms to remind adversaries of retaliatory capacity.
• Doctrinal Clarity: Announce red lines to maximize deterrence value with minimal arsenal size.

Mission Command & C2 doctrine empowers decentralized decision-making under a commander’s intent, synchronizes operations via a battle rhythm, and integrates doctrine and strategy across staff processes.

Strategy — Commander’s Intent
Communicate clear, concise purpose statements so subordinates can act independently when communications fail.

Strategy — Battle Rhythm
Establish a structured cycle of planning, decision briefs, execution, and assessment to maintain tempo.

Tactics

• Command by Negation: Allow subordinate initiative unless expressly countermanded.
• Doctrine & Strategy Workshops: Regular joint‐staff sessions to align tactics with higher‐level goals.
• Zero-Defects Reviews: Institute persistent quality checks to eliminate procedural friction.

“Mission Creep” warns against gradual expansion of objectives beyond the original mandate, risking overextension and loss of focus.

Strategy — Scope Management
Rigorously define and enforce mission parameters to prevent unauthorized growth of tasks.

Strategy — Phased Objectives
Break campaigns into discrete phases with approval gates before moving to new tasks.

Tactics

• Red-Line Reviews: Conduct regular assessments of mission scope versus resources.
• Command Authorization Checks: Require higher-level sign-off for any expansion of objectives.
• Resource Mapping: Track allocation to ensure primary goals are fully resourced before new tasks.
• After-Action Constraints: Incorporate lessons-learned reviews to tighten future mandate definitions.

Also known as Auftragstaktik, “Mission-Type Tactics” issues commanders an intent and objective, delegating execution details to subordinates.

Strategy — Commander’s Intent
Communicate purpose and desired end-state clearly, enabling flexible adaptation below command.

Strategy — Decentralized Execution
Empower junior leaders to exercise initiative based on changing battlefield conditions.

Tactics

• Mission Orders: Provide concise directives focusing on what to achieve, not how.
• Leader Initiative: Train subordinates to make rapid decisions within intent’s framework.
• Flexible Force Composition: Organize small combined-arms teams to exploit local opportunities.
• Battlefield Feedback Loops: Use quick status reports to adjust intent and resource allocation dynamically.

“Multi-Domain Operations” integrates effects across land, air, sea, cyber, and space to fracture adversary systems and seize advantage through synchronized convergent actions.

Strategy — Cross-Domain Convergence
Orchestrate simultaneous assaults in multiple domains to overload and paralyze enemy decision-making.

Strategy — Mission Command at Scale
Empower dispersed units to exploit fleeting cross-domain opportunities without centralized delay.

Tactics

• Integrated Fires Packages: Combine artillery, aviation, naval gunfire, and cyber effects on single high-value targets.
• Space-Enabled ISR: Leverage satellite sensors to cue long-range precision fires and rapid maneuver.
• Cyber-Physical Strike: Coordinate cyber intrusions to blind air defenses just before missile salvos.
• Joint Task Forces: Form multi-service teams with organic cyber and space cells under a unified commander.

“Mutually Assured Destruction” rests on the premise that any nuclear exchange would annihilate both attacker and defender, ensuring deterrence through guaranteed reciprocal devastation.

Strategy — Secure Second-Strike
Maintain survivable nuclear forces (submarines, mobile launchers) to guarantee retaliation even after a first strike.

Strategy — Credible Retaliation
Publicly demonstrate retaliatory capabilities and resolve to reinforce deterrent credibility.

Tactics

• Hardening and Dispersal: Shelter missiles in fortified silos and deploy mobile launch platforms.
• Patrol SSBNs: Keep ballistic missile submarines at sea to ensure undetectable launch capability.
• Early Warning Radars: Deploy strategic sensors and satellites to detect incoming strikes immediately.
• Command and Control Survivability: Establish redundant, nuclear-hardened communication links for launch orders.

Nano-Infiltration Doctrine employs swarms of microscopic machines to penetrate enemy systems, gather intelligence, sabotage critical infrastructure, and deliver targeted effects at the molecular level.

Strategy — Stealthy Penetration
Infiltrate adversary assets undetected using nanobot dispersal vectors.

Strategy — Precision Molecular Disruption
Program nanomachines to disable key components—electronics, fuel lines, biological targets—without broad collateral damage.

Tactics

• Nano-spray Aerosols: Release airborne nanobot clouds to enter ventilation and communication systems.
• In-Circuit Swarms: Inject nanobots into electronic hardware to sever circuits or corrupt data.
• Biological Vectoring: Use blood-borne carriers to target enemy personnel at the cellular level.
• Self-Replicating Modules: Deploy seed nanites that reproduce in situ to sustain long-term operations.

Naval Offensive doctrine focuses on projecting maritime power ashore and across the seas to seize sea control and support joint campaigns. It prioritizes striking power and maneuver at sea.

Strategy — Sea Control for Power Projection
Secure maritime dominance in contested areas to enable amphibious landings, blockade operations, and logistics support.

Strategy — Maritime Strike Warfare
Use carrier aviation, submarines, and missile platforms to strike land and naval targets at range.

Tactics

• Carrier Strike Groups: Deploy carriers with escorts to deliver sustained air sorties against targets.
• Submarine Wolfpacks: Coordinate multiple submarines to ambush and interdict enemy shipping.
• Amphibious Raids: Launch Marine or naval infantry forces via landing craft for coastal seizures.
• Naval Aviation Bombardment: Use long-range maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters to support strikes.

“Network-Centric Warfare” leverages robust sensor-to-shooter connectivity to achieve information superiority, compress decision cycles, and orchestrate synchronized effects.

Strategy — Force Multiplier via Data
Integrate real-time intelligence feeds to enhance situational awareness and decision-making speed.

Strategy — Distributed Lethality
Network disparate platforms and munitions to mass effects while dispersing assets to reduce vulnerability.

Tactics

• Integrated Battle Networks: Link ground, air, naval, and space sensors and shooters in unified command systems.
• Precision Engagement: Employ guided munitions cued by networked targeting sources.
• Collaborative Targeting: Share target data across echelons to optimize resource allocation.
• Cyber-Electronic Warfare: Protect networks while disrupting the adversary’s communications and sensors.

“Network Operations” and “Information Operations” encompass cyberspace, electronic warfare, and psychological operations designed to control or contest the adversary’s information environment.

Strategy — Information Dominance
Seize the initiative in the information domain to shape perceptions and decision timelines.

Strategy — Integrated Cyberspace-EW Campaigns
Synchronize cyber intrusions with electronic warfare to blind, confuse, or mislead enemy systems.

Tactics

• Cyber Exploitation: Infiltrate networks to extract intelligence and plant disruptive code.
• Electronic Attack: Jam or spoof enemy sensors and communications during critical operations.
• Psychological Operations: Distribute targeted messaging to erode enemy morale or cohesion.
• Defensive Cyberspace Operations: Harden own networks and deploy counter-intrusion measures.

Neuro-Cognitive Warfare Doctrine targets adversary decision-making and morale by manipulating sensory inputs, cognitive load, and emotional states to induce confusion, paralysis, or hostile actions.

Strategy — Perception Engineering
Shape information streams and sensory cues to influence enemy beliefs and reactions.

Strategy — Cognitive Overload
Flood command networks with conflicting data and stimuli to disrupt planning and execution.

Tactics

• Subliminal Messaging: Insert imperceptible cues into broadcasts and cyber channels to bias decisions.
• Directed-Energy Pulses: Use nonlethal EM bursts to induce disorientation and headaches in personnel.
• Neurochemical Aerosols: Dispense compounds that alter mood or cognitive function in exposed populations.
• Virtual Reality Deception: Feed false sensory environments to remote operators or drone pilots to mislead them.

“New Generation” or “Hybrid Warfare” employs a blend of military, informational, economic, and proxy tools to achieve strategic objectives below the threshold of overt war.

Strategy — Layered Coercion
Apply synchronized pressure through political subversion, cyber-attacks, and deniable paramilitary actions.

Strategy — Strategic Ambiguity
Maintain plausible deniability while shaping narratives to sow discord and erode adversary unity.

Tactics

• Information Operations: Flood social media with tailored disinformation to undermine public trust.
• Cyber Intrusion: Penetrate critical networks to gather intelligence or disrupt services.
• Proxy Forces: Employ irregulars and private military companies to carry out deniable ground actions.
• Economic Coercion: Leverage energy supply and trade restrictions to pressure governments.

“No-First-Use” pledges that a nuclear power will not initiate nuclear warfare but reserves the right to retaliate if attacked, enhancing strategic stability by reducing preemption fears.

Strategy — Declaratory Policy
Publicly commit to using nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear strike against national territory or forces.

Strategy — Defensive Posture
Emphasize secure second-strike capabilities to reassure allies and deter adversaries.

Tactics

• Retaliatory Force Structure: Configure arsenals primarily for assured second-strike rather than first-strike readiness.
• Transparent Communication: Regularly reaffirm no-first-use commitments through diplomatic channels.
• Survivable Command Nodes: Harden command centers and communication to ensure orders can be issued post-attack.
• Allied Assurance Exercises: Conduct joint drills to demonstrate credible defensive nuclear capability.

“Non-Linear Warfare” describes operations that eschew traditional front lines in favor of dispersed, networked maneuvers across multiple domains, creating multiple dilemmas for the adversary simultaneously.

Strategy — Distributed Operations
Employ small, autonomous units operating in depth to complicate enemy targeting and command.

Strategy — Multi-Domain Integration
Synchronize actions across land, sea, air, cyber, and space to overwhelm enemy decision cycles.

Tactics

• Swarming Small Units: Deploy squads in converging attacks from multiple axes.
• Rapid Domain Transitions: Shift focus between cyber attacks and physical strikes to keep the enemy off-balance.
• Decentralized Command Nodes: Scatter C2 elements to avoid single points of failure.
• Cyber-Physical Fusion: Use coordinated hacking and electronic warfare to blind and misdirect enemy sensors.

Offensive-Dominant Blitz Doctrine emphasizes rapid, high-intensity strikes using mechanized and armor formations to break enemy defenses and exploit deep into rear areas before they can react.

Strategy — Deep Penetration
Concentrate fast-moving spearhead units at a decisive point to rupture defensive lines and encircle enemy formations.

Strategy — Momentum Exploitation
Maintain unrelenting advance tempo, preventing the enemy from reestablishing coherent defensive positions.

Tactics

• Spearhead Armored Columns: Use tank-heavy formations at the breakthrough axis for shock effect.
• Airborne Flank Seizures: Insert parachute or heliborne infantry to secure key crossroads and cut off retreats.
• Close Air Support Liaisons: Embed forward air controllers to call precise strikes on collapsing defenses.
• Rapid Logistics Trains: Pre-position fuel and ammo convoys along the axis of advance to sustain momentum.

“Operational Maneuver from the Sea” emphasizes the use of naval and amphibious forces to project power ashore directly to decisive points, bypassing coastal defenses for rapid inland penetration.

Strategy — Ship-to-Objective Maneuver
Launch forces from over the horizon directly to objectives without establishing beachheads first.

Strategy — Sea-Based Logistics
Sustain ashore operations through naval vessels rather than relying on vulnerable land lines of communication.

Tactics

• Over-the-Horizon Assaults: Use amphibious ships and connectors to land forces at unexpected points.
• Prepositioned Maritime Forces: Stage equipment afloat near potential theaters for rapid off-load.
• Maritime Pre-Landing Fires: Coordinate naval gunfire and air strikes to suppress defenses just prior to insertion.
• Joint Terminal Attack Control: Embed controllers aboard ships to direct close air support immediately after landing.

The Soviet “Operational Manoeuvre Group” concept assembles mechanized and armored forces into fast-moving formations tasked with deep operations. It seeks to bypass frontlines and disrupt enemy rear areas.

Strategy — Deep Battle Penetration
Concentrate elite mobile units to break through tactical defenses and exploit operational depth.

Strategy — Envelopment of Enemy C2
Maneuver around flanks to seize command nodes and sever supply routes behind enemy lines.

Tactics

• Mechanized Cavalry Breaks: Use fast tank-mechanized columns to spearhead into the enemy rear.
• Breakthrough Artillery Groups: Allocate concentrated artillery fires to support shock formations.
• Forward Air Support Coordination: Embed air controllers to call in strike aircraft on deep objectives.
• Mobile Reserve Deployment: Maintain secondary rapid-reaction forces to exploit or guard gains.

The “Operations Order” doctrine standardizes command directives into a five-paragraph format to ensure clarity, unity of effort, and synchronized execution.

Strategy — Intent Clarity
Articulate commander’s intent and concept of operations so all echelons understand their purpose.

Strategy — Rapid Dissemination
Push orders through secure digital networks to reach subordinate units without delay.

Tactics

• Five-Paragraph Format: Issue Situation, Mission, Execution, Sustainment, Command & Signal.
• Fragmentary Orders: Send timely updates (“FRAGOs”) as battlefield conditions evolve.
• Back-Briefs: Have unit leaders restate orders to verify understanding.
• Digital Order Portals: Use C2 systems to archive and track acknowledgement of orders.

“Patterns of Conflict” analyzes recurring forms and phases of warfare—maneuver, attrition, guerrilla, and hybrid—to tailor force design and operational art. By studying historical conflict archetypes, planners anticipate adversary approaches and prepare adaptable responses.

Strategy — Historical Emulation
Identify and train for the most likely conflict patterns based on opponent doctrine and environment.

Strategy — Adaptive Force Structuring
Organize modular units capable of shifting between attrition, maneuver, and irregular roles as battles evolve.

Tactics

• Wargame Iterations: Conduct scenario-driven simulations of known conflict patterns to refine doctrine.
• Red-Team Analyses: Employ dedicated adversary cells to replicate historical tactics and stress-test plans.
• Modular Task Forces: Assemble brigades with interchangeable sub-units for different conflict archetypes.
• Lessons-Learned Workshops: Debrief campaigns and codify recurring tactical lessons into doctrine updates.

The "Peace Through Strength" doctrine asserts that the surest way to prevent war is through overwhelming military power, deterrence credibility, and the visible will to use force if necessary. A strong posture is seen as essential to avoiding aggression and promoting global stability.

Strategy — Deterrence by Dominance
Maintain unmatched military capability across domains to dissuade adversaries from testing strategic thresholds.

Strategy — Forward Military Presence
Station powerful forces globally to signal commitment and reduce reaction time during crises.

Tactics

• Visible Military Exercises: Conduct large-scale drills near sensitive theaters to demonstrate capability.
• Public Weapons Modernization: Showcase advanced system deployments as psychological leverage.
• Credible Red Lines: Clearly communicate unacceptable actions with consequences backed by force.
• Persistent Naval Patrols: Sustain forward presence through carrier groups, submarines, and strategic bombers.

“People’s War” unfolds in three phases: strategic defensive, stalemate, and strategic offensive, leveraging protracted guerrilla struggle to wear down a stronger adversary.

Strategy — Strategic Defensive
Use hit-and-run guerrilla actions to conserve forces, build legitimacy, and expand base areas.

Strategy — Strategic Stalemate
Transition to semi-conventional operations to hold territory and weaken enemy resolve.

Strategy — Strategic Offensive
Mass regular armies drawn from guerrilla forces to seize and hold key terrain.

Tactics

• Guerrilla Ambushes: Conduct small-unit raids on enemy patrols and supply lines.
• Political Mobilization: Organize peasants for intelligence, logistics, and recruitment.
• Mobile Base Areas: Establish dispersed safe zones to train and replenish forces.
• Forced March to War Front: Gradually concentrate guerrilla units into larger formations for final battles.

This doctrine supports the long-term establishment of military bases abroad to project power, support allies, and enable global operations. It reflects a posture of sustained forward presence.

Strategy — Global Footprint
Maintain permanent installations to deter adversaries, reassure partners, and enable expeditionary missions.

Strategy — Logistic Forward Anchoring
Use bases to preposition equipment, fuel, and spare parts for rapid deployment or escalation.

Tactics

• Regional Force Hubs: Concentrate troops and material in key zones of instability or strategic interest.
• Bilateral Base Rights: Secure access via treaties, status-of-forces agreements (SOFAs), and political leverage.
• Rotational Manning: Keep readiness high while avoiding local political fatigue through temporary rotations.
• Surge Capability: Ensure airlift and sealift connections can expand presence during crisis.

“Perpetual War” maintains forces in constant low‐intensity operations and high readiness, reflecting a belief that modern security demands ongoing engagement rather than episodic campaigns. It blurs the line between war and peace.

Strategy — Continuous Engagement
Keep units deployed in persistent security missions—counterterrorism, stability operations, and deterrence patrols.

Strategy — Homeland-Expeditionary Integration
Merge domestic security and expeditionary posture under unified command to respond seamlessly anywhere.

Tactics

• Rotational Deployments: Cycle units through forward bases and domestic roles without full return to garrison.
• Enduring Bases: Establish semi-permanent facilities in key regions for continuous presence.
• Joint Interagency Task Forces: Embed military, law enforcement, and intelligence personnel for unified missions.
• Permanent Readiness Drills: Exercise crisis response daily to maintain immediate reaction capability.

Political Subversion + Military Posture Doctrine merges covert influence operations with the overt threat or presence of military force to undermine adversary regimes and secure strategic objectives.

Strategy — Coercive Diplomacy
Apply political pressure through subversion of institutions while visibly deploying forces to signal resolve.

Strategy — Dual-Track Operations
Coordinate clandestine support to opposition elements with military exercises or deployments near conflict zones.

Tactics

• Information Campaigns: Seed disinformation, exploit social media, and back local political movements.
• Proxy Sponsorship: Fund and arm opposition groups to apply internal pressure on the regime.
• Force Posture Signals: Conduct rapid deployment drills, base rotations, and visible patrols near target borders.
• Covert Liaison Teams: Embed special ops advisors to coordinate subversion with local actors.

The “Porcupine Strategy” focuses on denial by hardening key terrain and creating a layered defense that inflicts maximum cost on any attacker. It turns the defender’s posture into a deterrent—like a porcupine’s quills, forcing foes to think twice before engaging.

Strategy — Terrain Denial
Fortify critical areas with obstacles and anti‐armor systems to channel and attrit enemy advances.

Strategy — Distributed Strongpoints
Deploy autonomous defense nodes so enemy must commit disproportionate resources across multiple sectors.

Tactics

• Anti‐Tank Minefields: Lay dense mine belts at likely armor avenues to halt spearheads.
• Hardened Bunkers: Construct reinforced firing positions with overlapping fields of fire.
• Mobile Spike Units: Position rapid‐reaction anti‐tank teams to counter breakthrough attempts.
• Remote Weapon Emplacements: Use automated turrets and unmanned sensors to cover blind spots.

The Powell Doctrine emphasizes overwhelming force, clear objectives, and public and political support before entering military conflict. It is built on lessons from Vietnam and promotes decisive victories rather than prolonged engagements.

Strategy — Overwhelming Force Application
Employ decisive and massive force to achieve rapid and unambiguous outcomes.

Strategy — Strategic Clarity & Exit Planning
Only engage when national interests are clear and there is a viable exit strategy.

Tactics

• Clear Political Objectives: Define the mission scope and success conditions in advance.
• Massed Firepower Deployment: Concentrate air, ground, and naval assets for decisive thrusts.
• Public Support Mobilization: Build bipartisan and public consensus before action.
• Exit Strategy Contingency: Establish post-conflict stabilization and withdrawal plans.

“Power Projection” focuses on the rapid deployment and sustainment of combat forces in distant theaters to influence events and deter aggression. It hinges on logistics, basing, and lift capabilities.

Strategy — Forward Basing Network
Secure access agreements and facilities globally to position forces within striking distance of hotspots.

Strategy — Strategic Lift Assurance
Maintain robust sealift and airlift fleets to move personnel, equipment, and sustainment quickly.

Tactics

• Expeditionary Strike Groups: Deploy integrated naval teams for rapid amphibious and air assaults.
• Prepositioned Stockpiles: Store equipment and munitions afloat or in allied warehouses for immediate use.
• Overflight & Transit Rights: Negotiate regional air routes and port calls to reduce transit times.
• Joint Logistics Hubs: Coordinate multinational supply nodes to streamline resupply and maintenance.

“Power to the Edge” advocates decentralizing command by pushing decision-making authority and information access down to the tactical edge, enabling faster, more agile responses.

Strategy — Edge Empowerment
Delegate authorities and provide ubiquitous information to subordinate units for autonomous action.

Strategy — Shared Situational Awareness
Ensure all nodes subscribe to the same real-time common operational picture to maintain cohesion.

Tactics

• Networked Command Posts: Deploy mobile C2 nodes at forward positions with full data links.
• Virtual Collaborative Planning: Use secure chat and video feeds for simultaneous planning across echelons.
• Self-Synchronizing Teams: Train squads to coordinate fires and maneuver without higher approval.
• Dynamic Task Reallocation: Reassign missions on the fly based on unfolding battlefield events.

Under “Preemptive Narrative Collapse,” actors dismantle an adversary’s cohesion before conflict through coordinated leaks, deepfakes, and information operations to weaken will and legitimacy.

Strategy — Integrated Influence Campaigns
Synchronize covert leaks, synthetic media, and cyber disruption to sow distrust in leadership.

Strategy — Media Saturation
Overwhelm information channels with conflicting narratives to erode public confidence.

Tactics

• Strategic Leaks: Release incriminating documents at key moments to spark internal dissent.
• Deepfake Dissemination: Circulate synthetic audio/video to undermine official communications.
• Cyber Disruption: Attack media and communication infrastructure to amplify chaos.
• Covert Messaging Nodes: Use encrypted channels and dark-web forums to coordinate influence operations.

“Principles of Sustainment” ensure that forces remain combat-capable by optimizing logistics, personnel, and maintenance over the duration of operations.

Strategy — Economy of Supply
Balance stockpiling and distribution to avoid shortages without overburdening transport networks.

Strategy — Redundancy & Resilience
Develop multiple supply routes and backup depots to mitigate disruption.

Tactics

• Forward Supply Dumps: Pre-position critical materiel near likely axes of advance.
• Bulk Fuel Modules: Emplace modular fuel systems for rapid refueling.
• Maintenance Task Forces: Deploy mobile repair units to sustain vehicle and equipment readiness.
• Medical Evacuation Chains: Establish layered casualty evacuation and treatment nodes.

The “Principles of War” codify timeless guidance—such as mass, objective, and surprise—to shape planning and execution at all levels.

Strategy — Concentration of Force
Focus overwhelming combat power at decisive points to shatter enemy cohesion.

Strategy — Economy of Effort
Allocate minimal essential resources to secondary efforts, preserving strength for main objectives.

Tactics

• Massed Artillery Barrages: Coordinate fires to prepare breach sectors.
• Deception Operations: Feints and camouflage to mislead the enemy on true objectives.
• Combined-Arms Teams: Integrate infantry, armor, and engineers for synchronized breakthroughs.
• Rapid Exploitation: Use mobile reserves to exploit penetrations before enemy can react.

Under “Proxy Warfare,” states project power by supporting third-party actors—militias, insurgents, or client states—allowing deniability and force multiplication without direct large-scale intervention.

Strategy — Denial & Deniability
Channel resources through intermediaries to obscure direct involvement and reduce political fallout.

Strategy — Force Multiplication
Leverage local actors’ knowledge and manpower to amplify strategic reach at lower cost.

Tactics

• Clandestine Training Camps: Establish covert facilities to equip and train proxy forces.
• Arms & Funding Pipelines: Use covert supply chains to deliver weapons and finances securely.
• Intelligence Liaisons: Embed advisors to coordinate proxy operations and share targeting data.
• Propaganda Support: Provide messaging tools to boost proxy legitimacy and recruitment.

The Reagan Doctrine promoted supporting anti-communist insurgencies worldwide as a way to undermine Soviet influence during the Cold War. Unlike pure deterrence, it called for proactive support of guerrilla and resistance forces in contested states.

Strategy — Forward Political Subversion
Undermine adversarial regimes by backing insurgents, partisans, and resistance networks.

Strategy — Strategic Denial Zones
Prevent adversaries from consolidating control in key regions by fueling long-term internal disruption.

Tactics

• Proxy Force Support: Provide arms, training, and funding to resistance groups.
• Psychological Warfare Broadcasts: Use radio and media to sway occupied populations.
• Low-Visibility Advisors: Deploy covert personnel to assist irregular forces on the ground.
• Denial of Strategic Space: Prevent Soviet-aligned regimes from achieving full control.

Quantum Resilience Doctrine safeguards command, control, communications, and intelligence against quantum-enabled threats by deploying post-quantum cryptography and quantum-hardened sensors.

Strategy — Post-Quantum Encryption
Transition all secure links to algorithms resistant to quantum decryption.

Strategy — Quantum Sensor Shielding
Protect quantum sensors and networks from spoofing or manipulation by adversary quantum devices.

Tactics

• PQC Key Exchanges: Implement lattice-based and hash-based key protocols across C4ISR systems.
• Entanglement Decoys: Deploy false quantum signals to confuse enemy intercepts.
• Quantum Repeaters: Use isolated repeater nodes to extend secure quantum links beyond line-of-sight.
• Intrusion Alert Qubits: Embed qubit sensors that flag any unauthorized quantum probing.

Under “Ramming,” platforms—typically naval vessels or aircraft—intentionally collide with enemy units to inflict maximum damage when conventional weapons are unavailable or ineffective.

Strategy — Shock Impact
Utilize the sudden, violent collision to break enemy hull integrity or airframe cohesion before they can respond.

Strategy — Last-Resort Destruction
Employ ramming only when other arms are exhausted or as a surprise measure to turn the tide in desperate situations.

Tactics

• High-Speed Approach: Close to maximum sustainable speed to maximize kinetic energy on impact.
• Target Vulnerable Points: Aim for propulsion shafts, wings, or rudders to disable rather than sink outright.
• Coordinated Distraction: Use smoke or decoys to mask the ramming vector until the last moment.
• Escape Plan: Pre-arrange rescue assets to recover ramming crews or salvage friendly vessels.

“Red Team” doctrine institutionalizes adversary replication to challenge assumptions, expose vulnerabilities, and validate plans by acting as a simulated enemy force.

Strategy — Adversary Emulation
Mirror likely enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures to reveal gaps in friendly doctrine and defenses.

Strategy — Continuous Stress-Testing
Embed red team activities throughout planning cycles to drive iterative improvements under realistic pressure.

Tactics

• Covert Infiltration Exercises: Simulate HUMINT and sabotage deep within friendly areas.
• Cyber Penetration Drills: Launch red-team cyber-attacks on C4ISR networks to test resilience.
• Force-on-Force Wargames: Conduct live opposing-force scenarios using dedicated OPFOR units.
• Debrief and Feedback Loops: Rapidly integrate lessons from red-team findings into doctrine revisions.

“Regionally Aligned Forces” assigns modular units to specific theaters on enduring rotations, enhancing partner interoperability, cultural familiarity, and rapid crisis response.

Strategy — Persistent Engagement
Maintain continuous unit presence in a region to build trust, share intelligence, and deter aggression.

Strategy — Tailored Partnership
Align training, exercises, and equipment to the unique threats and infrastructure of host nations.

Tactics

• Theater-Specific Exercises: Conduct recurring joint drills with regional militaries on local terrain.
• Embedded Liaison Teams: Place advisors and planners within partner headquarters for seamless coordination.
• Rotational Deployments: Cycle brigades in and out on fixed schedules to sustain readiness without overstretch.
• Language & Cultural Training: Pre-deploy specialized instruction to unit personnel for effective engagement.

“Reprisal” doctrine authorizes limited, proportionate retaliation against hostile acts that fall below the threshold of armed attack, to restore deterrence credibility and enforce norms.

Strategy — Measured Response
Calibrate counteractions to match the scope and intensity of the provocation without escalation to full war.

Strategy — Signal Deterrence
Publicize reprisals promptly to warn adversaries that violations carry immediate costs.

Tactics

• Targeted Strikes: Hit specific enemy units or infrastructure linked to the provocation.
• Economic Sanctions: Impose trade or financial penalties on responsible entities.
• Demonstrative Overflights: Conduct low-level sorties to intimidate and showcase air capability.
• Public Attribution: Release forensic evidence to justify reprisal actions diplomatically.

“Reserve Formation” doctrine organizes, trains, and mobilizes non-active units to reinforce, exploit success, or stabilize crises, providing depth beyond frontline forces.

Strategy — Strategic Depth
Maintain reserve pools at echelon levels to respond flexibly to breakthroughs or counterattacks.

Strategy — Surge Capacity
Pre-plan rapid activation and deployment sequences to expand force size under compressed timelines.

Tactics

• Mobilization Drills: Conduct periodic call-up exercises to validate personnel and equipment readiness.
• Staggered Basing: Pre-stage reserve units at multiple depots to shorten movement distances.
• Command Integration Cells: Embed liaison teams in reserve headquarters for seamless handoff.
• Logistics Pre-Packaging: Kit and palletize essential supplies for rapid convoy dispatch on alert.

Reverse Attribution Warfare doctrine conducts operations framed to implicate other actors, sowing confusion and provoking misdirected retaliation or policy errors by adversaries.

Strategy — Deceptive Attribution
Plant forensic and digital evidence to mislead adversaries about true attackers.

Strategy — Diversionary Pressure
Create false-flag incidents to draw enemy resources away from real objectives.

Tactics

• Forged Communications: Send fake orders or threats purporting to come from third parties.
• False-Flag Sabotage: Execute cyber or physical attacks with disguise measures to mimic another group’s signature.
• Attribution Noise Campaigns: Flood intelligence channels with conflicting clues and aliases.
• Propaganda Misdirection: Release disinformation attributing friendly actions to opponents to fracture alliances.

The “Revolution in Military Affairs” holds that breakthroughs in technology—precision strike, stealth, C4ISR, robotics—fundamentally alter the character and conduct of war, demanding new operational concepts.

Strategy — Technological Overmatch
Rapidly field cutting-edge systems to outpace adversary modernization and dominate key domains.

Strategy — Network-Enabled Operations
Fuse sensors, shooters, and decision-makers into a resilient information grid for accelerated kill chains.

Tactics

• Precision Strike Packages: Coordinate guided munitions with ISR for near-real-time target engagement.
• C4ISR Integration: Embed battlefield networks to share data across platforms instantly.
• Stealth Insertion: Employ low-observable assets to penetrate denied zones undetected.
• Electronic Warfare: Disrupt enemy sensors and communications to blind opposing forces.

The Riposte Doctrine centers on punishing any initial aggression with an immediate, overwhelming counterstrike. By striking swiftly and decisively, it denies adversaries any lasting gains and deters future attacks.

Strategy — Immediate Counterattack
Launch mechanized and missile forces across the breach before the enemy can consolidate.

Strategy — Escalatory Shock
Follow the initial counterstroke with precision strikes on command, logistics, and rear-area assets.

Tactics

• Armored Thrusts: Dispatch rapid armored columns to roll up enemy spearheads.
• Surface-to-Surface Missile Salvos: Target enemy staging areas and logistics hubs immediately.
• Airborne Insertion: Drop air assault teams behind enemy lines to disrupt rear operations.
• Coordinated Artillery Barrages: Pre-register fires on likely counterattack zones to stymie enemy reserves.

“Second-Generation Warfare” rose in World War I, centering on industrial firepower and attrition. It leverages artillery barrages, trench systems, and synchronized corps-level attacks to grind down the enemy.

Strategy — Artillery-Centric Attrition
Employ massive, pre-registered barrages to destroy fortifications and suppress defenders ahead of infantry advances.

Strategy — Trench Network Defense
Construct layered trench lines and strongpoints to absorb and bleed off enemy assaults over time.

Tactics

• Creeping Barrage Coordination: Advance infantry closely behind moving artillery fire to protect them from enemy fire.
• Barbed Wire Obstacles: Emplace deep belts of wire to canalize attackers into kill zones.
• Counter-Battery Fire: Locate and suppress enemy guns using sound ranging and aerial observation.
• Stormtrooper Assaults: Deploy specialized small teams to infiltrate and disrupt trench systems.

“Shock-and-Awe” seeks to paralyze adversaries through overwhelming, rapid application of precision and massed fires, sowing confusion and collapse of will early in a campaign.

Strategy — Overwhelming Initial Strike
Deploy synchronized air, ground, and cyber fires to destroy critical enemy systems in the first 48 hours.

Strategy — Psychological Paralysis
Use scale and speed of attacks to generate awe and fear, degrading command and control.

Tactics

• Precision-Guided Munitions: Strike leadership, communications, and logistics nodes with minimal warning.
• Rapid Force Projection: Airlift and amphibious insertion of key combat power near enemy command centers.
• Cyber Precursor Attacks: Initiate network disruptions immediately prior to kinetic strikes.
• Information Broadcasts: Simultaneously communicate to enemy forces the extent and location of incoming attacks to induce shock.

Overview: The Short War Victory Doctrine seeks to achieve rapid and decisive success before the enemy can mobilize fully or international pressure sets in. It relies on speed, disruption, and overwhelming force to force an early capitulation or ceasefire.

Key Features:

• Preemptive strikes against command and logistics centers
• Psychological warfare and narrative dominance in early phases
• Rapid maneuver and exploitation of political paralysis
• Limited objectives designed for fast closure

Historical Examples: Germany's campaigns in Poland and France (1939–40), Israel's Six-Day War (1967).

The “Fortress Fleet” doctrine defends bastions—enclosed maritime zones—where Soviet SSBNs and surface forces operate under protective screens. It leverages layered ASW, minefields, and coastal defenses to secure strategic deterrence.

Strategy — Bastion Defense
Concentrate multi-domain assets—submarines, surface ships, aircraft, and coastal batteries—to safeguard submarine bastions.

Strategy — Area Denial Integration
Combine mines, ASW patrols, and electronic warfare to prevent enemy intrusion into protected waters.

Tactics

• Submarine Ambush Lines: Position attack subs along likely enemy ASW ingress routes.
• Minefield Rings: Lay defensive and influence mines around bastion perimeters.
• Maritime Patrol Aviation: Use long-range ASW aircraft to detect and track hostile submarines.
• Coastal Missile Batteries: Emplace anti-ship and surface-to-air systems onshore for layered coverage.

“Stabilization” doctrine focuses on securing, rebuilding, and governing post-conflict environments through integrated military, civil, and humanitarian efforts to prevent relapse into violence.

Strategy — Population Engagement
Win local support by building security, providing services, and fostering legitimate governance structures.

Strategy — Civil-Military Integration
Synchronize military operations with development and rule-of-law initiatives under unified command.

Tactics

• Joint Security Patrols: Integrate armed forces with police and local authorities to secure key areas.
• Reconstruction Partnerships: Escort engineering and aid teams to rebuild infrastructure safely.
• Mobile Civic Clinics: Deploy medical units to underserved communities to build goodwill.
• Information Campaigns: Broadcast stabilization successes and rule-of-law messaging to counter insurgent narratives.

Static Border Defense doctrine relies on fixed fortifications, permanent observation posts, and barrier systems along national boundaries to deny enemy incursions and channel movement into predictable kill zones.

Strategy — Fortified Perimeter
Establish continuous belts of bunkers, obstacles, and watchtowers to create an impermeable frontier.

Strategy — Predictive Interdiction
Use border intelligence and sensors to anticipate and engage enemy probes before they cross key sectors.

Tactics

• Fixed Bunker Lines: Construct reinforced concrete positions with interlocking fields of fire.
• Obstacle Systems: Deploy minefields, anti-vehicle ditches, and concertina wire to canalize attackers.
• Border Patrol Grid: Maintain continuous foot and vehicle patrols with rapid-reaction alert sectors.
• Observation / Sensor Posts: Emplace acoustic, seismic, and thermal sensors to cue direct-fire assets.

Strategic Ambiguity relies on deliberate vagueness in policy or military posture to deter adversaries by keeping them uncertain about thresholds, red lines, or responses.

Strategy — Calculated Uncertainty
Use unclear commitments or consequences to make enemies hesitate in planning aggression.

Strategy — Policy Obfuscation
Avoid clearly defined doctrine to maintain maneuvering room in crisis response.

Tactics

• Red Line Ambiguity: Refuse to define exact thresholds for intervention or retaliation.
• Force Opacity: Limit details of troop deployments, capabilities, or readiness levels.
• Political Signaling Confusion: Issue mixed messages to stall adversary decision cycles.
• Reservist Mobilization Bluffs: Conduct partial call-ups as strategic feints.

Strategic Bombing doctrine employs long-range airpower to destroy an enemy’s war-making capacity and morale by targeting factories, transport hubs, and civilian infrastructure.

Strategy — Industrial Disruption
Plan and execute raids on key production centers to cripple arms manufacturing and logistics.

Strategy — Morale Attrition
Bomb urban centers and communication networks to sap civilian and military will to resist.

Tactics

• Precision Night Raids: Use pathfinder aircraft and radar guidance to striking war plants under cover of darkness.
• Area Saturation Bombardment: Employ massed bomber formations to blanket entire districts when precision is unavailable.
• Decapitation Strikes: Target enemy leadership compounds, C2 bunkers, and communication nodes.
• Fuel Facility Strikes: Destroy fuel depots and refineries to ground enemy aviation and armor.

Strategic Depth Defense doctrine seeks to absorb initial enemy advances while preserving national survival by using geographic space, reserves, and layered fallback lines to wear down attackers.

Strategy — Defense-in-Depth Elasticity
Create successive defensive belts that delay and stretch enemy logistics and cohesion.

Strategy — Reserve Reconstitution
Preserve second-echelon forces for decisive counteroffensives deep in own territory.

Tactics

• Elastic Lines: Use mobile rear units to fall back and reform at pre-planned positions.
• Strategic Withdrawal Routes: Maintain supply lines even during retreat phases.
• Population Relocation Protocols: Prepare for civilian movement behind safe lines.
• Delay-and-Harass Actions: Assign light forces to ambush, sabotage, and bleed enemy advances.

The Strategic First Strike Doctrine aims to preemptively neutralize an adversary’s critical military capabilities—especially nuclear and C3 nodes—before they can be employed, thereby gaining the initiative and undermining enemy deterrence.

Strategy — Counterforce Preemption
Identify and target enemy strategic assets (ICBMs, command centers, air bases) to degrade their retaliatory capacity.

Strategy — Paralysis of Command & Control
Disrupt or destroy enemy communications and networked C4ISR to sow confusion and delay response.

Tactics

• ICBM / SLBM Salvo Launches: Execute simultaneous missile volleys against hardened silos and submarines.
• Bunker-Busting Strikes: Use penetrator munitions against underground command complexes.
• Cyber-C4ISR Attacks: Inject malware and jamming to sever enemy decision loops.
• Decapitation Raids: Dispatch special forces or air strikes to eliminate leadership nodes.

“String of Pearls” is a maritime strategy to establish a chain of logistics and support points—from ports to bases—across the Indian Ocean. It secures sea lanes, extends operational reach, and shapes regional influence.

Strategy — Maritime Foothold Network
Develop dual-use facilities—commercial ports, naval bases, and radar sites—to support naval and commercial vessels.

Strategy — Denial of Third-Party Influence
Leverage presence to displace rival powers and control chokepoints through economic and military means.

Tactics

• Port Development Aid: Finance infrastructure projects in partner states to secure basing rights.
• Logistics Transshipment Hubs: Station supply and maintenance ships at key nodes for sustained operations.
• Naval Escort Patrols: Escort merchant convoys through choke points to demonstrate presence and deterrence.
• Regional Joint Exercises: Host combined drills with littoral states to cement security partnerships.

Synthetic Geography Doctrine manipulates environmental factors—terrain, weather, waterways—to create operational advantages, deny access, or channel enemy movement without kinetic engagement.

Strategy — Environmental Engineering
Alter natural features to favor friendly maneuver and logistic lines.

Strategy — Weather Modification
Seed clouds, induce precipitation, or generate fog to conceal operations or degrade enemy mobility.

Tactics

• Controlled Flooding: Breach dams to inundate valleys and restrict enemy advances.
• Wind Shear Creation: Use aerosol injections to disrupt helicopter and drone flights.
• Wildfire Ignition: Employ targeted incendiary munitions to clear vegetation and channelize movement.
• Soil Stabilization: Inject polymers to harden ground for heavy-vehicle corridors while impeding off-road vehicles.

Systems Confrontation is a core Chinese military theory emphasizing the destruction or paralysis of an enemy’s operational system rather than the annihilation of its physical forces. The idea is to collapse adversary capabilities by striking key nodes in their command, control, and logistics webs.

Strategy — Targeted Systems Paralysis
Focus firepower, cyber tools, and psychological pressure on the critical “system-of-systems” dependencies of the adversary.

Strategy — Cross-Domain Synergy
Orchestrate operations across information, cyber, space, and kinetic domains for maximal disorientation and collapse.

Tactics

• Node Disruption: Target communications hubs, sensor relays, and data-processing centers with precision strikes or cyber intrusion.
• Decapitation Operations: Disrupt command structures to impair enemy coordination and morale.
• Info-Op Saturation: Overwhelm adversary systems with false, contradictory, or demoralizing information flows.
• Multidomain Pulse: Synchronize kinetic and non-kinetic effects to induce cascading system failure.

“Tactical Formation” doctrine defines optimal unit arrangements on the battlefield to maximize firepower, mobility, and mutual support.

Strategy — Formation Flexibility
Adapt the shape and depth of formations rapidly to terrain, threat axis, and mission phase.

Strategy — Combined-Arms Integration
Embed infantry, armor, artillery, and UAV elements into a cohesive template for simultaneous engagement.

Tactics

• Wedge Formation: Concentrate armor at the apex for a breakthrough punch while infantry secures flanks.
• Echelon Formation: Stagger units diagonally to permit sequential engagement and depth defense.
• Bounding Overwatch: Alternate movement and overwatch between sub-units to maintain continuous security.
• Fire-and-Maneuver Cells: Pair small teams of fire support and maneuver elements for rapid localized action.

Tactical Nuclear Battlefield Use Doctrine prepares forces for low-yield nuclear employment to deny terrain, disrupt massed formations, and compel rapid enemy capitulation at the tactical level.

Strategy — Battlefield Denial
Use small nuclear detonations to render key areas impassable and break enemy momentum.

Strategy — Escalatory Control
Demonstrate capability for limited nukes to deter full-scale engagement and shape adversary decisions.

Tactics

• Low-Yield Artillery Shells: Fire nuclear rounds at advancing armored columns to halt breakthroughs.
• Bunker-Buster Warheads: Employ penetrating devices against fortified positions.
• Air-Delivered Tactical Nukes: Launch from fighters or bombers to strike supply hubs behind front lines.
• Pre-Registered Ground Zeroes: Pre-plan detonation points for rapid strike authorization and minimum friendly exposure.

“Targeting” doctrine establishes systematic processes for identifying, prioritizing, and engaging enemy assets to achieve desired operational and strategic effects.

Strategy — Effects-Based Targeting
Select and strike targets based on the desired functional, psychological, or economic outcome rather than asset value alone.

Strategy — Phased Engagement
Apply sequential targeting phases—shape, attrit, and exploit—to dismantle adversary capabilities over time.

Tactics

• Dynamic Targeting Cells: Use dedicated teams to prosecute time-sensitive targets as they emerge.
• Joint Fires Coordination: Integrate air, artillery, naval, and cyber fires through a centralized C2 node.
• Battle Damage Assessment: Employ ISR assets post-strike to evaluate effects and re-task as needed.
• High-Value Target Packages: Assemble multi-domain assets to isolate and destroy critical enemy nodes.

“Technological Supremacy” doctrine aims to achieve and maintain decisive advantage by continuously developing, integrating, and deploying cutting-edge capabilities across all warfighting domains.

Strategy — Continuous Innovation
Rapidly iterate and field new systems to stay ahead of adversary countermeasures.

Strategy — Force Multiplication
Leverage automation, AI, and advanced sensors to exponentially increase combat power with fewer personnel.

Tactics

• Accelerated R&D Loops: Partner with industry and academia for prototyping and field experimentation.
• Integrated C4ISR Networks: Fuse data from space, cyber, air, and ground sensors into a single common operating picture.
• Robotic Asset Deployment: Employ unmanned vehicles for high-risk reconnaissance and precision strike.
• Cyber-Physical Integration: Coordinate kinetic fires with cyber effects to overwhelm defenses.

Territorial Defense Only Doctrine focuses exclusively on protecting sovereign borders and population centers without conducting power projection or offensive campaigns beyond national territory.

Strategy — Layered Border Security
Establish concentric defense zones with increasing fortification and surveillance approaching the core territory.

Strategy — Civilian Integration
Mobilize local militias and civilian resources for reconnaissance, early warning, and static defense tasks.

Tactics

• Border Fortifications: Construct permanent obstacles, bunkers, and observation posts along likely crossing points.
• Local Defense Militias: Train and equip community-based units to provide first-response and area denial.
• Surveillance Networks: Deploy ground sensors, drones, and watchtowers to monitor border activity in real time.
• Rapid Reaction Forces: Maintain reserve brigades near hotspots for immediate reinforcement.

Three-Block War trains forces to execute high-intensity combat, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance—all within a single operational area. It demands versatile, self-sufficient units prepared for any mission set.

Strategy — Multi-Mission Readiness
Equip and train units to transition rapidly between kinetic and non-kinetic tasks.

Strategy — Decentralized Decision-Making
Empower small-unit leaders to assess and act on diverse mission requirements without higher approval.

Tactics

• Modular Equipment Loads: Issue backpacks with mission-tailored gear kits for each task block.
• Embedded Civil Affairs Teams: Integrate liaison elements for immediate humanitarian support coordination.
• Rules-of-Engagement Drills: Practice rapid ROE adjustments between combat and stability operations.
• Multiband Communications: Use flexible radios and data links for simultaneous military and civilian coordination.

Originating in the Chinese Red Army, this doctrine prescribes soldier conduct and civil relations to maintain discipline and popular support during protracted struggle.

Strategy — Civil-Military Rapport
Uphold strict discipline and respectful treatment of civilians to secure local cooperation.

Strategy — Discipline Enforcement
Empower junior leaders to enforce rules consistently and correct deviations swiftly.

Tactics

• Forage Safeguarding: Pay for or requisition supplies fairly—never requisition the people’s property arbitrarily.
• Civic Assistance: Repair civilian infrastructure and provide basic services wherever possible.
• Orderly Conduct: Maintain cleanliness, respect, and courtesy in all interactions with the populace.
• Accountability Drills: Conduct regular inspections and roll calls to reinforce standards.

“Third-Generation Warfare” (maneuver warfare) rejects static attrition, favoring rapid penetration, encirclement, and disruption of enemy cohesion. It leverages speed, surprise, and mission-type orders.

Strategy — Deep Penetration
Strike through weak points in the enemy line to bypass strongholds and disrupt rear echelons.

Strategy — Encirclement & Envelopment
Isolate enemy formations by seizing key terrain and cutting supply lines from the flanks and rear.

Tactics

• Mechanized Shock Columns: Use armored spearheads to punch through and exploit depth.
• Airborne Insertion: Employ paratroops or heliborne units to seize objectives behind enemy lines.
• Decentralized Command: Empower subordinate leaders with intent-based orders for rapid adaptation.
• Combined-Arms Teams: Integrate infantry, armor, and artillery in agile combat groups for synchronized breakthroughs.

Under “Total War,” as defined by Clausewitz, no restraint exists—the mission is the enemy’s total destruction. All elements of national power are mobilized for a no-holds-barred conflict aimed at shattering the adversary’s capacity and will to fight.

Strategy — Total Mobilization
Mobilize every available resource: conscript the populace, convert industry, and direct logistics to front-line operations.

Strategy — Unrestricted Engagement
Issue standing orders for maximum use of force—no target off-limits, no sanctuary for the enemy.

Tactics

• Universal Conscription: Activate the draft to swarm the front with fresh troops.
• Industrial Warfooting: Flip factories to 24/7 arms production—munitions, vehicles, fortifications.
• Strategic Bombardment: Hammer enemy industry and C2 nodes to fracture their war effort.
• Unrestricted Submarine Warfare: Order subs to deny all sea lines—sink supply ships without warning.

Trench Warfare fixes armies in fortified positions separated by No Man’s Land. It leverages extensive trench networks, barbed wire, and entrenched artillery, resulting in grinding, attritional battles.

Strategy — Static Attrition
Use massed firepower to inflict maximum casualties over a fortified front.

Strategy — Gradual Penetration
Undertake limited advances followed by consolidation of new trench lines.

Tactics

• Heavy Artillery Bombardment: Pound enemy trenches before infantry assaults to soften defenses.
• Sapping and Mining: Tunnel under enemy lines to plant explosives and create breaches.
• Barbed Wire Belts: Emplace deep wire obstacles to slow assault waves into kill zones.
• Night Raids: Conduct small-unit raids to disrupt enemy and gather intelligence.

Unconventional Warfare tasks special operations forces with training, advising, and supporting insurgent or resistance movements to undermine hostile regimes. It operates covertly and often in denied areas.

Strategy — Proxy Force Development
Build and empower local irregular forces to conduct guerrilla operations.

Strategy — Covert Infiltration
Insert specialized teams to establish and sustain resistance networks behind enemy lines.

Tactics

• Safehouse Networks: Establish secure locations for training and logistics.
• Clandestine Supply Drops: Air-deliver equipment and weapons under cover of darkness.
• Communications Relays: Deploy covert relays to maintain contact with headquarters.
• Precision Sabotage: Conduct targeted strikes on critical infrastructure.

The U.S. Army Field Manuals are the authoritative source for doctrine on operations, tactics, and logistics. Regularly updated, they standardize how units plan, command, and execute missions across all domains.

Strategy — Doctrine Standardization
Publish FM volumes covering warfighting functions to unify training, planning, and execution.

Strategy — Continuous Revision
Incorporate lessons learned and emerging threats through periodic manual updates.

Tactics

• FM 3-0 Operations: Define unified land operations concepts and command relationships.
• FM 7-8 Infantry Tactics: Standardize rifle and squad-level combat procedures.
• FM 6-0 C2 Systems: Detail digital command net architectures for integrated operations.
• After-Action Reviews: Conduct AARs to feed doctrinal updates.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare employs submarines to interdict all maritime traffic—military or civilian—without warning, aiming to choke an enemy’s logistics and morale through stealthy, deep‐sea attacks.

Strategy — Maritime Blockade
Deny all seaborne supply routes to strangle enemy war production and civil resilience.

Strategy — Stealth Attrition
Use clandestine submarine patrols to sink high‐value transports and naval units, forcing adversaries to disperse and dilute their fleets.

Tactics

• Wolfpack Coordination: Task multiple boats to converge on convoys and overwhelm escorts with simultaneous torpedo spreads.
• Radio Silence Operations: Maintain strict EMCON to reduce detection risk during patrols and intercepts.
• Unmarked Attacks: Engage merchant shipping without warning to maximize surprise and psychological impact.
• Night Surface Raids: Surface under cover of darkness to use deck guns against lightly defended targets.

Coined by two PLA colonels in 1999, “Unrestricted Warfare” proposes the erosion of adversaries through all means — economic, financial, cyber, legal, and psychological — not just military force. The doctrine transcends traditional battlefield limits.

Strategy — War Beyond the Battlefield
Exploit any societal vulnerability to generate coercive pressure, from hacking financial markets to weaponizing public opinion.

Strategy — Legal and Economic Envelopment
Use trade, investment, and international institutions as tools of strategic manipulation.

Tactics

• Cyber Harassment: Constant low-level cyber attacks to degrade morale and infrastructure confidence.
• Trade Weaponization: Impose or lift sanctions selectively to shift the opponent’s political behavior.
• Media Contagion: Seed and amplify disinformation to generate division within enemy societies.
• Legal Lawfare: Exploit loopholes and international rulings to restrain adversary military options.

“Urban Operations Doctrine” addresses combat in dense, built-up environments, emphasizing high-intensity, population-centric tactics to clear and hold city terrain.

Strategy — Population Protection
Minimize civilian harm by combining precision fires with robust evacuation and shielding measures.

Strategy — Node-Centric Clearing
Systematically isolate and clear key urban nodes: intersections, high-rises, and infrastructure hubs.

Tactics

• House-to-House Assaults: Use small combined-arms teams to methodically clear buildings.
• Counter-Sniper Operations: Employ precision marksmen and drones to neutralize hidden threats.
• Breaching Charges and Explosives: Create new entry points to bypass fortified chokepoints.
• Unmanned System Support: Deploy ground and aerial robots for reconnaissance and casualty evacuation.

Vernichtungsgedanke (“annihilation thought”) is the German concept of destroying the enemy’s main forces in a single, decisive engagement. It emphasizes rapid maneuver and concentration at the decisive point.

Strategy — Schwerpunkt Concentration
Mass infantry and armor at one focal point to shatter the adversary’s center of gravity.

Strategy — Operational Breakthrough
Exploit initial penetration with rapid follow-on forces to encircle and destroy enemy formations.

Tactics

• Armored Wedge Assaults: Use tanks in wedge formations to punch through enemy lines.
• Infiltration Squads: Send stormtrooper units to bypass strongpoints and disrupt rear areas.
• Coordinated Artillery Fire: Concentrate massed barrages to weaken defensive positions ahead of the assault.
• Encirclement Operations: Seal off and annihilate enemy units in pockets following the breach.

War Plan Orange was the interwar U.S. Navy’s blueprint for conflict with Japan. It focused on decisive carrier battles, island-hopping campaigns, and severing enemy sea lines of communication across the Pacific.

Strategy — Island Leapfrogging
Bypass heavily fortified islands, isolate them with naval blockades, and strike deeper toward the enemy homeland.

Strategy — Carrier Battle Engagement
Seek decisive carrier-versus-carrier battles to gain control of the sea.

Tactics

• Surface Task Force Raids: Use fast carrier groups to strike enemy island bases and shipping.
• Submarine Interdiction Patrols: Intercept reinforcements and supply convoys along Pacific routes.
• Seabee Airfield Construction: Rapidly build forward airfields on captured islands for strike extension.
• Combined Fleet Exercises: Conduct large-scale maneuvers to train for carrier group coordination.

This PLA doctrinal concept envisions modern conflict as “informatized” — dominated by data networks, surveillance, and digital decision cycles. It seeks decisive wins in short, high-tech, regional conflicts.

Strategy — Seize Information Superiority
Gain the upper hand in command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).

Strategy — Short War Compellence
Win rapidly before international intervention or economic disruptions can alter the conflict calculus.

Tactics

• Network Disruption: Attack enemy sensors, satellites, and battle networks early.
• Precision Strike Campaigns: Use long-range fires and ballistic missiles to neutralize key enemy infrastructure.
• Integrated Joint Operations: Synchronize air, land, sea, cyber, and space forces in seamless tempo.
• Preemptive Framing: Shape international opinion through cyber influence and media campaigns before hostilities erupt.

The Wolfpack Tactic assembles groups of submarines into a coordinated hunting unit, leveraging group sensor coverage and massed torpedo attacks to overwhelm convoy defenses.

Strategy — Coordinated Strike Groups
Divide submarines into hunter-killer cells that share contacts and surround targets from multiple axes.

Strategy — Swarm Saturation
Concentrate torpedo salvos to saturate escort screens and guarantee target destruction.

Tactics

• Pre-Planned Rendezvous: Use secure channels to assemble boats at designated patrol nodes.
• Contact Relay: One submarine maintains sonar track and vectors others into optimal firing positions.
• Staggered Attack Runs: Sequence launches to keep the enemy off-balance and prevent effective counterattacks.
• Post-Strike Withdrawal: Disperse rapidly to avoid depth-charge retaliation.

Zero-Defects Mentality enshrines a culture of “no mistakes allowed” across all levels of command, insisting on flawless execution, rigorous checks, and continuous process improvement to eliminate operational errors.

Strategy — Total Quality Management
Institutionalize standardized procedures, checklists, and audits to catch and correct deviations before they escalate.

Strategy — Continuous Feedback Loop
Mandate immediate after-action reviews and root-cause analyses to drive lessons learned into doctrine updates.

Tactics

• Pre-Mission Brief/De-Brief Cycles: Conduct structured planning and post-mission debriefs with documented corrective actions.
• Peer-Review Inspections: Assign cross-unit teams to inspect procedures, gear, and readiness against a “zero-defect” standard.
• Standard Work Instructions: Publish step-by-step protocols for all critical tasks, enforced by regular drills.
• Performance Dashboards: Track error rates and process metrics in real time to highlight areas needing immediate correction.