Publication

Connect to Succeed: Multi-Domain Operations Readiness on the Eastern Flank

30.08.2024
MDO

Launched at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague in August 2024 as part of GLOBSEC’s Future Security and Defence Council  (FSDC) initiative, the comprehensive report on the reach and application of Multi-Domain Operations along NATO’s Eastern Flank was presented by General Phil Breedlove, lead author Alexander Lanoszka, and Marcin Zaborowski. Read the full report and discover its key recommendations here.

Upon describing its lineage and basic doctrinal ideas, it shows how Russia’s military performance has largely validated MDO assessments in regard to Russia’s electronic warfare, missile, and information and cyber capabilities. As a doctrine, MDO has attracted concern, whether with regard to how it was conceived in the first place or how it might be implemented. Within NATO itself, members vary widely in how they regard specific elements of MDO as well as in the attention that they even give to the concept. Many writings on the subject concentrate largely on the United States and its Western European allies to the neglect of the eastern flank.

Alas, any military conflict in Europe where MDO concepts will find their application will almost certainly involve them. Because those countries have been stepping up their defence investments while Russia continues its full-scale attack on Ukraine, now is the time to evaluate what MDO can do for the region.
Thereupon, it takes up the following questions.

First, to what extent and how do Eastern Flank militaries articulate and incorporate? The answer here is that they seldom do so explicitly in official documents.

Second, how do Eastern Flank militaries think of connectivity, broadly defined, whether between parts of governments, military units, and the platforms themselves? On this question, eastern flank militaries are thinking more and more about connectivity, but not all of them do.

Third, how should Eastern Flank countries organise and test their MDO in terms of an operational campaign? Much, of course, depends on the specific context that a country faces. However, with respect to the Baltic countries, at least, they would do well to align the newly announced Baltic Defence Line with MDO principles because of the importance they should accord to sensory information and battlespace awareness. In Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria and Romania should note that in sinking a large portion of the Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine has had to develop and maintain extensive kill chains that require fusing information across multiple military units and government bodies.