IN-DEPTH BRIEFING // #77 // JULY 24
AUTHOR
Ian Bowers Senior Research Scientist, Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies
The Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research is the British Army’s think tank and tasked with enhancing the conceptual component of its fighting power. The views expressed in this In Depth Briefing are those of the author, and not of the CHACR, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Ministry of Defence, British Army or US Army. The aim of the briefing is to provide a neutral platform for external researchers and experts to offer their views on critical issues. This document cannot be reproduced or used in part or whole without the permission of the CHACR. www.chacr.org.uk
UNDERSTANDING
MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS
M
ULTI-Domain Operations (MDO) is a term that, despite its ubiquity in the contemporary debate on warfare literature and increasing prevalence in doctrine, remains ambiguous and contested. In both military and academic communities of interest, the term elicits reactions ranging from uncertainty about what it is, to scepticism about whether it will ever be fully realised, to confusion between MDO as an exercise in technology versus a full-scale transformation in the military instrument of power.1 Nevertheless, MDO-influenced operational concepts, doctrines and technologies are likely to continue to inform force developments not only in NATO and its members but also in our adversaries over the coming decades.2 MDO, in essence, is not going away and militaries and their components will need to adapt to this reality. This is part one of a two-part series on MDO and explores the basic ideas common to MDOinfluenced concepts, highlights why militaries are pursuing them and some of the key challenges militaries face when they are
implemented. The second part will be an in-depth examination of the MDO-related forcedevelopment efforts in the United States and NATO. WHAT ARE MDO? Defining MDO is a difficult task. The veritable word salad of acronyms and phrases that dominate the debate cause significant levels of misunderstanding for those who do not follow operating concepts and doctrinal development closely – and even for some who do. Further, although similarities exist between all MDOinfluenced operating concepts and force development efforts, the reality is that there are important divergences between countries and organisations in technologies, developmental status and ultimate intent. Indeed, as part two of this series will show, in the United States, the country which is the furthest ahead when it comes to implementing the core tenants of MDO, each service branch has its version of what MDO means for them and somewhat confusingly only the US Army uses MDO as a doctrinal term describing a new way of operating.3 With the rest of the services and the US as a joint force using a range of other
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acronyms. Consequently, we should not assume, for example, that just because they use similar names, MDO-influenced force development initiatives in the United States are aligned or are being replicated in NATO’s ongoing effort to become, in their parlance, an MDO-enabled alliance.4 This problem is likely to be magnified as each alliance member implements their version of MDO and therefore we require some clarity and a common understanding if militaries are to move the debate forward regarding both the pros and cons of MDO. SOME COMMONALITIES Despite these disparities there are some general ideas that are Davis Ellison and Tim Sweijs, “Empty Promises? A Year Inside the World of MultiDomain Operations,” War on the Rocks (January 22, 2024).
1
China has also begun working on a concept called Multi-Domain Precision Warfare. See: US Department of Defense, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2023, (Washington D.C.: Department of Defense, 2023), 40-41.
2
In 2022, the US Army updated its operations doctrine FM 3-0 to include MDO. See: Headquarters, Department of the Army, FM 3-0 Operations (Washington D.C: Department of the Army, 2022).
3
NATO ACT, Multi-Domain Operations in NATO – Explained (October 05, 2023).
4