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NATO's Strategic Warfare Development Command

The Future Operating Environment Workshop Concludes in London

December 4, 2023

Allied futures experts have recently gathered in London to start considering the key aspects and subsequent challenges in NATO’s Future Operating Environment, utilizing key findings from Strategic Foresight Analysis 2023 – the first comprehensive assessment of the Alliance’s evolving security environment since 2017.

In his opening remarks, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Philippe Lavigne emphasized the importance of addressing futures in a systemic manner and as a collective effort by all Allies; Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Guy Robinson introduced the Future Operating Environment as a key input to Allied Command Transformation’s work, aiming to adapt the Alliance’s Military Instrument of Power through the implementation of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept and contribution to the NATO Defence Planning Process.

The Future Operating Environment Study anticipates the conditions, circumstances and influences that affect the employment of capabilities and bear on the decisions of the commander, providing an assessment of the evolving characteristics of the battlespace, actors, and warfare, in the next 20 years.

The Future Operating Environment Study, based on the strategic foresight work at Allied Command Transformation and collaborative research with Allies and Partners, will enable Supreme Allied Commander Transformation to develop, enhance, and promote long-term understanding and awareness of the military implications of the future security environment, to anticipate and adapt to emerging threats and optimize resource allocation.

The Study serves as a framework for forward-looking capability development to ensure allied forces remain adaptive, resilient, and effective in the face of future challenges.

Click here for an explainer article on NATO’s Strategic Vision.