The NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept
The NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC) was approved in 2021. It contributes to the Alliance’s efforts to strengthen its deterrence and defence posture and offers a vision in support of maintaining and further developing NATO’s decisive military advantage, and continuously adapting the military instrument of power through to 2040. It addresses in particular the newer aspects of great power competition, but Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates that even as we prepare our militaries to the changing character of war, the traditional use of military force remains a feature of our security environment. Since the approval of the NWCC, the Alliance has made progress towards its implementation in numerous areas, including through broader political-level initiatives to maintain its strategic advantage. These efforts inform and are complemented by ongoing work under the framework of the NWCC.
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Cognitive Superiority
Understanding the operating environment and potential adversaries relative to Alliance’s own capabilities, capacities and objectives.
Layered Resilience
Ability to absorb shocks and fight-on, across all layers, military, civil-military and military-civilian.
Influence and Power Projection
Shaping positively the environment to the Alliance’s strengths, including generating options and imposing dilemmas on adversaries.
Cross-Domain Command
Revitalizing and enabling commanders’ ability to understand the multi-domain operating environment and act rapidly and effectively.
Integrated Multi-Domain Defence
Protecting the Alliance’s integrity to decide and act against threats in any domain, regardless of their origin or nature.
FUNCTIONAL DESIGN 2040 – THE “SIX OUTS”
The Alliance’s ability to shape the widening operating environment to its favour enhances its abilities to demonstrably contest adversaries’ activities, building readiness to deter and if necessary defend against adversaries. The 2040 MIoP must be designed to build on its strengths, exploit opportunities as they emerge and guard its vulnerabilities. The Alliance warfare development approach must consider the adversary but shall pursue a MIoP design that aspires to out-think, out-excel, out-fight, out-pace, out-partner and out-last functions:
- OUT-THINK: the future Alliance MIoP must anticipate threats and understand the strategic environment better than potential adversaries
- OUT-EXCEL: the future Alliance MIoP must strive for excellence and agility, underpinned by NATO’s unique military ethos, culture and diversity and the will to take the initiative and win over any potential adversary under any circumstances
- OUT-FIGHT: the future Alliance MIoP must be able to decisively operate across domains, in concert with other instruments of power and actors and simultaneously conduct shaping, contesting and fighting activities
- OUT-PACE: the future Alliance MIoP must be able to recognize risks, seize opportunities, decide and act faster than potential adversaries
- OUT-PARTNER: the future Alliance MIoP must be able to foster and exploit mutually supportive and habitual relationships and partnership opportunities
- OUT-LAST: the future Alliance MIoP must be able to think, plan, operate and adapt with a long-term perspective in mind to be able to endure as long as it takes through strategic competition and any conflict situation