HYBRID THREATS AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATO′S NEW OPERATIONAL CONCEPT

The article deals with aspects of the new emerging security challenges that military experts define as “hybrid threats”. They have arised from methods of insurgency and asymmetric warfare, and as a step-child of the 4th generation warfare constitute significant challenge for the Alliance and its global interests. Experience from current operations has demonstrated that these enemies can conduct hostile actions through broad array of conventional or non-conventional means, methods and procedures, having a favorable outcome even against the NATO force that is superior technologically and militarily. Cognition of the scale and complexity of these threats lead Alliance representatives to the development of an overarching operational concept for the NATO Military Contribution to Countering Hybrid Threats (MCCHT). This concept, still in draft, illustrates the unique challenges posed by current and future hybrid threats, and explains why these challenges may require NATO to adapt its strategy, structure and capabilities for the next twenty years.