NATO allies to confront 21st century threats with new multidomain approach

NATO's newly approved Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area calls for “the right forces at the right place at the right time”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on 21 October. (NATO)

NATO defence ministers agreed on the first day of their 21–22 October meeting in Brussels to fundamentally change how they protect their collective territory against attacks, especially from Russia and terrorist groups. Their newly approved Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area lays the groundwork for new sub-regional military planning in the coming months.

Noting that the concept calls for “the right forces at the right place at the right time”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on 21 October that it will involve “significant improvement to our air and missile defences, strengthening our conventional capabilities with fifth-generation jets [and] adapting our exercises and intelligence”, among other changes.

NATO sources said the framework concept will shift the alliance's defensive thinking away from protection against single-source or isolated geographic threats to multiple threats and entry points, with a stress on using cross-domain responses to counter 21st century technologies such as cyber attacks, hybrid warfare, hypersonic missiles, or automated weaponry.

“Whereas NATO has traditionally looked at defence in terms of piecemeal chunks of its territory, the new approach will centre around the knock-on effects of how pressure on one region could affect other NATO regions and the need to shift integrated operational resources across the alliance,” one European national defence planner told Janes on 18 October.