COUNTERING ANTI-ACCESS / AREA DENIAL FUTURE CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS IN NATO.

The author presents different definitions of the term Anti Access/Area Denial (A2/AD), which has become more prevalent in military documents, articles and assessments over the past two decades. Moreover, it is shown that, despite A2/ AD being prevalent in current studies and discussions, it is principally not a new threat. Simply put, A2/AD is the response to Western force projection, precision strike, and highly-networked C2 capabilities. Since attrition warfare must not be the first option for NATO, technical solutions and creative concepts have to be found to assure future mission success. Also, NATO doctrine should be reviewed in order to reflect the highly integrated joint and combined processes needed in countering A2/AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]