05 – Vertical Manoeuvre link with MW Concept 0.9
LTC Miha
Kuhar, SVN (A)
NATO
Mountain Warfare Centre of Excellence
Head of
the Concept Development and Experimentation Branch
LTC Miha Kuhar (Slovenian Armed Forces) is currently posted to the MW COE as Head of the Concept Development and Experimentation Branch. For more than 25 years he has carried out various tactical duties in mountain units and at the Mountain School of the Slovenian Armed Forces. He has spent a few years in peacekeeping operations and missions abroad. He disseminates his vast experience and knowledge as a lecturer, instructor, publicist and screenwriter of mountain education films.
Email: miha.kuhar@mwcoe.org
Summary
The aim of this article is to explain vertical manoeuvre in a mountainous environment from the perspective of the Mountain Warfare Concept. In November 2022, the MW COE completed the final draft of the NATO Mountain Warfare Capstone Concept (MWCC), and in February 2023 it was signed by COS SHAPE and COS HQ SACT. The aim of the MWCC is to unify the understanding of the importance of the mountain environment from a military point of view, and to set guidelines for how NATO land forces will function in the mountains under the combined arms approach and as part of joint forces. The purpose of the MWCC is to:
- Address the mountainous environment and its military implications;
- Describe the characteristics and abilities of MW;
- Formulate the capabilities and requirements of MW;
- Recommend actions to implement these capabilities;
- Develop a framework for future MW considerations.
Introduction
First, let us look at the definitions of three words related to the word vertical: mountainous terrain, cliff and gorge. According to the ATrainP-6 definition, the main characteristic of mountainous terrain is a slope inclination of more than 15 degrees.
In the Oxford Dictionary a cliff is defined as a high area of rock with very steep sides, and a gorge is a deep, narrow valley with steep sides. In all three terms it is clear that we are talking about the third dimension, even if that vertical dimension is not explicitly mentioned.
In connection to the vertical dimension, the MWCC distinguishes between the air-ground and ground dimensions. In a mountainous environment mobility is limited, and manoeuvrability, firepower and ground forces must be reinforced by air support, artillery, air defence, MILENG and extra logistical support. In this case vertical manoeuvre is an important support element to the ground forces. For land forces, mountains are basically a natural barrier with a vertical dimension, which require specially trained and equipped units. The air-ground dimension is the relation between the two services. We understand the vertical ground dimension more as a natural obstacle and barrier.
In the MWCC the vertical dimension is mentioned in Annex A – Mountain Warfare Capabilities and Requirements. There is a requirement that land forces in the mountainous environment are:
“Capable of movement and manoeuvre in mountainous and compartmentalized terrain in all weather conditions and snow-covered terrain including the provision of MILENG support to mobility, counter mobility and survivability. This capability requires all-terrain and all-weather mobility including the execution of vertical manoeuvre. The integration of the third dimension of vertical manoeuvre will be crucial to ensure mobility and manoeuvrability in the mountains. By using the vertical manoeuvre of ground forces, combat and logistic support provided through the vertical manoeuvre will increase the combat power of ground forces.”
Air/Land Domain Intersection
Establishing air superiority is the first and most important effect that airpower provides for the land domain and overall joint force. Air domain control is a prerequisite to enabling the ground scheme of manoeuvre. Once access to the land domain has been achieved, precision fires are an essential element for achieving a joint force commander’s manoeuvre objectives. Joint airpower assets have the capability of directly attacking the enemy’s centre of gravity. If the centre of gravity is an enemy land formation, air and land assets can work to destroy it. In addition, air power’s flexibility makes it easier to attack soft targets to achieve follow-on effects in other domains.
Multi-Domain Operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh War 2020
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan from September to November 2020. Retired US Colonel John Antal wrote in his book, “7 Seconds to Die”, that the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was the first war decided by autonomous weapons, and was a multi-domain operation. In this war, Azerbaijan dominated land, air, cyber, and space. Armenia quickly lost air domain; they fought in the land and cyber domains, but never dominated a single domain. Azerbaijan commanded the land, air, space, and cyber domains for decisive moments during the first two weeks of the fighting to degrade Armenian air defences, and this gave Azerbaijan air superiority over Nagorno-Karabakh. In the first phase of the operation, Azerbaijan focused on the disintegration of key Armenian networks and systems, primarily by flying robotic combat systems – unmanned arial systems (UASs), loitering munitions (LMs), and ISR unmanned arial systems. On the morning of September 27, the Armenian side lost 50% of its anti-aircraft forces and 40% of its artillery in 15 minutes.
The 2nd phase in the Azerbaijani plan was to find, fix, track and destroy targets within the AOR. In this new war Azerbaijani executed a “deep battle” with a new concept –robotic systems to attack Armenian positions everywhere in the AOR. The first two phases established the decisive conditions for the final ground mountain operation, and top attack was the decisive method of engagement.
The MWCC pointed out that “the use of Unmanned Air/Ground Vehicles (UAV/UGV) will bring a new functional approach to operating in the mountains. In particular, their use allows access to unreachable areas, improves persistent surveillance, endurance communications coverage and the extent of a communication range, contributes to the coordination of fire support and ensures cheaper automated logistics deliveries”.
However, in the mountainous environment there is a significant weather and climate impact on military operations. The matrix below simulates how weather affects winter operations in mountains in a multi-domain environment. On the one hand, weather can be an obstacle to operations, but on the other it can be also an opportunity for camouflage and masking.
Conclusion
One of the options to ensure the ability to manoeuvre decisively against enemy multi-domain effects is to amass superior manoeuvre capabilities. In defence, air-mobile tactics can help commanders limit the tactical risk by enabling friendly force dispersion until offensive capability is required. When offensive capability is needed, air-mobile forces can mass rapidly and cross the harsh impassable mountainous terrain, to penetrate enemy lines in the third dimension with fewer natural obstacles than land forces on the ground. Dispersion, fast concentration, and rapid power projection across vast distances are the advantages that define air mobility and vertical manoeuvre.
The ability to see, decide, and engage in multiple domains, and dominate the ones that matter during decisive periods, is the essence of warfare in the 21st century. Operating in all domains does not guarantee success, but it provides significant advantages. Cross-domain manoeuvre along the five domains provides the concentration of power on the adversary’s centre of gravity.
Sources:
- MW COE, Mountain Warfare Capstone Concept, NOV 2022
- NATO, AJP-3 Allied Joint Doctrine for the Conduct of Operations, FEB 2022
- NATO, AJP-3.2 Allied Joint Doctrine for Land Operations, FEB 2022
- NATO, ATP-3.2.1 Conduct of Land Tactical Operations, FEB 2022
- Antal J., 7 Seconds to Die, Casemate Publisher, 2022
- NATO, AAP 06 NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions, 2021
- NATO, AtrainP-6 Mountain Warfare Education and Training, Edition A, Version 1, NOV 2020
- Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2000