Contemporary Tactical Military Use of Subterranea by Non-State Actors

Yıl 2022, Sayı: 15, 55 - 91, 13.07.2022

Marko Bulmer

Öz

Contemporary military conflicts show that NATO needs once
again to understand the significance of subterranea as an operational
environment. Much previous subterranean knowledge, training and
infrastructure was taken as a Cold War peace dividend and ‘at risk’ in
subsequent defence reviews. Today, both state and non-state actors
are utilising this space. NATO tactical-level subterranean experiences
in Afghanistan have largely been with caves and tunnels in mountains2,
3. In contrast, conflicts in Syria and Iraq have centred on the need to
hold or capture cities4. These conflicts have again shown how critical
subterranean parts of cities are for the survival of both combatants and
civilians. In rural settings, these same conflicts have seen combatants
use natural subterranean features but also undertake significant military
tunnelling and underground construction projects.

Anahtar Kelimeler

subterranea, survivability, vulnerability