Near-peer adversaries China and Russia are gearing up for unheard hybrid warfare strategies that target the US homeland, according to a recent report from the US Army’s Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC).
The document says the US country, usually considered a shelter, is now vulnerable to its near-peer adversaries ‘ standard, cross and asymmetrical war tactics.
In contrast to dynamic strikes, these adversaries are greatly investing in capabilities designed to destroy and harm soft targets on US soil by leveraging data and computer operations to produce significant effects with little risk of escalation.
In the event of a discord, China and Russia are likely to switch from gentle, unattributable digital and information operations to more explicit, devastating physical actions, according to the TRADOC report.
It mentions the potential use of ultra-long-range systems with conventional payloads, asymmetric platforms and commercial off-the-shelf unmanned aerial systems ( UAS ) to target critical infrastructure and military operations.
The adversaries ‘ willingness to rise their actions with these skills, which could threaten US military readiness and deployment, are also noted in the report.
Additionally, the report provides additional information about how the spread of innovative technologies and worldwide communications makes it harder to keep your movements and operations secret from the enemy.
The US Army’s ability to project force and sustain operations during large-scale combat operations ( LSCO ) could be severely hampered by this transparency and adversaries ‘ focus on anti-access/area denial ( A2/AD ) efforts.
Composite war has a universally accepted definition and is criticized for having no conceptual clarity. Nevertheless, it provides useful insights into modern security and defense problems.
Cross warfare entails combining traditional and innovative power techniques in a coordinated effort to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses and produce synergistic effects.
Through their expenditure in long-range conventional-strike technologies like tactical aircraft, ships, and yet hypersonic weapons, China and Russia pose a regular threat to the US country.
In a 2021 article for the Texas National Security Review ( TNSR ), Bruce Sugden says that China and Russia are investing in long-range conventional-strike capabilities that could threaten the US homeland. According to Sugden, China is developing similar skills, while Russia has currently deployed devices capable of striking the western US.
He mentions that Russia has deployed standard cruise missiles with the capability to strike targets from ships and long-range aircraft across the western US.
Likewise, he says China is enhancing its multi-domain conventional precision-strike capabilities, developing a long-range bomber and the Type 093B nuclear-powered guided missile submarine ( SSGN), which could threaten Alaska, Hawaii and possibly the US West Coast.
Sugden notes that China and Russia does build intercontinental-range fast weapons to harm the US country. He points out that these investments reflect a broader trend of both nations improving their long-range conventional precision-strike capabilities, which includes advancements in command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( ISR ) systems to support these operations.
He argues that the threat of nuclear conflict escalating as a result of regular strikes on a nuclear adversary’s territory is increased by proper uncertainty due to unclear Chinese and Russian positions on nuclear thresholds and escalating in response to conventional attacks.
Although there are major overlaps between China and Russia’s cross and asymmetrical warfare strategies against the US homeland, the two have in common common characteristics, including destructive cyberattacks on vital infrastructure, and disinformation campaigns to diminish the US without a strong military conflict.
Anthony Cordesman and Grace Hwang mention that Chinese hybrid warfare against the US might involve multi-domain operations that incorporate military, economic, technological, and informational strategies in a report from July 2020 for the Center for Strategic and International Studies ( CSIS ). Important tactics include disruptive cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, extensive cyber espionage, and economic coercion through the Belt and Road Initiative ( BRI ).
Cordesman and Hwang claim that China has influenced the US through social media, financial warfare, and conspiracy theories during the Covid-19 pandemic to diminish the country without causing any open hostilities.
In a December 2020 CSIS statement, Cordesman and Hwang mention that Russian hybrid war combines regular military activities with unusual techniques, cyberattacks, and psychological war. They claim that Russia’s hybrid warfare operations, like those with China, aim to achieve political goals without engaging in direct military hostility with the US.
They describe Russian hybrid warfare efforts as featuring disinformation, cyberattacks, political subversion, economic coercion and manipulation of social media to sow discord and influence political outcomes in the US.
Russian hybrid warfare initiatives, such as the 2016 Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) hack and social media manipulation, are mentioned by Cordesman and Hwang.
They add that there are ongoing cyberattacks on US political and infrastructure targets and a wider active measures campaign utilizing espionage and disinformation. Additionally, Cordesman and Hwang assert that Russia uses economic manipulation to achieve strategic advantages because of its position as the country’s primary energy supplier.
Meanwhile, Seth Jones mentions in a February 2021 CSIS article that Russia has conducted significant cyberattacks against US government agencies and companies, exemplified by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service’s ( SVR ) 2021 cyberattack, which affected up to 250 US federal agencies and businesses.  ,
According to Jones, Russia and China use information to influence US political discourse and policies. He makes mention of Russia’s efforts to exacerbate social and political tensions through campaigns against anti-Black Lives Matter and Covid-19.
He points out how China’s economic policies, such as those used by the BRI, have an impact on the US’s standing in international politics. Jones claims that China monitors Chinese students and conducts operations on US university campuses.
He claims that Russia also uses organizations like the Internet Research Agency to carry out cyberattacks and information operations.
In a September 2023 Institute for the Study of War ( ISW) report, J. Matthew McInnis mentions that Russia views hybrid warfare as a means of achieving strategic goals before the adversary realizes that war has begun, blurring the lines between domestic and international conflict, peace and war, and peace and war.
In contrast, McInnis says that China sees warfare as increasingly civilianized. He claims that China uses non-military means to neutralize threats and gain advantages, and that its comprehensive national power concept includes a wide range of issues.
He points out that great power competition is still taking place in China and Russia as a continuous process that is escalating and dwindling in intensity but still a matter of fighting. McInnis contrasts that approach with the US event-based approach to conflicts.
He points out that the US tends to employ elements of national power episodically and often segregated among various agencies, lacking its near-peer adversaries ‘ continuous, combined approach.