The Key Resources in the Gray Zone and Hybrid Warfare

The Key Resources in the Gray Zone and Hybrid Warfare
Modern warfare has moved away from conventional war to ambiguous acts short of war that are both expansive and elusive to define. For instance, the high-profile instances of conflicts in Ukraine, the South China Sea, and elsewhere have been vague concerning the final objectives, the actors involved, whether international accords and rules have been violated, and even how military forces should respond. However, despite the ambiguity of today's gray zone and hybrid warfare, a formal definition has been postulated: These gray and ambiguous acts have been defined as “covert or illegal activities of non-traditional statecraft that are below the threshold of armed organized violence but carried out as part of an integrated design to achieve strategic advantage”. However, given the unpredictability of the gray zone and hybrid warfare, national security strategists are realizing the utility of airpower in containing these security challenges. Airpower can provide the base for a military response to belligerent actors blending elements of different types of combat given its capacity to offer war-fighting components and offensive assets that can survive, cover great distances, persist, and even provide critical lethal and nonlethal effects.[Frank Hoffman, “Examining Complex Forms of Conflict: Gray Zone and Hybrid Challenges,” PRISM | National Defense University, November 8, 2018, https://cco.ndu.edu/News/Article/1680696/examining-complex-forms-of-conflict-gray-zone-and-hybrid-challenges/.]
The key resources in the gray zone and hybrid warfare are rapid air mobility, persistent awareness, precision strike, and unified networks that marshal all force elements to implement a coordinated attack or counterattack. Gray zone and hybrid warfare differ from conventional warfare concerning battlespace conditions and environments as well as enemy strategy choices. Consequently, determining the type of force the US should deploy and maintain depends on having an exquisite understanding of the operating environment. Airpower can provide a sense of the battlespace through high-quality ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance). USAF can provide high-quality imagery of the movement of enemy assets across borders and waterways, enemy organizations and command relationships, and other critical data to support US military actions and information operations. Gaining and maximizing situation...