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Big city war: NATO seeks concepts for waging urban conflict
http://www.rt.com/news/399877-nato-urban-wars-concept/Date Written: 2017-08-17 Publisher: RT Year Published: 2017 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX21256 NATO is asking outside contractors to pitch concepts on military operations in urban areas, admitting that the bloc’s forces are still unprepared for waging wars in big cities, including those lying close to the coast. Abstract: - Excerpt: The request, titled 'Development of NATO Military Operations in Urban Environment Concept', cites UN estimates which say that by 2035 the world’s population will reach 8.7 billion people, with most living in urban areas. "The world as a whole passed the 50-percent urban mark seven years ago," says the unclassified document published on FedBizOpps, a website where US federal contracts can be viewed. "Studies, based upon global demographic trends, suggest that an increasing percentage of armed conflicts will likely be fought in urban surroundings." Some 5 billion people currently live in cities, and 1.4 million people worldwide migrate to cities each week, the file notes, adding that the bloc is not ready to wage hostilities in dense, overcrowded communities. NATO is not sufficiently organized, trained, or equipped to deploy troops "across the maritime, cyberspace, land, air, space dimensions/domains" to create "desired effects in an emergent complex, urban littoral system possessing a dense, interconnected population," the bloc says. Subject Headings |