The sixth operational domain of NATO

List of Key Chapter Titles

1. Disclaimer
2. Preface
3. Author Background Introduction
4. Report Cover Letter
5. Tallinn Dialogue and Stroll
6. In Silico (Virtual Wargame)
7. The Unpublished Speech
8. References and Notes

Document Introduction

This report is a strategic foresight study commissioned by the NATO Innovation Centre. It aims to explore the application prospects of emerging and disruptive technologies in the cognitive warfare domain and the fundamental challenges they pose to NATO, using a narrative-driven approach known as Fictional Intelligence (FICINT). The core issue of the report is to assess whether NATO should establish the "Human Domain" as the sixth operational domain, following land, sea, air, cyber, and space.

The main body of the report consists of three interconnected narrative chapters, set in the near future of 2028-2029. Chapter One, "Tallinn Dialogue and Stroll," depicts an informal meeting in Tallinn between the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO and a leading scientist. The dialogue delves into NATO's current strategic dilemma—the ambiguity in its positioning between a purely military defense role and a broader security actor role. The scientist argues that NATO must move beyond the current discussions confined to the "cognitive domain" or "information domain" and formally establish the multidisciplinary "Human Domain," encompassing political science, psychology, sociology, economics, biology, etc., as the sixth operational domain to counter hybrid threats that transcend traditional military boundaries.

Chapter Two, "In Silico," visualizes the complexity of attacks on the "Human Domain" through a fictional scenario where a high-level NATO live exercise codenamed "Cold Arrow" in Norway's Svalbard archipelago spirals out of control. During the exercise, the audio-visual and augmented reality data streams of German special forces are maliciously altered, embedding inflammatory nationalist content and false historical imagery. Simultaneously, the bodies of operators manning NATO's experimental "Allied Future Surveillance and Control" system participating in the exercise are even infiltrated by nano-scale weapons. The investigation reveals that the source of the attack is not a traditional state actor but a European non-state movement called "Liberty," which uses technological means to erode alliance trust and societal cognition from within. This chapter vividly reveals the real threat of cross-domain (NBIC: Nano, Bio, Info, Cognitive) convergence attacks.

Chapter Three, "The Unpublished Speech," is a draft speech prepared for a fictional 2029 NATO London Summit. This speech was intended to be delivered by the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation but remained undelivered due to the "Cold Arrow" exercise incident. The speech systematically argues for the necessity and urgency of incorporating the "Human Domain" into NATO's official operational domains. It points out that the core of contemporary conflict has shifted to attacks targeting human behavior, cognition, and social cohesion, and that traditional advantages in the five-domain warfare are inadequate against such non-kinetic, asymmetric threats. The speech calls for NATO to develop multidisciplinary "Human Domain" doctrine, sensors, and command and control capabilities to adapt to the fundamental transformation in the character of warfare.

This report is not a prediction of real-world policy but serves as a conceptual wargaming tool designed to stimulate deep thinking within NATO's command echelons regarding cognitive warfare and the operationalization of technology. Its methodology blends fictional narrative with serious strategic analysis, providing a unique perspective for understanding the complex landscape of future hybrid conflict, identifying alliance vulnerabilities, and planning transformation pathways. The report's appendix provides detailed author background, terminology explanations, and references, enhancing its rigor as a professional policy research tool.