Expert Views
MG Karlheinz Dudek BA MA
Sharing his views on the protection of critical infrastructure in urban environments.
“Critical Infrastructure Protection in urban areas needs a close and strong co-operation between all relevant stakeholders. Key factors of this co-operation are common terms, common language, needs-oriented prevention measures, concerted command & control structures, standard operation procedures and – in particular - professional information management.”
MAJ Alexander Pytlar MPA BSc
Presenting the GENETICS-framework for better comprehension of the urban environment.
"As the world continues to urbanize, unique stressors will challenge a city’s ability to cope, leading to destabilization and, potentially, conflict. In his recent address to the May 2022 graduates of the United States Military Academy, Army General Mark Milley, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that they would need to “optimize…for urban combat.” The current tools to understand urban environments, and their potential to shift from stable to unstable, are limited. The GENETICS Framework closes this gap and provides a more comprehensive understanding of a city’s resilience as a system-of-systems."
Univ.-Prof. Dr.mont. Robert Galler
#UOET22 Host and Presenting the R&D venue "Zentrum am Berg"
"The Zentrum am Berg research and training facility in Eisenerz is a unique hub of civil-military interaction and capability development. #UOET22 offers possiblities to grow networks and enhance cooperation and interaction."
Mjr Univ.-Prof. Dr. Daniel Watzenig
Chairing the Session on Future Perspectives of Urban Operations
"Urban operational areas did emerge to the new battlefield domain over the last decade. In particular, the subsurface (subterranean) warfare is a rapidly growing with e.g., terrorists using tunnels and other subsurface infrastructure such as subways. The nature of the subterranean space offers several advantages but also completely new challenges. Squelched communication, lack of localization, or low-to-no light conditions do make missions of military forces or first responders demanding. To gain insight in this new kind of warfare it is important to understand how this environment is defined and what types of limitations and bottlenecks characterize this environment. The NIKE Research Activity and UOET are excellent initiatives to find answers to currently many unanswered questions."
Stuart Lyle BA(Hons) MA
Presenting "Block Buster: Designing an Urban Optimized Force for 2040"
“In an effort to better prepare for urban operations in the future the British Army commissioned Dstl to design a fully urban-optimised Brigade for the 2040 timeframe. The force was also directed to be medium weight in order to improve deployability and sustainability without sacrificing protection, firepower and mobility. The Dstl-designed force was highly successful in initial testing and is being subjected to further experimentation to inform future British Army decisions.”
Dr. Clemens Strauß
Chairing the Session "The Urban Operations Support Cell"
"Nowadays threats are multidimensional due to technological capabilities. These threats appear in geo-space and cyber-space and affect airspace, surface, subsurface, electromagnetic spectrum, internet etc. Coping with all of them is hard work, even providing a clear picture of the given situation is just as challenging! However, human experts and a clever use of technology and visualisation techniques support substantially to clear up the picture for decision makers."
