Types of Warfare

Asymmetric warfare

methods used in conflicts between belligerents of drastically different levels of military capability or size.

Biological Warfare

use of biological infectious agents or toxins, e.g. bacteria, viruses, fungi, against people, plants or animals.

Chemical Warfare

use of weaponised chemicals in combat, e.g. use of poison gas during WWI resulting in an estimated 1m casualties, including at least 100K civilians.

Cold Warfare

intense international rivalry without direct military conflict, but with sustained threat of it, incl. high levels of military preparation, expenditures and development.

Conventional Warfare

between states in which nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological weapons are not used or see limited deployment.

Cyberwarfare

actions by a nation-state or international organisation to attack and attempt to damage another nations information systems.

Insurgency

rebellion against authority where irregular forces take up arms to change an existing political order.

Information Warfare

application of destructive force on a large-scale against information assets and systems, against the computers and network that support the 4 critical infrastructures (the power grid, communications, financial, transport).

Nuclear Warfare

where nuclear weapons are the primary, or a major, method of achieving capitulation.

Radiological Warfare

involving deliberate radiation poisoning or contamination of an area with radiological sources.

Total Warfare

war by any means possible. disregards the laws of war, with no limit on legit military targets, use of tactics resulting in significant casualties including civilians or a war effort requiring significant sacrifices by a civilian population.

Unconventional Warfare

“military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare”, may use covert forces or actions. e.g. subversion, diversion, sabotage, espionage, biowarfare, sanctions, propaganda, or guerilla warfare.