The West Indies are composed of island states in the Caribbean Sea, their small size rendering them sensitive to cyber-attacks from a wide range of sources. There is a need to increase international cooperation between the Caribbean islands whilst not forgetting the significant role played by former colonial powers. Such sensitivities are exploited in order to destabilise and must therefore be countered.

Islamic State used digital methods to support its terror policy. It established an effective communications strategy which made use of the entire range of facilities offered by digital technology for recruitment and reinforcement of its strategy, concentrating on young, IT-literate natives ideologically committed to the murderous radicalisation.

Remote carriers are complex systems integrated into collaborative combat. These emergent technologies cover a number of disciplines, ranging from systems control to exploitation of received data, and call for new, disruptive capabilities and the capacity for agile, flexible organisations.

Transmission of orders is central to behaviour while on a mission: this study looks at an internal security forces unit. The manner in which decisions are made and the acceptance of risk can vary between the manager and his or her colleague as a function of the modes of communication and inter-personal relationships.

Constellations of satellites are becoming essential to military operations. The challenge now is their organisation and governance. AI brings increased effectiveness, allowing a hierarchical command chain to be combined with the flexibility of multiple command centres. Robustness and agility are indispensable in a space that has become both saturated and challenged.

Currently, artificial intelligence for military purposes is essentially a matter for the Global North, which broadly sets the standards and uses for autonomous lethal weapon systems. The countries of Global South want to participate in the decision-making process, so they no longer suffer the choices imposed by Global North.

The digital battlefield has been pre-empted by terrorists and extremists, who exploit the flexibility of social networks. These networks are used independently as highly effective weapons in this confrontation. Consequentially, liberal democracies find themselves undermined, since they are often overwhelmed by such operations.

Ukraine considered it appropriate to become involved in the Malian conflict in order to destabilise Russia, which was supporting the Malian junta. Despite a difficult start as a result of lack of mutual understanding, the battle of Tinzaouaten in July 2024 was a turning point, with the defeat of Russian-supported Malian troops.

Acts of sabotage and attempts to disrupt European countries have increased since 2022 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Such actions form part of the hybrid warfare which is destabilising Western society. Sabotage is revealing weaknesses and malfunctions which have a direct impact upon populations and their emergency services.

Conventional strategic thought considered victory in two possible ways, annihilation or exhaustion of the enemy, and yet this convention is not working in the case of the war in Ukraine. The reality is closer to a functional defeat that produces strategic neutralisation of one or other of the sides. The objective here is to weaken the adversary in sufficient measure without the need to destroy him.