Seventh generation warfare? Coming or here?

Folks with a military bend are familiar with the concept of generational warfare.

After the 1 June 2025 attack on Russian bases by Ukrainian security forces in a covert operation, some tell us that the world has entered a new, 7th generation of war (7GW).

What does this mean? The generations of war all blend in together.

First-generation war (1GW: concentration of human mass) is what the world had for thousands of years. (Although some claim it didn’t start until the 1600s and was typical until the mid-1800s.) (Examples: the Napoleonic wars, the Crimean War and the start of the War between the States). Mass armies, relatively primitive weapons, barely capable logistics, and fairly poor command and control.

2GW (sometimes called “industrial warfare” – concentration of firepower) was a major “improvement.” The last part of the War between the States, the Franco-Prussian even War, and most of the Great War (WW1) were 2GW: indirect fire weapons, mechanized transportation, better communications, and development of staff and improved command. It still involved mass armies and massive casualties.

3GW (“modern or maneuver warfare”) was characteristic of WW2 on virtually all fronts: mechanization, combined-arms, integration of land-air-sea operations (including undersea and then orbital operations): the Korean War and the Iran-Iraq war and early Israeli wars all demonstrated this kind of highly lethal and rapid changes: Blitzkrieg, nearly instantaneous worldwide communications, and more and more centralization of command and control. Many people believe that American forces are firmly stuck in 3GW, even though highly successful in the initial conquest of Afghanistan and Iraq. Russian forces are also seen as mired in 3GW.

4GW (sometimes called “Networked insurgency”) was evident alongside 3GW in multiple late 20th and early 21st century wars. It is characterized by decentralization (not concentration), at least at the tactical and operational level if not strategically. The Vietnam War (Fifth Phase of the Pan-Asian War, c1930 to 1990) was an early version: guerillas, lack of true “front lines” and widening warfare to make civilians and military harder to distinguish. The 9-11 attacks, the failed Soviet Afghan occupation and the failed American occupations of Mesopotamia and Afghanistan are examples. The Nakba in Canaan is also an example. For the last half-century this has been the dominant form of warfare.

5GW is harder to define, and not everyone agrees about what it is. The key is perception – and often does not involve direct application of force on a very large scale. It is described as “information and disinformation.” It includes attacks not just on governments and military organizations but on the societies and economies themselves. Perhaps the first example was the Cold War’s end; the defeat and collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire. But modern “terrorism” and the cartel war in Mexico are current examples: as are government efforts to control their and other populations even more and through technology and propaganda. Perhaps the Pandemic Lockdown was a form of 5GW, as are the constant cyber-attacks by both state and non-state attackers and the defense against that.

6GW is even more difficult to clearly visualize: it is seen by some as just a maturing of 5GW: broading the warzone to include cyberspace and microeconomic elements, even greater use of deception, dispersion, and even turning the enemy’s own weapons and systems against him. Building on techniques of both 4GW and 5GW, it is characterized by such diverse elements as bio-warfare, genetic engineering, psychological and social manipulation. Key is more and more integration, including space, cybernetics, and propaganda (information). And using techniques from previous generations: the large-scale “peaceful” invasions of Europe and Anglo-America by massive migrations and the huge cloud of jockeying and support/denial of support in the Russo-Urkrainian War, and the latest (current) phase of the Arab-Israeli wars are all examples of this.

So what is 7GW? Many argue for considering this as nothing but further refining 5GW or 6GW strategies and tactics. Others consider it a fresh new development (not a good one, perhaps) and claim that the 1 June 2025 attack on Russian air bases is the harbinger of 7GW. It is characterized as not just cybernetic but intimately tied to AI (artificial intelligence) and massive use of drones (air, land, and sea). And of course, the necessities of defense against what are characterized as remote, autonomous and semi-autonomous weapons and delivery systems: robots. Either with or without humans deciding when/if to kill. Due to the relatively low-cost of systems and ready availability of AI, this 7GW is likely to be characterized by even more decentralized warfare and more and more “non-state actors.”

All of this was predicted by science fiction writers way back when – when almost all warfare was “1GW.” From Nowlan to Asimov to Heinlein to Herbert to Kratman, not just the strategies and tactics but the actual systems and weapons have been presented in fictional form. Movies? The Matrix, Terminator, and many others have also explored this. The idea of 7GW is not unfamiliar: even if taken to an extreme such as transhuman and cyborgs and bloody-handed robots.

Scary, eh?

Some lovers of liberty may actually welcome 7GW, just as they have 4, 5, and 6th GW. They see these generations as weaking the state and the idea of states having a monopoly of force. But like every weapon, every tactic, every concept, 7GW is a tool that anyone can use. Whether they are lovers of liberty or haters of freedom: benevolent or psycho- and sociopathic.

Lovers of liberty must be prepared both to defend against and to use any and all generations, however they are defined, to provide for peace and prosperity. 7GW may be real: it can be used or abused.

One commenter wrote: “The military implications for the United States or any other country that permits hostile or competing foreign powers to acquire land near domestic military bases or other critical infrastructure are self-evident.”

That applies to us and I as well.

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Source: https://freedombunker.com/2025/06/05/seventh-generation-warfare-coming-or-here/