Urban warfare can take many forms, from guerrilla attacks to militia patrols to gang violence, but fighting in cities and towns — where civilians are at risk and combatants can hide more easily — is markedly different from combat in a more open or defined theater of operations. Determining how to assess enemies, mount a defense, and protect civilians is a focus of urban warfare research at RAND.
A review of recent Israeli military conflicts indicates the United States may be ill-prepared for "hybrid" warfare against state-sponsored adversaries who have a modicum of training and small force numbers, but possess advanced weapons and enough expertise to challenge the U.S. military.
The authors identify factors critical to the coalition victory over Jaish al-Mahdi in the 2008 Battle of Sadr City and describe a new model for dealing with insurgent control of urban areas.
The U.S. military is ill-equipped to fight extremists who hide in populations. The use of deadly force can harm and alienate the people whose cooperation U.S. forces need. To solve this problem, a new RAND study proposes a ''continuum of force.''
Reveals lessons that will better enable military and civilian alike to meet national policy objectives by more effectively conducting urban combat and restoration.
Identifies noncombatant behavior from recent military urban operations that has affected the U.S. military's ability to meet objectives during warfare, incorporating information on noncombatants into models and training scenarios, and recommending a layer
A strategy for training the U.S. armed forces to conduct operations in built-up urban areas.
Describes the known precipitants of combat stress reaction, its battlefield treatment, and the preventive steps commanders can take to limit its extent and severity.
Describes the global environment in which joint forcible entry operations might occur and the role of naval power in that environment.
Describes the operational challenges posed by the urban environment and proposes several recommendations to surmount them.
Describes the challenges of military urban operations and describes how the concepts of critical points and density can create a planning framework to meet those challenges.
Examines several case studies of sustained campaigns of urban terrorism perpetrated by various domestic groups in the countries of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Gives an overview of the formidable tasks facing U.S. Army combat service support (CSS) in urban operations and recommends ways for the CSS community to prepare itself to meet them
Explores the use of deception in military operations, using the literature of animal and plant biology to elaborate upon existing deception theory and propose new paths for technological, doctrinal, educational, and experimental development.
The U.S. Marine Corps must tailor its reconnaissance tactics in urban environments.
This study sought to help the USAF better understand how the urban physical, social, and political environment constrains aerospace operations and to identify key operational tasks that aerospace forces can help accomplish.
Offers enhancements to the intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB) process to improve its usefulness for urban operations.
Summarizes the proceedings of the fourth annual Urban Operations Conference co-hosted by RAND Arroyo Center and representatives of the Army and Marine Corps.
This book seeks to identify concepts and technologies that could improve the USAF's capability to detect, classify, recognize, and defeat elusive targets, whether dispersed ground forces or mobile ballistic missiles.
Discuss issues that emerged from the games on Army Special Operations, Army Medical Department, Information Operations, Space, Force Projection, National Security, Campaign Planning, Pre-Assessment, and the Spring Wargame.
An examination of the difficulties faced by the Russian military in planning and carrying out urban operations in Chechnya.
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