Small Wars Journal

What is DARPA Doing in Ukraine?

Thu, 03/01/2018 - 10:13pm

What is DARPA Doing in Ukraine? By Aaron Mehta - Military Times

DARPA, the Pentagon’s high-tech office, is working with the government of Ukraine to develop capabilities to help Kiev in its hybrid warfare challenge.

DARPA director Steven Walker, who recently took over that job after five years as the agency’s deputy, told reporters that he had personally visited the country in 2016 for talks with Ukrainian military, intel and industry leaders.

“We did have a good visit to the Ukraine,” Walker said Thursday at a breakfast hosted by the Defense Writer’s Group. “Yes, we have followed up with them, and through the U.S. European Command, we have started several projects with the Ukraine, mostly in the information space.”

“Not providing them weapons or anything like that, but looking at how to help them with information,” Walker added, before declining to go into further detail.

Ukraine has become a testing ground for hybrid warfare techniques from Russia and Russian-backed militant groups ever Russia’s invasion of Ukrainian territory in 2014, including disinformation campaigns. While that has allowed Moscow to test out new capabilities and techniques, it also provides an opportunity to develop counter techniques — which may benefit the U.S. and its allies in the long term…

Read on.

Comments

Vicrasta

Fri, 03/02/2018 - 4:13pm

Here's a bit of information for this space. "Ukraine"...I say again "Ukraine". Not "the Ukraine". Now, repeat after me "Slava Ukraini", Geroyam Slava".

See it's not so hard.

Additionally, the whole counter this and counter that is getting old. Counter narratives are not the solution to adversary information operations. Resilience and adaptation that negate the need for counter techniques is the correct approach.

Ukraine needs to be repaired and made resilient again. The Ukrainian state's fractures and fissures are what attracted hybrid aggression in the first place.

Lastly, S&T and defense contractors are not a panacea for political, economic and social shortcomings and prejudices as they relate to the Donbas region. Internal corruption, identity driven population grievances and disenfrancisement plague Ukraine. These conditions exist with and without a state backed separatist movement and civil war.

Nothing against DARPA, but this is a weak article.