The Sixth Operational Domain

In 2012, while serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army, I worked within the Chief of Army’s think tank—the Directorate of Army Research and Analysis. My task: to imagine what the Army’s Future Land Force might look like in 2035. It was an opportunity to think strategically, unconstrained by budget cycles or rank. My brief was clear: challenge assumptions, think creatively, and—above all—look around corners.

At the time, military operations were commonly understood to occur across five recognised domains: land, sea, air, space, and cyber. Each had distinct tools, tactics, and strategic implications. More than a decade later, in Operation Rising Lion, the Israel Defense Forces delivered a masterclass in how to synchronise effects across all five. But even back in 2012, I suspected something was missing. So I posed a provocative question to our group of civilian scholars: If there were to be a sixth operational domain—one we’re not yet prepared for—what might it be?

Several days later, a consensus emerged: the next frontier of warfare would be the human mind.

Back then, we speculated on how minds might be manipulated. Could nanotech alter cognition? Could neural implants hijack thought? Would social media fracture societies from within? At the time, it all felt speculative—almost sci-fi.

But that future has arrived.