Cyber attacks and co.

“We are engaged in hybrid warfare”

(Bild: krone.tv)

Major General Peter Vorhofer, Head of the Defense Policy Directorate in the Austrian Armed Forces, speaks plainly in an interview on krone.at: "The world order is changing dramatically. We are in a hybrid warfare situation, and this is not a traditional shooting war."

This involves cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and major changes in the situation around the world, says Vorhofer. The fact that there are more elections coming up worldwide this year than ever before is also problematic. This will drastically increase the ability to influence countries. Vorhofer: "The EU elections have great potential for influence. There could be a lot of disinformation campaigns around it that are difficult to shy away from."

"Number of violent conflicts will increase"
In general, the Austrian Armed Forces are preparing to become capable of defending themselves with many acquisitions. The specifications for this can be found in the "Risk Image 2024". It lists a total of 60 risks for Austria, eight of which are relevant. Vorhofer: "The number of violent conflicts will clearly increase."

Major General Peter Vorhofer, Head of the Defense Policy Directorate in the Austrian Armed Forces(Bild: krone.tv)

If Russia were to defeat Ukraine militarily, this would change the view of the "global South", i.e. South America and Africa, as well as the world's major power blocs. Vorhofer analyzes: "The global South will then see the Russian Federation as an assertive partner." This would subsequently weaken the importance of the West.

You can see all the other answers on the defense capability of the Austrian Armed Forces in the video above.