By Paul R Salmon FCILT, FSCM
In an era of intensifying geopolitical competition and technological disruption, supply chains are no longer neutral conduits of goods and services. They have become strategic assets – and, increasingly, battlegrounds in their own right. For Defence organisations, recognising the weaponisation of supply chains is no longer optional. It is a critical step towards safeguarding national security and operational advantage.
The New Battlespace: Supply Chains in the Crosshairs
Global supply chains, once optimised for cost and efficiency, are now vulnerable to exploitation by state and non-state actors seeking to disrupt, degrade, or dominate. Adversaries are deploying a variety of tactics to weaponise supply chains, including:
Cyber Intrusion: Targeting logistics systems to steal data, inject false information, or paralyse operations. Component Dependency: Leveraging monopolies over critical materials (e.g., rare earth metals) or technologies to coerce behaviour. Disinformation Campaigns: Eroding trust in supply chain integrity by spreading rumours about product safety or origin. Physical Disruption: Using sabotage, blockades, or kinetic attacks to impede the movement of vital supplies.
Recent conflicts have demonstrated how attacks on fuel depots, logistics hubs, and transport corridors can have cascading effects far beyond the frontline. Even seemingly mundane items – microchips, batteries, or ball bearings – can become choke points in a modern military campaign.
Defence Supply Chains: A Strategic Asset or an Achilles Heel?
For Defence, the implications are profound. Military supply chains are global, complex, and often rely on commercial providers. While this offers flexibility and cost advantages, it also creates vulnerabilities:
Globalisation Risks: Critical components sourced from adversary-controlled regions. Just-in-Time Fragility: Lean inventories unable to absorb shocks. Opaque Sub-Tiers: Lack of visibility beyond first-tier suppliers.
Unless addressed, these vulnerabilities can be exploited to degrade readiness, delay mobilisation, or even pre-emptively neutralise key capabilities.
Building Resilient and Adaptive Defence Supply Chains
To counter the weaponisation of supply chains, Defence organisations must shift from a narrow focus on efficiency to a broader model of resilience. This involves:
Mapping and Understanding Dependencies Develop a deep understanding of supply chain networks, including sub-tier suppliers, to identify critical nodes and potential single points of failure. Diversification and Redundancy Avoid over-reliance on single suppliers, regions, or transport routes. Encourage multi-sourcing and stockpiling of key components. Cyber and Information Security Harden logistics IT systems against cyberattacks and develop counter-disinformation capabilities to protect the integrity of supply chains. Collaboration with Allies and Industry Work with partner nations and defence contractors to develop shared resilience strategies and standards. Wargaming and Scenario Planning Integrate supply chain disruption scenarios into military exercises and contingency planning.
A Call to Action
The weaponisation of supply chains is not a future threat – it is happening now. Defence organisations must treat supply chain resilience as a core element of operational capability, not an afterthought. By doing so, they can turn supply chains from potential vulnerabilities into sources of strategic advantage.
As history has shown, logistics wins wars. In the 21st century, protecting the lifelines that sustain our forces is every bit as important as sharpening the spear.
