The Pentagon has established a new “non-kinetic effects cell” to better synchronize cyber and electronic warfare capabilities across global operations, defense officials told lawmakers Wednesday during a Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity hearing.
Non-kinetic effects are military actions, such as cyberattacks, electronic warfare, and influence campaigns, that disrupt an adversary without physical force.
Officials said the cell was established ahead of Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, where U.S. cyber forces reportedly disrupted power and communications to support a precision raid that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro.
“[The cell is] designed to integrate, coordinate and synchronize all of our non-kinetics into the planning, and then, of course, the execution of any operation globally,” Joint Staff Deputy Director for Global Operations Brig. Gen. R. Ryan Messer told the Senate Armed Services Committee’s cybersecurity panel.
Messer noted that non-kinetic effects cells in the past operated largely behind the scenes, deployed only for selective strikes.
“The reality is that we’ve now pulled cyber operators to the forefront. So if I were talking to a group of young people who are considering a career and joining Gen. [William] Hartman’s team over at Cybercom, I would say you’re not just going to be integral to every operation we are going to do, but you will be at the forefront of everything we do in both now and in the future,” Messer said.
The officials’ revelations follow a Jan. 3 press briefing on the Venezuela operation, in which Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine said that as commandos approached Venezuela’s shores by helicopter, the U.S. “began layering different effects” from U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command, and other partners to “create a pathway” for them.
At the same briefing, President Donald Trump added that “the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” seemingly referring to cyber capabilities.
Both Maduro and his wife are now being prosecuted in the U.S. on federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
