NATO aid against COVID-19 and the "biological sphere" as a possible Sixth Domain

In 2019, while the United States remained the locomotive of world defense, the governments of the EU member states gradually increased their defense spending in order to reach the 2% of GDP target. During the year, the United States government built a wall on the southern border with Mexico to improve American security; in the meantime, EU member states were increasing the number and budget of border patrols such as FRONTEX to protect European borders from refugees and mass immigration flows, which appeared to be an imminent threat to national security. However, neither the United States nor the EU were preparing to protect their citizens from one of the threats that proved to be among the most dangerous and deadly, a threat that recognizes no borders: the biological threat of pandemics.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19, in fact, reminds us that a pandemic can kill as many people as a war, as well as causing enormous damage to the economy and even being able to influence the spheres of economic-political influence if not actually, in the most long run, the international order. On the latter point, Italy, which was the first and most affected by the emergency among the Allied countries, is a prime example. In fact, the first aid to the country came from a kind of "humanitarian diplomacy" (led by China, Russia, Cuba and even some smaller countries) for their soft power e sharp power. While the EU and the US, which already have a strong soft power which strengthens their regulatory power and as managers of the international order, have been slow to move.

Furthermore, since the beginning of the epidemic, NATO has had to reconsider its planning and operations to deal with new security threats, implementing new measures to limit the spread of the virus and minimize the risks, remaining vigilant and monitoring any changes. On the other hand, NATO is not new with this kind of relief and humanitarian assistance: an active role of "crisis management" was played in the relief operations following Hurricane Katrina (2005) and an earthquake in Pakistan ( 2005). NATO also has a Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) that provides medical, logistical and food supplies when needed.

What measures is NATO taking for the COVID-19 crisis?

The Allied armed forces are playing an important role in supporting national armies and also civilian responses across the Alliance. This support includes logistics and planning, in addition to concrete support with the creation of field hospitals, patient transport, disinfection of public areas etc. NATO has activated its various disaster response centers:

• Il NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC): NATO's primary civilian emergency response mechanism. The Center coordinates requests for NATO allies and partners, as well as offers of assistance to deal with serious crises. In response to requests for assistance for COVID-19 from Spain, Italy, and most recently Montenegro, submitted through the EADRCC, the Czech Republic and Turkey have sent medical supplies to these countries such as masks, personal protective equipment and disinfectants..

• La NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has a leading role in responding to the crisis. The NSPA provides logistical support and the organization of transportation of key supplies and equipment for Allies, partners and other international organizations. For example, the NSPA helped Luxembourg increase its hospital capacity to supply field hospital tents by mobilizing equipment in less than 24 hours.

• NATO supports the Strategic Airlift International Solution program (SALIS). The program allows Allies to rent commercial transport aircraft. For example, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have used SALIS to import or export medical supplies, including masks, surgical gloves and protective suits.

• As part of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) participating allies and partner countries jointly own and operate three heavy-load C-17 Globemasters. Through these planes, for example, Romania has exploited the ability to import 100.000 protective suits.

• La NATO's Rapid Air Mobility has simplified procedures for military rescue flights, using a NATO call sign and speeding up air traffic authorizations. The initiative, also used for this crisis, is made possible by cooperation between NATO and EUROCONTROL.

• Finally bilateral assistance among allies it continues to represent an important aspect of the international response, which shows the strength of NATO solidarity. For example, the German Air Force which transports Italian and French patients to treat them in Germany, or doctors from Poland and Albania to help their Italian colleagues.

"We are in this crisis together and when we respond together, our response is more effective " these are the words of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking of the aforementioned aid, demonstrating how NATO continues to guarantee the security and integrity of the territory, citizens and common values ​​of the Member States, underlining the cornerstones of the alliance: solidarity, unity and cohesion, at the same time guaranteeing the Full Operation Capabilities (FOC) of the armed forces, inside and outside the Area of ​​Responsibility (AOR) of SACEUR, the Supreme Allied Command of Europe.

Ma these tools may not be sufficient for future pandemics even more serious than the current one, for this reason NATO, and the armed forces of the allied countries in general, should open a reflection on how to strengthen NATO's role in these threats and maybe even on introduction of a new "war domain", after the fifth, the cyber-cyber one introduced a few years ago: namely the biological domain, that of the "Biosphere", where all living things live, including germs. Also because the biological threats seem to be the most serious, at least for now, between the CBRN challenges and in the case of a non-natural biological attack like this but artificial, by some adversary, many questions remain unanswered:

- Host Nations and operational commands are fully aware of the potential seriousness of a sudden outbreak of an epidemic or a bioterrorism attack among the troops deployed during a NA5CRO¹ or mission from Art. 5? Could the deployed forces be immunized quickly enough?

- In the face of a pandemic or biological attack, could national authorities immediately cut defense spending, or the number of troops, even if the NATO Council had agreed that a deployment is essential to restore order?

- Does NATO have a plan to support the civil defense of the countries involved, given that armies could not be sufficient to handle emergencies with epidemics such as high-mortality viruses?

- Did NATO consider how the Alliance would react to a collapse of civil authority due to pandemics?

The traditional attitude that medical concerns are a national responsibility represents a limit and can lead to serious consequences for NATO's first preventive and then operational potential. Also because no state was prepared for an infectious disease crisis of this level, and in any case the Allied nations do not even share information on their level of protective medical equipment, for reasons of secrecy or national security.

The need to introduce epidemics and biological attacks in one "Sixth domain" it therefore becomes a primary and urgent goal for NATO, together with greater coordination among the Allies primarily on information sharing. Also because the domains are increasingly interconnected, with for example the "militarization of the Internet" in Great Power Competition which is accompanying the escalation between different domains (the cyber and cyber war will therefore be increasingly interrelated with the biological domain, in particular with the advent of AI).