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Based on a real incident, 'Defending Defender' highlights the importance of understanding and shaping the information environment.

A Russian attempt to disrupt HMS Defender’s innocent passage through Crimean waters in 2021 and the subsequent campaign to influence opinion is the focus of a new wargame developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

‘Defending Defender – Battle for the narrative’ educates players on the principles of strategic communications and has been co-designed with the Joint Information Activities Group (JIAG), part of the UK MOD’s Defence Academy. JIAG successfully trialled the initial prototype with around 1,500 users as part of relevant training courses. Due to the success of the prototype, a new boxed version of the game has been developed that can be played without the need for a facilitator in order to reach a much broader audience. 

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Designed for 2 to 8 players representing the UK and Russia, with unique challenges for each country, the game runs for 3 phases cumulatively lasting around 45 minutes. The high-tempo activity forces students to make decisions under time pressure and illustrates that different real-world actors play with different rules and shows the risk of unintended consequences. No wargaming or strategic communications experience is required to play.

The boxed game is now being rolled out within MOD as well as across 15 NATO nations and institutions in Australia.

Colin, Dstl Chief Wargamer and Head of the Defence Wargaming Centre, said:

Dstl has the largest number of professional wargamers in the MOD, and we’ve used wargaming to prepare thousands of members of the armed forces for the challenges they will face and the decisions they will have to make on operations.

Influence in conflict can be as important as physical force, so by developing impactful, value-for-money wargames that factor in influence effects, such as strategic communications, we will help our warfighters to achieve mission success.

Lieutenant Colonel Faye Johnson, Commanding Officer, JIAG, said:

It can be challenging for students to grasp the principles of effective strategic communications with just a lecture in the classroom. This game allows students to understand the broader impact of their choices for good and bad by exploring a complex case study in detail.

In our experience, players find the game very relevant, engaging and enjoyable. It gets across the principles of strategic communications in a simple but memorable fashion which makes it a powerful tool in the classroom.

Captain Vince Owen, in command of HMS Defender, during the 2021 incident, said:

The 2021 HMS Defender incident demonstrated that modern competition is fought simultaneously at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. It highlighted the importance of understanding and shaping the information environment, because tactical success alone is not sufficient to achieve strategic objectives.

The Defending Defender wargame provides a unique opportunity to explore how military actions, communications and decision-making combine to influence outcomes in an era where owning the narrative can be as important as events themselves.

Dstl’s wargamers develop and use wargames to help customers make informed decisions about important policy, force development, planning, education and training problems. Support has been given throughout MOD and beyond, from the Secretary of State and Ministers, through to junior command ranks.

In the past 12 months Dstl’s wargamers have delivered a range of wargames and tabletop exercises for the armed forces and international allies including:

• support to crisis and operations
• national security
• future force structure testing supporting the Defence Investment Plan
• counter-uncrewed air systems
• developing uncrewed systems
• coalition maritime capability
• integrating new technologies
• deterrence analysis

Find out more about the Defence Wargaming Centre and Dstl’s work.