The U.S. Naval War College’s Cyber & Innovation Policy Institute (CIPI) held a multilateral wargame focused on critical undersea communications infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region with Japanese and Australian allies during the 2026 Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 11.
The exercise involved approximately 20 participants from the U.S. military, Australia’s science and technology community, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It was executed by Assistant Prof. Jason Vogt, Associate Prof. Dr. Nina Kollars and CIPI Director Dr. Frank Smith, as well as students Lt. Cmdr. Luke Millen and Maj. Eric Dayhuff.
“The conference’s ability to draw together scientific experts, operators, and regional partners created a uniquely productive setting for defense analysis,” said Vogt.
The unclassified wargame demonstrated how coordinated regional action can complicate adversary sabotage efforts against international undersea communications systems, and highlighted infrastructure vulnerabilities that demand attention.
“These findings reinforce the broader themes of our ongoing research efforts: the need for multinational cooperation, improved situational awareness, and realistic concepts for infrastructure defense during conflict,” Kollars said.
CIPI’s research direction for 2027 will focus on the emerging concept ofData Center Warfare — the strategic implications of global data centers as targets, the vulnerabilities inherent in their physical and digital architectures, and how U.S. forces and their allies can incorporate that information into their strategies and operations.
CIPI, part of the Strategic and Operational Research Department (SORD) in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies, is the premier hub for cyber strategy and technology policy research, education, and outreach at the war college.
SORD produces forward-thinking and timely research, analysis, and gaming that anticipates future operational and strategic challenges. The department develops and assesses strategic and operational concepts to overcome challenges by providing analytical products that inform the U.S.Navy’s leadership and help shape key decisions.
Established in 1884, NWC is the oldest institution of its kind in the world. The college delivers excellence in education, research and outreach, informing today’s decision makers, educating tomorrow’s leaders and engaging partners and allies on all matters of naval power in order to preserve the peace, respond in crisis and win decisively in war.