The Most In-Demand Military Specialties Today: CBRN, Cyber and National Security
· By Archivo Bélico editorial team
Which military specialties have gained the most weight in today's armed forces — CBRN defence, cyber, electronic warfare, drones, intelligence — and why.
Armies are not uniform blocks: they are organisations of specialists, and the weight of each specialty shifts with technology and threats. Over the past two decades, specialties that were marginal — cyber defence, electronic warfare, unmanned systems — have moved to the centre of planning, while classic ones such as CBRN defence have regained prominence. This guide explains which carry the most weight today, and why.
Cyber defence: the specialty that did not exist
Twenty-five years ago no army had a command for operations in cyberspace; today every major one does. The United States created Cyber Command in 2010, and most Western allies have followed. The reason is structural: armed forces depend on networks to command, navigate, aim and sustain, and those networks can be attacked. Cyber defence protects one's own systems and, within each country's legal framework, develops response capabilities. For context, see the articles in our cyber warfare section.
CBRN defence: the specialty that came back
Nuclear, biological and chemical defence (CBRN) looked like a Cold War inheritance in decline. Three factors brought it back to the forefront: the risk of chemical-weapons use in recent conflicts (Syria is the clearest documented case), the lesson of the covid-19 pandemic about vulnerability to biological agents, and the return of nuclear risk to European strategic conversation since 2022. CBRN units handle detection, decontamination, collective protection and support to civilian authorities in incidents involving hazardous agents.
Electronic warfare: the invisible domain
The war in Ukraine has shown that the electromagnetic spectrum is as decisive a battlefield as the terrain: jamming drone links, blinding radars, protecting one's own communications. Electronic warfare, a technical and discreet specialty, has become one of the most sought-after, and Western analyses agree it is an area where several NATO armies had lost capability after decades focused on counterinsurgency.
Unmanned systems and counter-drone defence
Operating drones — and defending against them — is now a cross-cutting specialty: there are dedicated operators, counter-UAS units and specific training programmes in most Western armies. Demand for qualified personnel in this field is growing faster than in almost any other. On the defensive side, see our article on counter-drone strategies.
Intelligence, analysis and national security
The explosion of data — commercial satellites, open sources, intercepts — has multiplied the demand for analysts: specialists able to turn raw information into knowledge useful to commanders. Alongside them, the broader national-security areas — critical-infrastructure protection, countering disinformation, civil-military cooperation — have gained institutional weight, as shown by Spain's creation of the Department of National Security in 2012 and its subsequent reinforcement.
What about the classic specialties?
Infantry, armoured cavalry, artillery and engineers remain the foundation of land combat, and Ukraine has bluntly reasserted the value of artillery and combat engineers. What has changed is the hierarchy of scarcity: armies can recruit infantrymen faster than they can train cyber analysts, electronic-warfare operators or CBRN specialists. In the competition for technical talent, moreover, the armed forces rival a private sector that pays better — one of the recruitment challenges most often cited in official reports.
Frequently asked questions
- What is CBRN defence?
- It is the military specialty dedicated to protection against nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological agents: detection, identification, decontamination and collective protection of troops and population.
- What education do technical specialties such as cyber defence require?
- It varies by country, but usually combines an officer or NCO career with higher technical education (computer science, telecommunications, mathematics) and specific certifications. Some armies have created direct-entry routes for qualified civilians.
- Is artillery still important?
- Very much so. The war in Ukraine has confirmed that artillery still causes most casualties in high-intensity conventional conflict, and several European countries have accelerated purchases of guns and ammunition.
- Which specialty transfers best to civilian jobs?
- Cyber defence, telecommunications, logistics and aircraft maintenance are usually cited as the most transferable to the civilian labour market, precisely because of the shortage of technical profiles.
Sources and references
Sources and references
- IISS — The Military Balance (recent editions, capabilities chapters).
- RUSI — reports on electronic warfare and lessons from Ukraine (2022-2024).
- U.S. Cyber Command — institutional information.
- Spanish Ministry of Defence — CBRN Defence Regiment and Joint Cyberspace Command.
- OPCW — reports on chemical-weapons use in Syria.
- Department of National Security (Spain) — National Security Strategy.