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Aclandestine operation (op) is anintelligence ormilitary operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces.
Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in nature, generally aimed at assisting groups or nations favored by the sponsor. Examples includeU.S. intelligence involvement with German and Japanese war criminals after World War II or the botchedBay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. Today these operations are numerous and include technology-related clandestine operations.
The bulk of clandestine operations are related to thegathering of intelligence, typically by both people (clandestine human intelligence) and by hiddensensors. Placement of underwater or land-based communications cabletaps,cameras,microphones, traffic sensors, monitors such assniffers, and similar systems require that the mission go undetected and unsuspected. Clandestine sensors may also be onunmanned underwater vehicles,reconnaissance (spy) satellites (such asMisty), low-observabilityunmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), orunmanned detectors (as inOperation Igloo White and its successors), orhand-placed by clandestine human operations.
TheUnited StatesDepartment of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication JP 1-02, dated 8 November 2010, Amended Through 15 February 2016) defines "clandestine", "clandestine intelligence collection", and "clandestine operation" as[1]
clandestine — Any activity or operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies with the intent to assure secrecy and concealment. (JP 2-01.2)
clandestine intelligence collection — The acquisition of protected intelligence information in a way designed to conceal the nature of the operation and protect the source. (JP 2-01.2)
clandestine operation — An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental departments or agencies in such a way as to assure secrecy or concealment. See alsocovert operation; overt operation. (JP 3-05)
The DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (January 2021) defines "clandestine" and "clandestine operation" the same way.[2]
The termsclandestine andcovert are not synonymous. As noted in the definition (which has been used by theUnited States andNATO sinceWorld War II) in acovert operation the identity of the sponsor is concealed, while in a clandestine operation the operation itself is concealed. Put differently,clandestine means "hidden", where the aim is for the operation to not be noticed at all.Covert means "deniable", such that if the operation is noticed, it is not attributed to a group. The termstealth refers both to a broad set oftactics aimed at providing and preserving the element of surprise and reducing enemy resistance. It can also be used to describe a set oftechnologies (stealth technology) to aid in those tactics. While secrecy and stealthiness are often desired in clandestine and covert operations, the termssecret andstealthy are not used to formally describe types of missions. Some operations may have both clandestine and covert aspects, such as the use of concealed remote sensors or human observers to directartillery attacks andairstrikes. The attack is obviously overt (coming under attack alerts the target that he has been located by the enemy), but the targeting component (the exact method that was used to locate targets) can remain clandestine.
InWorld War II, targets found throughcryptanalysis ofradio communication were attacked only if there had been aerial reconnaissance in the area, or, in the case of theshootdown ofAdmiralIsoroku Yamamoto, where the sighting could be attributed to theCoastwatchers. During theVietnam War, trucks attacked on theHo Chi Minh trail were completely unaware of some sensors, such as the airborneBlack Crow device that sensed their ignition. They could also have been spotted by a clandestine human patrol. Harassing and interdiction (H&I) orfree-fire zone rules can also cause a target to be hit for purely random reasons.
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