Beyond naval manoeuvres: Perception as battlespace in Mare Aperto 2025 – strategic communication and cognitive warfare in joint-force training

As contemporary conflicts expand beyond the physical domain, and unfold within mediated communication, the social domain of cognitive warfare has become central yet underexplored. This article examines how strategic ambiguity operates as a key dynamic within hybrid media environments through the analysis of communicative dynamics observed during the Mare Aperto 2025 military exercise. Using a multi-method analytical approach combining natural language processing, social network analysis, and qualitative interpretation, the study reports interactions on a closed-instance social media platform. The analysis shows that emotionally salient, concise, and timely messages were associated with higher engagement, while actors with ambiguous identity signals contributed to delayed attribution, fragmentation, and escalation. A case analysis of a hybrid actor further illustrates how ambiguity can disrupt interpretation. The article conceptualizes strategic ambiguity as a communicative mechanism shaping attention, interaction, and attribution in mediated conflict.