Resilience of Critical Defence Buildings and Building Services Infrastructure to Hybrid and Climate Threats: A Multicriteria Assessment Framework

Abstract

Defence missions depend on buildings, utilities, operational technologies, and external services that increasingly function as an interdependent cyber-physical system. Conventional asset-condition assessments do not adequately capture mission continuity under simultaneous physical, cyber, energy, and climate disruptions. This article proposes a transparent multicriteria framework for the preliminary assessment of the resilience of critical defence building and building-services infrastructure without disclosing sensitive operational data. The framework integrates seven dimensions – governance and continuity, physical and structural safety, energy, water and building services, digital security/operational technology and BIM (Building Information Modelling), logistics and supply chains, and recovery and climate adaptation – operationalized through 28 evidence-based indicators. Equal weighting, a five-level maturity scale, non-compensatory critical thresholds and sensitivity tests limit false precision and make the model auditable.A synthetic, non-operational demonstration case yields an initial score of 50.0/100 and a target score of 79.3/100 after a prioritised package of measures is applied. The contribution is a mission-centred tool suitable for portfolio assessment, investment prioritisation and periodic reassessment.