Opposing force

This article is about a military term. For the game see Half-Life: Opposing Force.

An opposing force (OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. Thus usually live rounds are not used.

At a basic level, a unit might serve as an opposing force for a single scenario, differing from its 'opponents' only in the objectives it is given. However, major armies commonly maintain specialised OPFOR groups trained to accurately emulate real-life enemies, in order to provide a more realistic experience for their training opponents. For instance, during the Cold War, US OPFOR units employed Soviet military doctrine and simulated Soviet equipment; since the fall of the USSR, US OPFOR units have become more flexible to represent a wider range of opponents.

External links

• Validating the "Enemy" (discusses the USA's OPFOR units, and post-Cold War changes to OPFOR.)