The evolution of the armed struggle at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century denotes the configuration of new elements, anterior almost negligible or with an insignificant impact on the theatres of war. At that period, these have become decisive in local armed conflicts, unimportant of their proportions. Therefore, it is necessary to study in depth the mutations in the theory and practice of the contemporary armed struggle. This study aims at analyzing recent local military conflicts and identifying the prospects for future use of accumulated experience. At the same time, the processes of passing from one form of battle to another have been considered, which have contributed to the improvement of the theory and practice of the armed struggle. In this context, were analyzed the factors determined and the conditions that favoured the mutations as well as the stages of the development of the military art.