CONCEPTS AND DOCTRINES
Network Centric Warfare : A Command & Control Concept
While networks and information management are central to the concept of Network Centric Warfare (NCW), it is important to emphasize that NCW is essentially a Command & Control concept. Further, NCW is also related to the notions of Self-Synchronisation of forces, “Power to the Edge”, Effects Based Operations (EBO) and the concept of Agility. All of these are various facets of how command & control is effected on the battlefield. In this write-up, these ideas are stitched together and discussed.
Cyberspace: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare – Part II
The dimensions of warfare have evolved over the centuries from Land and Sea to encompass Air and Outer Space in the 20th Century. With the heavy dependence on networks in the 21st Century, Cyberspace is emerging as an increasingly contested domain, with critical importance for the projection of military force. In the first part of this two-piece write-up, the emergence of Cyberspace as an operational domain of warfare, as well as the types and classifications of cyber-attacks/ cyberwar were discussed. In this part, some real-world examples of cyberwar over the past decade will be described, and certain doctrinal aspects related to offensive cyberwar strategies as well as some legal implications of conducting cyberwar will be dwelt upon.
Cyberspace: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare – Part I
The dimensions of warfare have evolved over the centuries from Land and Sea to encompass Air and Outer Space in the 20th Century. With the heavy dependence on networks in the 21st Century, Cyberspace is emerging as an increasingly contested domain, with critical importance for the projection of military force. Here, in a two-piece write-up, we discuss the emergence of Cyberspace as an operational domain of warfare, deliberate on types and classifications of cyber-attacks/ cyberwar, briefly describe some real-world examples of cyberwar over the past decade, and finally dwell upon certain doctrinal aspects related to offensive cyberwar strategies as well as some legal implications of conducting cyberwar.
Network Centric Warfare Vis-a-vis Modern Warfighting Concepts
In an earlier two-part write up on “The Changing Nature of Warfare”, it was brought out how, over the centuries, warfare has undergone significant transformation due to new discoveries and innovative application of technologies, and how these inventions and discoveries have resulted in dramatic changes in military doctrine as well as operational and organisational concepts. In another post titled “21st Century Warfare: From ‘Battlefield’ to ‘Battlespace’,” the complex nature of the “arena” in which 21st century warfare is conducted, was examined. In this piece, an attempt is made to analyse the concept of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) as it relates to warfighting and battlespace concepts which have been discussed earlier.
21st Century Warfare: From “Battlefield” to “Battlespace”
It is the increasing complexity of the modern warfighting arena which has prompted the replacement of the traditionally used term “battlefield” by the term “battlespace” in doctrinal literature, as the former tends to implicitly highlight the pre-dominance of land based operations over others, while “battlespace” as a term has a neutral flavour with respect to the nature of the arena. In recent years, several modern armies have adopted the five-dimensional model, comprising of the land, sea, air, space and cyberspace warfighting domains, in their military doctrines to define this battlespace. In this write-up this model, together with Cebrowski’s Domains of Conflict construct, is reviewed and analysed.
Information Operations: Origins and Fundamentals – Part II
Information Warfare (IW) is expected to play an increasingly dominant role in twenty first century conflict, wherein military superiority is a composite function of combat, electronic and information superiority. Various armies are continuously evolving their concepts, doctrines and roadmaps for operationalising IW concepts. This two-part write-up attempts to introduce the concept of IW/ Information Operations (IO). Here in Part II of the write-up, some well-accepted IW taxonomies are first given out, followed by a brief overview of the notion of Information Superiority. Finally, some comments are made on the status of IW in the Indian context.
Network Centric Warfare: Understanding the Concept
In 21st Century warfare literature, the term “Network Centric Warfare/ Operations (NCW/ NCO)” is often used while discussing warfighting doctrines and transformational measures being taken towards modernising present-day militaries. However, there is often an inadequate understanding of this concept. Indeed, more often than not, the term is used synonymously with “networking”, whereas the concept is much deeper, and the connotations of acquiring net-centric capabilities pretty complex and far-reaching in nature. In this article, an attempt is made to throw some light on the core concept of NCW as propounded by its original authors.
Artificial Intelligence in Military Operations: An Overview – Part I
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies hold great promise for facilitating military decisions, minimizing human causalities and enhancing the combat potential of forces. This is especially true in a wartime environment, when data availability is high, decision periods are short, and decision effectiveness is an absolute necessity. This two-part article focuses on development and fielding of LAWS against the backdrop of rapid advances in the field of AI, and its relevance to the Indian security scenario. This first part reviews the status of AI technology, gives a broad overview of the possible military applications of this technology and brings out the main legal and ethical issues involved in the current ongoing debate on development of LAWS.
Information Operations: Origins and Fundamentals – Part I
Information Warfare (IW) is expected to play an increasingly dominant role in 21st Century conflict, wherein military superiority is a composite function of combat, electronic and information superiority. In a two-part write-up, the concept of IW/ Information Operations (IO) is introduced. This first part highlights the importance of information on the battlefield, reviews the idea of three “waves” of warfare proposed by the futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler, and dwells on certain theoretical underpinnings of IW, such as a Cognitive Hierarchy, an Information Model of Warfare and the notion of an Information Battlespace.
The Changing Nature of Warfare – Part II
Part I of this write-up discussed the changing nature of warfare over the last several centuries, based on Lind’s categorisation of “Generations of Warfare” as well as the concept of “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA). This part looks at the fast changing pace at which warfighting concepts are undergoing change in the present century, especially as a result of the ongoing rapid technological advancements. It gives an overview of some new conceptualisations of modern warfare such as “Asymmetric Warfare”, “Unrestricted Warfare” and “Hybrid Warfare”. It also dwells briefly on new Information Age warfighting concepts, such as “Network Centric Warfare”, “Information Warfare” and “Cyber Warfare”.