Network-centric warfare: impact on army operations

The American military foresees five new concepts emerging to guide the future operations of joint military forces. The first four are dominant maneuver, precision engagement, focused logistics, and full-dimensional protection. The fifth is information superiority-which will enable the first four concepts. This paper outlines these concepts and explains how the power of the network, through network-centric computing, is used to achieve information superiority. The paper conceptualizes information superiority as being achieved through three ad hoc grids: sensors, information, and shooters. These grids will coalesce as needed from existing resources: sensor platforms, computational nodes, weapons platforms, and communications links. These resources are intentionally designed to be pulled together to serve the Joint commander´s needs, for an entire campaign or a single battle. Commanders will use the power of their vast information resources to engage and overwhelm the enemy through the exercise of all five operational concepts. The paper concludes with examples from Army tests and experiments showing how the power of information is changing the way battles are fought-and won