Computer Networks and Information Warfare: Implications for Air Operations

The growing need for computer network defense is critical to the ability of the R.O.K. military to conduct operations, but there is no general understanding or agreement on the meaning of the term. The first step in building a consensus is to gain a common view of how information has grown into a critical component that directly affects the conduct of military operations. Given discussions about the concepts of network warfare and cyberspace, the R.O.K. military needs is a framework for describing cyberspace and computer network defense. This study argues that military organizations need to establish operational approaches to cyberspace, and that the current approach for organizing air operations provides a useful construct for thinking about this problem. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the defense establishment of the growing importance on information networks in the R.O.K. military, with particular emphasis on the role of computer network defense in the R.O.K. Air Force.