THE FASTEST OODA LOOP: THE IMPLICATIONS OF BIG DATA FOR AIR POWER
Abstract
At the recent World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland in January 2016 the overwhelming topic of discussion was the implications of the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution. One of the pillars of this revolution is what has become known as Big Data. Big Data is one of the fastest growing sectors of business and its users comprise everyone from United Parcel Services (UPS) to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Silicon Valley startups continue to rake in millions of government and private investment dollars in the hopes that Big Data will continue to expand both the financial and informational return it is already providing. Edward Snowden's revelations of the National Security Agency (NSA) spy programs in 2013 gave the world its first real glimpse into the Big Data programs that were already in use by intelligence agencies, such as the NSA facial recognition database (footnote 1). Big Data use has also grown within the military structure in areas such as ground force operations and cyber warfare. Where Big Data has yet to make major inroads is in the arena of Air Power. Three scenarios will be considered to show the potential impacts Big Data could have on air power. Integrated properly into Air Operations as a decision aid and analysis tool, Big Data could be a tremendous aid for every warfighter - from the tactical level to commanders faced with complex strategic decisions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1040684
Entities
People
- Aaron J Dove
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College