Distributed Kill Chains: Drawing Insights for Mosaic Warfare from the Immune System and from the Navy

Abstract

Mosaic warfare is a concept that the Strategic Technology Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing to acquire, field, and employ forces in a manner that is radically different from what is currently done in the U.S. Department of Defense. Like the ceramic tiles in mosaics, individual warfighting platforms are put together to make a larger picture, known as a force package. These reports will be of interest to military acquisition specialists and strategists. This report in particular is focused on identifying potential challenges in the transition to Mosaic warfare and changes that might be required to cope with its expected traits. To better understand these challenges and the best path forward, the authors have conducted a pair of case studies: (1) an analysis of the human immune system's response to pathogens and (2) an analysis of the Naval Integrated Fire Control - Counter Air (NIFC-CA) project. The report includes rudimentary biology discussions to support the use of the human immune system as an analogy to Mosaic warfare.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1119636

Entities

People

  • Brian Persons
  • Nicholas A. O'donoughue
  • Samantha Mcbirney

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • C4I
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Immunity
  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Aircrafts
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Autoimmune Diseases
  • Cells
  • Control Systems
  • Cooperative Engagement Capability
  • Fish
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Lymphocytes
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Navy
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design