French Army Approaches to Networked Warfare
Abstract
The French Army has been developing and fielding networked warfare technology since the 1990s and now boasts both considerable experience using the technology in the field (including in combat in Afghanistan and the Sahel) and a successful modernization program. As part of an effort to glean lessons learned from the French program and experience with network-centric warfare (NCW) for the U.S. Army, we combed through primary and secondary French sources and interviewed several dozen French Army officers, think tank analysts, and government experts. The concept of NCW dates to the early 1990s and is closely tied to a set of ideas about the effects of the evolution of technology and precision weapons on warfare concepts. NCWs central thesis argued that, because of information networks, the power and lethality of a deployed force could be greater than the sum of its parts; information, moreover, would enable modern forces to forgo armor and mass. Theorists in the United States believed that the technology was precipitating a so-called Revolution in Military Affairs
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 08, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1173673
Entities
People
- Arthur Chan
- Michael Shurkin
- Raphael S. Cohen
Organizations
- RAND Corporation