Electromagnetic Spectrum Domination: 21st Century Center of Gravity or Achilles Heel

Abstract

The Army is currently embarking on a major peacetime modernization program. As the drawdown comes to a close, the Army is about half its former size and is confronted with a far more complex strategic environment. Virtually any place the Army may be employed, it will be at the end of a long. line of communication with its CONUS sustaining base. Furthermore, the Army will have to be wary of simultaneous challenges to United States interests in other theaters. As a result, the Army must be capable of quick decisive victories with minimal casualties in spite of its smaller size. In order to ensure that the Army is able to meet this standard in its future wars, the Army's leadership has set in motion a modernization plan aimed at maximizing the potential power of a smaller but more lethal army. This modernization plan places a heavy premium on the integrative technologies, (computers and communications), to get more of its forces into the fight at the right time and place and at an ever increasing operational tempo. One by-product of this plan is an increasing dependence on the electromagnetic spectrum to collect and move information on the 21st century battlefield.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 05, 1994
Accession Number
ADA284758

Entities

People

  • Michael W. Schneider

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • Combat Areas
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Computers
  • Doctrine
  • Electromagnetic Spectra
  • Information Systems
  • Information Warfare
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Multiple Access
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • Radio Equipment
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design