Taking Down Telecommunications

Abstract

Information is one of the most, if not the most, essential element of combat capability. Because telecommunications affects every aspect of a society, and is probably the most important medium which military information is exchanged, this thesis provides an understanding of the telecommunications system and how best to exploit it across the spectrum of conflict. I examine the system's vulnerabilities to both lethal and nonlethal attack mechanisms. While the ability to employ nonlethal technologies are currently limited, I recommend pursuing a strong research and development program to acquire this capability. The reason is that they provide additional policy options to deal with conflict, they are cheap, and because research may not only discover unanticipated capabilities for the US, but also identify countermeasures to protect our own systems. This thesis concludes by offering guidelines to help determine whether to exploit telecommunications with either lethal or nonlethal attack strategies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA285203

Entities

People

  • Gerald R. Hust

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Communication Systems
  • Computer Networks
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Control Systems
  • Data Transmission
  • Digital Communications
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Multiple Access
  • Munitions
  • National Politics
  • Nonlethal Weapons
  • Space Systems
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Effects

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Economics
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.