New World Vistas: Air and Space Power for the 21st Century, Information Technology Volume.
Abstract
Some military analysts say that warfare at this time is undergoing a revolutionary change. If indeed there is such a revolution, the central element of it is information technology-the technological revolution in computers and communications. It is brought about by an underlying rate of technological progress that is unprecedented in the history of technology and military doctrine. What makes a technological revolution? Analysis of other technology revolutions tells us that one power of ten of technological change makes a revolution. For example, automobiles transport us ten times faster than walking, and jet planes ten times faster than autos. It took half a century or more for these revolutions to change the face of modern life. The wealth and security of this nation are increasingly driven by information and are based on knowledge. The engines of knowledge and information, computers and communications, have been doubling their power per dollar every twenty months. The pace is still accelerating. Over the past three decades this compounds to not one or two factors of ten, but six-a millionfold change. And the more powerful these engines become, the smaller they become and the more energy efficient. If this were myth rather than reality, one might say information technologists own a magic wand. The global village-the wired world of people with shared interests-has been formed because of low cost communications. Computers are so cheap and useful that they are in everything. A tiny but powerful computer sits inside a weapon, guiding it with astonishing precision. Modern warplanes, like the B-2 or the F-22, are as much flying computer networks as they are flying airframes. The remarkable capabilities of modern radar and other imaging devices are as much derived from their computers as from the physics of their sensors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA309592