Is There Space for the Objective Force?

Abstract

The Army has launched itself on a daring trajectory toward the Objective Force. It will transform the Army forces into a more lethal and devastating force through the combination of precision weapons and knowledge-based warfare. Army forces will survive through information dominance, provided by a torrent of ones and zeros sent from remote sensors and processed by on board computers. As the Army builds the Objective Force it will attempt to link systems from "mud to space" in order to create a synergistic effect between the warrior and the information sphere. Information will empower the Army's Objective Forces. Space-based systems will be foundational building blocks for the Objective Force to achieve information dominance and satellite communications will enable knowledge based battle command on the move. Thus, the ability to link space-based capabilities to warfighting units in a timely and relevant manner is critical to Objective Force success. Army transformation plans for space to lift a heavy load for the Objective Force by using space capabilities to provide intelligence, navigation, warning and more. Nowhere is the Objective Force success more dependent, than on its ability to network together enabling information for dominant situational knowledge. This paper will address Army satellite communications needs to determine if current and future space communications can provide the capabilities the Objective Force requires to succeed. The answer requires analysis of several major areas where space communications impact Objective Force capabilities. First, why does the Objective Force need space to provide the seamless communications required for information dominance across a distributed battlefield? Second, what exists to provide the Objective Force information from ground and space-based sensors for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) as well as the warning required by the Objective Force to enable the force to see first.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 07, 2003
Accession Number
ADA420092

Entities

People

  • Timothy R. Coffin

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Bandwidth
  • Civil War
  • Information Systems
  • Military Science
  • Mobile Phones
  • National Security
  • Radio Equipment
  • Satellite Communications
  • Space Communications
  • Space Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Wireless Communications

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.

Technology Areas

  • Space