Entropy-Based Warfare: Modeling the Revolution in Military Affairs (Joint Force Quarterly, Autumn/Winter, 1998-1999)
Abstract
A hypothesis first proposed by the Soviets in the late 1970s claimed that a new generation of precision weapons coupled with sensor and information architectures would lead to a revolution in military affairs (RMA). Such thinking is embodied in Joint Vision 2010. As the RMA concept develops, the international community must grapple with the impact of advanced concepts like information warfare and the advantages conferred by high levels of situation awareness on the battlefield. Unfortunately, inadequate comprehension of the dynamics of war beyond the attrition-based paradigm has constrained understanding of RMA. Virtually all current models, simulations, and wargames are fundamentally attrition based. Analytically they often provide quantitative results that support one recommendation over another. But they do not account for many factors that affect the outcome. The few that do quantify factors like command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) lack an analytic construct to accurately account for their effects. They simply measure the influence of these factors as increases or decreases in attrition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA426666
Entities
People
- Mark Herman
Organizations
- National Defense University