Overreliance on Technology in Warfare: The Yom Kippur War as a Case Study

Abstract

Modern military journals are replete with articles claiming that recent advancements in technology constitute a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). The authors of these articles claim that innovations in weapon systems for example, the development of precision guided munitions and the capacity to wage network-centric warfare are symptomatic of this RMA, and will afford the United States an unprecedented level of situational awareness and the ability to apply force rapidly, accurately, and precisely without fratricide or collateral civilian casualties.1 Should these prophets be believed? One of the questions that is often sidestepped in these discussions is whether advancements in technology can fundamentally change the character of war. Classical theorists suggest that the essential nature of war is immutable, and as such one is able to derive from its study principles that commanders will always be able to use to guide the development of strategy and tactics.2

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA485884

Entities

People

  • Robert S. Bolia

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Aircrafts
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Anti-Tank Weapons
  • Armored Personnel Carriers
  • Command And Control
  • Defense Systems
  • Military Communications
  • Military History
  • Military Organizations
  • Network Centric Warfare
  • Second World War
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Economics
  • Educational Psychology
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies