Global Distributed ISR Operations: The Changing Face of Warfare

Abstract

Over the last decade, our joint team has benefitted greatly from a combination of technology and new operating concepts to better leverage warfighting talent around the globe. Nowhere is this progress as evident as in the rapid evolution of distributed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. Joint and allied forces depend daily on these new capabilities -- a result of innovations stemming from our longstanding competencies in ISR, unmanned aerial systems, air, space, cyberspace infrastructure, and both the technology and art of distributed operations. This rapidly evolving paradigm, called distributed ISR operations, links platforms and sensors, forces forward, and human ISR warfighting expertise around the globe in ways that make networked combat operations routine. The criticality of this amalgam of airborne ISR capability to current operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, the geographic combatant commands, and homeland security is not widely known or well understood. The intent of this article is to explain and expand awareness of this global network-centric warfighting capability.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA515567

Entities

People

  • David A. Deptula
  • James R. Marrs

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air National Guard
  • Aircrafts
  • Combat Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Geographic Regions
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Homeland Security
  • Indirect Fire
  • National Guard
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Surveillance
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Geospatial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Analytics
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Cyber
  • Space