The USS Vincennes (CG-49) was among the most technologically advanced and capable guided-missile cruisers in the world in 1988, and her captain, like much of the crew, was a seasoned warrior with years of experience. Yet, when she shot down a civilian airliner on 3 July 1988, killing 256 people, the human-machine system built to increase lethality while providing advanced situational awareness failed under the stress of combat-catastrophically. As the complexity of modern war- fare increases and the quest for information superiority drives militaries toward greater technology-assisted decision-making, the Vincennes incident provides a unique perspective on the confluence of technology and human decision-making. The incident begs the question: Why did the pairing of such advanced technology with a seasoned crew fail so badly?
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