Dominant Battlespace Knowledge: Considerations for the Commander

摘要

The information age, and an accompanying revolution in military affairs, has the potential to provide U.S. forces with dominant battlespace knowledge resulting from information superiority. While the benefits to the commander would be significant, the development of relative superiority in situational awareness will not go unnoticed by the enemy. While it may provide advantageous deterrent and coercive capabilities, dominant battlespace knowledge will not necessarily prevent hostilities. Commanders should expect the enemy to pursue asymmetric strategies including insurgencies, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction to overcome the technological advantage of the United States. At the same time the enemy may introduce technology into his own forces to improve his situation awareness and precision engagement capabilities. The end result of technological advances of both sides may be increased weapons lethality, and increased involvement in prolonged conflicts and military operations other than war. Dominant battlespace knowledge will also create challenges to conventional military leadership. The goal of dominant battlespace knowledge is to lift the fog of war. While the commander's understanding of the battle situation may improve, the existence of dominant battlespace knowledge will create new and complex challenges.