Network-Centric Warfare: Implications for Applying the Principles of War

Noting the competitive advantage that a computer network system completely integrated into a firm's structure and operations has provided to businesses, individuals have begun to argue that adoption of this concept by the United States armed forces would produce a comparable, competitive advantage in warfare. This concept, "network-centric warfare," a vision of warfare focused upon the central importance of a network of sensors, platforms, weapons, and users and its resulting synergistic effect, is beginning to cause considerable debate among those interested in the future of America's armed forces. Advocates of the network-centric concept of warfare foresee that it will provide a clear, detailed picture of the battlespace, increased speed of command, self-synchronization of units, and increased ability to mass effects. These enhanced capabilities, if ultimately realized, obviously have the potential to affect the manner in which commanders conduct war at the operational level. The paper's intent is to take the anticipated benefits of network-centric warfare as givens and then to examine the implications of these capabilities in applying the principles of war at the operational level of warfare.