Network Centric Warfare in the Age of Cyberspace Operations

Abstract : The emergence of cyberspace as a new warfighting domain and the DOD's establishment of Cyberspace Command make clear the United States' intent to gain superiority in this emerging area vital to overarching national interests. In the early 1990s a theory of war focused on information technology and networking rose to the forefront of military thinking with the emergence of Vice Admiral Arthur Cebrowski's Net-Centric Warfare. At the time it was hailed as a potential game changing revolution in military affairs. Specifically Net-Centric Warfare promised to deliver seamless networking of friendly force elements in order to increase combat power. Fast forward to December 2006, with the publication of the National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations, foundational DOD doctrine establishing cyberspace as a warfighting domain. With so much effort and national treasure being applied to cyberspace issues, it is crucial that past network centric warfare concept be applied in today's cyberspace environment. This paper examines the relevance of net centric warfare in the age of cyberspace operations and seeks to determine if combining the tenets of net centric warfare with emerging cyberspace operations doctrine could deliver improved operational capabilities.