There are multiple articles published recently that provide insight into the challenges and direction of modern warfare as understood by many experts, such as those in Cyber Command, Navy/SPAWAR and Air Force Space Command/AF Cyber. In a single word, they’re focused on convergence. Other services have also recognized this area’s importance, as shown in other articles this year that are referenced and quoted in this full blog article. Internally, Sentar experts have also been recognizing the importance and inevitability of Cybersecurity and Electronic Warfare convergence for quite some time as they have worked with various DoD agencies. Click here for the detailed article.
Today’s military challenges often include cybersecurity and cyberattacks blended into their more traditional attack surfaces. BreakingDefense.com published a great in-depth article about The 3rd Offset as discussed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work. Work is an Artificial Intelligence advocate, but he’s much less interested in killer robots than in command and control. “Electronic warfare, like cyber, space, and nuclear weapons, is hard to manage because it crosses so many domains and jurisdictions inside the Defense Department,” said Work. The Air Force led the way on C2 by developing the world’s first “offensive battle network” in time to eviscerate the Iraqi military in 1991, Work said. Today, he said, with experiments like the new JICSPOC command center for space operations and “multi-domain command and control,” it’s leading the way again as part of the Pentagon’s high-tech Third Offset Strategy. Artificial intelligence comes into play to sort through the masses of data moving over these command-and-control networks, find patterns, and advise the humans on threats and options. In some important niches, such as cybersecurity and electronic warfare, the computers may take action on their own when a virus or hostile signal is moving too fast for humans to react. But even so, the role of AI will start “narrow” and evolve “gradually,” Work said. Other DoD agencies are also working feverously along these lines as well. The Army has its concept of “multi-domain battle,” which seeks to break down service barriers by, for example, land-based missiles sinking enemy ships at sea and submarines launching cyber attacks. The Navy has Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare, which aims to integrate cyber, jamming, spoofing, and careful manipulation of electronic signals to blind and baffle enemies. More detail is available in the two links below.