To Find, and Not to Yield: How Advances in Information and Firepower Can Transform Theater Warfare

Abstract : The military forces of the United States are on the threshold of fielding new capabilities that, in concert, represent a revolutionary transformation in the ability to prosecute large scale theater warfare. These capabilities, if fully exploited, can allow comparatively small numbers of forces to observe, assess, engage, and effectively attack enemy assets especially moving land, sea, and air forces over a large area. These new capabilities are thus well suited to meeting the needs of a demanding U.S. defense strategy that calls for forces that can rapidly project military power over long distances, apply that power in a discriminate fashion, and achieve highly asymmetric, favorable outcomes. This report does not argue that the nation should be spending more on defense. It does argue that the Department of Defense should reexamine its force mix and investment priorities in order to exploit more fully and more rapidly important opportunities that exist to enhance U.S. capabilities for rapid power projection. The analysis set forth here should be useful to anyone with a serious interest in U.S. national security and defense planning, particularly those interested in capabilities needed to deter and to prevail in major theater conflicts.