Information warfare: implications for forging the tools

• Main Author: Thrasher, Roger Dean
• Other Authors: Boger, Dan C.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/32124

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === One part of the modern Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) is the possibility of a new form of warfare-often called information warfare. Development of information warfare depends on technological advances, systems development and adaptation of operational approaches and organizational structures. This thesis assesses the implications of information warfare for the technology and systems development areas, with the underlying motivation of ensuring the military is postured to win the information warfare RMA through effective research, development and acquisition. This assessment takes place primarily through a 'Delphi' process designed to generate discussion between selected information warfare experts about the impacts of information warfare. This thesis concludes that information warfare is largely dependent on commercial information technology. This dependence means the military should rely on the commercial sector for most technological advances and products-with government research funds focused on military-unique research areas. Use of commercial items, coupled with DoD standard architectures, may enable a decentralization of information warfare acquisition to the user level. Finally, this dependence means the acquisition system should focus on architecture development, technology insertion, systems integration and on managing functions and services of systems-primarily through development of operational software to run on mostly commercial hardware.