Technology for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, 2000-2035: Becoming a 21st-Century Force: Volume 3: Information in Warfare (1997)

In summary, the Department of the Navy must recognize the significance of and critical dependence on information technologies and systems for future naval forces and elevate information superiority to a warfare area. The Department of the Navy must establish an integrated organizational structure with the responsibility for planning, programming, and budgeting for all information systems not unique to individual platforms or weapons. Career paths and educational programs must be established within this warfare area to provide incentives and rewards for the personnel involved.

Information superiority will be achieved only when a robust, seamless, and secure information infrastructure is established to support naval forces and provide them with the necessary information content in a timely and interpretable manner. The information infrastructure will be based largely on commercial systems and services, and the Department of the Navy must ensure that these systems are seamlessly integrated and that the information transported over the infrastructure is protected and secure. Network integration, components for robust communications links, development of adaptive transport protocols, and the development of intelligent service application software agents are critical to allow for establishing a seamless information infrastructure based on commercially developed systems and services and as such must be supported by the Navy Department and DOD.

As important as the infrastructure is the content of the information transported over that infrastructure. The information content will be established from multiple sensors and intelligence systems. With the explosion of information

systems globally, new sources of information and intelligence will emerge as information flows across the global commercial infrastructure. Commercial space-based imaging systems will provide timely submeter imagery worldwide. In addition to these commercial space-based assets and the significant information produced by National systems, the Department of the Navy must invest in unique radar and electro-optical sensors that will meet requirements for continuous coverage of the tactical battle space and allow for long-range precision targeting against all targets.

This expanding set of sensor systems will generate large databases that must be organized, accessed, interpreted, and presented in a time frame and format useful to the warfighter. Information content, understanding, and recognition theory are critical technology areas that will be increasingly important in an information-rich society, but there are many developments that must be supported by the DOD and Department of the Navy. In particular, database mining algorithms, sensor data fusion, and development of techniques for automatic target recognition must be supported.

The information infrastructure and the information content within that infrastructure must be protected, and U.S. forces must also be capable of denying an adversary access to the multiple sources of information available within the global commercial marketplace.

This volume reports on the panel's discussions of the future dependence of naval forces on information systems and the need to achieve information superiority to ensure the success of future warfighting strategies. It presents what the panel considers to be the characteristics of a robust information infrastructure and the information content carried to the warfighter over the infrastructure. It also discusses the sensor technologies and systems necessary to produce the data that will be processed, mined, and interpreted to generate the necessary information content, as well as the criticality of maintaining the security of the information infrastructure and the information flowing within those systems. The Navy Department C³ staff organizations have traditionally focused on communications, computers, and data links. What is missing are sophisticated coordination of the specifications for organic and remote sensors, information networks, and precision weapons; understanding of the reliance that can be placed on National and theater sensors; and the appropriate investment balance among these components, not only of the entire sensor-to-shooter chain, but also spanning the spectrum from preparation of the battlefield to battle damage assessment. As an outgrowth of those discussions, the panel draws some specific conclusions and makes recommendations throughout the report.

The panel makes the following specific set of recommendations related to information in warfare and U.S. ability to achieve information superiority.

1. Establish and treat information superiority as a warfare area. Provide a mechanism for coordinating all Navy Department command, control, communications, computing, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C⁴ISR) resources, requirements, and planning.

   A mechanism must be found to coordinate all aspects of information superiority across both Navy and Marine Corps C⁴ISR endeavors, giving due consideration to the evolving missions for naval forces and to current and future capabilities for ISR performed by other Services and agencies. If established, such a mechanism could greatly enhance the capability of joint operations with other services. Except for dedicated organic intra-platform-specific systems, all resources, requirements, and planning for information systems—including architecture, nodes, links, networks, combat systems, and sensors—must be under the purview of that mechanism.

2. Encourage information superiority careers. Educate all officers, regular and reserve, about the information technologies, resources, and systems needed to support future Navy and Marine Corps operations; define a cadre of specialists; and identify a career path to flag/general officer rank.

3. Adopt commercial information technology, systems, and services wherever possible. Develop technologies only for special Navy and Marine Corps needs such as low-probability-of-intercept communications and connectivity to submerged platforms.

   Where feasible, transmit Navy traffic through commercial systems or use commercial satellites with transponders and terminal equipment optimized for naval systems. When necessary, develop technologies to fit naval special needs such as those for multiband, multifunctional antennas; communications to undersea platforms; and low-probability-of-intercept and antijam-capable communications systems.

4. Modernize information systems and services aggressively. Strive to involve operational users, research commands, and acquisition organizations in a cohesive relationship that allows the continued rapid insertion of advanced information systems for use by Navy and Marine Corps forces.

   The Navy Department should continue to modify and adapt the acquisition system, in collaboration with the warfighter, to allow accelerated demonstrations of advanced information technologies and the rapid fielding of new information systems. Where feasible, it should adopt commercial systems and adapt naval applications to their capabilities, rather than develop service-unique systems.

5. Focus information infrastructure R&D. Make integration of diverse commercial services and DOD-unique links a primary focus of information infrastructure and network research and development.

   The Navy Department should pursue selected R&D focused especially on cross-network interoperability, involving commercial-to-military communication and interoperability, civil-to-military and military-to-military, such that seamless integration and transfer between these networks is easily achieved (air and space

communications to submarines is a good example). This cross-network technology R&D should incorporate both terrestrial wire and fiber, satellite relay, and tactical wireless (radio frequency [RF]) networks that allow shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship, air-to-ship, and ground-to-ground network interoperability.

6. Manage data sources. Establish a clear policy designating responsibility in the Navy Department for identifying, organizing, classifying, and assuring all relevant information sources that permit information extraction and communication from multiple remote locations. Invest in research on and development of tools and techniques to facilitate this shared information environment.

   Ensure timely and convenient access to all relevant information sources by naval assets. Invest in R&D to enable interoperability and remote access to information and to develop tools and techniques such as intelligent software agents that facilitate creation of a warfighter-friendly shared information environment. Such an environment will include maritime-specific databases and mirroring, and will reflect awareness of emerging information providers and vigilance in assessing and maintaining database quality.

7. Extract relevant information and knowledge. Adopt commercial data-mining technology for naval applications and pursue a theory of information understanding and apply it to target recognition.

   Establish naval expertise and fund data-mining technologies from commercial technologies adopted for naval applications. In conjunction, emphasis should be placed on stimulating advances in recognition theory for the extraction of critical understanding and information. This should include enhanced attention to automatic target recognition (ATR) applications, force structure analysis, fusion methods, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and smart databases and logistics support.

8. Exploit commercial sensing. Consider commercial space-based imaging systems and tools for exploiting them, as well as mechanisms for distributing data, in support of naval applications.

   The DOD and the Department of the Navy should adopt acquisition strategies that take maximum advantage of the capabilities provided by commercially available space- and airborne imaging systems and should seek to exploit spinoffs of commercially developed sensor technology for application to military-unique applications.

9. Exploit National and joint sensors. Provide online/direct connectivity to naval platforms and Marine Corps units to support long-range and precision-guided munitions.

   The Department of the Navy must continue to integrate naval sensor systems with National and joint systems to provide near-real-time wide-area surveillance and target identification in support of force projection ashore. Investment should be made to provide digital connectivity and direct downlinks to support robust C⁴ISR, as well as sensor-to-shooter architectures for long-range and precision-guided munitions. When early external support cannot be ensured,

the Department of the Navy should consider the development of organic sensors to sustain Forward…From the Sea dominance.

0. Make information warfare operational. Integrate defense and offense and develop needed technology, systems, tactics, tools, and intelligence support.

   To develop the capabilities required for information warfare in 2035, the Department of the Navy should continue to make information warfare activities operational by integrating defensive and offensive elements at the control of the warfighter and by investing in the development of specific technology for support of countermeasures and defensive capabilities, offensive tools and tactics, and intelligence capabilities.