Understanding Network Centric Warfare

Network-centric warfare, is a military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defence in the 1990s. Network society is the expression coined in 1981 related to the social, political, economic and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies. The intellectual origins of the idea can be traced back to the work of early social theorists such as Georg Simmel who analyzed the effect of modernization and industrial capitalism on complex patterns of affiliation, organization, production and experience. Network centric warfare can trace its immediate origins to 1996 when Admiral William Owens introduced the concept of a ‘system of systems’ in a paper of the same name published by the Institute National Security Studies. Owens described the serendipitous evolution of a system of intelligence sensors, command and control systems, and precision weapons that enabled enhanced situational awareness, rapid target assessment, and distributed weapon assignment. The publication will be a valuable aid to the study of the vital aspects of the subject.