Page 16 - Cormorant Issue 18

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were no doubt in denial of the fact that in 15 years’ time they would be using portable classi ed communications, and monitoring a live RPAS feed, all while in transit though a war zone. We know technology is moving, but seem oblivious to just how fast.
It is becoming increasingly clear that
in utilising these technologies in bello
the ACSC graduates of today need to
be more conversant than ever with the intricacies, capabilities and limitations
of the systems and weapons that they will be asked to employ in future combat scenarios. For example, if ‘Big Data’ is to
knowledge of the nature of the force he
or she is capable of unleashing. While
a battle damage assessment of an aerial munition is relatively simple to model,
one would suggest that the repercussions
of a battle eld conducted cyber attack would be dif cult to predict. While it is currently acknowledged that permissions for such an attack rest rmly with strategic entities, history has a habit of pushing these capabilities down to the battle eld. Today’s aspiring military commanders will have to navigate a more nuanced use of force to that which has been seen before.
The possibilities presented by technology are virtually limitless; the only limitation remains the human being. While navigating through the ACSC Virtual Learning Environment, one can access thousands of documents; the problem being there simply isn’t the time to read them all. A Reaper MQ-9 can push substantial amounts of
data down to an intelligence fusion cell for exploitation. As is increasingly the case, the limitation will prove to be the number of analysts available to process the information in time for it to remain relevant. As such, capability is wasted. Technology able to harvest data and produce bespoke products that can be interpreted by an analyst would be a welcome sight in any HQ. While there remain some compelling reasons behind white-boards and ip charts within the modern military planning room, shouldn’t we be thinking smarter?
As a community, we have a long way to
go. If I wasn’t such a technoslob, limited
in my imagination, this article would have been presented to you as some form of augmented reality able to be viewed as one walks through the JSCSC atrium. Either way I am betting that technology will ensure that ACSC students’ defence research projects will be considerably easier to compile in 2029.
1 Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act.
“
“All importantly, harnessing new technologies
will ensure the OODA loop can shrink i”n size and turn more rapidly.
be ef ciently used to tackle today’s analysis, capture, data curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, and information privacy challenges, the capabilities of those assets that form
the phenomena need to be comprehensively understood.
Only by grasping the parameters of Big Data, and the complexity of the battle eld upon which one nds themselves, can data correlations and patterns be identi ed so that effective predictions (and plans) can
be made. All importantly, harnessing new technologies will ensure the OODA loop1 can shrink in size and turn more rapidly. After all, nancial analysts are using it to competitively predict stock levels, medical researchers are using it to identify and prevent disease, and media corporations
are using it to forecast global incidents
and fuse a comprehensive ‘intelligence’ picture. While procuring such systems
for the military is important, it is the full appreciation of their utility that will ensure their effective use and prove all important in the ongoing information war.
Reminders as to the dif culties of managing emerging and recently emerged technologies, (such as the use of RPAS and Cyber), come with their own challenges. For example, in ensuring the tenets of distinction and proportionality, tomorrow’s commanders have to possess an intimate
As a commu”
we have a long
way to go.
nity,