CyberCraft: Concept Linking NCW Principles with the Cyber Domain in an Urban Operational Environment

With the entry into the Information Age comes a new theory of warfare -- Network Centric Warfare (NCW). Currently, discussions regarding NCW have concentrated on the traditional forms of warfare, namely those that occur within the sub-surface, surface, air and space mediums. Additionally, limited discussions have centered on the asymmetric aspect of the new threat, i.e., joint urban operations. Great strides are being made linking NCW to asymmetric threats, but again these have centered on sub-surface, surface, air and space mediums. There is another medium that can be utilized that has the potential of becoming the most effective use of military force in the Information Age. Using the Cyber Domain to conduct military operations within an urban environment has significant potential. This paper presents an introduction of a new cyber vehicle, called the CyberCraft, which performs similar operations as conventional vehicles, such as a strike platform (e.g., deny, destroy, degrade, disrupt or deceive) or as an Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) platform (e.g., find, fix, track, monitor); however, the CyberCraft operates solely within the cyber domain to extend the arm of military application of force. Additionally, within the concept of this new vehicle, this paper discusses the: (a) factors unique to conducting military operations within an urban environment; (b) challenges of performing NCW and Effects Based Operations (EBO) within an urban environment; and, (c) research areas and technology challenges to pursue regarding utilizing the CyberCraft in an urban environment. Presented at the International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium (ICCRTS) (10th), held in McLean, VA, on 13-16 Jun 2005. Published in the Proceedings of ICCRTS, 2005. Includes briefing charts in addition to text. The original document contains color images.