My latest piece for JNS.org is about the network-centered warfare revolution, which is sweeping the IDF. I began the piece with a look at how the IDF might be conducting combat operations in the not too distant future:
…an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) battalion commander may stare out at the urban sprawl of a Gazan neighborhood. As he surveys the residential buildings, the locations of enemy gunmen hiding in apartments will be visible, marked in red by the augmented reality (AR) military glasses he’s wearing
On the third floor of a building, he will see a hostile combatant crouching and pointing a shoulder-fired missile at him. On the fifth floor, he will know two snipers are lying in wait. Behind the building enemy mortar launchers hide, and the path leading to the structure is booby trapped with explosives.
The battalion commander will pass on the coordinates of these threats to Israel Air Force aircraft hovering overhead, which will promptly destroy the targets.
This is not a science fiction scenario. To read where the IDF’s network is currently at, and where it is heading, check out the full article here. It includes a full interview with Maj. Assaf Ovadia, head of the IDF’s Combined Operations Department.