Example:

Information characteristics of the recent wars of the US military.

During the Gulf War, the theater communication network established by the US military and multinational forces was the largest, largest, most functional and most advanced in technology. Using satellite communication technology and digital communication network technology, it fully integrates various strategic, theater and tactical communication networks and equipment developed, produced and equipped by various countries for decades into a complete and efficient C3I communication system. Ensure that the White House, Pentagon, logistics base and central headquarters, multinational forces and grass-roots combat troops have a high combat readiness rate of more than 98%, and ensure uninterrupted continuous communication and information exchange between combat platforms such as continents, war zones and local, multinational and neighboring forces, various services and arms, planes, ships and tanks, and up and down, left and right, vertical and horizontal, and cross. Admiral schwarzkopf, Commander-in-Chief of the Gulf War, opened a theater command in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and all subordinate commands were also opened in Saudi Arabia. Schwartz discussed major issues or studied battle plans with commanders at all levels, basically through video conference or face-to-face discussion, and the information exchange between command organizations at all levels was also carried out by telephone, telegram and floppy disk transmission.

The Kosovo War is the first large-scale practical application of the globally integrated C4ISR command and control system. In the Kosovo war, because more than a dozen NATO countries participated in joint operations, they still followed the traditional three-level command system of strategy, campaign and tactics.

In the war in Afghanistan, the US military deliberately tested the ability of network-centric warfare and flat command, so it did not set up a command system according to the strategic, operational and tactical levels, nor did it set up a forward command in the Afghan theater. It has only set up a strategic headquarters in the United States, and the tactical command layer is directly below it, so the command of this war is actually an attempt to command a strategic battle. During the war in Afghanistan, the US military made some achievements in the first network-centric warfare test. For example, more than 80% of the carrier-based aircraft taking off from the Arabian Sea did not know in advance where they were going to the war zone and what targets they were going to attack, and only during the flight after taking off did they receive the latest mission instructions from the command system. At this point, the pilot can choose the best path and way to attack the target under the guidance of the command system. Since the war in Afghanistan, network-centric warfare has officially entered the operational procedure. In this operational procedure, the commanders and staff officers of the command organization are no longer listening to the instructions sent by their subordinates, drafting telegrams or sending voice instructions, but under the auxiliary command and control of C4ISR system, they focus on completing three tasks: first, mastering the information of the enemy and ourselves through C4ISR system, dispelling the fog of war and making operational decisions; The second is to carry out operational planning, issue operational task instructions in advance, and determine the specific opinions, dispatch batches, operational tasks, operational objectives and operational requirements of each unit in joint operations. There is no need to make unified arrangements for the specific implementation of each unit, only need to put forward accurate strike time, place, purpose and requirements, and each unit should cooperate on its own according to the principle of entrusted command; The third is to carry out damage assessment, supervise and evaluate the implementation of the last mission, so as to determine the next batch of strike missions.

During the Iraq war, the US military resumed the implementation of the three-level command system due to the large-scale intervention of ground troops. The strategic headquarters is still located in the United States, and technically it mainly relies on the Global Command and Control System (GCCS); Theater Command The headquarters of Central Command is located in Qatar, the Army Command of Central Command is located in Kuwait, the Air Command of Central Command is located in Saudi Arabia, and the Naval Command of Central Command is located in Bahrain. Tactical-level command institutions set up tactical operational command centers under commanders. During the war, the US military used a global integrated command and control system.

During the Iraq war, the United States had 265,438+0 bases at home, and 33,600 people supported the space reconnaissance and surveillance system at bases outside the home. The military satellite system deployed by the United States covers all the information fields needed for the war against Iraq. The satellites used include reconnaissance satellites, communication satellites, navigation and positioning satellites, resource satellites and meteorological satellites. Reconnaissance satellites mainly include 3 keyhole optical imaging satellites, 3 LaCrosse radar imaging reconnaissance satellites, 3 intruder electronic reconnaissance satellites and 12 second-generation Baiyun electronic ocean surveillance satellite; As for navigation and positioning satellites, * * * invested 24 satellites, GPS-2 and GPS-2R * *, and the positioning accuracy was improved from16m to10m. The space-based information transmission system consisting of 14 national defense satellite communication system satellites, 4 military satellites and tracking and data relay satellites is also used to ensure the strategic and tactical communication in the Iraqi theater. In addition, some commercial satellites have been leased, mainly earth resources satellites and meteorological satellites.

Example 2:

On the Information Network War in the United States from the Iraq War

Under the guidance of the new military revolution, the war has developed from the stage of mechanized war to the new stage of information network war. From the Iraq war, we can see the great power of information network warfare as a combat mode. At the same time, it also reveals the "soft rib" that restricts information network warfare, which will provide reference and lessons for China's military reform, army building and information network construction.

Keywords: information network warfare

War has made information network an important carrier and an indispensable combat tool for military strikes and psychological warfare. Information warfare has developed into an important combat mode and combat effectiveness. In traditional war, the military and horses have not moved the public opinion first, and in modern war, the information network behavior runs through the whole process of war. It can be seen from the Iraq war that the information network has become the sword of Damocles hanging high on the battlefield.

First, the characteristics and great power of information network warfare

Information network warfare began to emerge in the Kosovo war, but it was fully exerted in the Iraq war. Information network warfare is to integrate all kinds of detection systems and command systems scattered in space, land and sea into a unified and efficient information network system by using a powerful computer communication network, so that combatants at all levels of the army, navy and air force can enjoy the battlefield situation, exchange operational information, coordinate command and carry out operational actions by using this network. Its purpose is to steal information by attacking enemy computer networks, destroy and paralyze enemy information systems, and take various measures to protect their own network security.

The main characteristics of information network warfare are as follows: First, its combat power is extensive. Because of the strong military-civilian universality of information technology and the interconnection of computer networks, anyone can get involved in cyber warfare as long as he has certain computer network knowledge and certain cyber attack means. Second, the operational objectives are equal. In computer network warfare, as long as you have high-level computer network talents, network warfare can be effectively implemented, regardless of the size of national strength and the number of troops; Third, the combat space is vast. Computer network warfare is not limited by region, and can be implemented wherever the network can reach; Fourth, the combat time is continuous. Computer network warfare can be carried out at any time without the interference of external natural conditions and the limitation of weather factors. The fifth is to destroy the information system and affect people's psychology. The effect of destroying the information system is that the enemy cannot use the facilities of the information system to obtain the correct information he needs. It can not only physically destroy local hardware facilities, but also destroy system software, leading to system crash or providing incorrect information. By providing unfavorable information to the enemy, it can affect people's psychology, control people's behavior, affect morale and weaken the enemy's combat effectiveness.

There are three main forms of information network warfare: psychological warfare, electronic warfare and computer warfare. Psychological warfare refers to exerting unfavorable information on the enemy through various means, affecting people's psychology and thus weakening combat effectiveness. Electronic warfare is one of the main operational contents of modern warfare. It is classified as an information warfare weapon mainly because the information system is based on all kinds of electronic equipment, whether it is a detector (radar, photoelectric equipment, monitoring equipment), an information processing platform or a communication facility (wireless communication, wired communication), the core of which is electronic equipment. Electronic jamming can weaken the ability of radar and other detectors, making it impossible for the enemy to collect information in time; Can't deliver information in time or deliver error information. Computer is the foundation and platform of information system, and plays a core role in information system. Computer warfare refers to a form of war with information system as its main goal. Its forms mainly include: using the network characteristics and electromagnetic characteristics of computer information system to steal enemy secrets through network and electromagnetic means; Implement network attacks through computer virus attacks, computer chip attacks, network "hacker" attacks, electromagnetic interference and other means; Take measures such as strengthening "firewall" technology and disconnecting the link between the core system and the outside world to protect the network; Do a good job of system backup and make full preparations for network recovery.

The Iraq war is a local war under the condition of modern high technology that broke out at the beginning of the 20th century, and it is also a huge information network war in a sense. In this Iraq war, the speed of the US military's action far exceeded the response capacity of the Iraqi army. The speed and intensity of the war have caused the Iraqi army to fall into the concentrated attack of the US military many times. The attack method adopted by the US military is to destroy a combat unit of the Iraqi army and then quickly move to the next target. Before the US attack on Baghdad, the command and communication system of the Iraqi army was completely destroyed by the US military. The information advantage gained by the implementation of network-centric warfare is the key to the rapid operation of the US military. The US military can know the location of the Iraqi army, but the Iraqi army does not know the location of the US-British Coalition forces, nor does it know the next target of the Coalition forces. So it can be said that the United States won the war by network-centric warfare.

1. Get reliable target information in time.

In this war, advanced satellite system, reconnaissance plane, ground station and ground reconnaissance personnel formed an integrated intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) system for the sky, the ground (sea) and the air. Provide combat space for the troops, including the deployment, weapons and operational intentions of each unit, and provide damage effect evaluation. It also provides target information for precision strike of Tomahawk cruise missiles and joint direct attack missiles guided by global navigation and positioning system, and provides early warning and target information for anti-Patriot missiles. During the Gulf War, it usually took the US military two days to complete the reconnaissance, evaluation and attack preparation of the target, but now it only takes a few minutes at the earliest.

Space is the commanding height of future wars. In the field of ISR, satellite reconnaissance and surveillance has become the premise of implementing network-centric warfare because of its large coverage, global coverage, long running time and access to enemy territory in peacetime. Among them, six military imaging reconnaissance satellites passed over Iraq, including three KH- 12 satellites and three LaCrosse radar satellites. Each satellite flies over Iraq twice a day. The accuracy of KH- 12 satellite reaches 0.1m. The highest accuracy of the LaCrosse radar satellite reaches 0.3 meters. The US military makes full use of real-time information and images provided by manned and unmanned reconnaissance planes, fighter planes and personal tracking systems. This information is directly transmitted to the headquarters or the commander's theater command and control vehicle. Real-time information and images help to distinguish between the enemy and ourselves and reduce the time from the sensor to the shooter. All the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance resources owned by the U.S. Department of Defense run at high speed during the war, providing a common operational map for the army commander of the Allied Ground Command and other commanders around the world. The US military has integrated the ISR platform into communication and data networks and provided bandwidth for its operation.

2. The speed, quality and safety of information transmission are improved.

Ensuring the smoothness of military information transmission system, improving the speed and reliability of information transmission and strengthening information management ability are important guarantees for implementing network-centric warfare. Satellite communication provides conditions for the construction of battlefield information network with its advantages of wide-area coverage and global coverage, unique broadcasting and multicast capabilities, fast and flexible networking, support for asymmetric bandwidth demand and bandwidth allocation on demand.

The US Department of Defense has invested US$ 654.38+US$ 600 million to build a national defense message system, which securely encrypts its global communications to ensure the security of transmitting confidential and top-secret information to users of the Department of Defense, the Bureau of Commerce and contractors. In the Iraq war, using this system is faster, more confidential and easier to use than using automatic digital network or other similar military information and message systems. The information of the national defense message system is transmitted through the national defense information system network (DISN) and used to distribute voice, video and data information. Due to strict confidentiality, the information in the national defense message system is slightly different from that in Outlook. However, users can write the information of national defense message system on the computer, and then use Fortezza card with encryption token to mark and encrypt the information.

When the American-British Coalition forces fought with the Iraqi army on the battlefield in Iraq, the battle in cyberspace was also intense. Since the outbreak of the war against Iraq, the allied network system has suffered minor cyber attacks, and attempts to launch attacks have been extremely frequent. Therefore, devices deemed unsafe will be quickly isolated, disconnected from the network, and scanned for viruses to prevent further problems. In the actual battlefield, if the troops are in danger, the program will be protected, and even those dangerous equipment and systems will be destroyed to prevent sensitive data streams from falling into enemy hands. For example, computers connected to the security IP router of the Ministry of National Defense have removable hard disks, and some encryption devices have similar protection measures. In the United States Joint Air Operations Center in Qatar, it is necessary to identify and authorize the information system before commanding all joint air missions. The information security company undertook this urgent task.

3. Rely on effective data link to implement precise strike.

An important feature of network-centric warfare is to realize the horizontal networking between weapon platforms through information network system, so as to realize the sharing of information resources, so as to maximize the operational effectiveness of weapon platforms and implement precise strikes. Traditional land-based combat platforms represented by tanks, chariots, artillery and missiles, maritime combat platforms represented by ships and submarines, and air combat platforms represented by airplanes and helicopters must have modern information advantages on the basis of firepower advantages in order to become real high-tech information weapons and equipment. Therefore, a data link that links various combat platforms, optimizes information resources, effectively allocates and uses combat energy, and is used to link and integrate various combat units of the Army has attracted more and more attention. Data link will become the "adhesive" and "multiplier" of future military combat forces. In this war against Iraq, the US military basically used old planes and tanks, but these old weapons were connected through the network, thus connecting the cockpit of the plane, the command post and the tank driver, so that they could see far away from the field of vision, thus greatly improving their combat effectiveness. At the end of March, Iraq was once disturbed by sandstorms, but the US military can still clearly see the situation on the battlefield, and even the B-52 bomber pilots flying at high altitude can overlook the movement on the ground through rolling yellow sand. B-52 bombers can accurately bomb Iraqi troops by using radar images transmitted by other reconnaissance planes.

The "2 1 century brigade and below combat command system" widely used by the US military in this war is a communication system based on the Internet. It combines information sources from satellites, drones and special forces. It has become standard equipment on thousands of armored vehicles, tanks and helicopters of the US military. The system realizes data sharing between tanks and helicopters. Tanks can send text messages, which are more reliable than voice communication in fierce battles, and helicopters can also call artillery fire support through text messages. Every car has a computer address for identification, and the location information of the car can be updated at any time through the global positioning system. Encrypted data is transmitted between military vehicles by radio. Frequency hopping technology makes it impossible for the enemy to track the target signal. All the functions of the tank are controlled by the computer equivalent to Pentium III. If the primary system fails, the standby system will continue to operate. If the whole computer system fails completely, manual control can be used at last. Once the tank crew is captured, they can delete sensitive data in a short time.

Global navigation and positioning satellites are the key to precision strike. In the war, relying on the US military's GPS system provided an effective guarantee for the US military's precision strike weapons. The precision strike weapon used by the US military this time is about 10 times that of the Gulf War. In this Iraq war, they dropped 15000 precision-guided bombs, and the strike accuracy was obviously higher than that of the Gulf War. In this war, the U.S. military can use a large number of precision weapons to carry out timely attacks on Iraqi leadership targets and the National Guard.

4. The rapid mobility of troops has been realized.

In the era of mechanized warfare, due to the limited communication, mobility and delivery capabilities of troops and weapons, it is impossible to concentrate troops and carry out attacks quickly. Geographical limitations also make it difficult for troops to make quick and long-distance maneuvers while maintaining high coordination and adequate logistical support. However, after the implementation of network-centric warfare, the troops will no longer be limited by geographical conditions and realize rapid mobility. During the Iraq War, the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division of the US Army created a daily advancing speed of170km, which was three times that of the troops during the Gulf War. What makes people pay attention is that this mobile way goes straight to key areas and even ignores the danger of exposing logistics support. Because troops can move quickly, the number of combatants can be greatly reduced. In this Iraq war, the total number of American troops on the battlefield in Iraq is about 1.25 million, far less than 500,000 in the Gulf War.

Second, from the Iraq war to see the disadvantages of information network warfare

Because the Iraqi army has almost no ability of information warfare and cyber warfare in this war, the US military is like nobody's business in cyberspace. In fact, the information network of the US military is still relatively fragile. In this Iraq war, the security and reliability of the US military's information network have not been actually tested. Nevertheless, some problems exposed by the U.S. military in combat also reveal the direction that the U.S. military network-centric warfare needs to be further improved.

First, false information hinders the combat effectiveness of the US military. In information warfare, the formation and exertion of combat effectiveness depends on the correct collection, processing and use of information. In modern warfare, the unprecedented increase of information and the increase of information dissemination will inevitably lead to the proliferation of false information and the distortion of useful information. This makes it difficult to distinguish between true and false information in the process of collection and processing, which further affects the play of combat effectiveness. During the Gulf War, the Iraqi army placed fake tanks and fake positions, which made the reconnaissance system of the US military unable to know the truth and facts, and the information collected was mixed, which led to the misjudgment of the US military and the indiscriminate bombing of fake targets. Similarly, in the Kosovo war, the reconnaissance satellites of the US military could not completely identify Yugoslavia's ingenious camouflage, and it was difficult to track moving vehicles and other targets, nor could they find targets through clouds and forests. So, a few days after NATO proudly announced that it had dealt a "heavy blow" to the Yugoslav army, the Yugoslav People's Army neatly opened a hidden area. At that time, they only lost a dozen tanks.

Second, the role of information weapons is limited by the battlefield environment.

Information warfare requires a high operational environment. Meteorological and geographical conditions will affect information attacks. Such as jungle, desert, mountain and bad weather will have an impact on the information weapon system. The Pentagon admitted that the complicated climate and geographical environment forced NATO to cancel more than 20% of its air strikes against Yugoslavia. In the "Iraqi Freedom" operation, sandstorms once invalidated the information weapons of the US military, greatly delaying the combat operations.

Third, the information network system is developed but vulnerable.

First of all, the United States cannot monopolize the technology of information warfare. To occupy and control the world information market, it is necessary to export advanced software, hardware and encryption technology and create an information environment. However, due to the spread and enjoyment of information technology, the United States has established an information system platform for information warfare, which also provides opportunities for other countries and individuals to use this platform to attack the United States. Most technologies that attack this information system, such as computers and modems, are very cheap. Therefore, anyone with a flexible mind can arm himself into an information warrior, easily paralyze the US military and civilian computer networks, and even destroy the command and control system on which the high-level decision-making bodies of the US military depend.

Secondly, the huge information system makes the US military powerless in the face of information attacks. At home, the US military and the government rely more and more on the national information infrastructure to perform their functions, and a large number of logistics socialization guarantees have to rely on civil communication networks. The US Department of Defense has 2 million computers, 10000 local area networks and 100 long-distance networks. These network devices are used to coordinate and carry out various tasks of the Ministry of National Defense, including weapons design to battlefield management. Although the actual combat computers of the US military are generally safe and reliable, the computer protection ability for managing wages, personnel, transportation and spare parts is low, and it is easy to leak and be destroyed because of networking with public communication facilities. Internationally, the United States is the most developed country in information technology. Statistics show that 80% of the information on the Internet comes from the United States, and 80% of the global data processing is carried out in the United States. The highly developed economy of the United States depends on a sound global information network. With the continuous expansion and deepening of information network, American economy will be more dependent on the world, and American culture and economy will be more closely linked with other parts of the world. In this way, the United States can not only reach out to all parts of the world at will, but also expose itself to the world more comprehensively through the "computer interface" and become a target of public criticism more easily. According to the report of the U.S. Department of Defense, government and military information systems suffered 38,000 attacks, with a success rate of 88%, but only 4% were detected. 95% of these 4% can't take any emergency measures. It can be seen that the complex information system can make the US military helpless in the face of information attacks.

In the information war, if the US military wants to maintain its superiority in information technology, it must increase its investment in information engineering construction, transformation, maintenance and updating. But the cost is so great that the United States can't afford it easily now. For example, as an information weapon platform integrating high-tech technologies, it is often expensive. The cost of each Patriot missile is 165438+ ten thousand dollars, the cost of each Tomahawk cruise missile is 1.35 thousand dollars, and the cost of each E-8 electronic reconnaissance plane is 425 million dollars. At present, information technology research and procurement costs account for 22%~30% in aircraft, ships, tanks, artillery and other weapons and equipment, 45% in missiles, and a higher proportion in C4ISR. In addition, the software system of informationized weapons and equipment is invisible, intangible and professional, and its development and procurement costs are high, which is more difficult to estimate. At the same time, because the return on investment in information security is not significant in the short term, it may even be lost. Even companies with strong financial resources are reluctant to help, and the government is inevitably short of funds. Therefore, in the information war, the defense of the US military is weak. I'm afraid this situation will take a long time to improve. The advantage of information network technology or knowledge may win the war, but this advantage is very fragile. This advantage may be completely changed by a fuse, or it may be lost by a lie, or because your ability to protect your advantage from being stolen by the enemy is limited. The fragility of this advantage lies in knowing the subject who holds the information, and any negligence of people will lead to mistakes. History has proved that man is still the key to the success or failure of war, whether in the cold weapon era or in the network era. Although network-centric warfare provides conditions for decision-making advantage, the transformation from information advantage to decision-making advantage depends on the quality of commanders and even the whole army. Among the qualities of the army, creativity is the most important.

Third, some enlightenment: in the information society, all political, economic, cultural and military activities will be centered around the network. In future wars, controlling cyberspace means seizing freedom of action in multidimensional space of land, sea, air and sky. In order to cope with the threat of cyber warfare and seize the control of the network, countries all over the world are stepping up preparations for cyber warfare. At present, China's information security situation is extremely grim, and there is still a big gap between the ability to implement and resist information network warfare and the world's advanced level, mainly as follows: First, hardware is subject to people. At present, China can't produce CPU chips by itself, and the key technologies of other components of computer network system are also in the hands of foreign manufacturers. Second, there are many software vulnerabilities. Because China started late in information security, most of the software used in China has security risks. In addition, there is a big gap between information security technology and the advanced level in the world. Therefore, it is an urgent task to strengthen the information networking construction of the army, improve the information networking level of the whole society and enhance the national defense consciousness of the whole nation to meet the requirements of the future information war.

(1) If you fall behind, you will be beaten, especially in weapons and equipment. The time difference can't be too big, otherwise even the tactical advantage can't be obtained on the battlefield, and it is difficult to win the war. Therefore, the construction of military information network should be further promoted. The future information war is based on broadband, large capacity and digital network transmission capacity, so it is imperative to speed up the construction of military information network, especially terminal construction and mobile network construction. Further improve the level of integration. Future operations will be joint operations, and there is still a long way to go to truly realize the integration of command automation systems. Only by accelerating the construction and development of a comprehensive integrated system suitable for China's national conditions can we truly realize the modernization goals of intelligence reconnaissance, early warning detection, information confrontation, and especially the control of weapons platforms. In addition, it is necessary to promote the development of national information industry. A country's information warfare capability is based on the development level of its own information industry. Therefore, we should make great efforts in this respect and give priority to the development of the information industry. At the same time, give full play to the advantages of China's socialist system, concentrate the manpower and material resources of the whole country, conduct joint research under the overall planning of the state, form our advantageous areas, and cast our own "trump card."

(2) Innovative operation theory is needed. The backwardness of equipment and technology is terrible, but the backwardness of ideas is more dangerous. On the one hand, the innovation of operational theory requires matching with existing weapons and equipment, on the other hand, it must be coordinated with operational objectives. The Iraqi army's operational theory is very backward, which is incompatible with these two aspects. The research on comprehensive military theory should be further strengthened. Facing the influence of the new military revolution in the world, we should constantly follow up and discuss the characteristics and countermeasures of informatization construction suitable for our respective national conditions, increase the innovation of military theory, promote more achievements and accelerate development.

(3) Attention should be paid to the construction of the surrounding and international security strategic environment. The failure of Iraq is closely related to Saddam's dictatorship at home and lack of friends in the world.

(4) Training network training talents. In the future information war, the human factor is still the first and most important factor to determine the outcome of the war. Only high-quality people can control high-tech equipment. It is necessary to cultivate three kinds of talents to meet the needs of network warfare: first, a team of computer experts specializing in network countermeasures research; Second, a team of commanders who understand network countermeasure technology and its tactics; Third, network skills Operators with certain basic knowledge of computer networks will gradually build a team of computer experts specializing in network confrontation.

(5) Establish a network security protection barrier. We must formulate a series of network security laws and regulations to legalize the development, application, management and security of computers and their network technologies, and ensure the security of computer networks by legal means; Corresponding protection technologies should be developed. Technology is an elite weapon to realize network security, and network protection technology must be developed. We should focus on the development of password authentication technology, computer network information leakage protection technology, computer network security and other weak link detection technologies, first of all to ensure the security of the network system. On this basis, it is the first step to strengthen the research and improvement of military intelligence.

References: 1, [America] alvin toffler's Future War, Xinhua Publishing House, 1996.

2. [Russian] B.A. Li Xi Ginger. A Xie Leping, World War III-Psychological Information War, Social Science Literature Publishing House, September 2000.

3. Zhang Shaozhong's How to Win the Information War, World Knowledge Press, June 2004.