The information age has increased dramatically U.S. combat effectiveness. New communications links, computer-processing techniques, and miniaturized electronics have given the U.S. armed forces global connectivity, powerful sensors, and weapons with awesome precision and lethality. By more fully integrating these technical capabilities with 21st-century warriors, ForceNet will deliver the full promise of network-centric warfare.
Swift and effective use of information will be central to the success of "Sea Power 21." Sea Strike will rely on rich situational awareness provided by persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to sense hostile capabilities and trigger rapid and precise attacks. Sea Shield will use integrated information from joint military, interagency, and coalition sources to identify and neutralize threats far from our shores, locate and destroy antiaccess challenges in littoral waters, and intercept missiles deep over land. Sea Basing will draw on comprehensive data to sustain critical functions afloat, such as joint command and logistics, ensuring operational effectiveness and timely support.
Near-instantaneous collection, analysis, and dissemination of information coupled to advanced computer-driven decision aids will unify the battle space of the 21st century, turning the seas into joint maneuver areas. This vital asymmetric advantage of information superiority will increase responsiveness and survivability by allowing our forces to disperse while focusing offensive and defensive firepower over tremendous distances. ForceNet will provide the information that enables knowledge-based operations, delivering greater power, protection, and operational independence than ever before possible to joint force commanders.
Defining ForceNet
ForceNet will enhance dramatically how the Navy acquires, shares, and capitalizes on information superiority to generate transformational combat effectiveness. It has its roots in the visionary work of the Chief of Naval Operations' Strategic Studies Group based in Newport, Rhode Island. After years of research and concept generation, the Strategic Studies Group defined ForceNet as "the operational construct and architectural framework for naval warfare in the information age that integrates warriors, sensors, networks, command and control, platforms, and weapons into a networked, distributed combat force that is scalable across all levels of conflict from seabed to space and sea to land." ForceNet implements the theory of network-centric warfare.
Developing ForceNet will involve designing and implementing a network architecture that includes standard joint protocols, common data packaging, seamless interoperability, and strengthened security. It requires identifying and prioritizing capability investments within and across joint, interagency, and international programs. Most importantly, it will emphasize people as the center of ForceNet development, so that technological advances support increasingly rapid and accurate decision making.
Priority actions to implement ForceNet will include Web-enabling the Navy; establishing open architecture systems and standards to allow rapid upgrades and integration; building common data bases to widely share information; implementing standard user interfaces to access information; and establishing portals that allow users to pull data from common servers. These ForceNet initiatives and others will be aligned to advance the following objectives:
- Enhance sensing, connectivity, and decision making. This includes surveying existing capabilities to identify "what's missing," especially concepts and technologies that would provide: persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance over tactically significant areas, with particular emphasis on rapidly deployable, distributed, and networked unmanned systems; enhanced communications systems to enable secure, multipath, intratheater links that optimize limited bandwidth and satellite resources; command-and-control systems tailored to a distributed and less hierarchical architecture; and network infrastructure that is dynamic and interoperable with joint and coalition forces.
- Expand joint, interagency, and coalition interoperability. ForceNet will transcend organizational boundaries.It will integrate the widest possible array of joint and coalition platforms, weapons, systems, and networks, to include sensing, decision making, and action execution technologies. This effort should encompass all of the services, as well as interagency and international organizations, as appropriate.
- Invest in intratheater capabilities. Expanded and redundant sensing and communications paths are vital to achieve the full potential of future unmanned systems. Currently, approximately half of internal battle group communications travels along a circuitous out-of-theater path—from ship to satellite, to network operations center, back to satellite, and to recipient ship. As new, higher capacity systems enter the fleet, this routing path leads to unsustainable demand on limited resources. It also is inconsistent with reducing our dependence on bases ashore. To address this problem, ForceNet must develop high-endurance, organic communication hubs that enhance and extend intratheater networking for joint forces.
- Focus on the "warrior" in ForceNet development. While networks, hardware, and software are critical to ForceNet, its real transformational potential results from enhanced warrior performance initiatives that are key to greater situational awareness, self-synchronized execution, and accelerated speed of decision. Developing these capabilities demands that human-system integration efforts be central to ForceNet, ensuring technology is employed to best support our professionals.
- Experiment, innovate, integrate, and implement. Aggressive joint experimentation will be critical to the success of ForceNet. The Sea Trial process will provide a framework to coordinate efforts and accelerate prototyping, aligning fleet-determined requirements with joint objectives. Sea Trial will advance information-gathering and knowledge-enhancement activities while showcasing the operational potential of promising future technologies and concepts. Pilot projects built around improved joint interoperability, theater-centric capabilities, and warrior innovation will forcefully demonstrate the potential of ForceNet.
Turning Information into Power
ForceNet is the enabler of "Sea Power 21," turning information into power. Projected future operating environments emphasize the decisive advantage conferred by superior information management and knowledge dominance. They will be key to operational success in the decades ahead.
Developing ForceNet will be challenging, requiring a comprehensive joint, multiagency, and international program that integrates systems, processes, and organizations. But the time is right for such an effort. Emergent technologies and concepts offer a rare opportunity to dramatically increase our operational effectiveness. By implementing ForceNet, we will seize this opportunity and leverage the full power of network-centric forces in an information age.
Admiral Mayo is Commander, Naval Network Warfare Command. Admiral Nathman is Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs.
Sea Power 21 Series:
Part I—Projecting Decisive Joint Capabilities
Part II—Sea Shield: Projecting Global Defensive Assurance
Part III—Sea Strike: Projecting Persistent, Responsive, and Precise Power
Part IV—Sea Basing: Operational Independence for a New Century
Part VI—Global Concept of Operations
Part VII—Sea Warrior: Maximizing Human Capital
Part VIII—Sea Trial: Enabler for a Transformed Fleet
Part IX—Sea Enterprise: Resourcing Tomorrow's Fleet