Pre-Conference Workshop: Tuesday 26 January 2010

Network-centric warfare (NCW) is a central theme to the current military development of the US, UK and other western nations. The concept is shaping a new approach to warfare, which emphasises a different way of using tactical information, and which exploits (and demands) new kinds of precision weapons. It is therefore playing an increasingly vital role in underwater operations. The concept is that attackers can be dispersed, relying on information provided by remote sensors over an information net. The object of this Master-Class is to make such abstract concepts concrete, and to provide a sense of the flavour of net-centric warfare, as opposed to current conventional, tactics.

Sessions to be covered include:

• What is network-centric warfare?
• A new littoral context for underwater warfare
• Network-centric approaches to mine countermeasures and ASW
• Roles of UUVs, USVs, and UAVs as sensor distributors and effectors
• New weapon requirements to exploit network-centric tactics
• New requirements and possible show-stoppers

This workshop will enable you to:

• Gain a full understanding of network-centric warfare for future underwater operations
• Understand its future impact on tactics and training
• Assess the significance of sub-sea platforms and systems in the future net-enabled battlespace

Facilitated by:

Dr. Norman Friedman
International Naval Consultant and Author