Duels of Systems and Forces

This paper begins with a brief summary of the vital changes in warfare during the last decades as seen by the author: Mass armies are no longer common tools for warfare. The “big” war has become unusual, while limited (and controlled) use of military forces for political purpose still is in use. However the ability to maneuver and fight with weapons still remains a basic military skill and modeling of combat remains important for understanding war. A formulation of a basic problem for single weapon systems is made and the effects of technology development are discussed in that context. Further comments are given on problems in information processing in modern weapons and in Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence, where the technological changes are expected to be revolutionary. A short comment is also given on transforming single weapons data to force characteristics, which is important for connecting analyses on low levels with those on high levels. The author also gives some comments on Operations Other Than War and Asymmetric War - which are new challenges for military analysts as well as officers. Finally a critique is given on the state of the art in military modeling.