ISSUE 150 : Sep/Oct - 2001 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Operational Concept (OPCON) development,capability development, smart acquisition,OPCON experimentation and force structureoptions.Without the military specialisations presentin larger nations, we must capitalise on ourlimited range of military capabilities throughmutual interoperability to flexibly perform awide range of tasks. This flexibility impacts onsystems integration of capability developmentand may be an important factor in realisingthe potential of NEW.A Network Enabled force constitutes anorganising principle for future warfare, adirection for acquisition, and a concept fortraining.ConclusionsAustralia is determining its own responseto network centric warfare (NCW), which itterms “network enabled warfare” (NEW). NEWdiffers from NCW because the network isperceived to enable enhancements to warfighting.The ADO has taken this pragmaticperspective observing that NEW may enable apractical jointness with our three Services andAUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVES ON NETWORK CENTRIC WARFARE 31offer a mechanism for seeking a jointcapability focus.The emergent “warfighting deliverables”(increased tempo, enhanced synchronisationetc.) under NEW represent emergent properties,which arise as suitable components ofC4ISREW are networked and arranged within ajoint concept of operations. Furthermore, wesee that the development of a joint C4ISREWenvironment is an important staging point forNEW.NEW offers an inherent jointness, which isaligned to supporting the ADO's strategicpolicies. Our policies share a regional focuswith allied interoperability being a key focus.Operations other than war (OOTW) are likely tohave a strong place in a NEW tailored for theADO.The ADO's steps toward a NEW includeinitiatives within research, future concepts andthe overall Defence enterprise under theDefence Information Environment (DIE). Thepredicted areas of NEW will provide enhancedcapability for ISR, C2, Tailored effects, forceprotection, projection and sustainment.NEW must span many dimensions withinthe ADO scoping defence policy, epoch andFigure 7. The steps within a Network Enabled Warfare developmentpath for the ADO and its relationship to R&D. 28