Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

at the cost of airspeed depletion) which brought them inside the turn circle of the YF-18while still being able to gain energy and maintain high turn rates even at low speeds.Maneuverability is defined as the ‘ability to change altitude, airspeed and direction inany combination’. His develops the insight that in air-to-air combat, one needs ‘a fighter thatcan be used to initiate and control engagement opportunities -yet has a fast transient(“natural hook”) that can be used to either force an overshoot by an attacker or to stay insidea hard turning defender’ 15 . From this insight he expands the idea and formulates thesuggestion that:in order to win or gain superiority - we should operate at a faster tempo than our adversariesor inside our adversaries time scales…such activity will make us appear ambiguous (nonpredictable) thereby generate confusion and disorder among our adversaries.He adds that these suggestions are in accordance with ‘Gödel’s Proof, The HeisenbergPrinciple and the Second Law of Thermodynamics’, ideas central to Destruction and Creation 16 .These ideas posit, according to Boyd, that ‘we cannot determine the character and nature ofa system within itself and efforts to do so will only generate confusion and disorder’ 17 . Thus,he continues while making the giant leap from air-to-air combat to warfare in general:Fast transients (faster tempo) together with synthesis associated with Gödel, Heisenberg, andthe Second Law suggest a New Conception for Air-to-Air Combat and for Waging War.Boyd next elaborates this new conception. In one’s actions one should:exploit operational and technical features to generate a rapidly changing environment(quick/clear observations, fast tempo, fast transients, quick kill).Containing key themes that appears in later presentations, Boyd asserts that furthermore oneshould:inhibit an adversaries capacity to adapt to adapt to such an environment (suppress or distortobservations).The goals of such actions is to:unstructure adversaries system into a “hodge podge” of confusion and disorder by causinghim to over or under react because of activity that appears uncertain, ambiguous or chaotic 18 .The last slide contains Boyd’s “message”, one that similarly informs his later work:he who can handle the quickest rate of change survives. 19Boyd’s influence on Western fighter design and development thus was tremendous. Startingwith his tour in Korea he developed his insights in the essentials of success in air-to-aircombat: the ability for fast transient maneuvers coupled to a superior situational awareness.15 A New conception for Air-to-Air Combat slides 6, 18, underlining in original.16 Ibid, p.19.17 Ibid, p.21.18 Ibid, p.22.19 Ibid, p.23.46