Impact of Technology on Warfare

Impact of Technology on Warfare

Technology changes every day, sometimes the events in our life shape what new technology we use. You would have to be living in a hole not know that we are in conflict with Iraq, and this event has changed digital warfare.

The U.S. army has come up with a digital warfare system called Army Battle Command System. This system can scan digital street maps, monitor enemy positions, zoom in on individual buildings through satellite imagery and download instructions from commanders. The Army Battle Command System has been but in to a hand full of Humvees in Iraq. This technology was originally designed for battlefield combat which was tanks and helicopters, but now they have found that it is much more useful for hunting rebel leaders and trailing street fighters.

This new technology helps the commanding officers know what is going on by that they can be back at there command base and watch raids unfold on large screens and watch real time footage. This allows them to know what exactly what is taking place.

The technology has allowed commanders to plan complicated raids and organize battle gear and hundreds of soldiers within two hours. At that speed , they say, it played an important part in capturing Saddam Hussein and other fugitives.

One important element to the system is that each military vehicle is tracked by satellite and it appears as a moving blue icon on a computer screen inside these Humvees that have been equipped with the Army Battle Command System, this is important to the Humvee driver because now he is able to know where all tanks and other army vehicles are located and this is said to have helped reduce the amount of friendly fire incidents. Back before they had this technology the drivers would have to radio back to the command base and inform them on there location, “No longer do you have guys on a map putting little stickers where things are at, now it is digitally done. It allows commanders to move more rapidly, more decisively, more violently.” [1]

A helpful feature that the Army Battle Command System has is a touch screen monitor which allows the officer to place icons on the map and have it appear on screens throughout the system which makes them able to show enemy position, possible ambush locations, fugitive hide outs and locations of newly found roadside bombs.