Revolution in Military Affairs

Revolution in Military Affairs
Name	Revolution in Military Affairs

Contents

Revolution in Military Affairs

A Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) refers to a purported rapid, radical change in the way war is conducted caused by the integration of new technology, novel doctrine, and organizational transformation, producing disproportionate strategic effects. The concept appears across analyses by JFK School of Government, RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and commentators in Foreign Affairs, and has been invoked in debates involving states such as the United States, China, Russia, Israel, United Kingdom, and France. Proponents point to linkages among innovations exemplified by the Hubble Space Telescope-era sensor revolution, the Gulf War (1990–1991), and later conflicts in Kosovo War, Iraq War, and War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

Definition and Conceptual Framework

Scholars at RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Brookings Institution have framed the concept by combining technological change with doctrinal adaptation seen in writings from Alfred Thayer Mahan, Antoine-Henri Jomini, and Carl von Clausewitz. Analysts map RMA discussions to institutions like the Pentagon, Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), and People's Liberation Army staffs and to publications from Jane's Information Group, Defense News, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The framework distinguishes between network-centric warfare theorists such as John A. Warden III and Harlan K. Ullman, proponents of precision-guided munitions statistics from Lockheed Martin studies, and critics influenced by Stephen Rosen and Michael O'Hanlon. Debates engage concepts from Reagan administration-era planning, NATO transformation seminars, and doctrines shaped by the Goldwater–Nichols Act reforms.

Precedents cited include the Military Revolution debates around the Thirty Years' War and innovations tied to Maurice of Nassau, the Napoleonic Wars operational revolution under Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Industrial Age changes exemplified by the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. Twentieth-century inflection points include the First World War combined-arms learning at Somme, the Second World War innovations led by Arthur Harris, Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, and Chester W. Nimitz, and the advent of airpower theorists such as Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell. Cold War dynamics involved the Soviet Union and United States competitions over ICBM deployments, Stealth technology programs by Lockheed Skunk Works, and space-era programs like Sputnik and Apollo program that altered reconnaissance and command architectures.

Key drivers include advances in satellite reconnaissance exemplified by Landsat and Corona, the development of Global Positioning System by United States Department of Defense, the maturation of precision-guided munitions from manufacturers such as Raytheon and BAE Systems, and the spread of unmanned aerial vehicles like those from General Atomics. Cyber and information technologies involve actors such as National Security Agency, PLA Strategic Support Force, and firms like Microsoft and Cisco Systems contributing to cyberwarfare capabilities and electronic warfare systems developed by Elbit Systems. Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) integration draws on platforms from Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Thales Group. Emerging domains include hypersonic weapons researched by DARPA and TsNIIMash, directed-energy systems under programs at US Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and artificial intelligence tested by Google DeepMind-adjacent efforts.

Doctrinal shifts appear in official publications such as doctrines from the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, People's Liberation Army Rocket Force manuals, and NATO Allied Joint Doctrine. Organizational reforms include the Goldwater–Nichols Act-inspired jointness in the Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s creation of integrated force structures, and the Israel Defense Forces’s operational concepts shaped after the Yom Kippur War. Transformations in training and education at institutions like National Defense University, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and PLA National Defense University accompany procurement reforms at agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Office of Naval Research. Concepts like air-land battle and network-centric warfare were operationalized by units in US Central Command and European Command.

Strategically, RMAs have been argued to enable precision effects demonstrated in the Gulf War (1990–1991) and Kosovo War air campaigns orchestrated by General Norman Schwarzkopf-era staff and General Wesley Clark elements, and to complicate deterrence dynamics between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Operationally, effects show in joint force interoperability during operations by Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Iraq War and coalition operations under ISAF in Afghanistan. Proponents cite asymmetric advantages used by Israel Defense Forces in conflicts such as the Second Lebanon War, while others point to strategic surprises like Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation that expose non-technological determinants.

Critics from institutions like Harvard Kennedy School and scholars such as Geoffrey Parker argue RMAs overemphasize technology at the expense of historical, political, and social factors evident in the Vietnam War and Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989). Debates involve authors including Antulio Echevarria and Stephen Biddle, and touch on logistics failures seen in Operation Eagle Claw, the limits of precision in urban combat exemplified in Battle of Fallujah (2004), and ethical concerns raised by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International about remote weaponization. Vulnerabilities include cyber attacks on Estonia 2007 cyberattacks, supply-chain dependencies linked to firms like ASML and Intel Corporation, and the political control challenges highlighted by Congressional Budget Office analyses.

National cases range from the United States adoption of precision, stealth, and networked systems during the Gulf War (1990–1991) and Iraq War; the Israel application of combined air, intelligence, and special forces in the Six-Day War aftermath and Operation Protective Edge; the Russia modernization after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and interventions in Syria; the China acceleration of anti-access/area denial capabilities linked to the South China Sea dispute and programs by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation; and United Kingdom and France contributions to NATO transformation and expeditionary operations. Other illustrative examples include India's procurement choices after the Kargil War, Turkey's use of drones during the Syrian Civil War, and Iran’s asymmetric tactics during the Tanker War period.

Category:Military theory