Networked swarming warfare

The rising networked organization will overcome the limitation of traditional geography and link the operational resources distributed widely to form a military action network which combine strike range, speed and lethality, three elements of originally different developing, fundamentally transforming our idea of battle space.

Networked swarming warfare (NSW) is the wide-scope maneuver warfare to attack dynamically the enemy in parallel by flexible utilization of "assembly" and "dispersion", which integrates the multiple forces distributed widely into the operational network with obvious flowing feature in a multi-dimensional space.

[citation needed] Networked swarming warfare has three essential features: On informationized battlefield, the flowing of elements of combat effectiveness would be further strengthened, which is the inevitable result of the combination of dispersion and fast pace.

All the combat units dynamically change their roles in reconnaissance, strike and containment and realize the dominance of battlefield by the high-flexible form of operations.

In the past, due to the limitations of technology and maneuvering capability, the relative location changes of the targets were relatively slow and the targets and combat areas usually tied with each other; tasks distribution and coordination for different operational groups usually clarified by combat areas or battle lines.

NSW, having changed the traditional forms of tasks distribution and coordination organizing according to zones, weakening the combat boundary line and main direction of attack, it make objective-oriented task distribution that based on target deployment, target-action and target- coordination organizing.

Such kind of coordination can better match with the requirements of organization flowing, maximize the information efficiency, being prompt, flexible and precise, so as to achieve the operational objectives with the most appropriate force and method.

NSW is to dynamically constitute a military operational network which centering on targets (operational objective) and organize the coordination centering on the objective (specific target), which is the opposite of traditional forms of tasks distribution and coordination organizing according to zones.

While centering on objective, the combat shall not become the mechanical process of detailed information collecting of the strike targets and launching assault.

If focuses too much on specific targets in tactics level but not objective or task, it may draw the attention of the commanders to tactics of weaponry and platform but not to the operational and strategic situation, which might lead to the war of attrition in operational or strategic level.

"Multi-direction maneuvering attacks" aim to explore and create the weaknesses of the enemy, then conduct powerful strikes.

In forces deployment and application, NSW strive for "a nonlinear attack dynamic enabled by distributed operations", that is to say, conduct attacks dynamically in multi-position, multi-line and multi-direction, be assembled during the moving, be assembled while striking the enemy, disperse immediately once the task be completed and seek next opportunity for battle.