Addressing the Legal Challenges of Network Centric Warfare. Case In Point: The Legal Implications of Obtaining an 'Information and Knowledge Advantage' Prior to Hostilities

摘要

If it is true that the Navy is moving away from platform-centric toward network-centric warfare (NCW), then its leaders must ensure that any such transition is accomplished in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Since the Navy's current vision of net-centric operations raises many complex and often unsettled legal issues, the Navy must establish a formal framework for analyzing the legal challenges posed by NCW then integrate this framework into any NCW transition process. Future net-centric operational commanders have a vested interest in ensuring that the legal implications of NCW on factor space, time, and forces have been thoroughly considered. Current and future international and domestic law might limit the ability of net-centric commanders to optimize the key concepts of the Navy's vision of net-centric operations. If the technological and doctrinal aspects of NCW continue to rapidly evolve without regard for the legal challenges, the Navy might find itself in a position where it has invested a tremendous amount of time and money developing a system of sensors and platforms that cannot be employed as envisioned due to legal constraints.