Modern Information Warfare: Operations, Doctrine and Force Structures

“Information” has always played a decisive role in wining wars but it is only in past two decades that it has transformed into a distinct battle space akin to land, sea and air.

Information Warfare (IW) is the new type of war waged in this battle space.

Shaping perceptions through social media, relentless cyber operations by nation states and non state actors, the race to dominate electromagnetic spectrum are all part of this new warfare whose aim is to dominate the information landscape. Ability of IW operations to quickly undermine national sovereignty and inflict crippling damage to strategic interests is now an undeniable reality.

Surprisingly, despite the exponentially increasing role of IW, it has not been easy to transform this new capability into operational doctrine and corresponding force structures. The recent elevation of the United States Cyber Command and China’s Strategic Support Force signify the first major steps towards creating a dedicated force structure for conduct of IW operations. It is a reality which every modern armed force must confront sooner or later.

This book attempts to lay down a theoretical framework to evolve operational doctrine and force structures for conduct of IW as well as their integration with conventional kinetic operations.