FROM BOMBS TO BITS: AIR-TO-GROUND OPERATIONS AS A MODEL FOR THE TACTICAL INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
TERRY TRAYLOR AND DAVID NASSMARCH 25, 2022
COMMENTARYcontrollers
The lethality of American air power lies not only in aviation technology but in strategies developed for deploying it. Over the last century, aviation has evolved from its initial role as strategic reconnaissance in World War I to modern stealth bombers, attack helicopters, and hand-launched killer drones. As part of this transformation, personnel roles have evolved as well. Pilots are assigned to ground units to advise mid-level commanders, while specific ground operators are trained as tactical air controllers to advise the lowest-level commanders. These ground air controllers are also equipped with radios, tablets, lasers, and drones to spot and identify the enemy.
Amidst a wide-ranging debate over how America can achieve superiority in the cyber, information, and space realms, the development of air-to-ground operations can offer a model. Today’s armed forces should take a similar approach to doctrine, organization, and training in these new environments. Pairing information experts at mid-level commands with a ground “multi-domain terminal effects controller” specialist at the edge of the battlefield will help enable commanders at every level to maintain an information advantage.
Bombs
Innovative aviation approaches in World War I and World War II paved the way for modern aviation support to ground operations. In assessing this period, historians Richard Hallion and Richard Mason have argued that up to World War I, aviation was focused on transforming reconnaissance by providing intelligence on enemy locations and movements. This changed in 1916, when the British military began employing armed reconnaissance aircraft to strafe German trenches. A further transformation occurred during the blitzkrieg of World War II. German Gen. Heinz Guderian pioneered the use of simultaneous armored attacks and airstrikes, helping to propel the Nazis to quick victories in Europe and North Africa. World War II also saw the British use the first air controller teams, pairing air liaison officers with communications specialists near the front lines to help direct strike aircraft.
https://warontherocks.com/2022/03/from-bombs-to-bits-air-to-ground-operations-as-a-model-for-the-tactical-information-environment/
