Simulation and Modeling of Systems of Systems

Chapter 8

The Battle Lab Concept 1

8.1. Introduction

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact marked the end of a relatively clear, essentially bipolar geostrategic situation for the armed forces. Since 1989, the identification of future potential enemies has been much less certain, as is the form these enemies and threats may take. At the same time, military operations have become more complex (with asymmetric conflicts, rapid and extensive media coverage of combats, use of multi-national forces, and the war on terror). Combat systems have become more difficult to specify, design, and implement, particularly in the context of network-centric warfare (NCW). These factors oblige decision makers in Western defense organizations to reconsider, in depth, the format and the form of their armed forces and their manner of conducting operations. This evolution is expressed specifically through a “transformation” approach taken by the NATO and a number of individual countries, including France, with the aim of optimizing and improving the effectiveness of military operations.

Note that various civilian sectors are under the same brutal pressure to evolve in terms of operations and sizing as in military. Having faced with growing global criminal networks and the emergence of cybercrime, police forces also need to evolve, making use of information and communication technologies, working with an ever-increasing number of telecommunication service providers ...