New Perspectives on the Global Military Transformation

Author: Wang Canshou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: In today's rapidly advancing information age, as society becomes increasingly informatized and networked, it is crucial to conduct in-depth research, gain a comprehensive understanding, and accurately grasp the burgeoning global military revolution. The global military revolution is the most extensive and profound military transformation in the history of human civilization. It first emerged and developed in developed Western countries like the United States, gradually expanding to the rest of the world. Currently, the global military revolution has transitioned from an initial phase to an in-depth development stage. The current situation is as follows:
All countries' armed forces are actively adopting civilian information technologies and vigorously developing military information technologies, achieving significant breakthroughs in certain areas; the informatization of weapon systems has been fully initiated across nations, with some Western developed countries aggressively achieving informatization in their weapon systems; military theory innovation is, proposing new concepts such as informatized military strategy, information warfare, Generation 6 warfare, information operations, information struggle, and network-centric warfare; the revolution in military organizational systems has yet to be fully implemented, with the organizational structures of mechanized armies largely untouched, though some reform ideas have been proposed, and a small number of experimental units have been formed; some countries have begun cultivating new types of military personnel, such as information warfare and information technology experts, though fundamental reforms in the military talent generation mechanism have not yet been initiated; nations are exploring pathways to build armed forces in the information age and have preliminarily developed basic ideas and methods for constructing informatized armies; a few countries' armed forces have initiated a logistics revolution, beginning to build informatized logistics.
The development trends of the global military revolution are as follows:
In military technology, it is transitioning from a military engineering revolution to a military information revolution; in weapon system development, it is moving from a fully mechanized weapon system to an informatized weapon system; in military organizational systems, it is evolving toward "facilitating rapid information flow and utilization"; in military talent generation, it is actively cultivating knowledge-based soldiers for the information age; in the form of warfare, mechanized warfare is undergoing a phase of high-tech warfare before transforming into informatized warfare.
The fundamental purpose of studying the global military revolution is to grasp its patterns, draw references, and promote the smooth implementation and efficient operation of China's distinctive military revolution. To achieve this, it is essential to learn from foreign militaries, apply informatized military thinking, and, based on national and military conditions, conduct in-depth military theory innovation.
The content of this book is divided into five parts.
First, it discusses the driving forces and conditions, essence and connotations, basic content and characteristics of the global military revolution.
Second, it introduces the new developments in the 21st century's global military revolution, such as breakthroughs in information warfare theory, new initiatives to strengthen information dominance, progress in the construction of digital forces, and the transformation of major world armies.
Third, it elaborates on the core issue of the military revolution—the theory, content, and methods of informatization in the armed forces.
Fourth, it uses contemporary, real-world warfare examples to illustrate the actual existence and distinct features of the military revolution.
Fifth, it presents strategic thinking and recommendations for China to address the challenges of the global military revolution.
This book is the author's latest research on the global military revolution in recent years. It is worth readers' attention.