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This article examines the United States approach to the current revolution in military affairs (RMA), and examines the key players in promoting this revolution. The elements of the RMA - precision strike, information warfare, and dominant maneuver - are analyzed in turn. The underpinning of space systems for the RMA is addressed. The United States section concludes with an analysis of the factors driving the RMA and the concern in the United States of other countries embracing the RMA. The Chinese approach to the RMA is examined. The individuals involved in the discourse are identified and the origins of the RMA debate in China are traced. Also, addressed is the attempt to Sinify the RMA. The Russian approach to the RMA is traced, and indeed is the source of the concept called the Military Technical Revolution that evolved into the RMA.
Key Words: Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA); United States; Russia; China
The Revolution in Military Affairs and the United States
The Gulf War and the capabilities it demonstrated saw the development of a new concept, one which was termed the "Revolution in Military Affairs". This term was seized upon by Andrew Marshall, the head of Net Assessment in the Pentagon, who had been sponsoring studies in this area for some time.1 Indeed, at the time the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Richard Cheney in regard to the RMA and its potential claimed that this had been demonstrated dramatically.2 However this view is called into question by Stephen Biddle in a recent article:
Rather than a revolution through information dominance and precision strike, what the Gulf War really suggests is a new ability to exploit mistakes. This, however, suggests, very different policies. If new technology offered tremendous military power to any who acquired the new systems (and reformed their military doctrine to exploit them), this implies a powerful incentive for radical change: those who realize the full potential of the new era would enjoy enhanced security and influence, while those who do not do so risk being left behind.
The revolution in military affairs is based primarily on the impact made by the advancement of technologies in the field of information technology, sensors, computing and telecommunications, and the modern military. The concept is defined in...