Battlespace

Battlespace is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea and space to achieve military goals. Use of the term alone has been rescinded by the United States military as of 2008, but is still used as a component of other terms, e.g. intelligence preparation of the battlespace.,

It includes the environment, factors and conditions that must be understood to successfully apply combat power, protect the force, or complete the mission. This includes enemy and friendly armed forces; infrastructure; weather; terrain; and the electromagnetic spectrum within the operational areas and areas of interest.

Concept

Battlespace awareness

Battlespace awareness (BA), is a practice of military philosophy that is used as a valuable asset by joint -component and -force commanders, to predict courses of action before employing troops into a prescribed area of operation (AO). It utilizes the intelligence preparation asset to assist the commander in being 'aware' of recent, current, and near term events in his battlespace.

It is based around its knowledge and understanding obtained by the an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) system. It is another methodical concept used to gain information about the operational area—the environment, factors, and conditions, including the status of friendly and adversary forces, neutrals and noncombatants, weather and terrain—that enables timely, relevant, comprehensive and accurate assessments. It has became an effective concept for conventional and unconventional operations in successfully projecting, or protecting, a military force, and/or complete its mission.

Battlespace digitization

Battlespace digitization is designed to improve military operational effectiveness by integrating weapons platforms, sensor networks, ubiquitous command and control (UC2), intelligence, and network-centric operations. This military doctrine reflects that in the future, military operations will be merged into joint operations rather than take place in separate battlespaces under the domain of individual armed services.

Battlespace intelligence preparation

Intelligence preparation

Intelligence preparation of the battlespace (IPB) is an analytical methodology employed to reduce uncertainties concerning the enemy, environment, and terrain for all types of operations. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace builds an extensive database for each potential area in which a unit may be required to operate.

The database is then analyzed in detail to determine the impact of the enemy, environment and terrain on operations and presents it in graphic form. Intelligence preparation of the battlespace is a continuing process.

Joint intelligence preparation

Joint intelligence preparation of the battlespace (JIPB) is the analytical process used by joint intelligence organizations to produce intelligence assessments, estimates and other intelligence products in support of the joint force commander's decision making process. It is a continuous process that includes defining the total battlespace environment; describing the battlespace's effects; evaluating the adversary; and determining and describing adversary potential courses of action.

The process is used to analyze the aerial, terrestrial, maritime/littoral, spatial, electromagnetic, cyberspace, and human dimensions of the environment and to determine an opponent's capabilities to operate in each. JPIB products are used by the joint force and component command staffs in preparing their estimates and are also applied during the analysis and selection of friendly courses of action.

Battlespace measures

Maneuver control

Maneuver control measures are the basic preliminary step in effective clearance of fire support (e.g. artillery, Naval gunfire, and close air support), marked by imaginary boundary lines used by commanders to designate the geographical area for which a particular unit is tactically responsible. It is usually established on identifiable terrain to help aid in hasty referencing for better lateral advantage in the science of fire support, normally orchestrated by a higher echelon of the general staff, mainly the operations staff sections

They are normally designated along terrain features easily recognizable on the ground. An important point on maneuver control graphics: staffs must be knowledgeable regarding the different maneuver control measures and their impact on clearance of fires. For instance, boundaries are both restrictive and permissive; corridors are restrictive, while routes, axis, and directions of attack are neither.

It should be reminded of the effect on clearance of fires if subordinate maneuver units are not given zones or sectors (i.e. no boundaries established). Since boundaries serve as both permissive and restrictive measures, the decision not to employ them has profound effects upon timely clearance of fires at the lowest possible level.

The higher echelon may coordinate all clearance of fires short of the Coordinated Fire Line (CFL), a very time-intensive process. It allows the unit to maneuver successfully and to swiftly and effeciently engage targets. It requires coordination and clearance only within that organization.

They affect fire support in two ways:

• Restrictive—Restrictive control that is established in conjunction with a host nation to preclude damage or destruction to a national asset, population center, or religious structure. Its key role are for protection an of an element of tactical importance, such as a fuel storage area.
  • Restrictive fire area (RFA) is an area with specific restrictions and in which fires that exceed those restrictions will not be delivered without coordination with the establishing headquarters, or higher echelon; occasionly, it may be established to operate independently.
  • No-fire area (NFA) is a designated area which no fire support may be delivered for fires or effects. When the establishing headquarters allows fires on a mission-by-mission basis. When a friendly force is engaged by an enemy located within the NFA and the commander returns fire to defend his forces. The amount of return fire should not exceed that sufficient to protect the force and continue the mission.

• Permissive—Permissive control that gives the manuever commander the liberty to announce and engage fire support at his will, unless it otherwise is restricted by a higher echelon. Most cases, a commander will deny the use of Fire Support Coordinating Measures (FSCM).
  • There are free-fire areas (FFA) which fire support can commense without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters. Normally, it is established on identifiable terrain by division or higher headquarters.

Battlespace shaping

Battlespace shaping is a concept involved in the practice of maneuver warfare that are used for shaping a situation on the battlefield, gaining the military advantage for the commander. It forecasts the elimination of the enemy's capability by fighting in a coherent manner before deploying determine-sized forces.

Areas of responsibility

Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP) are assigned areas of responsibility (AOR), areas where they have the authority to plan and conduct operations. Combatant commanders may designate theaters of war, theaters of operation, combat zones, and communications zones. Joint force commanders may define additional operational areas or joint areas to assist in the coordination and execution of joint operations. The size of these areas and the types of forces used depend on the scope, nature, and projected duration of the operation.

Combatant commanders and other joint force commanders use the following organization of the battlespace at the operational level of war. Combatant commanders are assigned an area of responsibility in the Unified Command Plan.

• Theater of war, the area of aerial, terrestrial, and naval/littoral that is, or may become, directly involved in the manner of combat; either defined by the National Command Authority or a combatant commander, This area doesn't normally encompass the combatant commander’s entire area of responsibility.

• Theater of operations, a sub-area within a theater of war defined by the force commander required to conduct or support specific operations. Different theaters of operations within the same theater of war will normally be geographically separate and focused on different enemy forces. Theaters of operations are usually of significant size, allowing for operations over extended periods of time.

• Combat zone, areas required by combat forces for the conduct of operations.

• Communication zone, the rear part of the theater of war or theater of operations (behind but contiguous to the combat zone) that contains lines of communications, establishments for supply or evacuation, and other agencies required for the immediate support and maintenance of the field forces. The Marine Corps component commander will normally focus his efforts to deploy, support, and sustain his forces, particularly the MAGTF, in the communications zone. He will normally locate his headquarters close to the joint force commander, who usually establishes his headquarters in the communications zone.

Understanding the joint battlespace at the operational level of war in which forces will operate is an important step in setting the conditions for their success. Force commanders must understand the relationship between the Area of Operation (AO), Area of Interest, and Area of Influence.

By analyzing his AO in terms of his area of influence and area of interest, a force commander determines whether his assigned AO is appropriate. This analysis may include the forces’ capabilities to conduct actions across the warfighting functions.

Area of operation

A diagram of the battlespace; contiguous is shown with relation to noncontiguous areas of responsibilities.

The Areas of Operation, or AOs, are areas that component and force commanders define their tactical operability. It is also known as close battlespace. The commanders focus on establishing command and control in this area; which encompasses all aspects of fire support—naval gunfire, air and artillery superiority—in order to provide his ground forces the support they need. Also, the commander sets up force protection and supportive arms, such as logistics or reinforcements.

The commander can choose to organize his AO so that his subordinates have contiguous or noncontiguous AOs:

• Contiguous AO—In a contiguous AO, all the subordinate commands' share one or more common boundary within supporting distance of one another in the battlespace. A commander may establish their battlespace in a reflection of linear operations, where there is a continiuty and contiguous array of units across the area of operation (AO).

• Noncontiguous—A noncontiguous Area of Operation is one where one or more subordinate AOs do not share a common boundary. The commander establishes noncontiguous AOs when a more likely situation is one where the task force conducts non-linear operations within a noncontiguous battlespace and within an operational framework with noncontiguous deep, close, and rear areas.

Operation Restore Hope in Somalia during 1992–1993, is an example of a battlefield framework with noncontiguous areas. The United States's Marine Air-Ground Task Forces' (MAGTF) rear area was centered around the separate sites of the embassy compound, port, and airfield in the city of Mogadishu, while its close area was widely scattered around the towns and villages of the interior that were occupied by the MAGTF. The MAGTF’s deep area included the rest of the country and particularly those population and relief centers not under the joint force commander's supervision.

Areas of influence

In an area of influence, the component or force commander assigns his subordinate units to conduct missions in and out of this area. Communication is key, either for reconnaissance to report intelligence or fire support for ground forces.

Sometimes known as distant battlespace, it is useful to the force commander as a tool in assigning subordinate areas of operations and in focusing intelligence collection and information operations to shape the battlespace to facilitate future operations. Today’s area of influence may be tomorrow’s AO.

Area of interest

An area of interest, or deep operations, are areas that are of interest to the component or force commander; the location of friendly and enemy forces, and the capabilities that may be an advantage, the infrastructure, and key terrain that concern the commander.

The size of the area of interest normally exceeds the commander’s operational reach.

While the area of interest includes the AO and area of influence, the area of interest may stretch far beyond the other parts of his battlespace.

It may also have areas of interest around airbases in other countries neighboring the a task force's AO.

See also

• C4ISTAR
• Command and control
• Fog of war
• Network-centric warfare

Further reading

• Blackmore, T. (2005). War X: Human Extensions in Battlespace. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-8791-4
• Owens, W. (2002). Dominant Battlespace Knowledge. University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 1-4102-0413-8

External links

• Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1-0: Marine Corps Operations'
• Achieving Dominant Battlespace Awareness
• Joint Synthetic Battlespace: Cornerstone for Predictive Battlespace Awareness
• Battlespace Digitization - Coping With Uncertainty In The Command Process
• Challenges for Joint Battlespace Digitization (JBD)