Navy revs up information warfare to stop enemy missiles, weapons

If enemy cruise missiles, helicopter gunfire and even fighter-jet launched bombs close in on Navy surface ships at sea, service commanders could employ a range of time-sensitive layered defenses to include interceptor missiles, deck-mounted guns, electronic warfare tactics and even lasers. Navy preparations for this kind of scenario include the use of radar, long-range sensors and coordinated surveillance with surface, undersea and air assets - all seemingly operated for rapid response-enabled destruction of incoming enemy fire. Virtually all of these contingencies rely upon an often overlooked area of maritime warfare -- information warfare. Targeting data for pretty much any defensive weapons system would need to precede or inform fire control systems and certain kinds of sensor-weapons fusion. For this reason, the Navy is revving up its focus on training a new generation of information warriors to surge into future decades, hopefully, armed with the technical skills needed to counter enemy attacks today and 20 years from now.