My Notes on RAND Corp's 2018 document on "Systems Destruction Warfare" (体系破击战):
4 Target Types in the Enemy's Operational System (作战体系)
5 Main component systems of Operational Systems: the command system [指挥体系], the firepower strike system [火力打击体系], the information confrontation system [信息对抗体系], the reconnaissance intelligence system [侦察情报体系], and the support system [保障体系]
Different types of "Purpose-Built" Operational Systems Unique to type of conflict
Tixi-System vs Xitong-System (Meta-System vs Sub-System)
"""Chapter Two examines the concepts “systems confrontation” and “system destruction warfare,” two fundamental attributes of the PLA’s thinking on systems.
Chapter Three details the template of the PLA’s operational system. Itis meant to serve as a guidebook to the various terms that are regularly referenced in the PLA literature, providing a structure to understand the hierarchy and connections among various systems as well as a discussion of specific functions of each system.
Chapter Four highlights known operational systems and explores in greater detail selected operational systems that may be enacted to prosecute the PLA’s campaigns.
Finally, Chapter Five presents a brief conclusion that provides policy implications."""
# Chapter 2:
3 concepts: modern warfare, theory of victory, operational systems
## Modern Warfare:
1990s: US victories in Iraq and Kosovo were notably won independent of whether the US annihilated the enemy's army
PLA military doctrines shift from annihilation of opposing forces to annihilation of opposing systems (systems confrontation (体系对抗))
Strategy of "winning informationized local wars": https://jamestown.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/China%E2%80%99s-Military-Strategy-2015.pdf
Expansion of domains from land, sea, air to cyber and electromagnetic
20th century: Air dominance was a prerequisite for land and sea dominance
21st century: information dominance is the core prerequisite
Operational System Components:
1. Entities (nodes)
2. Structure (edges)
3. Elements (capabilities of said nodes and edges)
## Theory of Victory:
Systems Destruction Warfare -> internal coordinating mechanisms become disrupted, or necessary procedures become disordered
Four types of targets:
1. Flow of information: Strikes against data links and vital information sites render subsystems "information isolated" and unable to function
2. Essential elements of operational system: "The available literature does not go into great detail" (as of the time this was written)
3. Operational architecture: information transmission network, Command and control network, and firepower strike network. Requires numerous successfully-executed precision strikes against various components around a broad battlefield
4. Time sequence, tempo: Disrupt "reconnaissance-control-attack-evaluation" (RCKE) process. E.g. destroy/discombobulate a weapon right at the moment it recieves orders to attack, slowing down the operational problem to identify the problem, identify alternatives, and reinitiate the RCKE. Renders the operational architecture "chaotic".
- What does it mean to conduct "a retrograde in response to an enemy’s assault so that the enemy cannot engage friendly targets"? What's a specific example?
- AI response: it means unexpectedly withdrawing forces right at the moment the enemy tries to attack
Military planners must establish the "degree of influence" a targeted aspect may have on the functionality and reliability of the enemy's operational system
The order of importance of the "Four types of targets" stated above is still heavily debated within the PLA (weread.qq.com/web/bookDetail/b2232630811e7517cg014a62)
## Generating Combat Power: How the PLA Constructs and Optimizes Its Operational System
Focus of optimization must be placed on...
1. The information systems "that act as information carriers"
2. The information flow "that reflects the dynamic characteristics of the comprehensive utilization of information"
3. The operational personnel and organizations "that serve as the key factors in systems-of-systems"
Source cited for "focus of optimization": Wang Zhenlei [王震雷] and Luo Xueshan [罗雪山], “Assessment of Operational Systems Effectiveness Under Informatized Conditions” [“信息化条件下作战体系效能评估”], National Defense and Armed Forces Building in a New Century and New Age《新世记新阶段段国防和军队建设》, October 1, 2008, pp. 374–375.
Breakdown of the 5 main component systems:
1. Command system: includes...
- Command organization system (the hierarchy)
- Command post system (the physical locations of commanders and their redundancies)
- Command information system (context awareness and intel)
2. Firepower strike system: includes Air, Space, Missile, Maritime, and Land operational systems.
3. Information confrontation system: includes Information attack and defense systems.
4. Reconnaissance intelligence system: includes Space, Near Space, Air, Maritime, Ground, and Information Operations reconnaissance intelligence systems.
5. Support system includes Operational, Logistics, Equipment, and Information support systems.