Vanguard Magazine

G GlOBal DEFENCE 28 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com landmark document describes today's world as we know it, plus emerging trends that will shape the future. It does a very credible job of making logical deductions in comprehensible terms. the future will be more like today In general, the report predicts a complex environment that "con- tains a plethora of potential threats, adversaries and actors with divergent motivations not limited to traditional theories of inter- national relations." The outcome is that all departments of the federal government will be required to contribute to a coop- erative effort, often in combination with other levels of government, allies, coali- tion partners, non-government organi- zations and volunteers, to build effective teams and produce appropriate effects. In other words, the future will be more like today than the past and it will continue to change unpredictably. The key words for future force planners are "awareness," "adaptive," "flexible," and "scalable." Single-service interpretations of capability requirements are largely a thing of the past. The section on Science and Technology Trends concisely pres- ents a host of challenges to conventional approaches to naval force development and generation. It identifies several technologies that need to be watched closely and analysed carefully by naval leaders. All of them are characterized by rapid change and dra- matic influences on military systems. Nanotechnology will create microscopic "bots" capable of in- dependent operations. While often viewed as positive influences in the fields of medicine and industrial production, their military application make a wide range of invasive and developmental applications possible. "cheaper, lighter, and smaller" will be the watchwords for those who advocate the use of nanotechnology in the defence field. the ICt revolution Information and Computing Technology will drive a revolution in how data is gathered and analysed. Long considered essential for naval operations, information display and utilization will become critical for decision-makers in complex situations. Likewise, the abilities of naval analysts to make use of information will be fa- cilitated by their intellectual capacity and mental flexibility. For deployed naval forces, the ability to stream and manipu- late huge volumes of complex data will remain their primary requirement for effective operations. Bandwidth limitations will render otherwise tactically competent forces combat ineffective and potentially even defenceless. Biotechnology will bring positive applications in medical thera- pies and even enhanced human characteristics. However, they will also result in weapons of both wide and selective employment. Being able to target specific types of people or even individuals could make biologic weapons very selective, but also practically impossible to detect or filter. Sending naval forces to a region that Gulf of Aden Operation SEXTANT Leading Seaman Dave Logan, a Marine Engineer Technician (MAR ENG TECH) onboard Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg, conducts a scheduled maintenance wash on the gas turbine engine from the Machinery Control Console. Photo: Warrant Officer Carole Morissette. SNMG1 is sailing into position for a photo exercise where a aerial image will be taken of the 20 plus ships participating in Exercise STEADFAST JAGUAR. Photo: MCpl Charles Barber, SNMG1 the problem of block purchasing has recently arisen with the eleven Hero-class vessels built for the Canadian Coast Guard. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

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