JoInt TArGETING
18 JUNE/JULY 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com
J
by daniel Landry
t
he Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) prides itself
on being ready. Operational plans are always in
the works to meet the need of the day, and this
planning process is an endless endeavour where
options are devised for all manner of contingencies in this
unpredictable world. So it will be no surprise that a com-
mitted Defence team has been advancing work to make
one particular aspect of operations and mission execution
better, and that is the creation of a Joint Targeting en-
terprise.
The new Joint Targeting enterprise will be underpinned
with proven military concepts and doctrine such as the
Joint Targeting Cycle. Those who are familiar know that
the Joint Targeting Cycle relies on solid information and
intelligence. In this digital age, there is useful intelligence
buried in the vast data lakes being generated every mo-
ment of each day. In the establishment of a Joint Target-
ing enterprise there exists a very real opportunity to inno-
vate by integrating the tried and true targeting methods
with significant capabilities in data sciences and artificial
intelligence, specifically the use of big data and machine
learning.
