Evolution of ISR Capability in Australia - Essay Example

? Australian Defense Force Capability Evolution of ISR capability Introduction The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plan for the Australian defense forces identifies the capabilities needed to execute the full spectrum of the army in its operations (Huisken & Thatcher, 2007). According to Great Britain & Arbuthnot (2008) the ISR capabilities have from its introduction provided a coherent beginning point for the examination of potential gaps in the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance canon, leadership, education, materiel, organization and training. Historical ISR capability In the past, the ISR has been able to accomplish much in ensuring that the intelligence for the Australian defense is available at the utmost time of need. The Australian defense forces have had first hand intelligence since the system has significant capability towards detention and prevention of looming attacks (Stevens, 2001). According to the study work of Great Britain & Arbuthnot (2008) the intelligence wing has been able to show its capability by producing tailored intelligence data to meet the needs of the defense forces at their time of need. Providing imagery intelligence and measuring intelligence activities, targeting and production of general intelligence, has been an ardent capability. Surveillance since its inception has been topnotch where the defense forces of Australia have been able to take random checks on the prevailing global cryptology threats, the surveillance system thus since its inception has been efficient to facilitate decision making and combating tactical fighters and commanders (Breen, 2010; Boyne, 2012). The surveillance wing has five operational groups that cooperate to ensure that every operation in the air is secure. The reconnaissance wing since its inception has been able to show its capability by ensuring imagery and timely data before the defense forces get into the combat, ensuring that there are few casualties while in action. This wing according to Kearney (2003) has helped in the past during the invasion of Vietnam and Iraq, but remains to be seen with increasing rate of terrorism. Contemporary capability According to the research work by Bernus, Nemes & Schmidt (2003) currently the ISR operates with one hundred fighters while the defense forces of Australia claim that operating with fifty fighters would be as generous. The ISR of Australia has the capability of deterring and defeating armed attacks in and around Australia, due to the dangerous phase of the world presently the current ISR remains unreliable. Currently, according to Levey (2004) there has been a misconception on the capability of the Australian ISR because it has been helping the defense forces to combat and invade Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. This misconception has sent confusion in different quarters on the defensive system of Australia. Currently, though the system has formidable capabilities, there are increasingly more threats due to the increasing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq giving a likelihood of an attack against Australia. The current ISR is under threat because the emphases on land operations are misleading to the Australian defense forces as seen in the study works of Godara (2009). For the current ISR to be capable to fight the looming terrorist attacks in Australia, the Australian authorities have to shape up their systems to be able to serve a broad national interest. This means that the ability to use military force when necessary, and knowing what is happening in their strategic areas of interest remains supreme to ensure that the ISR is capable (Grey, 2008). Future capability Considering the increasing terrorist threats, there has been rising need to spice up the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of the Australian defense forces. This has been through proposals such as the one by the ministry of defense to replace the present Lockheed Orion which has unmanned aerial vehicles, with a more sophisticated warfare vessel. To ensure that the future ISR is capable of tackling future security threats, the defense forces are in the process of acquiring eight maritime patrol aircraft to facilitate surveillance (Hubbard, 2005). There has the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the navy seal of Australia and the commonwealth regarding the purchase the aircraft. With the increased need to protect the energy resource areas like the northwest shelf there has been a need to acquire better surveillance and protection vessels for future use. There is also need to detect illegal fishing within the waters of Australia leading to the acquisition of a Boeing artwork to facilitate ground surveillance and capability to acquire targets. To ensure capability in the future ISR, in defense forces, it is necessary to improve the systems by installing modernized magnetic anomaly detector which is more powerful. Efforts being made also include acquisition of better Inverse synthetic aperture radars. This is according to Chapnick & Stone (2009). New acoustic processors and computing systems will play a prominent role in ensuring the capability of the future ISR. The defense forces are in the process of fitting laser-ring embedded GPS systems thus producing a capable ISR asset for the future. To ensure future capability, the study work done by Lambeth (2003) show that the defense forces intend to acquire high altitude long endurance aerial systems that do not require human labor and can perform under all weather conditions and bear surveillance and reconnaissance errands over land and maritime environments. The Australian government in collaboration with the American government is in the process of developing a littoral and overland surveillance system capable of meeting the requirement of the Unmanned Aerial system. Analyses of the evolution of cyber threats Securing Australia against Cyber attacks has been one of the nation’s biggest priorities. Contemporary cyber threats Currently, the Australian government is expanding interconnectivity across its organizations to support citizens better and facilitate the operations of the government. This interconnectivity implies that there is security vulnerability in some federal agencies. This compromises other parts of the government systems. Exposing one network creates a tunnel to other networks hence it is easier to compromise a network from behind the firewall. According to Waters, Ball & Dudgeon (2008), this situation posses an enormous cyber threat as an attack can occur anytime without the knowledge of the users. Currently, the Australian government is introducing cloud computing, this plays a leading role in increasing the footprints of an organization and exposing the organization to Cyber threats. In recent times, there has been insider and outsider cyber attacks the insider cyber attacks come from contactors and employees from inside organizations while the outsiders include terrorists, nation-state actors or independent external actors who have the intentions of paralyzing the operations in a country (Chapnick & Stone, 2009). Recently, the most feared attackers are the nation-states who use extreme attack methods and the defense measures are out of scope due to the complexity. Future cyber threats With changing technology, according to the study work of Hubbard (2005) the attack patterns are taking another dimension, as a result of these changes it is vital for organizations in Australia especially in the defense forces to become fully aware of the environment under which they operate. Future cyber threats are real because more countries are in the process of maintaining the internet and the internet protocol. Zero-day attacks will be on the verge because there are no measures underway to cab the present menace. The cyber attacks in the future will be as a result of continued use of software that is not necessary. Software are becoming outdated within a short period making them vulnerable, this implies that, in the future, there will be constant changes in the software making Aurora attacks common. Use of automated mechanisms in the future will be on the verge where attackers will use advanced worms, which are a thing of the past. Many organizations in Australia especially the defense forces are turning to use of interfaces which have pivot points, in the future these pivot points will create loopholes for attackers where they will be able to bounce from system to system. Efforts by the ADFs networked force concept to reduce cyber threats The networked force concept came into being in the 1990’s during which technology was on the rise leading to increased cyber threats. The concept helps in translating an information advantage enabled within the information technology into a competitive one using robust networking of dispersed forces. The concept combines with changes in technology, processes and organizations leading to the formation of new organizational behaviors. It became popular with the need to share information, collaboration and self-synchronization. The network has been able to deal with cyber threats through the introduction of inventory and unauthorized devices these helps get attackers who scan for new and unprotected systems. These systems include test and experimental systems where the attackers are able to get control over them. The concept has a system to ensure secure configurations for any software or hardware. This according to Tow & Chin (2009) is to get attackers who exploit default configurations, which are weak, to use and is less secure. To reduce the number of attackers who scan for devices which are accessible remotely and are not actively used in the organization but are a pathway to infiltrating the rest of the organization, the concept has come up with a system which ensures continuous assessment and remediation of the vulnerability status. The malware defenses system from the concept is also in consideration. The concept has application security software that stops attackers who operate compromised systems, because they do not have log review and the owners do not login to the systems regularly. To deal with attackers who use malicious codes gaining control of target machines, capturing sensitive data, and spreading it to other systems, the concepts have a system that enables data recovery. The concept has come up with a system that helps in securing configuration for network devices including routers, switches and firewalls to stop attackers who exploit poorly designed networks and whose security configuration has become weak over time due to granting over specific short-term needs of an organization (Grant, 2009). The defense forces use internet accessible DMZ networks which are easy to exploit using their boundary systems, the attackers then pivot the networks hence gaining deeper access on the internal networks (Jones, 2006). The networked force concept has a system that controls the use of administrative privileges. The networked force concept has also led to vulnerability of systems. This is because use of the self-forming and healing system implies that one weak system is a pathway for attacks to attack other networks within the system. The concept has come with the problem of coordinating the usage of bandwidth hence users who uses the concept will be a potential source of accessibility by attackers. Considering the different security classification by the concept, it is difficult to share information between various networks without risking them to attackers in the process of switching from one network to another. Australian approach to ISR capability and cyber threats Command and management To reduce the rate of cyber threat, a number of command and management measures are in consideration including; minimizing the number of people who use and have local administrative privileges, such that users should separate unprivileged accounts for web browsing and e-mail. The management gives control structures to ensure that their organizations information system is secure to avoid attacks. In relation to Chapnick & Stone (2009) the management of different organization is combining efforts to fight the vice together by combining the controls that each organization has. This is because attackers are using the loopholes of one organization, which is not secured, to gain access to another organization. This implies that organizations working together, they will act as cover for each other. There is training of managers and commanders around Australia regarding Cyber defense. The training will ensure that managers and commanders in various organizations, in Australia, undergo control training on methods of fighting the cyber threat menace in their organization. Organization and facilities The c4ISR products and programs are coming handy to ensure that there is security and freedom between the various nations. The facilities present includes; high capacity microelectronics, communication satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, radar system and information and support systems which are comprehensive (French, 2011). The C4ISR has organized the system such that there are intelligence gatherers, decision makers, first responders and proper military personnel. The facilities under provision are to ensure first response and confidence during operations. To ensure that the ISR is topnotch and stop cyber threat, the Australian defense forces with support from their government are setting up various facilities including; a Litening targeting pod in regard to study work by Watson (2011) enables aircrews to detect, auto-track and identify targets. The disseminated common ground system-army allows an analyst to gather intelligence from multiple sources and send it back to the commanding centers to facilitate first response. The vehicle and dismount radar facility in use with the sky warriors is a multi-purpose aerial vehicle which will operate Unmanned helping in establishing a dependable ISR. Personnel & training With the need, to secure Australia, there has been a change in the level of technology; this has consequently led to employment of more trained personnel (Australia & Hogg, 2001). With collaboration with information institute of the Middle East, there has been training of managers and other people, who will ensure that they are able to operate in a confiscated environment. Funding by the defense department of Australia, there has been training of personnel to be able to reduce the level of insecurity and cyber threats. There has been the identification of attackers who get accommodation from the Australian defense forces; they undergo further training thus helping the defense forces in facilitating Cyber security. This is in regard to the research work by Hallen (2009). Fighting cyber attackers and ensuring that the ISR is efficient, there has been a change in technology. This has led to development of training grounds to train experts to drive the new technology. ADF recruiting With the constant change in technology, there has been a need to recruit more soldiers to facilitate the application of the new devices. Initially, the defense forces would undergo physical training; this includes training on how to become a sharp shooter and hardening to cope with life in the war zone. Consequently, the training has taken another dimension where the trainees get equipped with technological knowledge on how to use the new technology including the drones and warships. Considering the past, training depended on the looming danger, which is why the defense forces have trained soldiers to combat enemies in the battlefield, especially due to the cold war (Kearney, 2003). With the change in criminal activity, there has been a need to recruit soldiers differently; this is in terms of cyber threats, where unlike the world war and the cold war, the soldiers are not in direct combat with the enemy. From Godara’s (2009) means that they do not require physical tactics to stop the Cyber attacks. Usually, the defense forces are small compared to the enemies; this has made the defense department of Australia consider contracting the manpower to execute complex jobs like dealing with cyber attackers. According to the Information Resources Management Association & Khosrowpour (2004) the major reason for relying on contractors is because, the defense forces require more capital to finance training of soldiers hiring contractors would mean that they require little finances to fight their enemies. Purchase and maintenance of equipments to facilitate the ISR capability has become a burden for the department of defense, this also applies to fighting the cyber threats, and hence the government has considered hiring already trained personnel and giving them contracts to stop a looming attack including Cyber attacks. Use of contractors has played an enormous role in ensuring that the defense forces do not get overwhelmed when under attack, thus reducing the workforce and saving the cost of operations. Recommendation Command and management In the future according to the study work of French (2011) there will be complex technology than there is currently. This implies that the disadvantages that are as a result of technology will be looming, including cyber threats, which will be, more disastrous. To ensure that Australia is secure in the future, the authorities will have to establish better command centers such that the commanders give capable assurance. To ensure that the future management if efficient, the recommendation to the defense department is to provide better training to the management and always put them up to date with the variation in technology, such that, in case of an attack, they will have psychological preparedness to deal with the attack, either Cyber attack or physical attacks (Hubbard, 2005). There should be leadership development programs to ensure that the management show exceptional leadership such that, in case of attack they will be able to organize the defense officers in a way that they can attack back and conquer. Provision of concepts and doctrines to the defense forces will help them to act fast in case of attack. Providing information in time to the management inform of intelligence will enable the management to setup their troops in such a way that, they can act fast and efficiently unlike other countries, which withhold intelligence, leading to an unexpected attack (Friedman, 2006; Heinlein, 2007). To ensure future ISR capability, the defense forces management and commandants should participate in international forums regarding the improvement of ISR. This will enhance their approach towards cyber threats. The management in the future should be able to represent the defense forces in signing of treaties to avoid arms race between countries and stopping cyber threats. Organization There is much technology in use currently to defeat ISR system; this is an indication that the organization structure to stop any attack is obsolete. The recommendation to the defense department of Australia is to ensure that the defense forces are in a way that they can coordinate into bringing an attack to a stop in regard to Godara (2009). The organization of the ISR in the future, should be in such a way where the intelligence is first hand and exact so that after the defense forces receives the intelligence, they should immediately send surveillance to ensure that intelligence is rational, and there is a need to act fast. To counteract any cyber threat, the defense forces should be well organized such that the attackers will not paralyze the operation of the state. This is by using efficient firewalls. According to Breen (2008) the systems also need to be organized such that, in case, there is an attack on one system; the attackers do not get a loophole to attack the other systems. This would be by ensuring that the systems are independent and operated by different personnel. Facilities There are greater looming threats in the future requiring the defense department of Australia to change its approach towards ISR capability. This is by replacing the faced out facilities by technology. This facility may be the information technology, warships, aircrafts and other infrastructure necessary to defend the state in case of an attack (Bernus, Nemes & Schmidt, 2003). Just like the United States of America, Australia should come up with joint ISR capability to increase their strength to fight any attackers; this is according to Tow & Chin (2009). Australia should in the future come up with better facilitate to facilitate the sharing of information like it is in Israel and America. This is crucial to enhance sharing of intelligence between the various departments of defense and also with other countries thus expanding their capabilities of combating attackers as seen in the study work of Pugh (2009). It is evident some countries develop fast, unlike others. Australia should be on the front line in ensuring that its facilities are the best. This is to ensure that the ISR is capable, and if another country has better facilities, the defense department should ensure that they get the facilities as soon as possible to be able to cooperate with other nations in stopping cyber crimes, and other physical attacks. Personnel & training As the government acquires new and more efficient technology in the future, there is the need to get the necessary personnel to operate the devices. According to Australian National Audit Office, Taylor & Ngo (2003) the recommendation to the defense forces and the Australian government is for the creation of bigger and more equipped training facilities for their personnel in the future, currently there are no enough training grounds for the military personnel because there has been no need to provide technological training to its personnel. In the future, much of the war will be technological thus the government should be able to set grounds for future training of personnel (White, 2009). Just like countries like China, Australia in the future will need to cooperate with other countries by signing treaties to reduce the rate of nuclear exploitation, which may weaken, the ISR capability since nuclear weapons are not easy to anticipate and future attacks will entail the use of weapons made out of nuclear material. In the future, there will be a necessity to introduce military studies in higher learning institutions such that if one decides to venture into military studies then one has a path to do so, this will consequently increase the number of personnel working for the defense force hence making it stronger as seen in the study work of Schrogl, Pagkratis & Baranes (2011). It is a recommendation to the Australian defense force to ensure that, in future, training of personnel is not just physical rather, just like other nations, especially Japan and China it is technological. In the future, Australian authority should set up training facilities to educate not just military personnel but also the citizens on how to protect themselves during physical attacks and how to protect their machines in case of Cyber attacks, this is according to Blank & Tellis (2005). This is through conducting seminars in regard to use of future technology in fighting cyber attackers like in other states like Serbia. Conclusion Since there evolution of the ISR capabilities in the 1990’s there have been significant revolution in the way the defense forces in Australia operate. Before its introduction, that is during the cold war, it was almost impossible to get intelligence hence any attack on Australian soil was sudden and devastating. As indicated in the study work of Australian National Audit Office, Michaels, Blow & Holbert (2010), there are contemporary capabilities of the ISR to ensure that it is helping in stopping current attacks. Consequently, the reading has future capabilities of the ISR, such that people will be secure from any attacks in the future. The reading has taken a glimpse of the current menace of cyber threats, which is tearing, the technological world, according to Sawer, Abjorensen & Larkin (2009). The contemporary issues are in consideration in the reading such that the defense forces are able to contain the current Cyber threats. This also applies to the future, where with the changing technology; there is a need to change the modes of operation to reduce vulnerability of the systems to Cyber attack as seen in the study work of Armistead (2004). The reading also contains the recommendation to the Australian authority on the future approach to enhance ISR capability. There are areas under emphasis including command and management where there are recommendations on ways of enhancing the management systems in Australia (Armitage, 2002). Organization is also on focus where the systems should be in a way that they can work seamlessly to protect the state from any attacks. There is also focusing on personnel and training. The recommendations are a comparison of what other countries have put in place. Close examination of the points taken in the reading will ensure that Australia gets secured from contemporary and future physical attacks and cyber threats and enhance the ISR capability. References Armistead, L. (2004). Information operations: warfare and the hard reality of soft power. Washington, DC, Brassey's. Armitage, J. (2002). Living with cyberspace: technology & society in the 21st century. New York [u.a.], Continuum. Australia, & Hogg, J. (2001). Recruitment and retention of ADF personnel. Canberra: The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. Australian National Audit Office, Michaels, W., Blow, J., & Holbert, F. (2010). Contracting out for Defence Force recruiting services: Department of Defence. 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