THE PRECISION REVOLUTION: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare, Michael Russell Rip and James M. Hasik, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2002, 448 pages, $48.95.
In The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare, Michael Russell Rip and James M. Hasik explore the evolution, emergence, and dominance of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in modern warfare. From the inception of using rudimentary precision weaponry during the Vietnam war to the contemporary employment of advanced navigational technology during ongoing military operations, Rip and Hasik offer their analysis of the revolution by targeting modern conflict.
Although steeped in technical detail, The Precision Revolution is not a work of single focus; it details the full spectrum of the effects realized from advancements in GPS technology. While the capabilities of each GPS-based weapons system are examined in detail, the true worth of The Precision Revolution is measured in strategic and diplomatic terms. Precision technology has empowered a few nations with the ability to apply decisive force earlier, giving them the ability to influence diplomatic relations.
What is debatable is the authors' assertion that the marriage of precision navigation with modern weapons systems made possible such events as the 100-hour ground phase of the 1991 Persian Gulf war. While GPS technology certainly facilitates command and control, improves the accuracy of modern weapons, and integrates information flow, it does not in itself represent a revolution in military affairs. Rip and Hasik's point--that dominance of the electromagnetic spectrum is the first step to victory--represents the inherent strength and Achilles' heel of GPS-based systems.
The Precision Revolution is the first of three collaborative efforts from Rip, who presently holds a joint appointment at James Madison College, and the Department of Epidemiology at Michigan State University. Hasik is a former naval officer and management consultant to a number of commercial and government agencies. Together they meld their knowledge of geography, satellite navigation, and weapons systems technology into a readable blend of techno-thriller and futures analyses. The result, while often open to debate, is a well-researched and written exploration of the effects and potential of precision weaponry in modern warfare.
The Precision Revolution is an excellent representation of the techno-revolutionaries--those who characterize revolutions in military affairs as purely technical in nature. Nevertheless, Rip and Hasik present their arguments well, and their book is as much about the military application of GPS-based weapons systems as about their analysis of the revolutionary shift in warfare effected by this technology.
MAJ Steven Leonard, USA, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Army CGSC
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
