We are presently living in an era defined by many as the ‘information age’. Technology is all around us and in one form or another related to everything we do, with warfare being no different. Some describe the increasing role that technology plays in war as a technical revolution in military affairs that is changing the nature of war fighting and security operations. Whether or not it is justifiable to regard this as a revolution in military affairs, it is at least widely agreed that technology is rapidly changing the way military objectives are accomplished. Integrated Communication Networks are therefore an increasingly necessary to ensure that critical information gets to those who need it fast, whether it is those on the battlefield or those making the decisions at HQ. David S. Alberts, who formerly worked in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defence for Networks and Information Integration, lists the four foundational advantages of such a network to be:

(a) A robustly networked force improves information sharing.

(b) Information sharing and collaboration enhance the quality of information and shared situational awareness.

(c) Shared situational awareness enables self-synchronization.

(d) These, in turn, dramatically increase mission effectiveness.

2. Obviously, any method of conducting operations that is expected to increase mission effectiveness will be welcomed by any armed forces. The US Department of Defence goes as far to say that ‘Forces that are networked outfight forces that are not, everything else being equal.’ They also makes the claim those only military forces that are ‘truly joint, with comprehensively integrated capabilities can fully exploit the highly path-dependent nature of Information Age warfare.’ This certainly enforces the view that modern military operations require a network-centric approach to be effective. It is thus indubitable that possessing an integrated network capability does indeed prove to be a ‘game changer’ when facing an enemy who does not possess such capability.

3. It has been amply demonstrated that an Integrated Communicati