Naval War College Review Volume 57 Article 21 Number 1 Winter 2004 Seapower and Space: From the Dawn of the Missile Age toNet-centric Warfare, William C. Martel Follow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review Recommended Citation Martel, William C. (2004) "Seapower and Space: From the Dawn of the Missile Age toNet-centric Warfare,," Naval War College Review: Vol. 57 : No. 1 , Article 21. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol57/iss1/21 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BOOK REVIEWS 139 Martel: Seapower and Space: From the Dawn of the Missile Age toNet-centri Beginning in the 1970s with territorial naval forces conduct navigation, claims that the Gulf of Sidra was actu- communication, reconnaissance, and ally within Libyan internal waters, targeting. The reality is that modern Qaddafi had plotted a collision course military forces depend almost entirely with the United States. For over two de- on platforms in space to know where cades he attempted to use Libya’s oil they are and to communicate with wealth to undermine moderate govern- friendly forces, as well as to know the ments in the Middle East and Africa, location of enemy forces and use that sought weapons of mass destruction, information to destroy them. This “rev- and developed a national foreign policy olution in military affairs” is now hav- that incorporated the use of terrorism ing an effect on a global scale. to achieve his objectives. None of these observations, however, is This is a story painted on a global can- particularly new, and in fact all have vas, from the 1986 La Belle Disco been widely discussed within the de- bombing in West Berlin, which killed fense establishment since the Persian U.S. servicemen, to the ghastly destruc- Gulf War, when it became evident that tion of a global war on terrorism. U.S. military forces depend to a unique El Dorado Canyon is a fine case study in and unparalleled degree on constella- combating terrorism and deserves a tions of satellites. Such technologies as place on the shelf of anyone interested the Global Positioning System (GPS) in America’s current conflict, as well as became familiar in the public debate the history of U.S. Navy involvement about national security in the early 1990s in combat. with reports that U.S. soldiers used com- mercially purchased GPS receivers to JAMES STAVRIDIS navigate across Iraq’s featureless desert. Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy In addition, the images broadcast glob- ally of Scud missiles landing in Saudi Arabia and Israel reinforced the reli- ance on space-based systems to warn of impending attacks. Nor have we for- Friedman, Norman. Seapower and Space: From gotten the failure of coalition forces the Dawn of the Missile Age to Net-centric Warfare. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. during the Persian Gulf War to find 384pp. $36.95 Iraqi Scud missiles in what were called “Scud hunts.” This work examines the development of space systems and its implications for What is interesting and noteworthy naval warfare in the twenty-first century about Friedman’s work is its focus on by focusing on the argument that “access the fact that the development of these to space systems makes possible a new space systems has profound implications style of warfare.” It addresses the “linked for the nature and conduct of maritime revolution of long-range missiles and operations. In 2004, naval forces can their space-based supporting systems.” know exactly where they are in the mid- Furthermore, Friedman seeks to under- dle of vast oceans; communicate with stand how the development of space- their counterparts anywhere on the based systems (notably rockets and globe; scan entire oceans or land masses satellites) has radically influenced how for targets in relatively short order; Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2004 1 140 NAVAL WAR COLLEGE REVIEW Naval War College Review, Vol. 57 [2004], No. 1, Art. 21 and use precision-guided munitions, author is knowledgeable about naval such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, to matters. This is a useful work that by destroy them. Not surprisingly, the contributing to the literature on the re- combination of space-based systems lationship between space and naval op- has significantly improved U.S. mari- erations exposes the reader to a wide time as well as military capabilities. range of systems and technologies that Perhaps the most significant aspect of are fundamental to the capabilities pos- Friedman’s work is the sheer volume of sessed by modern navies and military data that it contains. The reader is led forces. As a history of space and mari- through discussions of the development time systems, it contributes new and of space launchers, including detailed useful particulars, background, and in- reviews of the U.S. and Soviet pro- sights into how space systems help the grams. Friedman is quite comfortable naval commanders. My only wish is discussing the development of these that he could have focused less on pro- technologies and thus easily examines grammatic details. That being said, how the United States has integrated Friedman’s work represents an impor- space technologies into everyday mili- tant step toward analyzing how space tary operations. This descriptive mate- represents the next set of technologies rial is quite useful for those not familiar that will revolutionize naval operations with many of the technologies and ca- in the future. pabilities that exist under the rubric of WILLIAM C. MARTEL space systems. The central value of Naval War College Seapower and Space is to help the reader understand the technological and oper- ational forces that have changed how the U.S. defense establishment, most notably its naval component, goes Lim, Robyn. The Geopolitics of East Asia: The about its business. Search for Equilibrium. New York: Routledge Curzon, 2003. 208pp. $90 All told, Friedman’s work is useful be- Kane, Thomas M. Chinese Grand Strategy and cause of its breadth and depth. Yet in Maritime Power. Portland, Ore.: Frank Cass, 2002. many chapters the analytic foundations 158pp. $55 of the work are obscured by the excep- One of the most intriguing questions tionally detailed discussions of the evo- about the People’s Republic of China lution of, for example, rocket programs, (PRC) today is whether its communist communications systems, satellite pro- government does or does not have the grams, and cruise missile programs, to “ambition” to acquire a blue-water name a few. For readers who are more navy. If building an oceangoing fleet interested in how space systems support is among Beijing’s long-term goals, maritime operations, these details then China may one day become a dan- prove somewhat distracting. gerous peer competitor of the United How, then, should we judge the value States. If so, a future Sino-U.S. mari- of Friedman’s work? The overall quality time conflict is possible; if not, Wash- of the research and writing speaks for ington’s primarily maritime power and itself. The chapters are tightly organized Beijing’s primarily continental power and lucid, which reaffirms that the need never meet in battle. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol57/iss1/21 2.