Title: Using Wargames to See Over-the-Horizon,  An Ongoing USAF R&D Success Story"

Author: Dr. Bob Barker, Colonel, USAFR (ret.)

Abstract: Strategy wargames are excellent platforms for allowing DOD leaders to see "over-the-horizon" as they chart the future of US military capabilities. These wargames may be used to test new doctrine, to judge the combat benefits of new technology, and to educate current & future military leaders in the optimum employment of all available combat assets in realistic battle scenarios. Questions that advanced wargames can address include:

1. (1)how will the introduction of future technology affect the balance of military power and how will it affect our doctrine and that of our opponents?  
   

2. (2)What future game-changers could potentially be employed by our opponents in future warfare that would dramatically tip the outcome of combat in their favor and what are our counters to those?  
   

3. (3)How can we use flexible and easy-to-use simulation wargames to better understand future combat and thus avoid entering into future wars with only the ability to fight past ones?
   

Since the mid-1990s the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) has sponsored over

$10M in R&D programs to enhance COTS strategy wargames to address USAF

requirements. Specifically, Dave Ross (AFRL-Rome) teamed with the author

(then at AFRL-AFOSR) to formulate and sponsor small business programs

focused on four major topics. The first used modified COTS wargames to

examine the impact of directed energy weapons (DEWs) on real-world combat.

The second sought new insights into counterinsurgency warfare.  Several

other efforts aimed to improve embedded wargame artificial intelligence (AI)

to achieve a game engine capable of doctrine formulation. Currently, Dave

Ross is managing a Phase II wargaming project to assess the detailed impact

of existing and proposed UAVs on modern warfare. The key to the success of

all these efforts has been the selection of commercial wargames that

emphasize accuracy, support user mods/scenarios, and are supported by

software houses that have proven to be cooperative, responsive, and

cost-effective. Examples will be discussed including the "spin-off" of an

advanced COTS wargame to educate the students of Air University.

Last Updated: June 2011