Military capability

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Military capability

Military capability is defined as "the ability to achieve a desired effect in a specific operating environment". It is defined by three interdependent factors: combat readiness

Combat readiness

Combat readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistently with the purpose for which they are military organisation or designed, or the managing of resource...
, sustainable capability and force structure

Force structure

A Force structure is the combat-capable part of a military organisation which describes how military personnel, and their weapons and equipment, are organised for the operations, missions and tasks expected from them by the particular Military doctrine of the Armed Services or demanded by the environment of the conflict....
. In terms of technologies, weapons and equipment use, it represents assets, that exist to perform specific functions in relation to requirements of the statement about present or future military operations as derived from the national defence policy

National defence policy

A national defence policy is a deliberate and obligatory plan of action to guide government decisions and achieve Strategic goal on when and how to commit national armed forces....
(strategic).

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Military capability is defined as "the ability to achieve a desired effect in a specific operating environment". It is defined by three interdependent factors: combat readiness

Combat readiness

Force structure

National defence policy

A national defence policy is a deliberate and obligatory plan of action to guide government decisions and achieve Strategic goal on when and how to commit national armed forces....
(strategic). A national Capabilities Development Plan seeks to provide a global understanding of capability needs, capability trends and potential capability shortfalls.

Military capability is often referred to in terms of low, medium and high, although this usually refers to the type, quantity and sophistication of technology being used in combat operations, and the severity of threat to security of the state.

Maintaining military capability requires modernisation of military technology

Military technology

see also Military technology and equipment'Military technology a broad concept that deals with a range of systems which is distinctly not civilian in application....
, particularly prevalent in Europe since the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
due to the arms race

Arms race

The term arms race, in its original usage, describes a competition between two or more parties for real or apparent military supremacy. Each party competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation....
that commenced with the introduction of artillery

Artillery

Artillery is a military Combat Arms which employs any apparatus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force....
and later firearms into warfare

Warfare

Warfare refers to the conduct of conflict between opponents, and usually involves escalation of aggression from the proverbial "war of words" between politics and diplomacy to full-scale War, waged until one side accepts defeat or peace terms are agreed on....
.

In the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, capability development is approached by the Capability Directorate focusing on three primary areas:

IAP: Information Acquisition & Processing - Knowledge
Military intelligence

Military intelligence , is a military service that uses List of intelligence gathering disciplines which informs the commanders' decision making process by providing intelligence analysis of Intelligence from a wide range of sources including forecast environmental changes , and opposing force intentions....
GEM: Guidance, Energy & Materials - Engagement
Combat

Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violence conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.The term "combat" typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to any violent conflict....
ESM: Environment, Systems & Modelling - Manoeuver

Existing military capability in armed forces will be employed, and only minor enhancements are possible in a short conflict. The context within which the military capabilities are used such as the geography of the area of operations, the culture and demography of the enemy

Enemy

Enemy or Enemies may refer to:Television* Enemies * Enemies * Enemies *...
, and the preparedness of the opposing forces, generally can not be altered at the start of the conflict. It is a major part of military science

Military science

Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including: theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for prototyping....
to find methods of defeating the enemy with available capabilities using existing and new concepts. Successful use of military capability by employing these concepts and methods is reflected in the effects on the enemy ability to continue to resist, subject to Rules of Engagement

Rules of engagement

In military or police operations, the rules of engagement determine when, where, and how force shall be used . Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history....
(ROE) range of political, legal and ethical factors. Military capability is often tested in peacetime by using the scenario methodology to analyse performance, often as a wargame. It is

The military's strategic role is to advise civilian leadership on the capability of military forces to execute specific missions.

Future military capability is developed based on the analysis of experimentation and testing of existing capability performance, and future capability decisions are made based on the armed forces being able to meet the challenges of a range of possible future scenarios. This is arguably a difficult task to accomplish due to the lack of predictability about future threats, changes in defence policy, and the range of response options and their effects that a government may want as a matter of future national defence policy.

The difference between expected and deliverable military capabilities is called the military capability gap, although the same term is also sometimes used to compare capabilities of potential future belligerents.

Military capability

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