Defense News Today’s Doctrine & Concepts Glossary turns military jargon into clear, practical understanding. It explains operational ideas like kill chains, SEAD/DEAD, and A2/AD in plain language. It also covers electronic warfare effects and common missile-guidance terms. You get clarity without being buried under technical wording. Doctrine shapes how forces fight, not just what they purchase. So, the glossary helps you read headlines with stronger context. Each entry gives a short definition and a real-world takeaway. It also links you to related coverage across Defense News Today. Whether you follow airpower or naval strategy, it stays useful. It also supports readers tracking drones, missiles, and emerging threats. This reference hub keeps your reading sharper and more consistent. It anchors your understanding in practical operational reality.
| Concept | Short explanation |
|---|---|
| Kill chain | End-to-end process of finding, fixing, tracking, targeting, engaging, and assessing a target; disrupt any link to reduce effectiveness. |
| F2T2EA | A common kill-chain model: Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, Assess; used to describe time-sensitive targeting. |
| OODA loop | Decision cycle—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act—used to explain tempo advantages in combat. |
| SEAD | Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses: missions that degrade enemy IADS so friendly aircraft can operate. |
| DEAD | Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses: physically destroying SAM/AAA/radar nodes to collapse the IADS. |
| IADS | Integrated Air Defense System combining sensors, C2, and shooters; designed to detect, track, and engage air threats. |
| A2/AD | Anti-Access/Area Denial: layered systems intended to prevent entry into a theater and constrain freedom of action inside it. |
| Network-centric warfare | Approach that links sensors, shooters, and command nodes to speed decisions and increase shared situational awareness. |
| Multi-domain operations (MDO) | Concept integrating effects across land, air, sea, space, and cyber to create dilemmas for an adversary. |
| Joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) | U.S. effort to connect sensors and shooters across services via resilient data networks and C2. |
| C4ISR | Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance—systems enabling modern operations. |
| ISR | Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance: collecting and analyzing information to support decisions and targeting. |
| Intelligence cycle | Direction, collection, processing, analysis, dissemination, and feedback; framework for producing actionable intelligence. |
| Indications & warning (I&W) | Intelligence focused on detecting preparations for hostile actions and providing early warning. |
| Sensor fusion | Combining multiple sensor inputs into a coherent track picture to reduce uncertainty and improve targeting. |
| Common operational picture (COP) | Shared display of friendly/enemy disposition and key data to synchronize units and decisions. |
| Blue force tracking (BFT) | Systems that report friendly locations/status to reduce fratricide and improve coordination. |
| Command and control (C2) | Processes and systems used to direct forces, allocate resources, and manage operations. |
| Mission command | Decentralized execution guided by commander’s intent; empowers initiative under uncertainty. |
| Commander’s intent | Clear statement of desired end state and purpose that enables subordinate initiative. |
| Rules of engagement (ROE) | Directives defining when and how force may be used, often constrained by legal and policy factors. |
| Escalation dominance | Ability to control escalation at each rung so the opponent cannot gain advantage by escalating. |
| Deterrence by denial | Discouraging aggression by making success unlikely through defense, resilience, and rapid response. |
| Deterrence by punishment | Discouraging aggression by threatening unacceptable costs through retaliation or sanctions. |
| Compellence | Using threats or limited force to make an adversary change behavior (stop, undo, or do something). |
| Coercive diplomacy | Mix of threats, reassurance, and limited pressure to achieve political objectives short of war. |
| Grey-zone operations | Competitive actions below open warfare (coercion, proxies, cyber, influence) to gain advantage. |
| Hybrid warfare | Blending conventional, irregular, cyber, and informational tools in a coordinated campaign. |
| Information operations (IO) | Actions to affect adversary decision-making through messaging, deception, and control of information. |
| Psychological operations (PSYOP) | Targeted messaging to influence perceptions, attitudes, and behavior of selected audiences. |
| Influence operations | Broad activities aimed at shaping narratives and preferences of populations and elites. |
| Strategic communications (StratCom) | Coordinated messaging and actions to support national objectives and credibility. |
| Deception | Misleading an adversary about capabilities, intentions, or timing to gain operational advantage. |
| Operational security (OPSEC) | Protecting critical information so adversaries can’t exploit patterns or plans. |
| Camouflage, concealment, and deception (CCD) | Tactics that hide or mislead about forces and positions to reduce detection/targeting. |
| Electronic warfare (EW) | Use of the electromagnetic spectrum to sense, attack, and protect; includes jamming and electronic support. |
| Electronic attack (EA) | Offensive EW: jamming, deception, or directed energy used to degrade enemy sensors and comms. |
| Electronic protection (EP) | Defensive EW: measures to ensure friendly use of spectrum under attack (filters, hopping, ECCM). |
| Electronic support (ES) | Detection and locating of EM emissions for warning, targeting, and situational awareness. |
| DRFM | Digital Radio Frequency Memory: captures radar signals and re-transmits modified copies to deceive radars. |
| Jamming | Intentional interference with enemy sensors/communications to reduce detection, tracking, or coordination. |
| Deception jamming | Jamming that creates false targets/positions rather than only adding noise. |
| Burn-through | Range at which a radar’s signal overwhelms jamming, enabling detection/track despite interference. |
| ECCM | Electronic counter-countermeasures that help sensors resist jamming and deception. |
| SIGINT | Signals intelligence derived from intercepted communications (COMINT) and non-communications signals (ELINT). |
| ELINT | Electronic intelligence focused on non-communications emissions like radars. |
| COMINT | Communications intelligence derived from intercepted voice/data communications. |
| Cyber operations | Offensive and defensive actions in cyberspace to disrupt, degrade, or defend systems and data. |
| Cyber kill chain | Model describing stages of a cyber intrusion from reconnaissance through actions on objectives. |
| Zero trust | Security model that assumes breach and continuously verifies identity and device posture. |
| Supply chain risk | Threats introduced via suppliers, components, or software dependencies affecting security and reliability. |
| Resilience | Ability to absorb disruption and continue operating, often via redundancy and rapid recovery. |
| Redundancy | Duplicating critical systems/paths to reduce single points of failure and improve survivability. |
| Hardening | Physical or cyber measures to make systems more resistant to attack (armor, shelters, security controls). |
| Dispersal | Spreading forces across locations to reduce vulnerability to concentrated strikes. |
| Mobility | Ability to move and reposition forces quickly to avoid targeting and exploit opportunities. |
| Survivability | Capability to avoid detection, withstand attack, and recover to continue mission. |
| Stealth | Low observable design and tactics that reduce detection by radar/IR/visual sensors. |
| Signature management | Reducing or shaping detectable signatures (radar, IR, acoustic, EM) to avoid targeting. |
| Counter-ISR | Actions to blind, deceive, or destroy enemy sensors and reconnaissance networks. |
| Counter-battery fire | Fires aimed at enemy artillery/rockets based on launch detection and rapid targeting. |
| Counterforce | Targeting an opponent’s military capabilities (missiles, bases, C2) rather than cities/industry. |
| Countervalue | Targeting assets of value to society or economy; often discussed in nuclear deterrence theory. |
| Second-strike capability | Ability to retaliate after absorbing a first strike; critical for stable nuclear deterrence. |
| Nuclear triad | Three delivery legs—ICBMs, SLBMs, strategic bombers—providing redundancy and flexibility. |
| Launch-on-warning | Posture to launch nuclear forces upon credible warning before incoming warheads impact. |
| MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) | Deterrence condition where both sides can inflict unacceptable damage even after a first strike. |
| Extended deterrence | Deterrence provided to allies through security guarantees, often involving nuclear commitments. |
| No-first-use | Policy pledging not to use nuclear weapons first in a conflict; debated for credibility and stability. |
| Minimum deterrence | Maintaining the smallest nuclear force needed to deter by threatening unacceptable damage. |
| Arms control | Agreements or measures that limit, reduce, or increase transparency around weapons and forces. |
| Nonproliferation | Efforts to prevent spread of nuclear/chemical/biological weapons and related delivery systems. |
| Counterproliferation | Actions to stop WMD programs via interdiction, sanctions, sabotage, or military strikes. |
| BMD (Ballistic missile defense) | Systems designed to detect, track, and intercept ballistic missiles in boost, midcourse, or terminal phases. |
| Midcourse interception | Intercepting ballistic missiles in space during midcourse flight, often with hit-to-kill vehicles. |
| Terminal defense | Intercepting missiles in the last phase of flight near target, often at lower altitudes. |
| Boost-phase interception | Attempting intercept during missile boost; challenging due to short windows and proximity requirements. |
| Hit-to-kill | Kinetic intercept technique destroying a target via direct collision without explosive warhead. |
| Multiple kill vehicle (MKV) | Concept of deploying multiple small interceptors from one booster to engage several objects. |
| Hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) | Rocket-boosted vehicle that glides at hypersonic speed with maneuvering, complicating defense. |
| Hypersonic cruise missile | Air-breathing hypersonic weapon (often scramjet) sustaining hypersonic speed in atmosphere. |
| Prompt global strike | Capability to strike targets rapidly worldwide with conventional weapons. |
| CEP (circular error probable) | Accuracy measure: radius within which 50% of rounds/warheads are expected to land. |
| Circular error probable | Same as CEP; used to compare precision of guided weapons and ballistic systems. |
| PESA | Passive electronically scanned array radar using a single transmitter and phase shifters to steer beams. |
| AESA | Active electronically scanned array radar with many transmit/receive modules; improves agility, LPI, and reliability. |
| LPI radar | Low Probability of Intercept radar techniques that reduce enemy ability to detect emissions. |
| BVR | Beyond Visual Range combat and weapons employment relying on sensors and data links. |
| WVR | Within Visual Range fighting, often emphasizing maneuvering and short-range missiles. |
| Datalink | Digital communications connecting platforms for shared tracks, targeting, and coordination. |
| Link 16 | Common tactical datalink standard enabling shared situational awareness and message exchange. |
| SATCOM | Satellite communications enabling long-range connectivity beyond line-of-sight. |
| GNSS | Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GPS, GLONASS, etc.) providing positioning, navigation, timing. |
| GPS spoofing | Broadcasting false navigation signals to mislead receivers about position/time. |
| GPS jamming | Blocking or degrading satellite navigation signals to disrupt positioning and timing. |
| PNT | Positioning, Navigation, and Timing services critical for guidance, comms, and synchronization. |
| Assured PNT | Techniques and alternatives to maintain navigation/timing when GNSS is degraded. |
| Navigation warfare (NAVWAR) | Operations to attack or defend navigation and timing systems like GNSS. |
| Air superiority | Degree of dominance allowing friendly air operations without prohibitive interference. |
| Air supremacy | Near-complete air dominance where enemy air opposition is effectively incapable. |
| Air denial | Strategy to prevent an adversary from using airspace effectively, even if you can’t control it. |
| Air interdiction | Attacks on enemy forces/supply lines before they can directly engage friendly forces. |
| Close air support (CAS) | Air action against hostile targets near friendly forces requiring detailed coordination. |
| Dynamic targeting | Engaging targets that appear or move on short notice, requiring rapid sensor-to-shooter cycles. |
| Time-sensitive targeting (TST) | Targeting high-value targets with short windows before they relocate or become hidden. |
| Battle damage assessment (BDA) | Evaluating the effects of strikes to determine target status and reattack needs. |
| Suppression | Temporarily neutralizing an enemy capability (e.g., SAM site) without necessarily destroying it. |
| Attrition warfare | Strategy of wearing down enemy forces through sustained losses rather than maneuver. |
| Maneuver warfare | Using movement and initiative to gain advantage and collapse enemy cohesion. |
| Center of gravity (COG) | Critical capability or source of strength whose defeat collapses enemy ability to fight. |
| Decisive point | Key place/time/event where action yields a marked advantage and contributes to mission success. |
| Operational reach | Distance and duration over which a force can successfully employ military capabilities. |
| Culminating point | Stage when an attacker can no longer continue effectively; must pause, reinforce, or transition. |
| Lines of effort | Logical lines linking tasks to conditions and objectives, often in complex campaigns. |
| Lines of operation | Physical or logical paths linking actions across time/space toward objectives. |
| Main effort | The decisive operation or focus that receives priority resources to achieve the mission. |
| Economy of force | Allocating minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts to mass for the main effort. |
| Mass | Concentrating combat power at the right place/time to achieve decisive results. |
| Unity of command | Principle that each objective should have one responsible commander to avoid conflicting direction. |
| Combined arms | Integrating different arms (infantry, armor, artillery, air) to create complementary effects. |
| Joint operations | Coordinated action by multiple services (army, navy, air force, etc.) toward common goals. |
| Combined operations | Operations conducted with coalition partners under shared plans and interoperability. |
| Interoperability | Ability of systems and units to operate together via common standards, procedures, and communications. |
| Coalition warfare | Multinational operations requiring alignment of strategy, ROE, logistics, and command relationships. |
| Force multiplier | Capability that increases overall effectiveness (ISR, EW, logistics, precision) beyond its size. |
| Force projection | Deploying and sustaining military power into a region to influence events or deter conflict. |
| Power projection | Broader concept including political, economic, and military tools to influence across distance. |
| Forward basing | Stationing forces near potential theaters to reduce response time and improve deterrence. |
| Forward presence | Maintaining forces in-region to reassure allies, shape environment, and gather awareness. |
| Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) | Detecting, tracking, and engaging submarines using sensors, weapons, and tactics. |
| Sea control | Ability to use an area of sea for one’s purposes for a period while denying it to the enemy. |
| Sea denial | Preventing enemy use of sea areas without necessarily controlling them yourself. |
| Naval blockade | Using naval forces to restrict enemy shipping and logistics, often with legal/political constraints. |
| Maritime interdiction | Stopping, diverting, or seizing vessels to enforce sanctions or prevent weapons smuggling. |
| Freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) | Operations asserting navigation rights under international law in contested waters. |
| Littoral operations | Military activities in coastal waters and adjacent land areas where land/sea interact. |
| Amphibious assault | Landing forces from sea onto a hostile shore to seize lodgments and enable follow-on ops. |
| Expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO) | Distributed bases and fires in contested areas to support sea control/denial. |
| Distributed maritime operations (DMO) | Navy concept of dispersing forces while networking sensors and weapons to complicate enemy targeting. |
| Distributed lethality | Spreading offensive weapons across more platforms to increase uncertainty and survivability. |
| Sea-based deterrence | Deterrence supported by naval forces (especially SSBNs) that are hard to preempt. |
| Mine warfare | Use of sea mines for sea denial and protection; includes mine laying and countermeasures. |
| Mine countermeasures (MCM) | Detecting and neutralizing mines using specialized ships, UUVs, helicopters, and divers. |
| Undersea domain awareness | Understanding undersea activity via sensors and analysis to counter submarines and UUVs. |
| Anti-ship missile (AShM) | Missile designed to strike ships; often sea-skimming and using radar/IR seekers. |
| Area air defense | Protecting a region (not just point targets) against aircraft/missiles using layered systems. |
| Point defense | Defending a specific asset (ship/base) with short-range interceptors and close-in weapons. |
| CIWS | Close-in weapon system for last-ditch defense against missiles and aircraft. |
| Hard-kill | Physically destroying threats (interceptors, guns) as opposed to jamming or decoys. |
| Soft-kill | Defeating threats via EW, decoys, obscurants, or deception rather than physical destruction. |
| Decoy | System that misleads seekers (radar/IR) to divert missiles away from true targets. |
| Chaff | Radar-reflective strips released to confuse radar-guided threats. |
| Flares | Hot decoys deployed to mislead IR-guided missiles. |
| Towed decoy | Decoy trailed behind a platform to lure radar-guided missiles away from the host. |
| Active protection system (APS) | Vehicle defense that detects and intercepts incoming ATGMs/RPGs before impact. |
| Reactive armor | Explosive or non-explosive armor that disrupts shaped-charge jets on impact. |
| Top-attack | Munition profile that strikes targets from above, exploiting thinner armor. |
| Stand-off weapon | Weapon launched from outside enemy air defenses, reducing risk to the launch platform. |
| Stand-in weapon | Weapon that penetrates contested areas and survives inside threats to deliver effects. |
| Standoff jamming | Jamming from outside the threat envelope using high-power emitters and range. |
| Escort jamming | Jamming provided by aircraft accompanying strike packages inside contested airspace. |
| Suppression of communications | EW/cyber actions targeting radios and networks to disrupt coordination. |
| Communications denial | Broad efforts to prevent reliable communications through jamming, attacks, or destruction. |
| Spectrum management | Coordinating frequencies and emissions to avoid interference and maximize effectiveness. |
| EMCON | Emission control: limiting transmissions to reduce detection and signature. |
| Low observable tactics | Procedures that minimize exposure (routes, altitude, timing) to reduce detection and engagement. |
| S-curve defense | Layered defense that combines sensors and interceptors at multiple ranges and altitudes. |
| Layered air defense | Integrated use of long/medium/short-range systems to increase engagement opportunities. |
| Counter-UAS (C-UAS) | Detecting, tracking, and defeating drones using kinetic, EW, and directed-energy tools. |
| Loitering munition | Weapon that loiters to search for targets then dives to strike; blends ISR and strike. |
| Swarming | Coordinated use of many platforms (often drones) to overwhelm defenses and complicate targeting. |
| MUM-T | Manned-unmanned teaming: cooperative operations between crewed platforms and drones/UGVs. |
| Autonomy | System capability to perform tasks with limited human input; ranges from assistive to high autonomy. |
| Human-on-the-loop | Human supervises and can intervene in autonomous systems, but not controlling every action. |
| Human-in-the-loop | Human must approve key actions (like weapons release) in a semi-autonomous system. |
| Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWS) | Weapons that can select and engage targets with limited human intervention; subject to policy/ethics debate. |
| Counterinsurgency (COIN) | Integrated civil-military approach to defeat insurgency by securing population and building governance. |
| Irregular warfare | Conflict involving non-state actors, guerrilla tactics, subversion, and indirect approaches. |
| Special operations | Small-unit operations requiring unique skills for strategic or operational effects. |
| Unconventional warfare | Operations enabling resistance or insurgency to coerce/disrupt an adversary. |
| Foreign internal defense (FID) | Training and assisting partner forces to help them counter internal threats. |
| Security force assistance (SFA) | Building partner capacity through advising, training, and institutional support. |
| Stability operations | Activities to maintain or restore order, essential services, and governance after conflict. |
| Peacekeeping | Multinational operations to monitor ceasefires and support political processes under mandates. |
| No-fly zone | Airspace restriction enforced by military power to prevent specific flight operations. |
| Air policing | Routine air defense presence to monitor and intercept unauthorized aircraft in peacetime. |
| Maritime domain awareness (MDA) | Understanding maritime activity using sensors, intelligence, and information sharing. |
| Space situational awareness (SSA) | Tracking objects and events in space to support operations and prevent collisions or attacks. |
| Space control | Ability to assure own space access while denying adversary space capabilities. |
| Counterspace | Offensive/defensive actions to deny, degrade, deceive, disrupt, or destroy space systems. |
| Kessler syndrome | Scenario where debris cascades increase collision risk and degrade use of low Earth orbit. |
| Directed energy | Using concentrated energy (laser, microwave) for effects like dazzling, heating, or disruption. |
| High-power microwave (HPM) | Directed-energy system that can disrupt electronics and communications at short ranges. |
| EMP | Electromagnetic pulse that can damage or disrupt electronics; can be nuclear or non-nuclear. |
| CBRN | Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear hazards; includes protection and response doctrine. |
| WMD | Weapons of mass destruction, typically nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. |
| NBC defense | Older term for nuclear, biological, chemical defense; now usually CBRN. |
| Sanctions | Economic/legal measures to coerce behavior or punish actions, often integrated with security strategy. |
| Interdiction | Stopping movement of weapons, materials, or forces, often through maritime/air/land actions. |
| Maritime chokepoint | Narrow sea passage where traffic concentrates, affecting trade and military movement. |
