In modern combat, maneuver warfare is a core strategy that emphasizes speed, agility, and precision in operations. Maneuver warfare is about tempo, surprise, and systemic disruption, not just rapid movement. The ability to outpace and outmaneuver an adversary is paramount, and achieving this requires the seamless integration of various technologies, with Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) enabling tempo, the convergence of fires and mass, and cohesion under degradation.
PNT enables forces to operate effectively by providing the necessary information for navigation, communication, and timing, elements that are crucial for shooting, moving, and communicating on the battlefield. In maneuver warfare, forces must rapidly change positions, coordinate attacks, and communicate at tempo to ensure convergence and survivability, all while remaining unpredictable and one step ahead of the enemy. To achieve this, they depend on highly accurate and reliable PNT systems.
PNT and Modern Maneuver Warfare
The ability to navigate accurately in real time allows military units to move quickly across the battlefield, positioning themselves strategically while minimizing the risk of detection. PNT helps ensure forces can execute with tempo, convergence, and survivability, keeping each element in the right place at the right time. PNT-derived timing supports network synchronization, waveform performance, and secure, robust communications in degraded conditions.
PNT also enables units to synchronize effects, from artillery fire to air support, to achieve mass and win on the battlefield. Precise timing is critical to prevent friendly fire and maximizing the effectiveness of joint operations. It also contributes to greater situational awareness, giving commanders and soldiers the tools they need to make real-time decisions with confidence.
Furthermore, maneuver warfare focuses on precision fires, massing kinetic and non-kinetic effects against an adversary’s critical vulnerabilities. These fires not only require PNT systems to deliver effects with speed and precision; they also require reconnaissance forces to identify targets and provide accurate targeting data. This enables high payoff against high-value targets while minimizing collateral damage. Military-grade GPS devices are essential to providing a target’s location with a high degree of certainty.
During my time in Syria, I saw how quickly maneuver turns into survival when conditions collapse. In one engagement, an ISIS element assaulted our partner force, and we had to break contact under pressure. A sandstorm rolled in hard enough that aircraft could not see the ground, and the fight compressed into seconds and meters. In that moment, close air support depended on certainty: I needed to know our exact position, I needed the location of the enemy, and I needed to send that information cleanly so I could deliver effects without fratricide. With visibility gone, precision was no longer a convenience, it was the difference between breaking contact and being fixed by the enemy. Reliable PNT, combined with disciplined reporting and confirmation, allowed us to integrate fires when the pilots could not see what we were fighting.
Jamming and Spoofing Mitigation
As warfare evolves, so do the tactics of adversaries. Jamming and spoofing are growing threats that can compromise the accuracy and reliability of PNT systems. In response, modern PNT solutions must be resilient to these threats with advanced capabilities to mitigate the effects of jamming and spoofing. This will allow military forces to continue operating with confidence, even in contested environments. These include modernized GPS signals (e.g., M-Code), complementary GNSS options, inertial and other onboard sensors, and other methods that collectively support a comprehensive PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) plan for PNT.
In today’s dynamic and fast-paced battlefields, maneuver warfare is more relevant than ever. The ability to shoot, move, and communicate relies heavily on accurate, secure, and reliable PNT systems. These systems not only enable forces to navigate the battlefield effectively but also ensure they can operate with tempo, convergence, agility, and coordinate in real time.
As warfare continues to become more complex, the importance of PNT technology will only grow. The future of maneuver warfare depends on our ability to innovate, develop, and deploy advanced PNT solutions that allow the military to keep a competitive advantage in both conventional and asymmetric conflicts.
