Modern warfare

Modern warfare is <a href="/facts/Warfare/MPluTbJ0">warfare</a> that diverges notably from previous military concepts, methods, and <a href="/facts/Military_technology/prfeC3v2">technology</a>, emphasizing how <a href="/facts/Combatants/owQ3fXXe">combatants</a> must modernize to preserve their battle worthiness. As such, it is an evolving subject, seen differently in different times and places. In its narrowest sense, it is merely a synonym for contemporary warfare.
In its widest sense, it includes all warfare since the "gunpowder revolution" that marks the start of <a href="/facts/Early_modern_warfare/B6o31aSx">early modern warfare</a>, but other landmark military developments have been used instead, including the emphasis of artillery marked by the <a href="/facts/Crimean_War/v163wdr8">Crimean War</a>, the <a href="/facts/Military_railways/Y3kPCnyu">military reliance on railways</a> beginning with the <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">American Civil War</a>, the launch of the first <a href="/facts/Dreadnought/Sf8jhx0s">dreadnought</a> in 1905, or the use of the <a href="/facts/Machine_gun/JPXmy1zR">machine gun</a>, <a href="/facts/Military_aircraft/hG80LP2F">aircraft</a>, <a href="/facts/Tank/CwQLRQsy">tank</a>, or <a href="/facts/Military_radio/SByW0dwA">radio</a> in <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>. 
In another sense, it is tied to changing <a href="/facts/Conventional_warfare/B1RzB2on">conventional warfare</a>, including <a href="/facts/Total_war/pgznALBB">total war</a>, and <a href="/facts/Industrial_warfare/B7f5o6r3">industrial</a>, <a href="/facts/Mechanized_warfare/atNMzBbv">mechanized</a>, and <a href="/facts/Electronic_warfare/c6XGz9y0">electronic warfare</a>. It can describe warfare resulting from the use or threats of <a href="/facts/Weapons_of_mass_destruction/JfsDSeGo">weapons of mass destruction</a>, including <a href="/facts/Chemical_warfare/zT4t2DGk">chemical</a>, <a href="/facts/Biological_warfare/hLnbu8Sd">biological</a>, <a href="/facts/Radiological_warfare/gYvMI4rg">radiological</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nuclear_warfare/HLRLRh4F">nuclear warfare</a>. It can describe <a href="/facts/Asymmetric_warfare/15hIxMFY">asymmetric warfare</a>, involving <a href="/facts/Violent_non-state_actors/M6ecHnHY">violent non-state actors</a>, <a href="/facts/Guerilla_warfare/IMWNg4bI">guerilla warfare</a>, <a href="/facts/Low-intensity_conflict/13Dtot8n">low-intensity conflict</a>, and <a href="/facts/Counter-insurgency/gvfLNewj">counter-insurgency</a>. It can also describe the expansion of warfare to new domains, including <a href="/facts/Space_warfare/IgTrM0bV">space warfare</a> and <a href="/facts/Cyberwarfare/UYp25v4v">cyberwarfare</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Psychological_warfare/LxDnpBh3">psychological warfare</a> and <a href="/facts/Information_warfare/sMMLWoeu">information warfare</a>.

Modern warfare open-in-new

Modern warfare